Learning about the
world is an important part of children’s education. A lot of of this happens
when they are out on trips or outings. That’s why schools make field trips an
integral part of their academic routine.
Parents can also take
every opportunity to make outings a learning experience for
their children. A drive to the mall could be an enriching lesson on traffic rules
and road safety. Children must understand that rules are made for our safety
and that following them is in our interest.
Model safe behaviours –
wear your seat belt, don’t talk on your mobile phone while driving, point out instances of unsafe
practices on the roads – for instance, if you see a helmetless rider or someone’s
elbow (or head) sticking out of a window. Your child needs to understand that people get hurt if they are not careful on the roads!
The mall itself is a
haven for educational opportunities. Go to the supermarket and have your child
observe the layout – toiletries in one section, edibles in the other, clothing,
toys, stationery etc elsewhere. Classification is an important analytical skill,
so such exercises are beneficial for children.
Back home you could go for
a nature walk (or even just to a park with some amount of greenery). Make the nature walk an opportunity for as
much learning as possible. Listen for sounds, look for insects and plants. Bring
back fallen leaves or flowers of different shapes, sizes, colours etc. Get your
child to group these according to particular characteristics they share – for instance,
according to shape…so all big leaves would go into one pile, middle sized into
another and small leaves into a third pile. If it’s flowers, they could be categorized
by the number of petals they have or by colour. Allow your child to determine
the categorization criteria.
If you live in the
city, you could listen for “city sounds” or use objects around the house for
classification activities. Take a variety of fruits, for instance, and ask your
child to categorize these – it could be based on shape, size, colour or even
fruits that we can eat without peeling and fruits that must be peeled before
eating.
If you are walking around
the neighbourhood, visit the post office or a bank for your child to observe
people at work. Explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. Provide
your child the opportunity to make small monetary transactions – for instance,
giving money to a grocer on buying eggs and receiving the change.
Inculcate saving habits early – get a piggy bank and encourage your child to
drop in coins regularly. They are always thrilled to do so.
To help your children
learn when they are outdoors or on a trip, listen to what they say, answer
their questions and encourage them to describe what they see. Back home, talk
about the different things you saw on the trip. Let them draw, paint or use
play dough to make some of things they saw.
Finally, outings with kids are about having fun as much as they are about learning. So, don’t focus so much on the learning
that you forget to have fun!
