My kids love history. Many people are surprised by that, but given our family interest in history and the fact that very early on we exposed them to museums and historical stories I would be more surprised if they disliked history.
This year's vacation found us in Dallas and Ft Worth. We went farther back in history than usual with a trip to Medieval Times. While the restaurant is geared more for entertainment than historical fact we found plenty of things to discuss. With my ten year old we talked about women's rights then and now. With my six year old we focused our conversation on simpler topics such as understanding the difference in manners, specifically the lack of utensils. These are simple conversations but they feed the interests and minds of my children while posing as fun and entertainment. By making these connections early we set the ground for later learning.
Later in the trip we find ourselves at the historic Ft Worth stockyards. Here we look at carriages, ride a stage coach and jump aboard the Grapevine railway and discuss how transportation has changed in the last two hundred years. My son learned why cowboy hats have such wide brims. We also learned how the train killed the cattle drive, all the while exploring a cow pen maze, watching old west style shoot outs, a cattle drive and lots of other entertainment.
The best part? My kids have asked for more books about Texas history, American history and even Medieval history and they have no idea how "fun" turned into education.
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