Summer cruises, WHY

[Naomi John]

I have seen this debated on CC numerous times. I feel it a parental choice, and one should not agree or disagree with each other over this, however, in response to the below quote: "what will they learn on a cruise?"

 

What exactly will the learn on a cruise? How to slide down a water slide? Make sand castles on the beach? Unless the tour is an educational tour, with an instructor and a very hands on approach, they will learn nothing but how to have fun.

 

Geography: One cruise, we brought a map of the world, and my DD had to attempt to find someone from every country, and she composed 3 questions about that country to ask that person. She didn't not get all of them, but obtain quite a few and used it as a Geography project at school.

 

Languages: DD was in a language immersion program her first 7 years of school, (PK - 5th). During our port stops in the Caribbean, she could not speak English. We also visited a local school, which helps learning diversity and other cultures.

 

Science: Cooking classes at local ports. Combining different and new foods to create a delicious combination. Understanding why some items need pepper or salt, where others need acid, and why it helps.

 

Math/physics: Looking at the clear sky and seeing different constellations and why are they in different areas in the sky from where we live. Finding the measurement of change when you are on different areas of the globe. If I change the shape of my body, will I go faster or slower down the water slide.

 

Every experience is a learning experience, just need to find it.

 

I like the use of a sand castle, engineering at it's core.

[SmittyCo]

I have seen this debated on CC numerous times. I feel it a parental choice, and one should not agree or disagree with each other over this, however, in response to the below quote: "what will they learn on a cruise?"

 

 

 

Geography: One cruise, we brought a map of the world, and my DD had to attempt to find someone from every country, and she composed 3 questions about that country to ask that person. She didn't not get all of them, but obtain quite a few and used it as a Geography project at school.

 

Languages: DD was in a language immersion program her first 7 years of school, (PK - 5th). During our port stops in the Caribbean, she could not speak English. We also visited a local school, which helps learning diversity and other cultures.

 

Science: Cooking classes at local ports. Combining different and new foods to create a delicious combination. Understanding why some items need pepper or salt, where others need acid, and why it helps.

 

Math/physics: Looking at the clear sky and seeing different constellations and why are they in different areas in the sky from where we live. Finding the measurement of change when you are on different areas of the globe. If I change the shape of my body, will I go faster or slower down the water slide.

 

Every experience is a learning experience, just need to find it.

 

I like the use of a sand castle, engineering at it's core.

 

 

Social skills! My kids make friends, learn out to work out arguments with them, how to agree upon a plan (ice cream first, then water slide) etc.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Geography: One cruise, we brought a map of the world, and my DD had to attempt to find someone from every country, and she composed 3 questions about that country to ask that person. She didn't not get all of them, but obtain quite a few and used it as a Geography project at school.

 

Languages: DD was in a language immersion program her first 7 years of school, (PK - 5th). During our port stops in the Caribbean, she could not speak English. We also visited a local school, which helps learning diversity and other cultures.

 

Science: Cooking classes at local ports. Combining different and new foods to create a delicious combination. Understanding why some items need pepper or salt, where others need acid, and why it helps.

 

Math/physics: Looking at the clear sky and seeing different constellations and why are they in different areas in the sky from where we live. Finding the measurement of change when you are on different areas of the globe. If I change the shape of my body, will I go faster or slower down the water slide.

 

Every experience is a learning experience, just need to find it.

 

 

And all of those are going to be immensely more interesting to the child if they experience it first hand versus sitting in a class room listening to the teacher, being bored, and probably not retaining most of the information. If they've been somewhere, they'll probably retain the information.

 

Let's not forget:

 

History: Almost anywhere you go in the Caribbean, with a few exceptions, are bristling with history. The Mayan culture--I've learned more about the Maya by going to Mexico and Belize as an adult as I ever did as a child in our school system. The forts in Puerto Rico or in St. Kitts are another example. Or you ever hear of something called the Panama Canal? Going to Panama, even without a full or partial transit, you can learn more about how that works. Or local history and social studies...I've been on many tours where the guide talks about life in their country, including economics and the political system, etc.

 

Culture: Again, this could come in the form of information provided by the tour guide, or just watching out the window of the tour bus, or walking with you down the streets of the port city that you're in. If you're on a tour that takes you away from the city that you ported in, chances are, you will see how the local population lives, what their houses look like, maybe what their cemeteries are like, just aspects of their daily lives. In some countries, you may have to go through a military check point so they learn that not every place is like the US.

 

You never know what may spark your child's interest and they may just decide on a career path because of the cruise. Can a school say that they've done that? No, unless that career path is to be an educator.

 

Ecology: Visit rain forests. Many available in Central America and the Caribbean.

 

Zoology: So many choices here, too, from sloths in Costa Rica to monkeys and mongoose in St. Kitts, to even things like XCarat in Playa del Carmen.

 

Again, engage your kids when you go to these places. Encourage them to think critically when they're there.

 

I think that the only way you're not going to learn anything, or for a kid to learn less on vacation than they would in school, is if a conscious effort was made to not learn anything.