Toddler Tours

The young boy embarking on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, Ratatouille’s hilarious rat getting lost in the streets of Paris and the little toddler on his own tour in Baby’s Day Out! All of them have surely one agenda – touring or rather detouring – breaking from the routine to experience the real world in real time.

No matter how tech savvy one gets, running around and visiting new places for adventure and entertainment has its own fascination, which gadgets cannot replace. We all have fond memories of our childhood: travelling to Dadu’s or Nanu’s house during the summer vacations,exploring the hidden gems in a complete unknown town, learning a new language, making new friends, visiting new sites, and coming back rejuvenated, confident enough to tell a great story.

Educational trips play a key role during the formative years. They are a welcome break in the routine for both students and teachers but, more importantly, they offer benefits well beyond information enhancement: they build confidence and provide for a fun, bonding experience for everyone involved.Educational travel can consist of a simple excursion such as a visit to a nearby, post office, museum, planetarium or just an open park. If visits during summer vacations provided an organic way of learning, schools have structured‘experiential learning’ into their curriculums and families have gotten more ‘organised’ and purpose oriented about their leisure time. Please look at our J blog post, just like that.

Children, need a range of visual and sensory experiences to inspire and stimulate their creative potential. Lucy Mitchell(1878-1967), an American educator,a pioneer in the field of early childhood education and founder of Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE) considered field trips to be a vital part of the social studies programme. It is a powerful and positive teaching tool that helps enhance the social, personal and emotional development of all learners.

Every excursion has something to offer. Hands-on learning activities outside the classroom lead to better achievement, motivation and personal development. Learning outcomes for the individual are many - Increase in curiosity levels, knowledge of other languages and cultures, increase in awareness, ability to empathise and broader understanding of social systems and the roles people play within them. Excursions give children a platform to explore and ask questions, to make sense of the man-made and natural world they see around them.

The natural world is filled with beautiful sights, sounds, and textures and it's the perfect resource for the development of aesthetics in young children.Preschoolers learn much through their senses (See blog S) and nature stimulates all of those senses: a riot of colours in the flora and fauna or a color changing chameleon, the sound of the wind or the rustling of leaves, the fragrance of jasmine and mogra in the dry hot summers or the rain-soaked ground after the much awaited first monsoon shower, grazing your fingers on the rough bark of a tree or adding to your collection a smooth, round stone from the river bed; chewing a tulsi leaf or sucking on the sweet liquid from a madhumalti creeper.

Finally, what better place than the outdoors for children to be loud and messy and boisterous? Outside they can run and jump and yell, and spend some of the energy that is usually inappropriate – and even annoying – indoors.The fearless and clueless running, leaping and jumping, and the mischief that prompted it, was nothing but an enriching contact with the natural world. The zoo or the park or even a safe by lane just outside the home would even be a good place for hide and seek or a spot of cricket. But a visit to a library or a museum changes everything: children will suddenly start talking in a hushed voice, respecting the rules in a different settings.

Children at Mobile Creches centres go on excursions twice a year, to places like the Science Museum, Dolls Museum, Rail Museum, etc.Entertainment is a rare luxury for our children at the centres and they enjoy every minute of it.

We have a few suggestions for all those who plan to visit the capital city soon. The national capital is always buzzing with activity and there is something here for everyone to enjoy. Delhi has a handful of museums specifically designed with kids in mind. Little engine drivers will enjoy a spin around the National Rail Museum, featuring some eleven acres-full of rail-related exhibitions and memorabilia, including the Fairy Queen, the world’s oldest still-running steam train, the saloon car of King Edward VII. Alternatively, enjoy a doll-sized world tour at Shankar’s International Doll Museum on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.

So, are you tired of seeing your kids glued to the sofa playing video games when it's a beautiful day? Well, it's time to get them up and outside for some real-life fun! Even if your budget's tight, you can find ample adventures in a park. Whether your local park is a small neighborhood green space or an expansive national park, take advantage of your nearest recreational area and plan an outing for the whole family, no matter how young or old.