Fun Vactions for Kids that are Educational! (Shhh)

Posted on 30. Apr, 2009 by TheCuteKid Photo Contest in Parenting

Educational vacations are so much fun, the kids won’t know they’re learning!

Your children can learn a lot over the summer, especially on an educational vacation. Here are some smart getaways.

Learning in the sun can be fun!

By Mary Fetzer

School’s out, but that doesn’t mean your children can’t learn something new over the summer. With educational vacations like these, kids will have so much fun, they won’t even realize they’re learning!

Visit the Pueblo people

“Srai Wri,” is a Pueblo term that translates as “gather children together and share with them.” Built on the Santa Ana Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is an ideal place for an educational vacation.

Surrounding this family-friendly resort is a landscape of scrub grass, wildflowers, and the Sandia Mountains. The scene looks like it did 1,000 years ago, when the tribal people of Tamaya lived there. Adobe-style buildings and open courtyards reflect the architecture of the old Pueblo village.

The resort offers a wide array of cultural activities led by members of the Santa Ana Pueblo. Kids knead dough and bake bread in authentic clay ovens, create pottery masterpieces, and make their own adobe bricks. They can view ancient tribal weapons and masks at the Cultural Learning or 1,000-year-old ruins in the pueblo backcountry.

Families who want to learn more about Native American history should check out the Tamaya Experience Family Package at www.tamaya.hyatt.com.

Swim with the dolphins

Bored with the prospect of lying on the beach for a week? Learn something at the ocean by visiting Belize! Located south of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize is a small, English-speaking Caribbean island. Families can spend a week with biologists from the Oceanic Society as they conduct exciting, educational field studies of wildlife including dolphins, monkeys, and manatees.

Guided snorkeling adventures into exquisite coral reef habitats provide underwater access to the feeding and resting areas of dolphins. From there, families travel to the Community Baboon Sanctuary along the Belize River. Black howler monkeys, known locally as baboons, live harmoniously with Belize villagers and have little fear of humans. Vacationers can easily observe the monkeys in their natural habitat. After getting to know the howlers, families move on to find manatees. This vacation offers hands-on opportunities for family members to assist with tracking tagged manatees.

To learn more about Belize Family Week, visit the Oceanic Society at http://www.oceanic-society.org/famexp_Belize_family.

Explore Alaska

Experience the wild terrain of Alaska on a family-oriented adventure tour. Guests of the Glaciers and Wildlife tour from Austin-Lehman Adventures will experience close encounters with wildlife as they investigate Alaska’s wild terrain. They’ll explore the Kenai Peninsula by train, ship, kayak, bicycle, and foot.

Visitors to Alaska will be in awe of the abundance of breathtaking scenery and wildlife. Kids can hike to an active glacier, bike past gigantic waterfalls, and kayak the bays in search of seals and eagles. Accompanied by knowledgeable guides, they’ll learn about humpback whales, salmon, and puffins. The Glaciers & Wildlife adventure takes families to less-traveled areas for a glimpse of true Alaska. Busy days will end with a relaxing bonfire under the Alaskan midnight sun.

Alaska Wildland Adventures (ASA) offers the Alaska Family Camp where families can learn about Alaska’s native cultures and join in making their own Alaskan arts and crafts. Suitable for families with children ages 6-12, it offers rafting on the Kenai River and hiking on the trails of the Chugach National Forest.

More information about Alaskan expeditions can be found at http://www.austinlehman.com/trips/alaska_family___glaciers___wildlife/26.php and

http://www.alaskawildland.com/alaska-family-camp.htm.

Whatever your family does this summer, find a way to make it educational. Kids are curious by nature, so build on that with new learning experience. Keep it fun, interesting and unlike school, and they’ll enjoy learning.

Are you planning an educational getaway this summer?

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Tags: education vacation, Family su, family vacation, kids fun vacation, parent advice, Parenting, school is out, summer time vacation, summer vacation with kids