Top 10 kid travel ideas--from our Mini-Club to you!
When traveling, most parents remember to bring along travel gear, entertainment and some form of a snack for their little ones. But, how many of us pack ideas to help our kids to discover the new place we are traveling to? Next time you travel, set some “exploration goals” for the kids and create an exciting discovery theme for your trip. Your little ones may return home knowing more than just how many snacks there are at Mini-Club.
Spot a local bird ( or animal species). For example: in Mexico find a Yucatan Woodpecker.
What is the name/status of the countries leader? For example: Dominican Republic: President Leonel Fernández.
Draw a picture of the native flag of the country you are visiting. For example: The Bahamas have a pretty blue, yellow and black flag.
Try a local delicacy and take home a local recipe! For example in Columbus Isle try the local fresh conch salad, prepared on the beach!
Learn a favorite local children's game, or try a local craft.
Learn greetings in native language. In Ixtapa learn how to say “hello, goodbye, see you later” in the Spanish language.
Take an excursion that will expose you to local culture. In Cancun, take a journey to Chichen Itza to discover the history of Mayan civilization. In Ixtapa, check out an eco-excursion as recommended by our expert Keith Rockmael on this site.
Give your children a small allowance of money in the local currency and let them buy themselves a souvenir while trying to figure out how much that item is and how to pay.
See if there is a local school that you can bring supplies to, or perhaps where there can be a pen pal system setup for your children to keep in touch with local children. Even if they do not speak the same language they can communicate through images.
Keep a diary for each day's activities. Make sure to take pictures that can be added at a later time. This will be the most precious keepsake for many years.
2 Comments
Kurt says Great ideas. We leave on Saturday for a trip to Ixtapa so I will pull together some ideas before we go. The daily diary will be fun to read in a few years when the details might get a bit fuzzy. Posted March 9, 2009, 11:33 am
Anna says Sounds like fun! My kids already take Spanish at school so they would have some time to practice what they have learned. Posted April 6, 2009, 9:30 pm