Ten Adventures to Take

Eliza Clark
December 29, 2011

All this week, we are taking a look at some of our favorite articles from the past year. This one originally ran in May 2011. Happy adventuring!   

Some children seem to be natural-born adventurers. They light up when they get to explore new places, meet new people, or even try new foods. Other young kids are more homebody types. After a short while in an unfamiliar place, you can count on them to chime in, "It's time to go hoooome!"

But whatever your children's respective temperaments, a bit of adventure does everyone good once in a while -- not least of all, the parents. The routines of family life, lovely as they are, can often feel needlessly limiting. Yes, children benefit from regular schedules and activities, but families can become closer when they venture together into the wider world. Among new people, trying new activities, or in unknown places, we invigorate our appreciation for familial closeness and the comforts of home.

For preschoolers, the adventures needn't be all that far-flung to have the desired broadening effect; to them, most of the world is still undiscovered. So let's step out with our kids and see it! A few ideas for ten first adventurous steps:

1. The natural world is a good place to start. Set your child on a search for worms and see how brave she feels!
2. An adventure is often nothing more than breaking the rules and loving it, so take your kids out after a rainstorm and let them go puddle jumping.  (Pretend you disapprove; then join them.)
3. Make your next park outing into an exploration with a nature scavenger hunt.
4. For blossom lovers, a flower hunt at the park is even more exciting. Bring the buds home, and practice making flower arrangements.
5. Taking in a new museum or exhibit always wakes up the senses -- let the kids be the tour guides this time.
6. Be really brave and... take a trip! Get in the car, on the train or the airplane and go someplace you've always wanted to see. Traveling with small kids is not nearly as daunting as it may seem, especially with our Savvy Source travel tricks of the trade.
7. Think preschoolers can't scale mountains? Believe us, they can. Get yours out on the trails, and give hiking with your kids a try.
8. Remember the worms? Save a few for a fishing adventure!
9. An adventure for a preschooler can be as easy to come by as trying out a new kind of cuisine. Take them to taste dim sum or tapas -- even just a whiff and a nibble can be a memorable experience for a little one.
10. Remember that life with young kids is an adventure in and of itself, and with a bit of Savvy planning, a "staycation" can be just as full of fun and novelty as a bona fide vacation.

Happy adventuring, everyone!