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Original poster

How to satisfy child's curiosity for the word on a budget

85 replies

Bummler · 30/11/2024 21:12

My son is 6 and has always showed an interest in other countries and cultures but he is starting to get more interested and aware of travel opportunities and is wanting to go and visit just about every place he hears of.

He has only been abroad twice and we can only afford an abroad holiday once every three years or so. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can satisfy his interest in other countries without actually visiting them?

We are trying to get books from the library but are struggling to find things suitable for his age.

He is interested in all kinds of things about other countries. Will ask me if I know any words in their languages, what do they eat on Christmas day, what kind of landscape and animals they have. He often asks me to look at the world map with him and he will point to random countries and ask me to tell him all I know about them.

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Thingsthatgo · 01/12/2024 15:40

My DS was fascinated with different countries when he was 6 years old. I asked everyone I knew on social media, and asked them to ask their friends and families too and we sent postcards all over the world with questions to lovely people who agreed to write back.
We had such an amazing few months with cards and letters arriving from wonderful places, with descriptions of their view from their front door, what they'd eaten that day etc.
We even got one from Antartica.
DS made a big folder of his letters, and it still look through it sometimes!

Fireworknight · 01/12/2024 15:42

Thingsthatgo · 01/12/2024 15:40

My DS was fascinated with different countries when he was 6 years old. I asked everyone I knew on social media, and asked them to ask their friends and families too and we sent postcards all over the world with questions to lovely people who agreed to write back.
We had such an amazing few months with cards and letters arriving from wonderful places, with descriptions of their view from their front door, what they'd eaten that day etc.
We even got one from Antartica.
DS made a big folder of his letters, and it still look through it sometimes!

What a great idea!

SereneCapybara · 01/12/2024 15:50

You could have themed days or weeks, where you eat food from another culture, learn some words from that culture, watch a children's TV show from that culture on You Tube with subtitles, look at what people wear and how they live and festivals and faith and discuss how things are similar and different.

You could start with nearby countries and spread outwards.

How about getting him an atlas or globe for Christmas.

MadKittenWoman · 01/12/2024 16:11

mickybarrysmum · 30/11/2024 22:54

There's an app called Geoguesser which lets you walk up and down the streets of random towns in random countries and you have to try and figure out where you are just by wandering around.
it's using Google earth software but you play against other people and Iv had loads of fun with it road signs, shops,billboards people etc

This! DS24 and I used to play this before he left home, and we still play it at Christmas. He's always been into travel and finding out about the World.

I would reconsider not letting him watch YouTube videos on travel. It's educational. Also, get him into flags and knowing capital cities. A good game is how many countries can you name starting with 'A', 'B', etc.

You can also get really cheap flights to Europe, although I appreciate the prices rocket during school holidays. You can involve him in planning, looking at flights and the cost of different accommodation options. Get cheap guide books from charity shops and plan things to do. Download free apps which give info about top 10 things to do. Get maps. Look at live webcams from places of interest. Try to find a penpal. Get him language lessons.

Honestly, there are worse things he could get into and I would run with it. It will open his mind and increase his asperations so much.

MadKittenWoman · 01/12/2024 16:12

Aspirations!

Mathsbabe · 01/12/2024 16:40

The World Bank has tons of statistics for every country. You can sort each data set so for example the biggest country, longest lived population and change in population over time, all fascinating.

StormingNorman · 01/12/2024 17:49

National Geographic programmes on Disney +

Arthur Christmas is a cute Christmas film. The sleigh stops off in a few different countries.

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