Why travel is an important part of your child's development?
It is beyond any doubt that the best learning is not "delivered" to children, but learn from experience and built in collaboration with them. Explored, examined and argued over. Children learn best when they are engaged in their learning, when they develop a sense of ownership of the project which will spur participation and motivation. We don’t just want our little ones to acquire work skills from their education; we also want them to develop into civilized people who appreciate the breadth of human accomplishments.
Traveling is a valuable learning experience that combines all these factors.
Journey has a unique and profound ability to teach because instead of being told something, we can experience it.
In general, when traveling, you pick up a map and get ready to explore a new place. You will learn about where they are in the world, what languages they support, which religions they follow as well as you will meet new people with a different view on life and soon you will be part of it all. Traveling with children means sharing this experience with them, promote dialogue, cooperation, improve theirs life skills abilities and knowledge of history and culture of a place.
The scientific pedagogical reports of the PCK and the DSE indicate that children - of every age - learn a lot through travels. Touring contribute to the development of children into civilized young men and women who possess more knowledge and skills for life.
Traveling includes taking tours of museums, diving into nature, visiting cities, observing closely works of art and hand made products which come from different times and places, meeting people and listening stories. All these experiences affecting children's values such as: Empathy, Tolerance, Solidarity and Respect.
Empathy is most often defined by the metaphor of 'seeing through someone else's eyes'. It's the ability to understand how people from the past thought, felt, made and what life was like for people who lived in a different time and place as well as the is the capacity to understand and feel what another person is experiencing.
Here I would like to recall the words of C. Joy Bell:
"Empathy is the ability to step outside of your own bubble and into the bubbles of other people. Empathy is the ability that allows us to be useful creatures on this planet; without empathy, we are a waste of oxygen in this world. Without empathy, we are lower than animals. Empathy is the ability that allows us the perception of things around us, outside of ourselves; so a person without empathy is a limited human being, someone who will only live half of a life.”
It is from Empathy that the Tolerance, Solidarity and Respect take shape.
Art - in particular - gives to children the possibility to learn to express their emotions and feeling; encourages critical thinking and creativity, and help them to develop attention to detail skills.
Traveling help us and our little ones to grow and evolve in our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world we live in.
In summary, the scientists have demonstrated that young travelers can develop important competencies and the benefit is considerably larger particularly in comparison with school and extra-curricula activities (see figure below).
How to planning a successful travel with kids?
It can be very tough and full of challenges traveling with children and if you are not well organized a dream holiday can become a nightmare.
This must not discourage you because the benefits of travel are absolutely endless.
Giving young children an appreciation for travels encourages exploration, self-expression, logical thinking, self-esteem, imagination, and creativity. Once you've researched your destination, getting your children started on a few holiday-related projects before you leave. It is a great way to prepare them for what's to come. You could explore maps, or the history, geography, animal and plant life of your destination, or read books or watch a film that's set there.
Also prepare a list of possible children activities when you will be there and if you've more than one child, give each a turn to make choices from the activities list.
During the journey, encourage children to keep a journal where they can draw and list things they will see and neatly store photographs and postcard of each places. This is one of the ways to help your children preserve memories of your trip and get them involve throughout the entire trip.
If you plan and prepare for it correctly, it won’t be hard at all.
Before leaving for the holiday, It’s a good idea to check if there are tours that are specifically designed for families. They will certainly be able to help you with children and young people; engaging them in exciting, educational and fun activities and you can relax and enjoy your journey to the fullest.
"After The Sunset Tours", in addition to running tours for families in Rome, offers travel activities ideas and free printable game sheets for children of all ages. See more ideas about kids travel activities on After The Sunset Tours Pinterest's page and you also can read the article "How to create a memorable family holiday".
