Traveling to Learn

​By the time our daughter was 15 years old she finally caught onto what we'd been doing since she was about 5 years old ... educating her while we were on vacations.  The summer after she turned 15 we took her on a 14 night cruise through the Panama Canal.  We insisted that she be up at 5:00 AM on the day we entered the canal (letting her go back to sleep after we went through the first set of locks).  Her complaint was a simple one:  "why do I have to learn anything? I'm not missing any school for this cruise."  My answer?  "Because we're paying for you to be on this cruise."  Since she couldn't afford to reimburse us for her share of the cruise, she grudgingly gave in.

The irony was that in the following school year she had to do a 10 page report and in-class presentation in World History.  The topic she drew?  Yup.  The Panama Canal.  At that point she regretted not going to any of the onboard seminars with the Panama Canal expert (she did end up emailing her with questions, a lot).

We have always been firm believers of making vacations fun, interesting, and educational.  I blame my parents, who were both teachers.  It also helped that when my parents took our daughter on summer RV road trips there was always an element of education involved.  My mom had our daughter journaling every day they traveled (dictating before she could write); working on basic English skills, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, writing descriptive prose, etc. (my mom was an English major after all).  There was also art and photography lessons involved.  

Fun, but Educational
It's not too hard to figure out really.  A trip to Carlsbad Caverns could turn into a lesson about geology.  A stop a The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, would be steeped in history about the war with Mexico and how Texas became a state.  Even trips to Disney World can be educational, learning about animals at Animal Kingdom, or about different countries at EPCOT.  Disney also offers a range of behind the scenes tours that have elements of education hidden throughout.

People have varying opinions about animals kept in captivity (i.e. zoos, Sea World, aquariums, etc.).  Your personal views will determine if you visit these places for educational reasons.  One of my nephews, while visiting my parents during the summer, volunteered at a bird sanctuary.  He's now studying Marine Biology in college.  

Education does not simply mean reading text books and taking tests.  When planning your family vacations, focus on what is not covered in school these days, as well as reinforcing what is covered.  Sciences, history, social sciences, languages, music and the arts can all be addressed during vacation.  You can also find ways to reinforce math and English skills.

Doing a road trip?  Map reading is a fundamental skill that you can teach your kids, along with reinforcing math skills (determining how many miles left to your next stop, figuring out how long it'll take to get there based on the average speed driven, etc.).  

Depending on your kids' ages, have them research the states or countries you'll be visiting, and let them participate in researching and planning where you'll go, what you'll do and see.  You can also spur their interest about places you'll visit by having them read books based on the area.  For example, if you were planning a trip to Prince Edward Island in Canada, you might have your child read Anne of Green Gables (if it is age appropriate).   If you were visiting Monterey and Salinas in central California, books written by John Steinbeck might be appropriate.  

Education can be personal history as well.  Did a grandfather or great-grandfather land at Normandy in WWII?  Did you have an ancestor tried in the Salem Witch Trials?  Or an ancestor that immigrated to the United States from Europe?  Vacations can be customized around your personal family history.

Education never has to be boring!

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