Homeschooled students have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of field trips offered by the Forest Preserve District of Will County each spring and fall.
“Homeschooling has grown significantly in recent years,” said Lydia Pond, director of visitor services for the Forest Preserve District. “Many families are seeking structured, high-quality educational experiences outside of the home. We offer something at our facilities that is often hard to replicate at home — naturalist-led, hands-on programming in our preserves.”
During a recent Forest Ecology field trip for homeschoolers at McKinley Woods in Channahon, Forest Preserve program manager Jess McQuown introduced students to the layers of a forest, from soil and insects to trees and birds. Students also saw a garter snake and identified several tree species and learned of a recent sighting of a tiger salamander emerging from hibernation to lay eggs…