Traveling with a six-year-old, what to do when she gets bored of walking?
T.R.H.
will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
claims that she is tired...
How do people deal with this?
Here are some of te things we got so far:
- A colleague at work is recommending a stroller, even though she is
beyond that age.
(Are there any special carriages for a 6-year-old kid?)
- We are also planning to take turns to occupy her with reading,
puzzles, playing, etc. while the other visits the site of interest.
- Resting more often as a family, say, every two hours.
- Promising an award/treat if she goes along with us without fussing.
(I used this successfully on our short hikes here, it seems to work
sometimes!)
Thanks for all the suggestions,
Ahmet Toprak
http://www.kkup.org/toprak.html
Robyn Kozierok
T.R.H. <trk...@attbi.com> wrote:
>We will be traveling with our six-year-old daughter soon. Our travel
>will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
>sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
>claims that she is tired...
>
>How do people deal with this?
>
>Here are some of te things we got so far:
>
>- A colleague at work is recommending a stroller, even though she is
>beyond that age.
>(Are there any special carriages for a 6-year-old kid?)
We used a stroller at Disney World for your then-almost-4yo, but our
6.5yo appreciated it too. We were often able to put both kids in at
once. We rented whatever they had at the park-du-jour, but found that
the jogging style strollers were most comfortable for older kids.
Thery're pretty expensive to buy, though.
--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)
just me
"T.R.H." <trk...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:8bdc97b8.02042...@posting.google.com...
I would suggest making the trip enjoyable for her by shortening the adult
adventures and adding some kid specific adventures. I am assuming that you
would like your daughter to develop an enjoyment of your interests and
vacations. It seems to me that the best way to do this is to make it fun
form her perspective rather than boring, as you referred to it. Start ahead
of time by piquing her interest in the historical sites by discussing the
interesting-to-a-six year old history and then make sure to tie those
discussions in to the live visit. Same with the art. Familiarize her with
items which are in that museum now so that when she sees them she
immediately recognizes them and finds herself a bit more at home, so to
speak. Six year olds are interested in historical stuff if you keep in
intriguing and alive.
-Aula, remember, ymmv
Banty
says...
>
>We will be traveling with our six-year-old daughter soon. Our travel
>will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
>sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
>claims that she is tired...
>
>How do people deal with this?
>
Generally by not planning trips involving long hours of walking through museums
and architectural sites with a six year old in tow.
Try *short* museum and architectural visits, interspersed with activities that
she'd enjoy, like times at a beach, amusement park, etc.
Banty
Beth Gallagher
> will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
> sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
> claims that she is tired...
>
> How do people deal with this?
Primarily by making sure the museums and sites are of genuine interest to
the child (or can be made interesting to her, which I find almost anything
can be in small enough doses). If they aren't, then keep the outings short
and intersperse them with things that are of genuine interest to the child.
We have been going to our local art museum (luckily for us, it's a major
one) regularly since my son was about 3, but the way we "do" the museum has
changed a lot as he and his little sister have aged. We certainly don't do
the museum the same way now that we did before having kids! We parents do
sometimes separate so that one can take the kids either through areas they
will find of more interest or quickly through areas while the other browses
at the slower adult pace. I make myself a tour guide, pointing out anything
that could possibly be of interest in any sculpture or painting (Look at the
cute kitty in that painting! Look at that bird pecking the guy's liver! Look
at that naked guy!)
A lot of museums have kid-oriented self-touring plans available at the info
desk or other ways to interest kids (e.g., we were just at the Smithsonian
National Museum of Amer. History and they were giving out sheets listing
certain pieces to look for among the exhibits -- like a hunt). With some
preparation, you could even create such a game yourself, e.g., how many
paintings can we find with cute furry animals/horrifying images/naked people
in them?
I would also attempt to read up, with your child, about the sites you'll be
seeing, so she cares about them. Before we went to DC last weekend, we got
out library books on both the city's history and the sites we'd be seeing.
My 7 YO was ready. (My 3 YO was plied with snacks. BRING SNACKS.)
Naomi Pardue
>will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
>sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
>claims that she is tired...
>How do people deal with this?
I think I would focus on keeping her from getting bored. Try to intersperse the
museums and historic sights with sights that are more likely to be interesting
to a 6 year old. (A zoo? A science museum? An ice cream parlor? On our last
vacation [with a slightly older child] one of our favorite activities was,
while walking from one museum to another, a break to feed the squirrels.)
And too, I'd focus on making the museums and things interesting for her. Many
musums offer special activity packets for kids. (They can be as simple as
'scavenger hunt' type activities where the kids have to locate certain
exhibits, or more elaborate worksheets involving answering lists of questions
about what they are seeing. We've used these, successfully, with our daughter
in art museums, civil war battlefields, and more. [If anything, she gets so
exited about answering all the questions, that she doesn't pay much attnetion
to what she is actually looking at.])
And while you are touring, talk to her about what she is seeing. Get her
input. If you're in an art museum, pick out a painting in the room and talk
about it. Talk about the subject (who does she think the person in the
portrait is?) About the technique. (for years my daughter called impressionist
paintings 'magic pictures', because I showed her how they looked like splotches
and blobs from up close, but became clear pictures if she stepped back). About
the artist. (Why was he famous? Can she find another painting in the room by
the same artist?) If necessary, give her some background before you leave, so
she knows WHY she is supposed to be interested in this stuff. (You don't say
specifically where you are going. If you do, perhaps we can provide some more
concrete suggestions for keeping her interested.)
The main thing is to remember that this is supposed to be (I'm assuming) a
family vacation. The sites shouldn't be something to be endured, or distracted
from, for your daughter, but something to be enjoyed at her own level. And
there is, IMO, no reason why a 6 year old can't enjoy museums and
architectural/historic sites.
Naomi
(either remove spamblock or change address to npa...@indiana.edu to e-mail
reply.)
Louise
<Banty_...@newsguy.com> wrote:
Or take turns doing the adult-paced tours, while the other one of you
visits the dinosaurs or mummies or hands-on exhibits or whatever your
daughter might be interested in in that museum.
Louise
Cathy Kearns
to Italy and a cruise on the Med for a month. We went with another
family, and ended up with 4 girls aged 6,8,11 and 11. Helpful touring
hints:
1) Get all the kids a camera, or let them make movies. Even
the six year old makes interesting travel movies, you would
be surprised.
2) In museums, start at the gift shop. Get the multi-postcard
greatest hits package. Hand out postcards to all children, and
their mission is to find whatever is on their postcard. Finish up
in the cafe. While parents relax with drinks kids can write post
cards. I believe my 6 year olds card to her 1st grade teacher
went something like: "Wow, I get to be in a bar even though
I'm not 21!! Don't worry about the naked woman on the front.
This is art, so its okay."
3) Take pictures of them posed as the statues by statues.
4) Anytime is a good time for gelato. (Or, substitute local
favorite snack.)
5) If you are on an organized tour, let the kids sneak up to
the front. They can hear better, and then find it more
interesting. My youngest walked the streets of Ephesus
holding the hand of a wonderful guide who missed her
grandchildren that week...
6) Give them a "souvenier" allowance. Give them great
leeway in picking their souveniers. They chose many things
I wouldn't have picked, but they love them, and they mean
alot to them.
I was absolutely amazed at how well all four girls did.
They had a blast, we had a blast.
Cathy
"Naomi Pardue" <naomi...@aol.comNOSPAM> wrote in message
news:20020426221151...@mb-fy.aol.com...
David desJardins
> We will be traveling with our six-year-old daughter soon. Our travel
> will involve long hours of walking through museums and architectural
> sites. She does not get tired easily but she sometimes gets bored and
> claims that she is tired...
> How do people deal with this?
You sound like you think it's ok that she's bored. It doesn't seem very
fair to a group of people for you to select an activity (long hours of
walking through museums and architectural sites) that doesn't appeal to
one of the people in the group (your daughter). I'd deal with it by
choosing activities with more appeal to everyone in the group.
In other words, if she's bored and/or tired, then I think it's time to
do something else. You don't really explain why your travel must
involve long hours of walking through these sites, which makes it hard
to give a more specific answer.
David desJardins
Rosalie B.
I'd add - do the hard touring in the morning - in the afternoon go to the
beach or the zoo or something child oriented.
If the touring is outside the your home country, put the kid in charge of
money changing - ie if you see a postcard which is 1 EU, they should tell
you how much this is in $ (or whatever your local currency is).
If there is a local transportation system that you are using like the Paris
metro, put the kid in charge of telling you how to get from one place to
another - which stop is closest to the museum or hotel. That way they
always know where they are and how to get back. Give her maps so she can
trace your progress.
COnsider if possible seeing if there is a children's group at the hotel or
wherever you are going to be that she could join for some days.
"Cathy Kearns" <cathy_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
grandma Rosalie
Annette Bergmann
looking for those artworks sounds very doable -- we'll give that a try
next time. (Souvenir allowance works too -- I can vouch for that. So
maybe we need to move souvenir buying up front, too.)
Preparing sheets with things to look for is hard when it's your first
time at a particular museum -- or do you look for generic things like
"baby Jesus in a crib," "cows on a meadow," etc?
Unfortunately, I have never come across self-touring guides for kids here
in Europe -- I guess the US is ahead of us in that department.
Explaining stuff about paintings or artists hasn't really worked with our
kids, either at home or in the museum itself -- not even renting those
fancy portable audio guides where you type in the number of the artwork
(I need to face it -- they don't really care).
Re snacks: museum policy really varies. Our local museum wouldn't even
let me take in a bottle for the baby -- on the other hand, after a patron
in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum complained about our baby's intermittent
crying, a guard suggested giving her a cookie. Huh?!
Mostly we have done the "you bear with me in the art museum, and then
we'll do the ship museum/aquarium/kid stuff next". But it *would* be nice
to actually have them be a bit more excited about the art stuff, too.
Annette
Marijke
concerned about your line that she "gets bored and claims that she's tired."
As an adult, how do you feel when you are bored? When you are with a group
that is doing something that doesn't interest you when there are so many
more exciting (to you) things to do? I know that when I'm bored, I'm not
exactly what you would call energetic! Boredom makes many of us want to
crawl into bed and nap, or do absolutey anything but what we are doing now.
A 6-year-old rarely appreciates the "yes, it's boring but Mom and Dad love
it" approach.
I think that by minimizing your daughter's boredom, you are digging a hole
in that she will begin to hate doing any family activities.
There's nothing wrong with expecting the whole family to take part in
activities that interest certain people but, it truly should be balanced
with things that interest the others as well.
The most common suggestions were to keep the trips short, try to integrate
them some way into a child's view of the world and perhaps reward her with
age-appropriate activities both before and after the event. To say "you'll
get XYZ if you tour these ruins with us without complaining" is really
pushing it for a child that young. Sure, it can work for a 30 minute
shopping outing, a mass at church or a quick stop in the library but a child
that young often has a hard time picturing a swim in a pool as a reward for
trailing mom and dad as they hike through ruins which, quite honestly,
probably have no meaning to the child. Even with two hour rest. Two hours is
an *eternity* to a young child.
It it is at all possible, I'd hold off going on such vacations until the
child is old enough to a) enjoy it or b) participate in hotel or resort
events, allowing you to do what you want without getting frustrated that
your 6 yr old is not appreciating what you are offering.
just my 0.02 (and in Canadian funds at that)
--
Marijke, in Montreal
Mom to Matthew (april 87), Anne (feb 89)
and Kevin (sept 91)
"T.R.H." <trk...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:8bdc97b8.02042...@posting.google.com...
Penny Gaines
T.R.H. wrote:
Checking your web site suggests that this travelling might be related
to your work and so you may not have much choice about where
you visit?
Can you leave her with a relative while you go? Could you arrange
for some sort of babysitting/nanny to look after her while you do
this sites?
Could you add on a few days to your trip, so you can intersparse
fun days when you do her stuff with days doing your stuff?
Can you find some children for her to play with - perhaps if you have
a contact there with a similar age child? Or with a teenager who
would be willing to look after her while you sightsee? Or at the very
least if there are children at the hotel you are staying with, you could
encourage them all to play together.
If it is work related, you could explain what you are trying to do, and ask
her to help you. I know her help will probably mean you spend longer
then without it, but it might keep her happy? She could help keep a
list of where you have seen, or where you need to go?
Tell her a lot about what you are doing. My kids find English
place names fascinating - this was named in Roman times, that
is a Saxon name. They also like knowing about Roman roads:
"this road was put here by the Romans".
I think the idea about having one entertain her while the other visits is
a good one. Or you could have one stop for a drink with her, while
the other views, and then swop over. Make sure she has somewhere
to run around - even if she has been complaining of tiredness a moment
earlier.
Explain to her what you are doing. Explain to her why you are
doing it ("we want people who come to Turkey to see the nicest places",
"this is how Daddy earns his money, to buy us food and have somewhere
to live").
--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three
Naomi Pardue
>fair to a group of people for you to select an activity (long hours of
>walking through museums and architectural sites) that doesn't appeal to
>one of the people in the group (your daughter). I'd deal with it by
>choosing activities with more appeal to everyone in the group.
Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that appeal to
both
adults AND 6 year olds. Hence the suggestion to provide a mixture of
activities, so everyone gets to do some things they really want to do, and some
things that arent' quite so interesting. (And too, so that the kids learn HOW
to enjoy the more 'adult' activites. Adults don't suddenly become interested
in ruins and art museums and cathedrals just because they grow up. (On our last
few vacations [with a 10 year old] we visited art museums, cathedrals, civil
war battle fields, historic sites -- and theme parks and beaches and
science/natural history museums. And Shaina enjoyed them all.
Naomi Pardue
>time at a particular museum -- or do you look for generic things like
>"baby Jesus in a crib," "cows on a meadow," etc?
Yeah. You can go generic. Or, most large museums these days have web-sites.
Perhaps a browse through the website before leaving to give YOU a better sense
of what you'll be seeing/prepare something for the child would be helpful. Or,
just take it on the fly. When you go into the room, look for a painting or
exhibit that you can
talk about. (As non-Christians, Shaina was not, initially familiar with the
most common themes in western art. I've explained some of the usual subjects,
and now, it's almost a standing joke that, when we walk into a room in a
museum, I point to a Madonna and Child and say "What's that?" and Shaina says
"Mary and baby Jesus."
>Explaining stuff about paintings or artists hasn't really worked with our
>kids, either at home or in the museum itself -- not even renting those
>fancy portable audio guides where you type in the number of the artwork
>(I need to face it -- they don't really care).
Have you tried interesting them in art outside of museum settings? I have a
huge collection of art books, and Shaina has always enjoyed looking at them
with me. There are also books available specifically for kids. (I think the
audioguides you mention are usually targeted more at adults than kids, so I can
see that kids wouldn't be interested.
Banty
naomi...@aol.comNOSPAM says...
Yeah - there is some developmental stuff that goes on, too, before a kid really
can do the museum thing without running from exhibit to exhibit, taking in and
enjoying some visual things, but not really doing anything in any depth (which
is enormously frustrating to their parents who want to do some things in some
kind of depth). My son didn't slow down and take any real interest in museum
type stuff until this year now that he's nine years old. And only when he is
very interested. We did a tour of Navy ship exhibits and museums this spring -
this was the first time I've seen him slow down, read a little of the labels,
and go into some detail.
Six might be about the age when they're really mobile on their own for any
length of time, but there's a lot that still has to get wired in those brains,
and more regulation of energy level and attention span, to make a museum more
than a playground with visual appeal or a treasure hunt. I'd say - wait four
years or so for the real appreciation to start.
Banty
David desJardins
> Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that
> appeal to both adults AND 6 year olds.
Wow, I hope that's not true. I'm really looking forward to the time
when my children are 6, because I think there are very many things that
we can enjoy doing together.
> On our last few vacations [with a 10 year old] we visited art museums,
> cathedrals, civil war battle fields, historic sites -- and theme parks
> and beaches and science/natural history museums. And Shaina enjoyed
> them all.
Absolutely. These are all things that I plan to enjoy with my six year
olds, too. I just don't plan to make them walk for several hours
straight, or to continue the activity past the time when they get bored.
David desJardins
Naomi
> Naomi Pardue (invalid address) writes:
> > Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that
> > appeal to both adults AND 6 year olds.
>
> Wow, I hope that's not true. I'm really looking forward to the time
> when my children are 6, because I think there are very many things that
> we can enjoy doing together.
>
age groups. As I said, I have seen, and enjoyed a wide range of
activities, from cathedrals to children's museums with my kid,and
we've all enjoyed them all, but I don't lie to myself by saying that,
given a choice, my 10 year old would pick a cathedral as her favorite
thing to do, or I would pick a children's museum.
I understood your post to be saying that the parent should select only
activities that the child would be MOST likely to enjoy (i.e.,
beaches, theme parks, natural history museums, aquariums) and skip the
more adult stuff until the kid is older. (To which my reply is that,
as long as *I'm* paying for the trip, I get to have fun too...)
Naomi
Rosalie B.
My daughter has been doing a lot of traveling in Europe and the UK with her
son who is now 7.5. He was 6, almost 7 when she started. She's done a
good job (I think) of planning things so that my SIL gets to see what he
wants to see, and her ds doesn't get too bored. I hope this isn't too
long.
They went to Stonehenge after they got there. I can't find what she wrote
about that.
She wrote at Xmas 2000: (with her 7 yo and two older children who were over
from the States)
>Well, we had a good time in London. We tried to do too much each day. Once we slowed down, we had a better time. Still lots to see, we only scratched
the surface.
>Tuesday,
we parked the car and took the tube to our hotel. We went to the London
Aquarium, saw Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey (from the outside)
on Boxing Day. We probably could have gotten London Eye tickets on the
spot, but neither MB or Michael wanted to do that.
>Wednesday
we went to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London - too much for one day.
The teenagers opted out after Tower Bridge and went to Buckingham Palace
instead. I think you could easily spend all day at the Tower of London.
And it was too cold, so we will go back there when it is warmer. In the
evening we went to Trafalger Square to see the Xmas tree and walked back
down to the Westminster tube station (past MOD and Downing St.).
>Thursday
Dave went to the British Museum. We tried to go to the wax museum in the
afternoon, but the lines were incredible, so Dave, Matthew and I went back
to the British Museum and the teenagers went to Harrods. That night we ate
dinner with our friends at a Thai place not too far from the hotel.
>Friday
we went to the Science Museum (walked from the hotel) and the teenagers
went to the new exhibit - Dali Universe. That exhibit is near Big
Ben/Parliment, so Mike could see that too. We met back at the hotel at
4:00 and the teens took the tube to Heathrow and then the bus home. The
rest of us took the tube to get the car.
Then this past spring, my other dd and her dh and ds (who was 7 at the
time) and her dd (who was 1.5 at the time) visited them and this is what
they did:
>We rode the tube into downtown London. We went to the Tower of London first. Jim, Barb and
>Dakota saw the Crown Jewels, while Montana, Matthew and I played around the
>Ravens. We took part of a Beefeater's tour, which was very good, but very
>long. We went around the White Tower (all the guns and armor) and walked on
>the South Wall (great pictures of the Tower Bridge). After that we boarded
>the Big Bus (24 hour ticket) and rode it back to Covent Gardens, and had
>dinner. Took the tube back to the hotel, and fell exhausted into bed.
>
>On Monday morning
we took the tube to Buckingham Palace where we took the Big Bus walking
tour for the Changing of the Guard (fabulous tour). We rode the Big Bus to
Harrod's where we ate lunch and shopped. Got back on the Big Bus and rode
around Hyde Park to Diana's Memorial Playground and let Matthew and Dakota
play there (Montana was asleep). Rode the bus to Piccadilly Circus and ate
dinner at an Angus Steak House (where the people serving kept giving us an
evil eye). Walked around the corner and found a Rainforest Cafe, so we
went there for dessert. Again rode the tube back to the hotel.
Half term break in York
>Sunday:
We took the train to York (it actually arrived on time!). Checked into
our hotel on the other side of York (Palm Court Hotel - really a B&B).
Walked to York Minster (the cathedral) saw the nave, stained glass windows,
and crypt, but there was an evensong in progress so we didn't see the
Lady's Chapel or Choir (they spelled with a Q?). Next we walked through
some of the streets of York and ate dinner at Russell's (a chain, buffet
style restaurant).
>Monday:
We joined a Yorkwalk on Roman York. On that we saw the remains of the
Roman Wall, the location of the original Roman city and the Roman Baths.
We didn't get to walk on the city walls because they were closed. After
that we saw the exhibit on the Vikings (they are renovating the Viking
Center so they have this display instead), Clifford's Tower (the Keep from
the original York Castle) and a Viking presentation (at Clifford's Tower).
We walked back to the hotel through some more of York's tiny streets and
rested. Later we went to the pub 'The Punchbowl' for dinner.
>Tuesday:
Matthew woke up with a fever (he had been sick on Fri. and Sat. and I think
we pushed him too hard on Sun. and Mon.) so we took it easy. First we
found that the city walls were finally open, so we walked on part of them.
Then we went to the York Castle Museum (carried Matthew most of the way).
Ate lunch at York University's cafeteria (very good - recommended by our
tour guide). Matthew and I went back to the hotel where he slept for the
whole afternoon and Dave took the York Brewery Tour and walked on the city
walls. He brought dinner back to us.
>Wednesday:
Matthew was fine in the morning - fever gone, very chipper. We packed up
and took a taxi to the train station and checked our bags in for the day
(they don't have lockers, but they do have this service). Then we walked
to the National Railway Museum and queued with everyone else with children
under 8 on half term break. This museum is amazing, they have about a
billion real engines, freight cars, passenger cars, etc. They have an
exhibit on the Royal Train and on the channel tunnel. We saw them turn the
turntable and Matthew made a hat. We left there at lunch time and walked
back to the train station only to find that our train was canceled. <snip>.
So, we walked around the corner and looked at the York Model Railway - 3-4
layouts with buttons you could push to make things happen - Matthew loved
it. We chatted with a couple from Bristol who had tickets on another train
but who were hoping to catch the earlier train. We eventually got a train
(boarded at 3:30 vice 1:00) and were home by 7:30 (vice 4:00).
Spring break
>Monday:
We flew to Munich with no problems. The flight is 1.5 hours (shorter than
the drive to the airport!). Landed in Munich at about 11:00, fiddled
around a bit and ate lunch, rented the car and drove to Garmish. There is
sort of a beltway around Munich except it doesn't really go all the way
around. I expected signs to the Autobahn (95 to Garmish) but there weren't
any. So, we got lost in Munich. I asked directions from a German family
that didn't speak much English, but he managed to point us in the right
direction. Anyway, we checked into the hotel in Garmish about 3:00.
<snip> We also found the ice skating rink (huge). We ate dinner at an
Italian place down the street from our hotel.
>Tuesday:
We drove to Fussen without going through Austria (much longer - took us
about an hour) and saw Hohenschwangau Castle (King Ludwig's boyhood castle
lots of expensive birthday gifts displayed - Matthew's favorite castle),
and Neuschwanstein Castle (Kind Ludwig II built this castle, but only
completed about a third of the interior before he died - this is the castle
that Disney's Cinderella Castle is based on - you've probably seen
pictures). It snowed while we were up the mountain visiting the second
castle, but it had stopped by the time our tour was over. the sun came out
so we drove 2KM to the Tegelburg Gondola, had lunch, rode the gondola
(cable car) to the top of the mountain (1720m), played at the playground,
rode the steel luge (cart with wheels pulls you up to the top and you roll
through the luge back down - Matthew and I did it, it was a blast). They
had 8-10 trampolines strapped together that you could bounce on (we didn't
do that - no time).
Then we drove home, didn't stop at the Wies Kirche (no time, probably
should have, because we never got back that way). Ate dinner in the bar at
the hotel (not too expensive).
>Wednesday:
This day was the only one that dawned with blue sky and full view of the
mountains. We drove and parked by the ski jump stadium in Garmish.
Wandered through it - incredible - four jumps - Matthew said that we would
do them, and I told him, 'no way'). We walked to the bottom of the
Partnach river gorge, rode the cable car to the top, wandered around on the
trails looking for the gorge, ate lunch and discovered that the gorge trail
is closed due to ice. They told us about a bridge over the gorge, so we
went there instead. Amazing waterfalls down into a gorge that is up to 328
ft high. Afterwards we walked back down the mountain. Drove back to the
hotel and decided to go swimming before dinner.<snip long description of
incredible pool complex)
>Thursday:
We signed up for a bus tour of Munich and Dachau. The tour guide was
interesting. The time they allow in each place is completely wrong. We
had 2 hours in Munich, including lunch and 2 hours in Dachau. As a result,
in Munich, we dashed down Kaufingerstrasse took a picture of Karstor (the
city gate) ran back down to see the clock at 11:00, went to Hofbrauhaus
(big touristy beer garden) for lunch, ran through the Viktuakien Market and
were almost the last back to the bus. The bus got to Dachau in time for
the 2:00 English movie (which we didn't take Matthew to) and didn't leave
there until 4:00. There was a 3:30 English movie that would have been just
fine - get there at 3:00 see the 3:30 movie and leave at 4:00. Would have
given us another hour in Munich. Oh well. If you get the chance to ask
Matthew about Hitler, do it, he now has opinions.
>Friday:
We drove to Ammersee (see=lake) and the Andechs Monastery. It snowed the
whole time. We walked along the lake (would have been fabulous on a sunny
day), contemplated taking the boat across the lake (I told them I wasn't
going - too cold). After that we drove to the Monastery. This monastery
brews fabulous beer, and they run a beer garden. So, we ate lunch. It was
crowded and a couple invited us to sit with them - they didn't speak any
English and we spoke hardly any German, but they were very nice and we
tried. They left and another group sat down, they spoke more English and
were asking Matthew questions about school, etc. The church is being
renovated, so it wasn't as spectacular as it would have been.
>Saturday:
We started of by going to Linderhof Castle (another King Ludwig II castle).
Again, it was snowing. The castle was beautiful, apparently, this is where
King Ludwig spent most of his time. There is a grotto (man made cave) and
Moorish Pavilion. The castle is white so that you can hardly see it in the
snow. We will have to go back in the summer to see the grounds
(fortunately you only pay for the castle and the grotto, so we should be
able to go back for free). Then we drove into Oberammergau (where the
passion play is every 10 years on 0 years), we saw their church and walked
around - by then we were cold and wet and uninspired so we didn't stay
long. We drove back by the Ettal Monastery and Dave went in and took
pictures. They also brew beer, but aren't as famous for it. In the late
afternoon we went swimming again - mostly because we hadn't done anything
fun for Matthew in a couple of days. Went to a place in Partenkirchen for
dinner that had music and dancing.
>
>Sunday:
>It snowed again! We went to church (mass in German), had brunch at the
>hotel. Decided to borrow a movie from the hotel. By the time that was over
>the snow had stopped. Dave suggested walking around in Garmish (lots of
>really pretty houses) so we did. We told Matthew that we would look for a
>miniature golf course - we found two, but both were closed. Actually most
>stores were closed. We were walking for 2-3 hours altogether (not bad for
>Matthew). Went back to the hotel and packed.
>
>Monday: Sunny! We packed up and drove to the airport, dropped the car off,
>checked our luggage, put the rest in a locker and bought a subway ticket
>into Munich. Since our plane didn't leave until 5:00, we had a couple of
>hours to see the stuff we ran through on Thursday. Unfortunately, Monday is
>the day most stuff is closed in Munich. So, we saw the inside of St.
>Peter's church and climbed the tower of Frauenkirche (kirche=church), and
>ate lunch in the market. Took the subway back to the airport and flew home.
Trip to Ireland summer 2001
> We spent the first two nights in Trim (Co. Meath) in a nice B&B.
>In the afternoon we went to the Hill of Tara (prehistoric site) after
>getting lost several times (signposting in Ireland is non-existent). We saw
>the audio/visual show and wandered around the site. Lots of mounds in the
>middle of a field. Matthew enjoyed running up and down the hills. We drove
>back into Trim and found an ATM machine and dinner in a pub-like place.
>
>13 July: On the advice of our B&B owner we went to Newgrange first. It was
>nice and quiet when we arrived, but very crowded when we left. We took
>tours of Newgrange and Knowth (both prehistoric burial sites). Newgrange is
>impressive - built around 3500BC, the mound is oriented in a way that allows
>the sun to shine down the passage only around the winter solstice (and 5000
>years later it still works!). You can actually go down the tunnel and they
>simulate the winter solstice. Knowth, was about the same age, but the mound
>isn't as big (in fact there are lots of mounds) and you can't go in. In
>addition, someone has built a house that blocks the sun near the winter
>solstice so even if you could go in, the impressive light display doesn't
>work. They say that about 2/3 of the prehistoric art work that exists is on
>these two sites. Lots of spirals and shapes. Matthew enjoyed making
>spirals with his foot in the gravel. Ummm.
>14 July: After two peaceful nights and two wonderful breakfasts, we packed
>up and were off to Galway. First we went to Trim Castle. This castle has
>only been open to the public for a couple of years and is a great example of
>a Norman castle. The tour was excellent. Matthew and I looked for toilets
>(there were supposed to be 14, but we only found a couple). We could see
>them from the outside (slanted holes near the corners of the castle) but had
>trouble finding them from the inside. Then we drove to Clonmacnoise
>arriving about lunch time. We found out why we should tour popular sites
>early - two busses of Italian school kids - teenagers, they were bored. We
>saw the video, ate lunch and wandered around the site. This is a medieval
>monastery on the river Shannon. Loads of ruins, high crosses, and grave
>stones. We arrived in Galway's Salt Hills around 1600. This is the last
>place we had reserved rooms - good thing too, because they were booked. We
>stayed on Galway Bay in a very nice, large hotel that included dinner as
>well as breakfast. We went to church in the evening.
>
>15 July: This was designated a 'no drive' day. We walked down to the local
>aquarium and touched the stingrays. Matthew and I hung out on the beach for
>most of the rest of the late morning/early afternoon and Dave went back to
>the room to read the paper. In the afternoon we swam in the hotel pool.
>Dinner that evening was excellent
(I didn't copy the rest of this trip)
This year's Xmas break in Paris
>26 Dec: We flew to Paris from Birmingham (Birmingh'm - with the 'ham' - it
>is Alabama) in the late afternoon. We wanted to take the train (Eurostar),
>but it wasn't running on the 26th - so we flew instead. Of the signposts in
>the Paris public transportation system, the ones in the airport for the
>train are the worst. We wandered around for about 10 minutes before we
>figured out that we had to take a shuttle bus to the train station. We
>successfully bought train tickets, found our way to the Place de la
>Republique and checked into our hotel (Holiday Inn on the square). We went
>across the square to a brasserie for dinner and stopped at the stand next
>door for dessert.
>
>27 Dec: We took an open top bus tour with English and French guide
>recordings that let us hop on and off. Unfortunately, it was a little cold
>to ride up top, unless you were in the front, for the most part we opted to
>sit inside. We got off the bus at Notre Dame. Before we went inside, we
>were stopped by a guy looking for English families touring Paris (I was
>flattered that he thought we might be English - means we are blending in
>better) to take a short survey. After we took the survey, we quizzed him on
>how to see the best parts of Notre Dame. So, we walked in. There was a
>huge queue for the towers, so we didn't do that part. We did go down to see
>the Crypte Archeologique which displays the foundations under the church.
>We got back on the wrong bus (there are three - and we weren't planning to
>take the third part of the tour), and saw Place de la Bastille, the Palais
>Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Le Parc de Bercy, etc. So, back at Notre Dame
>(where the busses overlap) we got back off and on to the correct bus. From
>that point we saw all sorts of places - Place de la Concorde, Arc de
>Triomphe, etc. We got off the bus at the Eiffel Tower, intending to go up
>and eat lunch (OK, sort of a late lunch). When we looked at the queue, we
>decided not to go up. The queue was huge and didn't appear to be moving.
>Turns out that they were hand scanning all visitors before they were allowed
>to go up. So, we bought crepes and hotdogs from a stand, walked across the
>street (to take a picture) and went back to queue for the bus. We rode the
>bus all the way back to the hotel (transferring at Place de la Madeleine).
>That night we ate dinner at the hotel.
>
>28 Dec: The forecast was for rain all day, so we opted for the Louvre. I
>packed Matthew's Game Boy and we got on the Metro. The queue for the Louvre
>was all the way back to the exit of the Metro. So, we took turns waiting in
>the queue and window shopping. This queue moved pretty quick, so we soon
>found out that the queue was to run our bags through a metal detector. Once
>that was done, the ticket queue was very short. We agreed to meet back in
>the lobby in two hours. I knew MaryBeth would not want to travel at our
>pace, nor see the things we wanted to see. She saw almost the whole thing
>in two hours and we saw the Italian painters, some of the French large
>paintings, some sculptures, and some of the ancient Egyptian things.
>Matthew wasn't impressed with the Mona Lisa (neither was I, apparently, it
>is sealed in some sort of gas that obscures the colors - Dave said it looked
>much better when he saw it on tour in the US). Matthew was impressed with
>Venus de Milo, although he wanted to know where her arms were. His
>commentary on sculptures consisted of telling me what parts they were
>missing. He was not impressed with the Italian painters - and many children
>wandering in that area were suitably impressed with his Game Boy. We met
>back up with MaryBeth after two hours and went to eat lunch. We decided
>that we had enough of paintings for one day and walked down to the Place de
>la Concorde to see the big ferris wheel. We talked Matthew out of riding
>that by buying him cotton candy (bribery - works wonders). Dave wanted to
>take a river cruise, so we walked back in the direction of the Louvre. On
>the way, we saw children sailing boats in one of the fountains. Matthew and
>MB rented a boat for 30 min. and sailed it back and forth across the
>fountain. They had a great time (made up for a boring museum, IMHO). We
>went on the river cruise, saw the sites again, from the water, this time.
>We picked up baguettes, nutella crepes, and McD's on the way back from the
>Metro and ate in our room.
>
>29 Dec: Again the forecast was for rain. This time, they were right - it
>poured all day. We were going to go to Versailles, but went to the Cite des
>Sciences et de L'Industrie (Science Museum) instead. We saw a movie (Imax
>but in the round and overhead - 360 degrees - they called it) called 'Grand
>Nord'. It was about people living in the north and their animals. It was
>very good (I didn't like it because it made me sick - motion sick, that is).
>Mary Beth thinks that the movie was made in English, the English translation
>sounded more authentic than the French translation. Most of the rest of the
>museum was not translated, and we neglected to get the audio tour (pretty
>stupid, really). We had a good time, anyway. In the evening, Dave, Matthew
>and I decided to go to Notre Dame for Mass, so we left MB at the hotel. The
>organ was fabulous, Matthew fell asleep before the first reading (which may
>please our local priest - as he falls asleep during the homily all the time
>at home). We ate dinner at a pizzeria near the hotel when we got back.
>
>30 Dec: Finally, the sun was out. We went to Versailles. The RER train we
>were going to take wasn't running, so we had to take the SNCF train (fast!),
>very confusing. We walked to Versailles from the train station and stood in
>a queue for two hours! All for, you guessed it, a metal detector scan.
>Unfortunately, there aren't many interesting shops in the Versailles
>courtyard, and it was cold, so we were pretty cranky by the time we got
>inside. To top it off, all the audio tours were gone, so we just walked
>through, reading the English pamphlet and the guide book we had. Matthew
>was amused by the cherubs holding floor lamps (actually he was amused by the
>cherub backsides). We didn't bother with the gardens (after all we had
>stood outside for two hours already and it is winter). There were a couple
>of paintings there that were also in the Louvre - which were the originals?
>Mostly Napoleon paintings - coronation and several battle scenes. They
>really were fabulous paintings. Took the trains back to the hotel and
>decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Dave and I needed an American fix. We
>watched music videos and ate a good American dinner. Matthew colored in his
>book practically the whole time.
>
>31 Dec: We walked along the Saint-Martin Canal in the morning and rode the
>train back to the airport at mid-day. Charles de Gaulle airport is the
>ugliest airport I've ever seen - all concrete - blah. We discovered that
>duty free isn't really if you aren't leaving the EU - and they ask to see
>your boarding pass to tell where you are going. Anyway, we flew back to
>Birmingham and drove back to Cheltenham without incident.
Trip to Rome
>As we are waiting for this plane we noticed a large
>number of English rugby shirted people waiting as well. When we were
>boarding we noticed a gang of very large (no neck) guys with English rugby
>shirts also boarding the plane. Ummm, we thought, must be the English Rugby
>team (we aren't analysts for nothing). Dave says, oh yeah, the six nations
>England v. Italy rugby game is in Italy on Sunday. No problems - we landed
>at Fiumicino Airport, passed immigration and collected our bags. No
>problems finding a taxi to take us to our hotel (according to the hotel that
>was the cheapest option that time of night). Checked into our hotel (which
>thankfully hadn't turned into a brothel - Rick Steeves claims some of them
>do).
>
>5 April: Breakfast was included in our hotel deal and we made the mistake
>of going at 0830 when they opened at 0800. There was a German tour group,
>so, we went back at 0845. Very nice breakfast - much like the breakfast we
>found common in France. Anyway, we asked the hotel desk if they knew how we
>could try to get tickets to the rugby game on Sunday. He sent us down to a
>local travel agent, who had (cheap) tickets in the end zone, so we bought
>them! Next stop, St. Peter's. Our hotel was just a short walk from the
>Vatican walls, but about a quarter of the way around from the front of St.
>Peter's. As we were walking around we noticed a queue for the Vatican
>museum most of the way and we decided that we would go there later in the
>afternoon, hoping that the queue would have gone by then. We went into St.
>Peter's after a cursory security check (we weren't impressed - nothing like
>what we found in Paris). We zipped (slowly) around the place. Matthew sat
>and sketched parts of the floor (the walls and ceilings were too fancy for
>him - the floor was about right). We touched St. Peter's feet. Found the
>Vatican book shop and bought a book on art in Rome and postcards. Also
>found the Vatican post office and got both stamps to the US and UK for said
>postcards. Checked on masses and garden tours. Bought lunch from a cart
>and ate it in the Piazza. Weather was beautiful - warm and sunny (at least
>from our point of view). Matthew fed the pigeons his pizza
>crust and then chased them (they need their exercise). We decided to try
>the museum queue again, and it was gone! Since we walked in at 1400 and it
>closed at 1545 we wanted to see the important stuff first (Sistine Chapel).
>It seemed to take forever to get there, the museum routes one through the
>entire thing before getting to it. Finally we got there. Matthew sketched
>more floors and a couple of crosses. After we left, there was no way to get
>back to the rest of the museum. Argh... So, we went to the cupola (lift
>AND 320 steps). The queue for this was much shorter by now (1600). The
>stairs are up the sides of the dome (inside of course), but the walls slope,
>like you would expect the dome to. Matthew was thinking he would be hanging
>over some edge somewhere and was complaining about how he was scared. We
>pressed on. There are 2-3 vantage points, the first is inside the dome just
>off the lift - one can see down into the church and can really see how large
>the mosaics are in the dome. The second is from the roof of the main
>church - good pictures of the outside of the dome, etc. The third is from
>the cupola (after 320 stairs). Fabulous views of Rome. Matthew wasn't
>scared after he saw where we were going - wacky child. For dinner we found
>a cafe that was still open at 1800. Very nice. The guys that worked there
>recognized that Dave was wearing a (Gloucester) rugby shirt and asked if we
>were English. We said yes, they said that England would beat Italy in
>rugby. Dave said, maybe. They were very friendly (much nicer than in
>Paris, IMHO).
>
>Note: Matthew's diet on this trip consisted of pizza and ice cream -
>sounded reasonably balanced to me, mostly. It was our first trip without McD's (except for coffee on Monday). I
>consider that a major milestone.
>
>Saturday, 6 April: We took a bus tour of Rome, one where you can get on and
>off when you choose. So, we got off at the Coliseum. As we were standing
>in the queue, we noticed that the two English couples in front of us were
>behind us in the cupola queue the day before. So, we said hi. They asked
>Dave - 'Gloucester yesterday, and U of MD today, where were we from'? So,
>we explained (mostly). They were in Rome for the rugby game (of course). I
>asked how they were getting there, and they said that they were walking
>(very English answer), that it didn't look that far. Anyway, the Coliseum
>was as interesting as a ruin would be. We got back on the bus for the rest
>of the ride back to the Vatican, and our hotel. We rode the bus in the late
>afternoon back to the Villa Borghese and rented a row boat in the small
>lake. Dave and Matthew took turns rowing. We were going to walk back to
>the hotel through the Piazza del Popolo, but when we got there a
>demonstration was there. We watched from the top of the hill for a while
>and noticed Palestinian garb, etc. Also, we noticed police with lots of
>padding and helicopters flying around. We decided that it might not be wise
>to walk through that. We asked the police what the best way back to the
>Vatican was, and they pointed through the demonstration. Argh. We went
>around. Later in the news we saw that it was the conservative Italian
>political parties and it was supposed to be about peace in the Middle East.
>Apparently, the Palestinian flavor was predominant enough for the Jewish
>community to voice an objection. Anyway, I'm glad we went around. After
>crossing the Tiber, we walked back along the Vai Cola Di Rienzo (a big
>shopping and strolling street), stopping along the way for a nice dinner at
>a street cafe.
>
>Sunday, 7 April: We went to mass at 1030 (arriving very early 0945 to get a
>good seat) and then saw the pope's address from his very high window in the
>Piazza. In the afternoon, we walked to the rugby game, ate lunch in the
>Piazza del Popolo on the way. The streets were filled with English rugby
>fans. I think they all walked to the game, filling the bars along the way.
>The game was fun, England won 45 to 9. The Italians booed every time their
>team kicked a field goal. We sat in the Italian section, but there were
>more English there than Italians. We had heard that most of the stadium
>would be English and it was true. Also, as they say in rugby, the brutality
>stays on the field, not in the stands (unlike soccer). Rugby is a game
>designed by thugs and played by gentleman, whereas, soccer is a game
>designed by gentleman and played by thugs. After the game we walked back
>into town and ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. This wasn't one of our
>better meals, IMHO (also unlike Paris). We gave up walking after dinner and
>took a taxi home. Matthew was walking like a trooper - never complained the
>whole trip!
>Monday, 8 April: The day was beautiful, warm and with the sun shining. We
>decided that we would walk around the old part of the city on this day, so
>we went through St. Peter's square, and across the Tiber. Matthew's goal
>was to count water jets and cats. Our first stop was the Piazza Navona with
>its beautiful fountains. We then worked our way over to the Pantheon, where
>we had coffee in the piazza before going in (actually we needed the toilet,
>and it seemed the best way in Rome). Next we went to Saint Ignazio's
>(founder of the Jesuits) and the piazza there. Crossing over Via Del Corsa
>to Trevi Fountain (they were cleaning it, so we didn't see the water part).
>By this time Matthew had counted up to 40 actual water jets without any of
>Trevi Fountain contributing and no cats. From there we worked our way down
>to Piazza Venezia (just a traffic square), noticed more Palestinian
>demonstrators, and went around to the steps by Santa Maria in Aracoeli's the
>long way. Walked through the church (Dave's quest was a picture from the
>hill overlooking the Forum), we were rushed in and right back out again - I
>think they were closing for siesta. Wandered around at the top of the hill,
>discovered that the Capitoline Museums are closed on Mon. Walked back down
>the hill to eat lunch at a street cafe we had seen earlier (toilets were the
>main driver - again). Back up the hill, and down through the Forum - we did
>see cats (3) here. By this time, it was downright hot - we had plenty of
>water and snacks, but one runs out of imagination to look at ruins when one
>is hot. Anyway, we did decent justice to the main part of the Forum, but we
>gave up when we got to Palentine (probably the best part, since we didn't
>see it). We walked back up the main street passing the Forums of Augustus
>and Nerva and seeing the Column of Trajan (fabulous, IMHO). Dave had seen a
>sign for an Irish pub and Guinness, so we headed that direction, only to
>find it closed. That path took us through a whole series of piazzas - loads
>of obelisks and columns - not many fountains, on our way back up to cross
>the river. We got the best ice cream we had to date on that trip back up to
>the Tiber. We crossed at Pont Cavour and made our way through Piazza Cavour
>and back to our hotel. It was late afternoon by that point. Dave took a
>nap and Matthew and I went up to the roof top garden and hung out in the
>sunshine - with enough water to keep us happy. For dinner, we went back to
>one of the cafe/delis we had tried earlier in the week - the guys running it
>were very nice - lots of rugby talk, and good beer.
>
>Tuesday, 9 April: This was the only day it rained, but even then, not until
>the afternoon. It was cloudy all day (Jim would have loved it). We walked
>over to the Castel Sant'Angelo. Of course we walked all the way around to
>find the entrance. We actually did the audio tour - good job, there were no
>signs anywhere, the tour was crucial to understanding the castle. Fabulous
>views from the top, good playground at the bottom. We walked back to the
>Vatican museum because Dave wanted to see Michangelo's Moses, which he had
>heard was at St. Peter's. We went in, had lunch, and tried to figure out
>where the sculpture was. Come to find out it isn't at THAT St. Peter's.
>So, we drifted around and saw the exhibits we missed the first time around
>and left. We went back to our hotel room, and I looked where that sculpture
>is in the tour book. It is in St. Peter in Vincoli, down by the Coliseum!!!
>Well, our walking feet were shot and we were flying home early on Wed. So,
>we took a taxi over there, saw the sculpture - very nice... Found a little
>place that wasn't quite closed yet and had dinner. Found another taxi back
>to our hotel. Packed and collapsed.
grandma Rosalie
LisaBell
<de...@math.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>Naomi Pardue (invalid address) writes:
>> Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that
>> appeal to both adults AND 6 year olds.
>
>Wow, I hope that's not true. I'm really looking forward to the time
>when my children are 6, because I think there are very many things that
>we can enjoy doing together.
Not if you're really keen on archaeology, as my parents were. I hated
those sites/museums well into my late teens, and to this day I can
only take so much. I think it really boils down to what your tastes
are, how much of those you expect to satisfy with your kids along, and
how much you can enjoy the more kid friendly activities. My husband
plays with kids just like a big kid himself and I know he is going to
enjoy many activities with our kids when they're 6, partly because
he'll have more fun with kiddie attractions than I will.
>> On our last few vacations [with a 10 year old] we visited art museums,
>> cathedrals, civil war battle fields, historic sites -- and theme parks
>> and beaches and science/natural history museums. And Shaina enjoyed
>> them all.
>
>Absolutely. These are all things that I plan to enjoy with my six year
>olds, too. I just don't plan to make them walk for several hours
>straight, or to continue the activity past the time when they get bored.
Avoiding long hours of walking is crucial, IMO, to avoid kid hating
said activities. Alternating less and more kid-appealing attractions,
as Noami suggests, is a good idea too. My elder sister (who inherited
the archaeology bug) managed to take her kids over dozens of
archaeological sites in France by working in Eurodisney, when they
were in the 6-10 age group. Finding local attractions your child will
enjoy is more likely to promote enthusiasm, IMO, than reading/ playing
puzzles etc, which makes it seem like 'lets fill time till we can go
home'.
--LisaBell
Kevin Karplus
In article <vohsn5f...@math.berkeley.edu>, David desJardins wrote:
> Naomi Pardue (invalid address) writes:
>> Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that
>> appeal to both adults AND 6 year olds.
>
> Wow, I hope that's not true. I'm really looking forward to the time
> when my children are 6, because I think there are very many things that
> we can enjoy doing together.
Last year, when I was in Europe with my family on business, my (then)
5-year-old son enjoyed several of our excursions to art museums and
castles, though he prefers hands-on science museums.
Generally, there were two adults---one touring the museum alone and
one with the boy. The pace and choice of material was quite different
in the two cases, but both were fun. Make arrangements to meet at a
central place (the cafe is often a good choice) and change roles every
hour or two.
When going around with a child, you have to let the child set the pace
(within limits--no running). Sometimes you have to sit in one place
for a while, just talking (not usually about the museum), other times
you'll be moving quickly past stuff you'd like to see more leisurely
(make a mental note, and come back when you change shifts with the
other adult).
Art museums with sculpture gardens to explore were more fun than
all-indoor ones. One museum we particularly liked was "Louisiana"
which is north of Copenhagen. They had a section of the museum
devoted to children's art activities, a fun sculpture garden, and a
good collection in general. We spent the whole day there, and none of
us were bored.
--
Kevin Karplus kar...@soe.ucsc.edu http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate Director, Bioinformatics
Affiliations for identification only.
Penny Gaines
> On Sun, 28 Apr 2002 18:44:44 EDT, David desJardins
> <de...@math.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>
>>Naomi Pardue (invalid address) writes:
>>> Though, realistically, there aren't going to be many activities that
>>> appeal to both adults AND 6 year olds.
>>
>>Wow, I hope that's not true. I'm really looking forward to the time
>>when my children are 6, because I think there are very many things that
>>we can enjoy doing together.
>
> Not if you're really keen on archaeology, as my parents were. I hated
> those sites/museums well into my late teens, and to this day I can
> only take so much. I think it really boils down to what your tastes
> are, how much of those you expect to satisfy with your kids along, and
[snip]
Even if they are interested, they may not want to spend very long
looking at them.
My kids love Time Team, a UK archeological programme. My 5yo
is debating whether to be a mummy, a teacher or to "study bones"
when she grows up. But last year when we went to a local
museum and found the fossils, she spent less then a minute looking
at them.
T.R.H.
Thanks for all the suggestions. We are already busy with our
preparations for our trip, I'm therefore a bit late in responding.
I have already started using some of the suggestions:
Aula's and Beth's suggestions: To pique my daughter's interest I am
reading her a book about our destination. When it comes to palaces and
statues, I ask her if she would like to actually see them. Her answer is
an unequivocal "yes!" In all cases.
We are planning to take along lots of paper, crayons, etc. When we were
up in San Francisco's museums one day, I noticed that she loved sitting
down and sketching what she saw.
I also like Annette's suggestion. I'm looking for an inexpensive camera
for her. I will also train her in using our video camera. I will
encourage her to make a movie or an album for her friends and teacher.
David was saying "You sound like you think it's ok that she's bored." No
David, I don't think it is okay. That's why I asked for ideas. In the
past by using creative strategies we were able to get her interested in
things that she claimed she didn't like or got bored with.
Here is an example: She was objecting profusely to reading her books
with mommy earlier in the academic year, preferring instead to stay
glued to the TV screen. One day I told her that she can use my computer
and visit some of her favorite sites if she reads with me.
I also started taking notes of the words that she is having difficulty
with. She immediately got curious as to what I am doing. I told her that
I will quiz her next day. She initially didn't like it.
I had to explain to her that it's not a bad thing not to know if you
words here and there -- although there just too many initially. I also
indicated that we're going to play a game.
Now the words go onto the same computer into a spreadsheet. I present a
scrambled sequence of 30 words every day to her. If she can read a word
correctly she gets a check mark next to it. She thinks it's a game and
she loves it. To encourage her to concentrate she has to read at least
fifteen words correctly to proceed to her favorite sites Of course
initially, with some bending of the rules, I made sure that she got at
least 15, so that she could go and have fun on her own afterwards.
Also, just before her favorite sites, we visit a jigsaw puzzle site --
jigsaws are not among her favorite toys or activities.
The results so far have been very encouraging:
- She has met me at the door on many days with a book in her hand and
asking me while we can read together.
- Her reading skills improved dramatically. So much so that she now can
read 20 to 25 of her 30 words easily.
- The other day she came up to me and asked me if she can play the "list
game"!
Anyway, this is the type of things I hope we can use so that she enjoys
our trip as much as we do.
Ahmet Toprak
http://www.kkup.org/toprak.html
trk...@attbi.com (T.R.H.) wrote in message news:<8bdc97b8.02042...@posting.google.com>...
trknws
HomeWorkers.NET
> [Using voice recognition software, beware of grammar and vocabulary errors.]
give him a little clipboard, pencil and tell him to be our explorer
and draw for us all the "neat" things he sees so when we are done we
can draw a map for our friends and family so they can know how to get
to where we have been by the pictures he drew.
Angie
http://www.homeworkerswanted.net
Work at Home Mom