Making 'adult' activities fun for kids?

[Gameboy]

First a plea..... as the initiator of the 'Vaunda' thread... please don't let this descend into a parenting row - it's a genuine question...

Went to DS's school on Tues for a parent's evening and talk, and in a section talking about 'How to help your children' his teacher was talking about the value of family trips to places like theatres/ museums/ exhibitions etc etc and saying how easy it is to find an 'angle' which will interest the children. So for example, going to an art gallery and getting children to look at portraits and think about the emotions of the people in the pictures/ asking questions about why they think they might be like that.

Now, I have no issues with this at all, and we DO regularly take our kids to places, but I have to say I think I'm CRAP at thinking about how to make it fun for them like this.

Are there any idea sheets/ resources anywhere?
Can any Mn-ers suggest ideas for all the major sort of 'cultural' places?

Almost all major places do activity sheets, quizzes, trails and so on. Lots of them also have educational centres where you can talk to trained people, and/or special family days where you can be part of activities led by them. That's a good start if you're not sure how to do it.

But I have to confess I'm not always that impressed by what's laid on, not sure why, maybe because it tends to be a "one size fits all" approach.

So, instead, my big recommendation would be: take them to places that YOU like and YOU find interesting. Eg my dh is a modern art fanatic and he's taken ds (6) and dd (4) to galleries since they were tiny, and they totally love it. He just tells them what he really likes, and how one thing is like or not like another thing, and how an artist has chosen what to do and how, and he gets them to chat about stuff. They go very often, so each visit is really short.

I like museums, if they're dynamic with lots of dramatic value (eg members of the RSC being gladiators at the Museum of London), so that's my bit.

There is, I think, a bit of danger of kids being put off culture by it being treated as a duty. So we pick quite carefully, and only do things which aren't a chore for us.

I'm going to change my name to AfterThought.

Sorry, didn't answer your question about what to focus on. I would tailor it to the child: eg, dd and I had a lovely time going round the Dulwich Picture Gallery spotting all the (i) little girls and (ii) fluffy dogs in the portraits. That led very easily on to What do you think that little girl is thinking about? and Do you think she looks comfy in that dress? Would you like to wear it? and Do you see that very little girl - well that's really a little boy, 'cos in those days they used to dress very little boys in dresses, no I'm not sure why, maybe it was easier to take them to the loo that way, what do you think ... and so on. It just flows.

Binkie
Agree with you about the 'organised' stuff not really 'cutting it' - it always seems to be a worksheet, which isn't always what you want....

Mine always take a sketchbook to art museums - their idea not mine - and we keep trips short. Much easier now lots of places are free. There's a good website called something like 24hr museum which has good links such as online dinosaur top trumps for Nat Hist museum. I've got some links somewhere - I'll dig them out. Tate do fun children's activities.

I'm very envious of you all - my ds (7) can spot any attempt at dressing up education with 'fun' activities at a million paces. His attitude is 'we do all that at school and out of schoool I just want to play play play!'' I really hope he grows out of it; last time we went to a museum, I found myself with an admiring circle of children watching my attempts to dress myself up as an egyptian while my ds was hiding in the toilets ('until you've finished trying to teach me stuff mum'')sigh...can I borrow some of your kids to take to museums please?

I love taking the kids to museums and art galleries - they are fantastic fun these days.

With art galleries the main thing is to do a bit of research beforehand. Find out a bit about a couple of artists, and pick out a couple of pictures to find. Don't try and do too much. 6 pictures is PLENTY for anyone to really appreciate in a single visit, and certainly for a child.

Where are you? The National Gallery is fabulous for this. If you go in the left hand wing (Sainsburys/Wellcome - I can't remember?!) go upstairs and there's a computer suite. You can pick out a selection of pictures you want to look at, and it will then print out for you a map with their locations, and the list of paintings and artists.

The Tate Modern (3rd floor?) has FANTASTIC non-worksheet activities for children.

How old are your children? There are some fantastic books written for children about artists, which you can pick up at your local library. Or find out what artists they've been learning about at school.

For background - this series about Katie and the ... by James Mayhew is great for younger children

these books by Laurence Anholt are great too. I've seen a set of them at a ridiculously cheap price from Redhouse or Book People or something recently. But I can't find them just now. But you could borrow them from the library.

Final bit of advice - start young! We took the kids for a whole day in the Musee d'Orsay when they were 5 and 7 and the loved it! We also dragged them round a bit of the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre!

Found it!
5 Anholt books for £10 here from Red House

Being topical, gameboy, are you in London? Have you seen the other thread about the London Open House event this weekend - with a link to the website? There's a kids section ("architectives") which looks fabulous. I can't wait to show it to my ds.

(and roisin I think your dss would love it too)

Best thing to do is give your kids their own disposable camera each (you can even get digital ones now!) tell them they can take photos of whatever they want that will remind them of their day out and then they can make a scrap book when they get home.
Encourage them to take photos at interesting angles, really close-up etc. You will be amazed at what they produce and what they remember later down the line when it comes to making their scrapbook

pmsl at the title of this thread

I find it important to remember to include some fun bits in any trip, so that your kids look forward to coming with you. We found the new fountain in the middle of the V&A excellent for paddling (bit cold for that now). Also not to expect to much of them, and not to expect to spend the time you might want looking at things. Mine seem to enjoy the "whistlestop" approach.

Thanks folks - some great links here (esp. the books Roisin - thx)

Binkie - we're not in London, but within 30-40 min train journey, so easily do-able!)

Will check out the other thread.

Too often we get to the weekend and end up doing the same old stuff just because we haven't managed to spend any time 'researching!'

I resolve to try to do better in future....

I think they're perfectly capable of putting their own slant on it and making it fun for themselves.
I take my kids to museums, art galleries and theatres and really enjoy watching what they get out of it. Often it's womthing I haven't even noticed.
Sometimes I think grown-ups, especially (but not all) teachers, feel the need to guide childrens' thoughts when it is unecessary and even counter-productive.