Field trip chaperone tips

Field trip chaperone tips are for two people: the room parent sending the note, and the chaperone reading it before the bus. The teacher still runs the trip. You are helping one class come back with the same head count you left with.

Ask the teacher what belongs in the note before you write it. Times, the meeting spot, and the school's food and photo rules are theirs to set. Do not guess them and send them out as facts.

Five rules for the day

• Head count. Count your group when you get them, when you move, and when you stop. If the number changes, stop and tell the teacher. Do not wait for the bus.

• Stay with your group. A better exhibit is not a reason to trade children with another adult. If someone needs a bathroom, follow the plan the teacher gave you.

• The school's food and photo rules. Pack and share only what the school already allows. If you are not sure, skip the snack and skip the photo.

• Do not buy extras. The gift shop, the snack window, and an add-on ticket are not your call. If a child asks, "not today" is the answer unless the teacher already said yes.

• Tell the teacher if a child is hurt or missing. You do not have to solve it alone. Find the teacher, or the adult they named, and say what you know. A scraped knee and a child you cannot see are both "tell the teacher now."

A note you can paste to chaperones

Hello,

Thank you for coming with our class. The teacher runs the day. Your job is the small group they gave you.

Please count your group when you get them, when you move, and when you stop. Stay with that group. Follow the school's food rules and photo rules. Please do not buy extras unless the teacher already said yes. If a child is hurt, or you cannot see one of your group, tell the teacher right away.

If a line in this note is wrong, it is because I guessed. Ask the teacher. Have a good day.

For the room parent sending it

Put the meeting time, the meeting spot, and any bag the teacher asked for at the top, in the teacher's words. Give an out: if the date no longer works, a reply to you is enough. BCC the class if you are using email.

A bag is optional, and it is not the job. If someone wants one for the clipboard and the wipes, there is a field trip chaperone tote and a script tote. The head count still matters more than the bag.

The week before, the room parent job is the note and a count of adults who said yes. The day of, the chaperone job is one small group. Do not swap those. If you are both people, send the note first, then be one adult with one group. You are not the backup teacher for the whole bus.

Count out loud if the place is noisy enough that it helps, and quietly if it is not. A number you said is harder to lose than a number you only thought. Count before you walk to the next stop, and count again when you arrive. The second count is the one that catches the child who turned back for a bottle.

If your group is short an adult because someone woke up sick, tell the teacher before you leave the school door. Do not split their children across strangers to make the math work in the parking lot. The teacher may already have a plan for that. Your job is to say the number changed.

Then count your own group, if you are on the trip, and get on the bus.