It's no secret that we love the Minnesota Children's Museum. Teaching our kids to communicate in a respectful manner has always been a child development priority at home. So when I saw this blog post from the MCM about the importance of communication, I thought back about the different visits we've had the museum, Sophie and Jack's favorite exhibits and how they've learned to develop their communication skills through fun play.
During a recent visit, Jack (age 2) decided that he wanted to be a mailman when he grows up. So he put on the mailman uniform, grabbed a bag a mail and wandered around, dropping off letters here and there (since he can't read the addresses yet!). Since that day, Jack has noticed mail trucks driving around in our neighborhood and always points them out. He's keenly aware of the importance of the mailman coming to our mailbox each day to deliver mail and is always very excited when there's a piece of mail addressed to him.
The kids love playing at Sae Mot, the Korean restaurant within the museum. In the picture below, Jack is taking my food order and Sophie (age 4) can be seen in the background, getting food out of the refrigerator. I'm amazed as watch all of the kids work together in unison (yes, sometimes there's a some bickering as a couple of kids both want the broom or the mop-- it's always the cleaning supplies, for some reason). I'm always served by other people's kids and that makes the experience even more fun. When we're out having dinner at a restaurant, Sophie now asks about whether the waiters work there and where to go after work.
One of Jack's must-do activities at the museum is driving the MetroTransit bus. Over the past couple of years, he's learned to wait patiently in line and then jump on to the driver's seat, turn the wheel and drive for a few minutes before giving the next kid in line a turn. It's a great way to teach patience, taking turns and sharing, all while having fun! (And judging by the pictures, I have a thing for drawing facial hair on my little boy!)
The grocery store! Too bad real-life grocery shopping isn't as fun as pretend grocery-shopping. Both Sophie and Jack love filling up their carts and checking out. I usually sit back and just observe. Mainly because there's not a lot of room in the grocery store, but also because I want to see how they react and work issues out with other kids playing in there. Sometimes, another kid will take Sophie or Jack's half-filled shopping carts. I consider it a lesson in conflict resolution as the kids try to negotiate their way to a compromise.
These communication skills that they learning in their toddler and preschool years will follow them for the rest of their lives. I hope that they grow up to be respectful adults that know how to effectively communicate with friends, family and colleagues.
There are so many things to learn (and the kids don't even realize that they are learning) while playing at the museum. Whenever we go to other wonderful museums in town the kids are always ready to fun around, play and I find myself running after them, saying "don't touch!" and then they always beg to go to the Minnesota Children's Museum instead. So that's where we'll keep going!
