Field Trip Mom

We want to wish you lots of love, abundance, and happiness for the coming year 2018.

Field trips are always so much fun. During the winter season going on field trips can be difficult because of the weather. We want to keep you traveling and getting hands-on experience all year long. Here is a list of places you can visit during the cold season and get field trip experience.     Art and Cultural Centers -  The Art and Cultural centers are amazing during winter. They often offer special shows or artists that bring the season to life. Check their calendar of events to plan your next visit. The Bowers Museum   - https://www.bowers.org/ The Getty  - http://www.getty.edu/museum/ Mission Inn  - https://www.scfta.org/http://www.missioninn.com/ Segerstrom - https://www.scfta.org/events/detail.aspx?id=17317 Aquariums - Fish, Sharks and lots of marine life await to be admired by you and your family. Many aquarium's offer special events and deals during the week. Always check their calendar of events for the next family night deal because it could save y

Family and Thanksgiving is always a great time to get creative with a craft.  Make this fun and easy brown paper bag turkey decoration and have your guests wanting to take it home with them! It all starts with things you have around your house and a few you might need to purchase.  Let me share with you the items I used to make our table decorations: One brown bag, two small brown lunch bags, white paper (for the drumstick tips), tissue paper (stuffing for the inside), string, tape, a stapler, large popcorn bag from your favorite place and two small snack size bags of caramel corn or kettle corn.  Personal story: We wanted to make our own organic popcorn to gift our friends, so we tried to pop it ourselves over the stove top. We recommend you do not try this at home unless you are a professional cook. It took us several hours to make one Brown Bag Turkey to gift because we kept burning the organic popcorn. What we did to make things easier and improve the process of making seve

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Simple Halloween treat  for your family. Popcorn, Candy Corn  and a little food coloring spray will make this creepy hand. Ingredients you will need can be found at your local grocery store. The plastic glove is used to handle food. I found them in the paper plate and napkin isle. The plastic spider ring was purchased at my local party store. I made about 65 creepy hands for two classrooms. It took a few hours to put together. List of items for this project are as followed: Candy Corn, popcorn (already popped or pop your own), plastic food grade clear gloves, string to tie the bottom of the plastic glove, spray food coloring to color the popcorn (This is not necessary.) You can add a little spider ring or something to make it stand out.  This project is very flexible. Don't like popcorn or candy corn? No, problem. Use other ingredients that you enjoy. Candy, cereal, potatoe chips and Jelly beans work well too! Hope you have a wonderful Fall season. :)

Southern California offers many Fall, Harvest and Halloween events. Some of these are free to the public and others may require a small fee to attend. We make it easy for you to see these events on our calendar which is filled with things to do. See our  Facebook page Field Trip Mom , for many fun things to do in Southern California. Like our FB page and get updates as they are happening: https://www.facebook.com/FieldtripmomFTM/ Saint John Neuman Catholic Church will be hosting a fun Trunk or Treat. Please make sure to RSVP by contacting the church before attending. Location: 5101 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604 949-559-4006 Mount of Olives Church Trunk or Treat: Children in 5th grade and younger are invited to wear costumes and "trunk or treat" from car to car! This FREE night of fun for the whole family includes trunk or treating, carnival games,  candy  and music! Plus, they'll have food trucks selling dinner for those interested. Share this po

Katie Brown's DIY Homemade Halloween Mother Nature Costume video. Take a look and make your own. It is really easy to make. Happy Halloween.

It's back to school month. Most teachers are getting their classrooms ready for the next ten months. Their hopes are that all the planning they did during the summer pays off. Most parents do not know that state budget cuts have really impacted our public school system. These cuts don't allow for classroom supplies students need.  Basic items like Kleenex, pencils, and paper are no longer in the budget.  In Irvine, CA, we have an increase in the student population due to city growth and development.  Our schools are busting at the seams. Our middle school has 1100 students among grades 7th and 8th only. Teachers are given the bare minimum as a result of these budget cuts.  While many parents don't understand why teachers are asking for donations, the reason is quite simple.  Schools with higher student academic performance receive less funds from the state because the state feels the budgetary needs must go to areas with lower test scores to ensure those students can be p

Irvine, California is home to the Orange County Great Park . The city has partnered with Five Point Communities to create a beautiful place to play and live. They have been creating modern master-plan communities since 1971. This summer, the OC Great Park opened their 194 acre sports complex. It is part of the parks 1,300 acres that once was home of the U S Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The Marine base is an important part of Orange County history operating between 1942 - 1999. Now, the city of Irvine is creating a green space that could rival Central Park in New York. The Orange County Great Park Sports Complex has opened phase one including a championship soccer stadium, 6 lighted soccer fields, numerous athletic fields, beach volleyball courts, and 25 tennis courts with a pro shop and concessions.  The OC Great Park is located at 6950 Marine Way within the city of Irvine, home to more than 260,000 residents. It is the cities excellent public schools and safe city reputat

Cabazon, California is home to some of the largest dinosaur art pieces that we have ever seen. Mr. Rex and Dinny have been greeting road trip folks since 1975. These gentle giants reside outside a small museum offering kids and adults a fun experience. Most people consider this a nice break from driving long distances. Nearby, there is a Burger King restaurant and Hadley's Fruit Orchard for people to grab a bite to eat. The area is an unofficial rest stop for drivers on the 10 freeway.  Not too far from the Cabazon Dinosaurs, you can take a longer break with a stay at the Morongo Casino  and Spa. Neighboring the casino is the Cabazon Outlet Mall, which is a giant outdoor shopping oasis hosting many famous name brand products. Both the casino and outlet shops are usually packed with people enjoying staycations.  Artist,  creator and sculptor of these realistic roadside attractions, Claude Bell, worked and retired from Knott's Berry Farm .  We find this  Knott's Berry

We took a family field trip to Natural History Museum of Los Angeles which made for a great Saturday afternoon. We played, learned and made memories. It was one of the most fun things we have done this summer!  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles has opened a new exhibit. The Story of P-22 Mountain Lion exhibit is now open for the public to explore. This exhibit will help you understand why we need to protect these amazing cats.  Family friendly museum - While you visit the Natural History Museum you will find there is something for everyone. Dinosaur fossils, Gem and Minerals, Insect Zoo just to name a few of the exhibits that are permanent. Spending an entire day is not enough time to explore this remarkable landmark of Los Angeles.  Family field trips are an amazing way to help your children discover their passion. We recommend that you visit Natural History Museum this summer or add it to your bucket list of things to do. 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱 🐱🐱🐱🐱

A mountain lion in the middle of Hollywood. The scientists named him P-22 because he is the twenty-second puma that has been found and studied. The cat is now deceased but his brave story will be seen on the big screen. The trailer gives us a glimpse into his incredible life. To screen the movie, please contact https://thecatthatchangedamerica.com/ Studying P-22 then consider these sources: https://nhm.org/site/ http://www.nwf.org/Save-LA-Cougars/P22-Mountain-Lion.aspx http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-griffith-park-mountain-lion/ http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/12/25/movies/cougar-p22-the-cat-that-changed-america-a-mountain-lion-documentary-film/2408.html Disclaimer: Not a sponsored post.

Right outside of Irvine, California in between homes and businesses, there is a small quiet park. It is filled with large trees and a small creek. The park offers a playground area and facilities which are open to the public. This is a perfect place to have your kids run, jump and explore nature. We often take the kids here to look for butterflies and squirrels. We do not suggest playing in the creek because the water looks a little suspect but it is still visually appealing to the overall scenery. The fallen leaves and branches on the ground could be turned into natures treasures for children to explore. The park connects to Serrano Creek Trail which is approximately 13.3 miles.  We suggest you bring a picnic lunch or snacks because you won't want to leave Serrano Creek Park. It has some of the most beautiful trees and walking trails. The trees cover you in a gentle shade and protect you from the sun. This park is truly nature in the midst of the city.  You can visit the pa

Groupon coupons are here to help us save money on life's essentials, travel and entertainment. Our family  uses coupons to help make our dollars stretch. For us, every dollar matters. We clip coupons, search for promo codes and find deals before we open our wallets.  This week, we are using the free Groupon   site filled with coupon codes, discounts and special offers. Today, we are using them to save on Back to School Shopping at Target .   Groupon is   working with 9,000 retailers to give shoppers over 70,000 discount opportunities.  This means there is savings for every style of shopper. Disclaimer: Sponsored Post. #AD Old Navy , HomeDepot , JcPenny and many more well-known brands are on the Groupon site offering discounts on your next purchase. We recommend reviewing   the complete site to see all of the coupon choices allowing you to maximize your discounts.  Some of the deals require email sign-up. It only takes a few minutes to sign-up to see the coupons start r

Recently, Aquarium of the Pacific and Harbor Breeze took us out in search of Blue Whales. This was not our first trip and we knew what to expect. The kids and I felt comfortable sailing away on a perfect Tuesday morning. What would happen next was truly unexpected. As we sailed away, my children sat and enjoyed the view. They quietly nestled onto the top deck, smelled the ocean breeze and searched for wild life in the sky and sea. They seemed at peace and connecting with nature. It was weird! They weren't asking a million questions or feeling anxious. Previous trips in search of whales in the Pacific Ocean had not been this quiet. With a very calm demeanor they  would look into the vast ocean hoping to high-five a Blue Whale. Ahhhh....after an hour, I realized that they were not connected to the television, cellphone or video game. We were unplugged and reconnecting with our surroundings. It was beautiful to see our children be one with nature. Disclaimer: Sponsored post.