Portable Children

Before I had kids I was given the most important parenting advise I've ever heard.  It was, "Portable babies are made, not born." My husband and I have taken this to heart and made a point not to live are lives on our kids' schedules.  This has helped to form two little girls who are flexible, travel well, curious about the world, love to learn and who aren't afraid to take chances.  They have taken many naps during car rides but have never complained about the adventure!  My mother recently took a plantation tour in Georgia and overheard someone say they would never take little kids there.  My immediate reaction was, "I would!"

To break up our long car ride last week we stopped in Hyde Park, NY to visit the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site at Val-Kil.  Leading up to the stop we had talked about what it meant to be President and what it was like being First Lady.  We also discussed the humanitarian work Eleanor Roosevelt accomplished in her lifetime.  By the time we toured Val-Kil Wonder Girl (age 5) had many questions to ask the tour guide and it seemed like she felt very confident being a part of the tour group.  Even the Elf (age 1) seemed to be interested in what the tour guide had to say.  She eagerly leaned forward and paid close attention to all of his stories about my favorite First Lady.     

Wonder Girl at Shaker Village

Last weekend Wonder Girl and I visited Canterbury Shaker Village during our trip to New Hampshire.  On all fronts it has the potential of being a very "adult" place to visit.  It is a traditional, restored village dedicated to teaching about life as a Shaker.   You can walk through and talk with guides about what life was like there but generally it is a "look but don't touch" kind of a place.  I did some research and found out they offer "Family Tours" at 2:00 PM on Saturdays.  The Family Tour is a truncated version of their regular tour and at each stop they provide activities for children to learn about and explore life as a child would have experienced it.

On our tour we learned Shaker dances, sang songs, and dressed up in Shaker clothing.  The children then made neckerchiefs and learned about how the Shakers lived communally yet were able to keep clothing organized after washing.  We then visited the school house and wrote on slate boards as if we were learning proper penmanship.  Wonder Girl was enthralled the entire time.  She loved learning about the "Olden Days" and did not want to leave once our tour was over.  I was so encouraged to see her genuinely interested in learning and exploring another culture.  A normally high-energy child, she was very well-behaved the entire tour.   She even had the pleasure of being a, "big girl" when another child on the tour started following her and copying her every move.

I hope the variety of experiences I am committed to exposing my children to will open their eyes to the amazing world around them while allowing them to interact with and learn about ways of life they would not see in Central PA.  None of these experiences would have been possible if it wasn't for the best piece of parenting advice I was ever given, "Portable children are made, not born."