We recently spent the day in Seattle and rode the Great Wheel.
The kids had an absolutely fabulous time and it was a beautiful day for an outing. I love being able to provide opportunities like this for my kids, but when I stopped to think about it, it wasn’t the actual ride on the ferris wheel that made it such a great day.
First of all, the weather definitely set the tone. You can’t beat blue sky and sunshine. Most of all, I really enjoyed the conversations we had.
As we crossed the bridge, we talked about the different boats we noticed and imagined what it would be like to live on a boat.
(Google Images)
We watched the seaplanes land and talked about how Uncle Chris used to fly those types of planes.
(Kenmore Air)
My daughter wondered why the Space Needle was even built in the first place, and my son was actually the one who answered her question. He had just finished a report about tourist spots in France, and told his sister all about the World’s Fair and how they built the Space Needle for the World’s Fair just like they had built the Eifell Tower for the World’s Fair. He was full of facts and you could tell that the conversation had more meaning to him because of his research.
(Google Images)
As we watched the ferries go by, we talked about the rides we’ve had on the ferry, searching for creatures down at the beach, and all of the starfish we find under the ferry docks.
Talking with my kids reminded me just how important language development is. I always write about the importance of letting your kids have experiences, but it’s just as important to talk about the experiences. Of course it would be really cool if I could afford to take the kids to dinner in the Space Needle, for a ride on a seaplane, or on a day trip out on a sailboat, but those types of experiences are just not in the budget. We provide what we can for our kids, but the rest we can talk, dream, and think about. The conversations are just as essential as the actual experiences.
Happy chatting!