Thursday, July 8, 2010

Raising our children to be more social and creative through multi-cultural experience and education


Summer is here and the air is hot. Kids are out of school and play in the woods, or on the beach, or attend summer camps. Some are traveling to different states and different countries. They are having fun. Many parents want our children to have opportunities to meet different people and do different things, to learn and experience what they don’t normally get during the school year. It is the best time for a kid to develop an open mind and be more social and more creative.

One way to encourage our kids to open their minds is through multi-cultural experiences and education. With my personal experience, I agree with what Wendy Lee Walsh wrote at Today Moms, http://community.todaymoms.com/_news/2010/07/07/4633077-want-a-kid-whos-more-creative-get-packing:

“Creativity is linked to an open mind. Multi-cultural experiences open one's mind. International living forces the brain to think outside of the box in multiple arenas -- from social customs, to art, food, architecture and laws. So when a child learns to open their mind as an adaptive behavior when traveling, the thinking is that this same brain function can be applied to imagination in art, academics, and eventually even business.”

International travel and living are wonderful. However, it is not an option for many of us right now. To help our children broaden their minds, Panda Land provides multi-cultural experiences and education to children in our communities. For over a year now, children have been taking our Chinese language and culture lessons as part of their after school enrichment. This summer, we will work together with the Peabody Essex Museum to have children learn Chinese language and culture through exhibits of art, social customs, and architecture. We’ll also teach children the art of Chinese calligraphy with brushes and ink.

It is our passion and desire to bring the multi-cultural experience and education to the people on the north shore of Boston right here in Salem Massachusetts and help our children to grow with open minds, be more creative, and be ready to embrace globalization.

If you are interested, please feel free to contact us anytime.