Planning your Field Trip
Reservations are required for field trips.
Space is limited, so please reserve a spot for your class today! We will review your registration and send a confirmation. If you haven’t heard a response from us within 48 hours, something’s gone wrong – call us! We have lots of schools who visit, and we have cut back on the number of students per day in order to have the program flow more smoothly. Preschool and day cares are encouraged to book their field trips in late September or the 1st week of October because we don’t have as many school visiting at that time and it’s much warmer for the children.
Field Trip Confirmation
Upon receiving your confirmation, you will receive a password for the curriculum guides. These are grouped by grades. Click the link here for those. Please share this information with your fellow teachers coming on the visit. We have also developed a page of information that your parents may find helpful. That can be downloaded here. Feel free to add whatever information you need to pass along to them
Sending Notes Home
When you send notices home with the children, please pass along that we restrict the number of chaperones to one per child and we do not allow siblings on field trips. This is a special time for parent and child. Dealing with toddlers and strollers can be distracting to the class and unexpected strollers are often cumbersome on our trips to the pumpkin patch. Encourage your parents to arrive on time or early if they are traveling on their own. Parents are welcome to bring their own lunches. We will have a limited menu available on the grounds during field trips.
Payment
Payment for chaperones and students is expected in one sum, either by cash, check, or credit cards. We are also glad to bill your school. It is critical that teachers know how many chaperones are attending and who they are. Parents do NOT pay separately! Checks should be made out to GLH Farms, LLC and can be mailed to 2915 Willow Rd., Harrisonburg, Va. 22802
Farm Attire
Please … wear your school ID’s where we can see them! For security purposes, we identify everyone on the grounds during field trips. We will wristband or use other forms of ID for all chaperones. It is helpful to our staff, but not necessary, for students to have a name badge with their first name and teacher name. Dress comfortably and in layers. The weather often goes from chilly in the morning to warm by mid-morning — and don’t forget comfortable walking shoes.
Warm Days
Bring water! The farm does offer bottled water for sale during field trips, but schools are encouraged to bring additional water to drink for both adults and children. With lots of physical activity, it is normal to consume more liquids.
Restrooms
We have handicap porta-potties located throughout the property with washing stations located next to each porta-potty and the farm animals. We recommend handwashing when leaving the farm animal area. There are also restrooms in the building.
Safety First
At Back Home on the Farm, extra efforts are taken to make sure that our guests will have a safe, enjoyable adventure. Almost all of our activities are handicap accessible. Safety rules are posted at specific activities and chaperones are encouraged to read them at each station. Please … make sure your children use the hand wash stations!
About the Corn Maze
The corn maze is an optional activity on the farm for field trips. Conquering the maze can take from 20 minutes to an hour. We usually open the maze for classes who wish to participate after lunch. Under NO circumstances should anyone enter the maze without staff present.
About our curriculum
Our field trips are tailored to accommodate various age groups. Teachers may choose activities that they feel are most age appropriate for their students or that fit into their time constraints. Please indicate these concerns on the comments section of your reservation so that we may plan accordingly.
