a subscription to travel, learning, fun

Lately, I've been thinking about how to connect the kids beyond our circle of playmates, toys, books, cartoons, the computer, and so on... And of course - it has to be special... educational. And fun. Is that not a tall order or what?

So I've done a little homework for myself - by first thinking about what I enjoyed as a kid... and one of the first things that came to mind was when my best friend and I exchanged letters when she moved to Brazil after Kindergarten. Over the course of the years (and still to this day), we have connected through words (and when we were younger - through stickers!). It was such a great feeling - beginning with the simple arrival of a colored envelope addressed just to me. So I knew I had to start here...

And that's when I came across this wonderful new product online called Little Passports - a Global Adventure - a subscription to a travel magazine - but it's not a magazine per say - that would come in the mail, but rather a monthly way to explore, learn, and read about other cultures using tangible items that really give the child a hands-on type of traveling experience.

Here's how it works: Choose a traveler plan (3-12 month options), to enroll into the program. Your first package will include a small suitcase, passport, world map, and an intro to the fictional globe trotters, "Sam & Sophia." Also included are secret codes that we could use on the website to access games and activities... (we can't get away from technology I suppose...)

Each month you're subscribed for, a parcel will come in the mail about a country the characters have visited, and will include souvenirs, educational fun facts, and so on... how cool is that? Yes very! And I will venture to say that although I think this concept is brilliant, I also think that this can easily turn into junk mail after a few months.

Because as with most things that we invest and buy for our children - embracing new things ourselves first - whether that's food, a book, or an educational toy - will be far more successful in their acceptance, and not to mention, enhance their learning. So for me - this will be the motivational starter kit that I have been searching for to help our kids really engage in other cultures, while also fostering their love for travel... like Aaron and I have...

I'm already thinking of ideas for some of the locations ... for example, for Japan, (photo above) - we could extend the learning by exploring right here in our own town and visit some of the Asian markets - or let our palettes experience some of it too, like cooking tempura vegetables (mmm... one of my favorites) or trying sushi with the kids... Noah would get a kick out of using chopsticks and Ava would love to make origami birds to hang above her bed... The ideas are endless...

If you want to take part in this family adventure right now though, SavvySource is running a special national discount on your first 3 months (including the starter package) for only $23.

I'm sure there are other wonderful resources out there that we could use to bring the world to our kids - if you come across any, please leave a comment!