Build Your Own Toddler Field Trip Group

We share how we built a simple field trip group that helped our only child make friends while we found our own sense of community. We walk through the mindset, practical steps, and gentle routines that turn small outings into meaningful connection. 
• starting with the heart behind gathering people and building belonging 
• creating Little Local Adventures from stay-at-home life 
• asking two planning questions about atmosphere and exploration 
• keeping the group small at first and building from there 
• using local shops for hands-on learning and sensory discovery 
• pitching a business owner with curiosity and respect 
• adding optional buying with a clear price range 
• checking parking and distance to keep trips smooth 
• trying a “meet the pet” visit where kids teach kids 
• doing safety homework and setting kind boundaries 
• sending thank you notes and using kid-friendly reflection prompts 
• staying patient while friendships grow and being a friend to yourself first 
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Transcript

Welcome To Family Of One Child

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hi there and welcome to the Family of One Child podcast. I'm 4 Comment, a wife, a part-time working mom, and a full-time believer in making the most of every joyful and sometimes busy moment of raising an only child. If you're ready for real stories, plenty of laughter and parenting tips, you're in the right place. So let's dive into this adventure together. Hi friend and welcome back. Now, before I became a wonderful mom, I was also a lovely person who naturally brought people together. I enjoy creating team building moments and group activities. Whether it was just me or one friend or a whole group, it was simply part of who I enjoy, you know, I enjoy doing it, helping people feel seen and helping them they feel, I mean, they feel like they belong to a group. So maybe that came from being the youngest of five siblings in a Samoan family. I always felt loved and included. And even when I didn't appreciate it, can you believe it? During those times as a teenager, teenager, when I thought I knew everything and I just wanted to be independent, I want to do things my own way. You know, during those times when we have family activities, family events, I'm like, are you kidding me? I want to do my own thing. Yeah, I had those moments too. So when I became a mom at 40, I know you don't a mom at 40, right? Amazing. And I had the opportunity to be a full-time stay-at-home mom for a season. It felt completely natural to build a little community for my daughter and myself, and that's how I started the little local adventures. It was such an amazing group, and it was a small idea that grew into something beautiful. So in this episode, I wanted to share the process I used to build a field trip group for myself and my toddler at the time. I started when she was about two years old. That's when I built the Little Local Adventures Group. And I wanted this group to be more than just activities. I wanted many full connections. I wanted moments where I could actually see my daughter's heart and she could see mine. And I wanted us to learn to explore and grow together in our community outside the home. So, what did your friend do? Well, for three years, I organized discovery trips for stay-at-home moms, and sometimes we had about 30 to 40, 30 to 40 families join this group. Now they weren't all stay-at-home moms, they were grandparents, they were part-time stay-at-home parents, and so it was a busy and joyful, joyful group, and it taught me so much about what really mums needed. So it was really wonderful. I had mums with an only child, I had mums with multiple children, and I also had grandparents looking after their children, and so I had such an awesome mixture. Also had homeschoolers and their children, they their age range from newborn to the oldest, might have been about 15 at the time. And even though I don't run those big groups anymore, because I stopped running little local ventures when my daughter, when she was about five and she started going to preschool, maybe when she was four, that's when I stopped this group. That season of little local ventures really helped me to learn more about my child, about myself, and the community around us. Okay, so my hope for you today in this episode is to give you simple, doable ideas so you can organize your own gentle field trips, whether it's for two or three families, or even just for you and one other mom who needs connection as much as you do. And I notice for me, you know, being a mom with an only child, having that connection for myself and my child of similar age to form uh you know a really good friendship. Oh, that's heartwarming, isn't it, for any parent? So before you plan anything on paper, this is very important, moms. You're listening, watching, pause and ask yourself. Before you plan anything on paper, ask yourself this what atmosphere do I want my child to feel today? You're wanting creative atmosphere, an adventurous atmosphere, a safe and curious. Because you first need to ask yourself, what are you wanting you and for your child to feel this experience? What kind of experience are you wanting? And then the next one is what do you want to explore together? These two questions really helped me when I was looking for locations and different parts of the community of what I wanted to learn, where I wanted to explore, what I wanted to discover. I wanted to make sure my first my first thing that I'm going to that my first thing that I want to achieve is for my child. I wanted my child to make sure that they are getting the best learning, exploring, and discovering experience that I can create for them before anyone else is involved. You want to ask yourself this. What do we want to explore together? Meaning you and your child. So this is your hard homework. This is where you start here. So planning doesn't feel like a chore, it gives you an excitement, like a joyful, like whoo, okay. This I know my child, for example. If they're really into cars, you're looking around in somewhere like, where can I explore something that we both can learn and discover together? And then how can I create that meaningful field trip for my child? And then once you figure that out, then you invite one other mom, or maybe you can invite maybe two of your friends. Remember, it does not have to be bull. I mean, it does not have to be big, it needs to be first for your child, and you want to make it simple because you are the one that's exploring it, right? You're you're doing the work. Okay, so I remember one of our trips that we went on. There is a local candy store, a chocolate store in our uh town, and so they make their own chocolates. So I reached out to the owner and I shared that our group was curious and we wanted to learn the heart of their store. You know, I asked if they would be willing to show the kids how they make their candies and chocolates. When I say this, because we're interested, we want to learn what the products are being, you know, what shops are selling, and we want to learn about it. And so when you say this, a lot of the shops absolutely love to share. And this chocolate shop was no different. They the owner shared about the ingredients they use with the group and to how they make what their chocolates, and the children even got to smell and touch, like they had like a sample of a vanilla bean, and they had it in a container, and you can just open it up and you like let the kids smell it, the vanilla bean and things like that. And then he invited the children to stand. They had this like little viewing window, so you can stand on one side, and then you can watch on the opposite side the worker make the chocolates in real time. So it was amazing, and right there through the window, you know, the kids watch and pour the chocolate and stir it and shape it to what they were doing, and you could see their faces. We have so many cool photos, and they're like looking, and then they were they got to ask questions as well, which was amazing. It's really nice because when you go into the shop, there's certain times that they make the chocolate on certain days, and then if you don't know what day it is, you you're just gonna see the product already being made. But this time you got to experience how they make it. So then here once again, he explained why or where they got their cocoa from and why they chose this particular, you know, some of the the cocoa beans and the special utensils they use and how they handle the chocolate and such care. You know, it really felt like gentle science lesson wrapped up in sweetness. So after the demonstration, the kids got to sample a variety of chocolates. So isn't that amazing? You get to learn about the ingredients, you get to hear and see you know what they're using, and then you get to watch how they make it, and then they're explaining the technique, and then afterwards, you get to sample the chocolates that that they had made. So, altogether, you're using all of your senses, and so afterwards, then a variety they got to taste a variety of different chocolates, and of course, you know, the parents, we got the opportunity to purchase the chocolates afterwards, which made the store owner so happy and appreciated because not only are you discovering about the store, you're also supporting the store because you you're purchasing, and so when I was organizing this uh field trip group, I would give my moms plenty of notice and say, Look, there is going to be available, there's gonna be a time where you can purchase the products, and then I would give them a price range, so I would make sure that the store store owner had something at a lower pri lower, so at least someone was able to purchase something with at least a dollar, for example, and then you know it just went up depending on how much chocolates you had. So there was something for everyone, but he also gave if you didn't not want to say, for example, well, you don't want to buy it, at least you got to sample some chocolates as well. So whether you purchase it or not, everyone got to taste something, but once again, I did encourage appearance if you would like to, you and then I think he gave some discounts as well. So isn't that wonderful? But if you don't have see, like what I don't have a chocolate shop or a candy shop in my area, you know, don't worry, that was just an idea to spark your you know, like like what creativity is you can take the same concept and apply it anywhere seriously. Maybe there's a bakery in your town, a bakery or a donut shop. Okay, so if you do have a bakery or a donut, this is how I would approach it. Remember, ask yourself, what do I want my child to learn, explore, and discover together? So before you even reach out to the owner or the store manager of that shop, and you see a bakery shop of mine, ask yourself, you're thinking of that bakery or donut shop, you want to ask, What do I want my child and I to learn together, explore, and discover together, and then write it down whatever that reason is. Then you ask yourself this one how can we use all five senses to make this a meaningful experience? You can ask the manager after the tour, and once our kids see, once our people in our group see how you make, for example, the donut product, and is there something fun that we could do? For example, each person would have a donut. So ask the owner, is it okay after the tour or after you explain and show the ingredients and we learned how you make the donut? Could we have one donut each where each person gets to decorate a donut? Maybe you have a small icing in a container with one topping, and that's where the magic happens when you join in with your child, you're sitting beside them, you're decorating together, and it turns an activity into a shared experience. That's such a cool thing because you're both learning about the process, you saw saw, you know, you're seeing with your own eyes how they make it, and then you get to taste the donut. And so from the beginning to the end moment, you're both learning, seeing, tasting, and this is what makes the experience together. Other than just going into the store and like, oh look, there's a donut, you're actually taking more time to learn, understand, and get to know what goes on with this donut store. And for example, if the store, like the owner here, explains, oh, we use this particular flour, when he might say, Do you know where the flour comes from? Which one could lead to another field trip idea? For example, our local town has a flour mill where kids can see how flour is made, and they use old wooden machines, like I shouldn't say old wooden machine, but they use wooden machines, but that's another episode. So it's letting your child see how something is made, and then you get to meet the people who make it, and then discovering a tiny piece of your community that you've never noticed before, and that's very important because you're both learning at the same time of things you might overlook past, you know, in your community, and now you're just taking the time to discover that piece of the community, which is so awesome, and so also remember when you're going to these locations, another tip is just check the locate um the parking because for me I always made sure when I went to these locations, walking distance to the door to where people would park their cars would be about five to ten minutes because I did not want any of my one, I didn't want to walk like 20 or 15 minutes to get to the location. No, thank you. I just wanted to be at least five to ten minutes because if you have a friend that has a child, for example, they might have a double stroller, you have a friend with multiple children, or there might be like I don't know, lots of traffic. You want to make this field trip very a smooth experience for you and your friends, so you want to sort out those details before you tell anyone what the location is. Before we keep going, I want to pause and say hello to some of the wonderful moms that have tuned into this episode. I love doing this because it reminds me that this little village is building across countries and across time zones, and I want to say hello and give you all a shout out. Uh, to Ashburn, Virginia. Hi to the mom there, Ashburn, Virginia. Welcome to the podcast Springfield, Massachusetts. That's Springfield, Massachusetts. Thank you, you are amazing, and to the mom in Leeds, Leeds, hello and welcome. That's to the mom, the wonderful mom in Leeds, Leeds, and the other wonderful mom from New Britain, Connecticut. I want to thank you so much for tuning in. You are amazing to the mom in Sydney, New South Wales. Welcome to the Family of One Child podcast, and you are amazing too, and to the mom in Cranberry, Australia, Capital Territory. Hello, and thank you so much, mom. You're amazing. And to Goshen, Indiana, mom, you know that you are wonderful as well. So each of these moms, once again, mom in Ashburn, Virginia, to the amazing mom, Springfield, Massachusetts, the amazing mom, Leeds and Leeds, and the mom in New Britain, Connecticut, and to Sydney, New South Wales, and to the Amazing Mom Cranberry, Canberry, sorry, Canberry, Australian Capital Territory, wonderful Goshen, Indiana. Thank you all for listening to this podcast. You all are so amazing. And if you don't hear your city today, it's not because I didn't see you, it's because I pulled these previous listeners before I was able to get to you. But the next time I will get to you in the next episode, okay. So another getting back to the the the podcast, another beautiful field trip that is just really low pressure is an idea is visiting a friend's home to meet a pet. You're like, what? So maybe one of your friends, their child has a bunny, a cat, a dog, chickens, guinea pigs, anything. Maybe someone in your group has an animal. Now, wait a minute, this is where the child gets to be the teacher. Yes, you know, they show the group how to care for their pet, what they eat, what they love, you know, children teaching children, and it's really good because you know we all know if anything is like my child, we have a guinea pig, five crabs, three seven fish, one guinea pig, one horse, three cats. Am I building an ark? And some cats' house hide. And I think there's a groundhog that we've been feeding to. Oh my boy. And you know that we are most likely looking after the animal. So, but it's interesting when your child shares what how they look after the animal, what they eat, you know, what the animal eats, what equipment, you know, what kind of bedding they use. It's such an amazing, uh, teachable moment where you hear them talk and share. So that's another idea, and your job is just for the safety homework, mom. You gotta do the safety homework ahead of time. So if your friend does have an animal or you wanna be the host, just make sure that the animal is comfortable with the visitors. So you'll know if your friend says, Ah, I don't think my bunny rabbit would really like five children holding maybe just one or two. So you want to figure out which families or an ideal number people come in because we you want to make sure that everyone, kids and animals, feel safe and happy when you know people are coming to to visit them. Because we all understand how children's voices can get accepted. Excited, they can get a little loud and a little hot, a little fast, and their hugs can get so tight, you know, because their thusiasm, they love the cute little animals so much, and they just want to hug and hug and hug, like oh, okay, and they hold on tight. So having that conversation with the mom beforehand helps set gentle boundaries, like kind hands, soft hands when you're touching the animal, and this helps keep everyone in the animal safe, and everyone is enjoying the time together. So you can ask these are little tips. Ask the mom how many families are comfortable, are you comfortable having at your house? You know, some homes are perfect for small groups, two or three families, and once again, with the parking, just ask the moms if there's enough parking room in front of their house, depending on where they live. So after the visit, when you visit or even if it's at your friends hosting this event, make sure you send a thank you note to the host. You know, this makes them feel seen and appreciated, and that's how you build, you know, a good thankful appreciation to your community, and you can also use this as a writing, a positive writing experience for the children in your group. So when we had a field trip, I sometimes I would ask one of the mums, would any of the children, like I would pick a family, just write a thank you note to that shop? And if they weren't able to, then I would. That's just something to think about, and then I use a reflection page for my child. I would ask her, so what did you enjoy seeing today that generally people don't get to see? And I would say, What is something that you notice? So you want to ask these questions because you want to when you take time and maybe you journal, it's good to note down what you notice about your child, maybe something you didn't know before, because maybe they ask questions like the donuts, you know, they're more interested on not so much the taste, but they learn about the machines. So you're like, Oh, there I could see they're really asking about how the machines are made. So if they're interested on how the machines are made, you could go to like a hardware store and find something similar, like they like the gadgets, something like that. You can like build on the learning experiences, and remember, mom's friends take time, building friends take time, but most of all, be a friend to yourself first. You're listening to this, you are amazing, mom. So take time for yourself. You know, building a village and community, it surely takes time. Sometimes it's gonna like you're not gonna see anything, like man, I'm just putting into this friendship and not seeing it, but eventually you'll see the good fruit. So I just wanted you to know that you are doing a great job, you are doing amazing, and so if today's conversation stirred something in your heart and you're saying, Oh, these few simple steps to help me build my own, you know, little field trips, I have created a free kit just for you. I have I seriously have created a free kit for you. It includes the expanded jump start field trip planner, the host pitch scripts, the mom and daughter reflection journal, and a couple of gentle resources. Tools I had uh created, I created from the field trips, and I just wanted to share something free for you so you can use them. There's no email required, there's no extra work. You just click on the link in the show notes and you can download them when you're ready. It's my gift to you. So if you're thinking and you're wanting to know how to build your own field trick group, I have given you some free resources that you can use, and you don't have to do anything with them right now, it's just whenever you want to use it. Before we close today, I just want to say thank you for being here. Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your day and letting me sit with you in the middle of your real life, the dishes, the laundry, the car seats, the noise, and also the quiet. If this episode has made you breathe a little bit deeper, or feel a little bit more seen, would you do me a small favor? Just a small favor. Can you just tap the subscribe button so I can keep showing up for each of you each week? That tiny tap helps me and tells me to keep going, keep pressing on, keep showing up for the Family of One Child podcast. You know, you don't have to write a review or anything, just that quiet tap of subscribe that helps me out. And wherever you're listening today, if you're in the kitchen, your car, your couch, or you're walking, I'm so grateful you're part of this community, you are doing the best you can with the time that's given, with the resources you have for the community you're in. You are the best mom for your child, and you are amazing. So if you have any more questions about the resources or this field trip episode, plug give me a feedback if you want, and I will love to help you. If you're saying I have this idea of a field trip, can you help me up a bit? And I will love to do that. Just type field trip and I will get back with you and I can see how I can help. Okay, then, or use the resources, it's there. The resources help me, and I was able to build just meaningful connections with myself and my child. So thank you very much. I will catch you in the next episode. This is your four, your friend. Oh, and I wanted to say, isn't it funny? The last episode I was editing and I did not edit out the burps. Oh my goodness. So I apologize. If there if you were one of the first ones, and then you listen to the episode, there was quite a few burps, and then I think I did like a and the reason why I did that is to show when you're editing, there's like um a frequency, and then you can you can when you edit, you know where to cut it, and then cut that part out and restart it to where you want it. Oh my goodness, I was telling my husband, I was listening to it, I think a few days later. Just to make sure and that everything I said is not too bad. And then I heard a burp. Oh my word, I could not believe it. I was like, Oh, did I just burp? And then I realized I uploaded the episode that I didn't not fully edit 100%, it was like 90%, and I was so like embarrassed. So I apologize if you're a mom and you're and you're like, Does she just burp? And then she burped again, and then she's like woo woo woo woo woo. Oh my word. So now that you know if I can do it through my burps, sometimes, and you're thinking of starting a podcast with an only child, you can do it too, friend. Okay, so take care. God bless. I will catch you in the next episode. Bye.