How to Make Your Family Vacation Educational
Every parent wants the best for their family. The best isn’t always something you bring to them, though, but also something you inspire inside them.
Case in point: planning a vacation. You want to take them someplace fun and exciting and beautiful. You want them to enjoy every minute of it and come home feeling well-rested and fulfilled, with memories that will last their whole lives.
You know what else will last your family members for the rest of their lives? An education. Vacations are packed full of potential, not just for leisure and recreation, but for learning as well. Inspire a deeper understanding of the world around your children, without boring them to tears, with these helpful suggestions:
Visit the Right Attractions
The best and easiest way to make your family vacation educational is to plan visits to educational attractions. Include historic sites, museums, and similar activities alongside all the amusement parks, souvenir shops, and tourist traps.
Taking a trip to Disney World? Enjoy Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion, but stop by Epcot and the Hall of Presidents, too. Passing through North Carolina? One visit to the Discovery Place, with its interactive science exhibits and fun hands-on activities will have your kids dreaming of a career in STEM, and may even tempt you to look at Charlotte houses for sale.
Involve Kids in the Planning
Want to provide your young ones with some valuable lessons while also giving them a stronger sense of independence and cooperation? Get them involved with the vacation planning process. Sit down with them and have them participate in looking up map directions, making a travel budget, and designing an itinerary.
In doing so, your kids can learn about geography, math, and time zones in a way that is practical. Most importantly, they’ll feel more like active participants in their own education, rather than just passive students.
Experience Local Culture
When many of us think of an “educational vacation,” our minds often go first to historical landmarks, like the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, or the presidential monuments in Washington D.C. It’s important to learn not just from the past, though, but also from the present.
Remind your family, and yourself, that anytime you go anywhere, whether it’s a different country or just a different city, you’re experiencing a whole new culture. Embrace that. Don’t just stick to the usual tourist destinations. Explore what makes the local area special and unique. Try some regional cuisine, visit religious, artistic, and commercial sites, or learn the lingo.
