But more and more parents are looking for vacations to be a learning experience, too. What better way, for example, to soak up history than in London, or Paris, or Colonial Williamsburg?
Not that you need famous locales: any destination has opportunities for learning, with the right attitude.
Broadly speaking, education-vacations come in four styles:
- i nformal learning while traveling :we can all do this pretty easily, just by focusing on what's of interest
- homeschooling through travel: some families embark on major odysseys
- escorted tours: that combine learning with fun
Informal learning while traveling
Whether you're observing the Web of Life on a camping trip, or climbing Mayan ruins, anywhere can be a good place for your kids to learn about nature, history, culture... whatever fits.
Not all of us, however, are gifted teachers; we need help, usually in the form of that time-honored repository of knowledge-- books.
For a trip to the Yucatan, my sons and I found terrific books on Mayan history in the children's section of the library. In our (TV-less) evenings, we learned a lot about the people who'd built complex cities centuries ago.
Regular travel guidebooks can be great resources, but it's worth the effort to get kids' books with lots of pictures.
Here are some other ways to add learning to a vacation:
- when you're at a museum, play "Postcard I-Spy": head to the giftshop and buy a bunch of postcards; then have your children locate the real-life paintings or statues. (The kids will focus on the art displays and learn to recognize the museum's major works.)
- on nature trips, have a scavenger hunt: have the kids find certain flowers and plants.
- -create a family travel newspaper about your trip
( Tips from Travel Wise with Children:101 Educational Travel Tips for Families.)
Tours" that include learning with the fun
Several types of escorted tours welcome children and combine education and fun.
- " Family Adventures"are a nice niche in the travel world: escorted group tours will take you to some of the world's most fascinating places -- from Yellowstone National Park, to the Galapagos, to the great cities of Europe, to an African safari- with terrific itineraries, knowledgeable guides, special activities for kids, and all details and logistics handled. Have a look at a number of Family Adventurecompanies: some will customize trips for just your family.
- Ecotours : in some regions, ecotourism companies have mushroomed. In Costa Rica, for example, many ecotourism tours are geared for families; likewise in the Galapagos, ecotours flourish.
- Ecological organizations: some organizations offer trips that welcome kids. For example, The Sierra Club has extensive travel programs including family trips. Also, organizations such as aquariums often plan group trips.
Bottom line: more and more families these days want to add a learning component to their vacations. And the good news is that you can have "education vacations" in so many enjoyable and different ways.
