Traveling is the best kind of education, there’s no question about it. Especially for children since it is much easier for them to learn and memorize certain things when they see, touch or experience them. A well-traveled child tends to be more tolerant and has more confidence when dealing with everyday situations.
Traveling teaches children by giving them the opportunity to observe other cultures, other people, their religions, customs, and languages. Here’s how you can help your kids learn more during your family vacation.
Researching the travel destination
Include your children when making plans for your next vacation. Encourage them to look up encyclopedias or search the web to gather some interesting information about the destination. Looking up and learning about the travel destination will make them look forward to the trip, which is, in fact, half the fun. Ask your kids to search for fun activities they would like to do or places they would like to visit. That way you will see their interests and they will learn by comparing what they’ve discovered by reading and by experiencing the real deal.
Brainstorming and planning
Co-opting your kids in the planning process will help them develop the skills required for the travel planning. They will learn about critical thinking, the importance of researching, budget planning and money spending in general. These are the skills that will be very useful for them, especially when they are old enough to travel with their friends. This specific set of skills will help them save the money, prepare, plan the adventure, manage their budget and learn from every trip they go to.
Staying active during the trip
It is important to be active during your family trip. If you want your traveling to be educational, you should hire a tour guide that has a rich knowledge of the country’s history to help you teach your kids. Don’t spend your vacation just lying on the beach, instead, be active and explore the destination on foot. Stop and read what’s written under or on the monuments, visit art galleries, explore the popular and not so popular sights, take your kids to free group sports, etc.
Walk, walk, walk
Plan your next adventures to be active hiking holidays where both you and your children can learn by experiencing the true essence of the travel destination. There is no better way to discover the culture and customs of your travel destination than by infiltrating among the native people and observing their behavior. These types of walking holidays will help them learn and broaden their horizons, be more open-minded and understand that not everybody lives the same way.
Watch educational documentaries
A great way to help your children learn while traveling is to organize family documentaries nights, to prepare them before the trip. They will be able to ‘see it on TV’ and after in real life which will give them a whole new perspective on the travel destination and the sights. They will have fun spotting the ‘movie locations’ they’ve seen!
Capturing the sights
Giving your child a camera during the family vacation might be one of the best ways to actually see what they’ve learned and noticed along the way. Inspire your kids to take photos of the things that they find interesting, landscapes, certain sights, monuments, etc. If there are no tour guides they can ask for information, motivate them to search online the specific sight and explain to you and your partner what they’ve found. Not only they will memorize the facts but also they will be developing their research skills. And have an awesome story to tell in front of the class!
Help them learn from books and apps
You can take your kids to the local library as well and read the geography books together, the ones that are for their age. This way you will inspire them to imagine and learn while having fun and spending time with you. Download language-learning apps for kids and help them learn words or sentences. They will be happy to use the words they’ve learned to show off their knowledge!
Follow these simple tips to help your kids learn while traveling. Teach them about the world before they are old enough to start exploring every corner of it by themselves. Show them the importance of trying new things, experiencing different customs and discovering different cultures. Make every family trip educational, and you will be amazed how much it influenced your little one and made him/her a better person!
What do you during family travels? Have you used these adventures to teach your children? Any thought? Please share in the comments below. I really would love to know.
Until next time, shine amongst the stars!
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