“Where is Daddy today, mommy?” I walk to the refrigerator where the itinerary is posted. “Today, Daddy is in Morocco.” Yesterday it was Spain and the day before it was France. As a seasoned traveler myself, this particular itinerary makes me a bit green with envy as I’m here at home parenting the kids.
I think travel is extremely valuable for children. Not because a three-year old needs to see the Great Wall of China, but because they need to experience a world outside their own—new food, new sounds, new smells and new encounters outside their comfort zone.
After my second child was born, less than two years after my first, we discovered traveling with two very young children was nearly impossible since we could barely keep it together at home, let alone in another place. And once my children were old enough to travel—which is right now—we’re simply strapped for the cash to do it.
However, my husband has the opportunity to travel the world—almost monthly—for work. Not to just the normal “businessy” places, but to locations many of us only dream of ever seeing and other places we don’t. So while he hops from place to place (leaving me and the kids behind wishing we could be there), I find the best thing for us is to learn about where he goes and try to “travel” along with him.
The first thing we do is get out the maps—the puzzle maps. Melissa and Doug have a wonderful line of floor puzzles and our two favorite are Children of the World and the World Map. We do the puzzles together and find where daddy is traveling to and talk a little bit about the country.
Depending on where he’s going, we try to check out books from the library with stories from that culture. Even if it’s just “generally” about that area, I like to have things we can talk about while reading to a four and three year old. Here are a few suggestions:
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Spain: The Story Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
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France: Madeline (The entire series) by Ludwig Bemelmans
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The Netherlands: Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming
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Egypt: We’re Sailing Down the Nile by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson
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Russia: Clever Katya: A Fairy Tale from Old Russia by Mary Hoffman and Marie Cameron
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Japan: The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent
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China: Tiki Tiki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
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India: Mama’s Saris by by Pooja Makhijani
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Africa: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema
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Busy Busy World by Richard Scarry
After we’ve identified where he is and read a little more about the place, sometimes we even take it one step further and try to eat something from that region of the world. I can’t say I’m making Russian Borscht regularly, but we do try to manage a trip to a nearby ethnic restaurant–even if it just means picking up Chinese food, pad thai or some kebabs.
My love of travel will have to be put on pause for a bit, but for now I’ll do the best to give my children a little taste of some places around the world. And I hope by doing this, we’re able to instill a desire for them to travel as well.