728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
Get Pregnancy Information
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Recreation/Entertainment › Culture Vultures

Culture Vultures

Introduce Your Preteen to the Traditional

By Kelly Burgess

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Believe it or not, there's a reason for all those field trips your kids take – it's not just a day off for everybody. Intelligence research has shown, and educators agree, that cultural knowledge is an important component of a child's intellectual and social growth. It's also the one form of intelligence that doesn't decline with age. Easy for them to say, but with television and radio saturated with raucous rap and pop tunes sung by belly-baring blondes, it can be tough to keep kids interested in more traditional forms of culture. The good news is, it's not impossible.

Taking Little Bites

Carol Weston, author of the Melanie Martin series of books for preteen girls and mother of two daughters, takes direct aim at the topic of cultural education in Melanie in Manhattan (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2005). Melanie has already been to Spain, Holland and Italy. Now she discovers the cultural treasures right in her own backyard: New York.

"The book about Spain was a piece of cake because I lived in Spain for two years, and my daughter is living there now as part of the school year abroad program," says Martin. "I'd visited both Holland and Italy and drew upon those experiences for those books. After that, it just seemed logical to have Melanie explore New York and to show that culture is everywhere."

And it is. While to those of us who dream of visiting New York the cultural attractions may seem obvious, even the smallest town has a history, and according to Weston, that's a good place to start expanding your child's cultural horizons. It's especially effective if you start when they're very young so that visiting museums and exploring history are simply part of the routine.

Weston has a variety of suggestions for making art museums interesting for kids and for making them think rather than just race through to get to the gift shop. Here are some activities she recommends:

  • Start at the gift shop. Yes, you read that right. Have your child pick out a postcard of a painting they like, and then lead you on a reverse treasure hunt to find the painting.
  • Pack a sketch book and colored pencils. Encourage your children to copy the paintings.
  • Give everyone 30 seconds to look around the room and choose one painting that they would hang on their wall. Ask them to explain their choice.
  • Don't stay too long. Plan an hour or two at a time. Spend the rest of the day at the park.

Pages:  1  2  3  4  


Want to see more?