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So, you have decided that you want to bring your children to the art museum closest to you.
My question is, how do you pre-empt your children that you are going to the museum?
Of course, you can just tell your children that you will be bringing them to the museum - but where is the fun in that, right? Furthermore, just by telling your child that you will be going to the museum, you will not be able to allow the child to pre-empt and expect what they will see in the museum. After all, if your children are unaware of what they will see in the museum, will they enjoy the experience?
If your child is not aware of what they expect to see in a museum, they may find it pointless to visit the art museum at all - and that is not the outcome we want for our child, right?
So what can we do to pre-empt our children before the art trip so they can know what to expect and ensure that the trip will be meaningful?
The simplest way? Use the magic of art! Since children use their senses to learn new things, such methods can help them learn about the museum even before the commencement of the trip! Besides, since this trip will be artistic, why not use art to pre-empt our children for the journey?
For example, if you want to bring your children to the museum on the history of a community, conduct a storytelling session with pictures to give them some context about what the trip will be about. If the museum of your choice is more focused on art sculptures, show them the exhibits and give them the tools to recreate one of the sculptures displayed at the museum! If the museum of choice consists of many abstract arts, do splash painting with the children!
The possibility to implore the activities' availability to do with them is endless.
By doing so, children will have a rough idea of what the museum is about, and when that happens, they will know what to expect from the museum. They will find this trip meaningful rather than just visiting the museum since they can relate the art to their pre-field trip activity and take an interest in the exhibits provided in the museum!
During the trip, talk about all the references you have used from the museum for the pre-activity in person to the child, which will help boost their learning and enrich their experience when they visit the museum!
Another part of this is also essential - and that is setting the ground rules. We all know that children are active creatures that cannot stay still and consistently need something to get them excited. To keep them ruly, instead of just focusing on what they can't do, why not tell them what they can do to ensure they don't act unruly in an art museum?
For example, if you want them to quiet down, instead of telling them, "no screaming!" - why not just ask them to use their indoor voice? If you do not want them to run, you can say, "use your walking feet!' If you do not want them to touch anything, you can say, "keep your hands to yourself!" - and so on.
Children, especially those aged three and up, are primarily defiant creatures! By telling them what to do instead of what they can't do, they will more likely follow the rules you want them to abide by. The possibilities are endless! You need to twist your words on the restrictions you set for them to become instructions instead!
And that is what you can do to prepare your children before the trip!
If you wonder why you should bring your child to the museum, check out our other blog post for the reasons and benefits!
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