One of the main goals of organization is preventing things from becoming misplaced. For field-trips (or even large family outings), ensuring that no one gets lost in the crowds can be paramount.
Digital cameras, cell phones, designated rendezvous places, identifiable clothing, and a buddy system can all help to keep a group together.
As soon as you arrive at the site, have someone take a digital picture of the entire group. Not only will it be a great memento of the tour or excursion, but if someone is lost, you have a picture right on the camera screen that can help identify the missing child and the clothing they are wearing on that particular day.
Cell phones are becoming more and more prevalent and can be a great tool for keeping in touch if part of the group breaks off from the others. At the onset, have everyone carrying cell phones exchange phone numbers, or give everyone the cell phone number of a leader.
Establishing a central rendezvous spot can be helpful as well. Telling everyone at the onset, "If you are lost, we will meet at the waterfall by the front gate" can provide peace of mind.
Identifiable clothing can be a great tool to facilitate head-counting in a crowd. On a recent excursion to the zoo, my eyes quickly became trained to scan for boys in neon green striped shirts, and girls in hot pink with neon green polkadots. Because it was just a family outing, we could tailor to be especially distinctive. For a homeschool co-op consider issuing bright, matching t-shirts to everyone. The "uniform" shirts can be paired with denim to allow individuality while maintaining continuity. (Girls can pair them with jeans, jumpers or denim skirts, or even capris. Boys can choose shorts or jeans in a variety of styles.)
Finally, almost everyone is familiar with the buddy system. Pair everyone up with a "buddy" at the beginning of the outing, and have each person keep track of their partner at all times. I like the buddy system best when used in combination with several of the other strategies, as in a busy crowd sometimes two friends (or siblings) can be as easy to lose as one.
Field trips are fun: Prevent chaos by keeping everyone together.
Domestic Chaos Tamer and Homeschool Mom of Five, Dell writes about home, heart and hearth.
