Must See places for kids
There are so many places that I want to take my children, that there is no way I will be able to accomplish it all before they leave for college. Our oldest is 11 and with 1 or 2 big trips a year, I'd...
Forum Discussion
When my oldest was 10 and youngest 7 I decided I'd get them into every state, Mexico, and Canada to see what there was to see. It took some planning and we burned some gas but we got them in every state but Alaska by the time my oldest graduated high school. They'll have to get Alaska on their own. They've got their own kids that age now.
It was really good for them. When they talked about various locations in school it wasn't looking at a picture in a book and maybe, or maybe not, really understanding what it was they were reading about. They'd most likely been there and seen it.
When my daughter was in the 3rd grade during a parent-teacher conference her teacher commented that Mandy was a very nice child but she had a very vivid imagination and was prone to telling stories. We asked her to explain. She said as an example they had been talking about the Liberty Bell, Washington DC, and NYC. The teacher said whenever they talked about one of those places Mandy would volunteer that she had been there and seen them and then describe other things at those locations. I told the teacher it wasn't Mandy's imagination, that she really had been there as recently as the summer before school. The teacher replied "I owe Mandy an apology." The teacher said she'd never been to those places and didn't expect a 3rd grader to have seen them.
As we were dragging them all over the country they never fully appreciated it until they were older and started having kids. Take them anyway. A lot of families when/if they vacation go to the same place every year. The kids really don't see anything other than the same thing. No different than being at home.
It was really good for them. When they talked about various locations in school it wasn't looking at a picture in a book and maybe, or maybe not, really understanding what it was they were reading about. They'd most likely been there and seen it.
When my daughter was in the 3rd grade during a parent-teacher conference her teacher commented that Mandy was a very nice child but she had a very vivid imagination and was prone to telling stories. We asked her to explain. She said as an example they had been talking about the Liberty Bell, Washington DC, and NYC. The teacher said whenever they talked about one of those places Mandy would volunteer that she had been there and seen them and then describe other things at those locations. I told the teacher it wasn't Mandy's imagination, that she really had been there as recently as the summer before school. The teacher replied "I owe Mandy an apology." The teacher said she'd never been to those places and didn't expect a 3rd grader to have seen them.
As we were dragging them all over the country they never fully appreciated it until they were older and started having kids. Take them anyway. A lot of families when/if they vacation go to the same place every year. The kids really don't see anything other than the same thing. No different than being at home.
