Homeschool Lunar New Year Field Trip

Why Lunar New Year Field Trip?

Couple weeks ago, it was Lunar New Year or Tet in Vietnamese. To keep the tradition, I have been trying to create a Tet atmosphere in our home, like cleaning and decorating the house, cooking authentic tradition dishes, preparing red envelopes and going to temples and Tet festivals.

Because of Covid, there were no festivals this year. However, we live in the DC area; it has a large Vietnamese community in Fairfax county. Over the years, the Vietnamese entrepreneurs have formed a little community where Vietnamese can come enjoy authentic Vietnamese foods and culture. It is called Eden Center.

Eden Center is a Vietnamese American strip mall located near Seven Corners in Falls Church, Virginia. It has created an anchor for Vietnamese culture serving the Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania areas. People are coming here for Pho soup, Banh Mi (sandwich), bakeries, markets, clothes, jewelries, nail supplies, hair salons. You can find out more about it with the links below.

Throughout the year, people have hosted so many cultural events at Eden Center. It is fun to bring family there to enjoy food and introduce traditional celebrations to our kids. Sadly, since Covid and shut down happened last March 2019, they haven’t hosted any event including Lunar New Year.

However, to make the best out of it, I took my kids to Eden Center like other times, get food, enjoy the vibe of Tet by buying Tet flowers and fruits to decorate the house. But this time I did it a little bit differently because I took them there during our homeschooling hours. I didn’t want them to miss a day or off schedule. It was hard to get them into our homeschooling routine after months. Instead, I combined both learning and having fun at the same time. The trip to Eden Center this time had a purpose. It was more meaningful for my kids this time than other times. It was about them and for them. They felt in control.

What Do We Do There?

We always do the same things at Eden Center, go to the same stores, buy the same food and drinks. My kids’ favorite is enjoying their Banh Mi So 1 and bubble smoothies while watching their educational/documentary videos on the way back. Blaming on me for creating that habit; however, it gets my kids excited to join me for the trip. They look forward to it every time, maybe 1 in a couple months.

My 4 years old baby girl was fully aware that we didn’t go there often. Before leaving, she gave me the list of what she wanted for her lunch, breakfast and dinner.

Because it was a last-minute idea that came to my mind, so I didn’t have time to prepare. We rushed out before the snowstorm came. I didn’t have a list for us to do or teach them. I quickly grabbed snacks, water, small notebooks and pencils. We did schoolwork in the car: writing lists, spelling, learning how to order food and pay with real money, interacting with adults. This trip covered writing, spelling, social communication, planning, and math. In addition, they also learnt about animal lives and reading from the videos.

First, they got their purses. I gave my son a budget to work with. He wanted to bring all his savings. But I asked him to bring enough to buy for lunch which was around $13 for 1 Vietnamese sandwich and a smoothie. I gave him a $15 budget.

While driving to Eden, I asked them to write down a list of what they wanted to get. This way, I got my son into his writing and spelling for the day. This gave him a chance to practice on a writing list. For my daughter, I asked her to write the first letter of each item she wanted to get or numbers of items she planned to get.

After writing down their list, I worked with them on ordering their own food. Of course, 4 years old couldn’t do it for the first time without proper practice. I didn’t expect her to do it on her own. However, I worked with my son for 10 minutes, if not more, on how to order on his own.

When we got to Eden, we went to get smoothies first and then got their sandwiches. My 6 years old boy kind of knew what to do, but it was so uncomfortable for the first time. I was thankful for no line because we went there early before lunch. All the ladies were so patient and kind to him while taking his orders. They made him feel courage and proud instead of being judged.

What Did We Learn?

The most important lessons for us were more valuable than the social study, math and writing lessons we tried to sneak in during this trip.

For my daughter, it was a fun trip day. She got what she wanted, and she was happy. Practicing wearing a mask for an hour or more wasn’t easy for 4 years old. Getting into habits of washing hands and hands sanitizing needed more practices by getting out of the house and doing it. It was a great practice for her. In addition, it created a habit for her going shopping with me. We had plans and followed our plans. When she asked for candies or cookies that were not on the list, she knew the answers and didn’t whine about it.

For my son, it was a huge experience that he paid for his own food with real money. You could hear the story for days whenever he got to talk to a human being. In addition, he learnt speaking clearly when ordering his food was important because his sandwich had cilantro that he didn’t like. He was about to complain and didn’t want to eat his food. I reminded him that I told him in advance that speaking clearly and slowly when ordering your food so people could hear him was important. Because of that warning and reminder, he took his own responsibility, learnt the consequences, and solved his problem there without complaining or blaming others. I think that was a huge lesson, and I was proud that he took it well.

For me, I learnt that I assumed a lot in teaching and educating my children. I learnt talking and actually doing it were 2 different things. Real actions and doing it were important practices. Without letting him order and paying for his own food, I didn’t know what he didn’t know and what I should teach him. The trip prepared and gave me ideas for the next month’s lessons on math and communications. Not only that, from now on, whenever we do a trip even to supermarkets with them, I can turn it into useful lessons. I see lessons everywhere I go now. It was an eye-opening moment for me.

How to Have a Better Trip Next Time?

Here are some tips I learn to plan a better trip next time:

Have to plan homeschool field trip in advance
Set up a budget for your kids or even for parents
To avoid the crowd, choose the time wisely or maybe even call in advance and ask for when their slow times/days are
Treat it as a deschooling day, going with their leads and let them explore through their passions and interests
Pack snacks, drinks, baby wipes and hand sanitizer as always
Ask them to plan out what they want to learn or do during the trip
Do research on the location/place in advance to make sure everyone is ready for the trip or surprises like any hazards or restrictions
Think ahead about eating
Let them have fun and enjoy without journaling or worksheet

You can find more information about Lunar New Year and Eden Center in VA. Please check the links below.

Eden Center in VA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_Center

Lunar New Year Virtual Field trip for kids: https://jonesinfortaste.com/chinese-new-year-virtual-field-trip-for-kids/#h-vietnam