A Virtual Vacation!

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I love summer time when the kids are home. It’s such great to be together.

Here’s an idea for the end of summer when everything gets kind of blaaa. How about a virtual tour of a major European city?

Let’s plan a fantastic holiday in London.

1.              To learn about the city, check out a travel video or DVD from your local library and watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. You’ll see the ceremony better on screen than if you were there in person. 

2.              Christopher Robin and Pooh even watched the changing of the guard (When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, A.A. Milne.) Check out the book from the library.

3.              Add a Pooh DVD to your evening’s fun.

4.              Discover Buckingham palace itself and the royal family (www.royal.gov.uk).  I love to look at picture of the palace rooms.

5.              See the beautiful London Eye (www.londoneye.com). Click on river cruises and watch the video.

6.              Find the history of Big Ben, the great clock tower (http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/bigben/htm).

London has wonderful museums.

1.              Locate books in the library about the British Museum, or go to the web site (www.britishmuseum.org) and have your children explore the online museum tours of Africa, Asia, Egypt, the Americas, and many other exhibitions in the museum. Everything is there from ancient pottery to quirky science gadgets.

2.              The Science Museum in London has a newsletter (www.sciencemuseum.ork.uk). Sign up.

Design activities with a British flare.

1.              Take the family to a local Shakespearean play in the park. I love going to concerts and plays in the park because we sit on the grass and relax so the kids aren’t as confined as they are in a theater.

2.              Lawn bowling is a pastime of the English. Since you’ll probably have trouble finding that sport in the United States, have fun at the local bowling alley.

3.              Let your young cooks create some English food like Fish n’ Chips or maybe some of Paddington Bear’s marmalade sandwiches. Have them find out what ‘Bangers and mash’ are. Make some for dinner.

Have a movie night.

1.              101 Dalmatians

2.              Mary Poppins,

3.              Sherlock Holmes.

Or better still, the family can enjoy reading these books together. Harry Potter is everyone’s favorite.

Well, you get the idea. With a little research, you can create your own virtual tour of anywhere in the world. Grab your kids and have a great August vacation at home!

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