Family Field Trips and a FREE Boredom Buster

"Getting out of the house with a handful of toddlers is a dream," said no one ever!  Toddlers are tiny insane people!  They are full of overly passionate emotions, both positive and negative.  They contain a pure energy that, if bottled, would make you a fortune lifetimes over.  Their listening is incredibly selective, and they have the uncanny ability to have to pee or poop immediately upon arrival of any destination.

Clif and Cody at the Dallas Zoo.

While all of this is true, and I've experienced it all myself many, many times, getting out and doing things with your toddlers is worth all that time and energy.  The benefits of "Family Field Trips,"as we like to call them, truly do outweigh the costs.  The bottom line is, children learn from experiences.

At the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

My almost two year old still talks about going on a hay ride any time he sees two or more pumpkins gathered together.  I know this is from our crazy trip to the local pumpkin patch this October.   My four year old still talks about the similarities and differences of the small 99 cent pumpkins he got to pick out on that same visit.

Hay ride selfie

Truthfully, I was so focused on trying not to lose either of them, I had a difficult time enjoying the experience.  The place was packed full of parents, kids, volunteers, dogs, pumpkins, jumping balloons, and playhouses.  I saw a million different ways a person could abduct my children while my kids saw adventure and entertainment.

Lunch at the pumpkin patch

The bottom line is, we did it.  We experienced everything that that pumpkin patch had to offer.  We talked about it all.  We talked about it before, during, and after the trip.  We laugh at the pictures.  We bring it up when something from a book reminds us of this memory.  My kids are making text to self connections at ages one and four!  Was I stressed the whole time?  YES!  Did I try to force myself into enjoyment?  YES!  Do I regret going?  NO!

Grapevine Botanical Gardens Dinosaur Exhibit

So, get out there!  Go on the adventure.  Embrace the chaos.  It's short lived, and we all know we'll miss it once it's gone.

Click HERE for a free gross motor skill printable from Camp Campbell's December kit!  Happy dancing!