I have taken my daughter to the local children’s museum thirty or forty times over the past two years. I have only taken her twice since COVID hit. Today was the second time.
Here’s how I know writing this blog will be good for me: I realized how haphazard my aims are regarding this time with my daughter. It takes 30 minutes to get there from our house. What do we do on the way? Talk? Listen to music? Listen to a book I want to listen to? Sit in silence? Good questions. Today, we opted for a lot of instrumental music. “Did you like it?” I would ask. “It was different,” she might respond, or “Those guys were good!” after a particularly energetic piece.
Once we reach the museum, I generally let her dictate what we do. I obviously have control of the clock, and I have in my mind how long we can stay.
What struck me today is what a poor steward I’ve been of these visits. This is a gigantic learning opportunity, and I’ve been haphazard at best in my time there with our daughter.
Here are the things Catherine did at the museum today.
- Grocery store exhibit
- Bank exhibit
- Brick conveyor belt exhibit
- Miniature golf exhibit
- Magnet/construction crane exhibit
- Outdoor playground
- Garbage truck exhibit
When we left, I asked her what her favorite exhibit was. My guess would have been the Michelin-themed outdoor playground. Her response? The miniature golf exhibit. She got to play 9 holes of putt-putt!
Now I was paying enough attention to the exhibit to notice the fact that the game originated in Scotland in fifteenth century. I don’t know what my framing of this experience would have done for my daughter. Make up a song? Draw a picture?
We’ll certainly be writing a gratitude about it tonight.
And the next time we go? I’ll have an idea of what I’d like our daughter to learn. I know I learned something from our visit today. I pray I don’t have to learn the same lesson again.
Learning Together 