Travel memories: much more than what meet the eyes

We went on a roadtrip across Alaska when Mara and Aïsha were 14 months old and Mathilde was just a little baby bump. We drove across the Kenai Peninsula debating if we would call her Taïga... Mara said her first word one morning in our old Boler while we were camped on the beach in Homer. "Nez, nez, nez (nose)" she kept repeating, pointing to her little peanut in the middle of her cute round face, giggling the whole time... They obviously do not remember how we were surrounded by the three glaciers that day while we sat on the shore to eat the wonderful clam chowder from the local seafood store, but I believe they felt the incredible energy of that place...

:: Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, winter 2006 (Mathilde) ::

Rudolf Steiner, who founded Waldorf education, states: "For the little child, up to the age of seven, everything, every action, every sight, sound, or other sense impression around the child is taken in and absorbed right into the child's inner being. These impressions become indelibly etched in the child's nervous system and can affect the development of the whole organism." 

The girls do not cognitively remember much from our life in the Yukon, the -40 January cold that bit their baby cheeks when they rode in their lambskin covered sleighs (and more often in slings on our tummies or backs), but we know they remember something much deeper than that. Their senses do. It is part of who they are now.
  

:: Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, winter 2004/2005 (Aïsha) ::

They remember some of the more intense moments, of course, like this one time during a salmon-fishing trip in Haines, Alaska, along the Chilkoot river when a grizzly came and stole our friend's catch! Of course, when our sense of fear is awakened, memories are created even at a very young age!

:: Silver City, Kluane Lake, Yukon, Canada, Summer 2006 ::

 :: On Montana mountain, Carcross, Yukon, Summer 2008, only a few days before we moved away
from the Yukon ::


 :: Camping in Northern BC near Muncho Lake under such a clear starry sky that
we will never forget... (2010) ::

 :: During the winter 2011/2012, we lived in Costa Rica for 5 months and the girls made friends with a lot of critters. They were afraid of bugs when we arrived. It didn't take the girls long to warm up to them thanks to the colorful leaflets that we bought, it quickly became a treasure hunt and they now have fond memories of stick bugs and leaf bugs and many more! ::

  :: In Costa Rica, we lived 10 minutes from a beautiful waterfall where it often was the only place to cool off. The girls have fond memories of this place. ::

 :: Holding and feeding a toucan at the La Paz Waterfall Garden, Costa Rica, is an experience Mathilde will never forget. ::

And the senses remember the very hot sand burning your feet while you are trying to run as fast as you can to reach the warm sea, the smell of the tropical forest after the rain during the wet season, the market hustle and bustle, as well as the mix of ethnicities in the subway stations in New York, the different languages in the ears, the calm quiet camping night away from everything and the northern lights. Ah! The northern lights!... Memories that encompass the cognitive mind.

 :: New York, May 2013 ::

 

 
I had the best example I could wish for just yesterday as we were collecting eggs with friends who are talking care of their neighbors' hens while they are away. While we were filling the feeder, two hens flew out of the coop and were on the loose. Mathilde, who was only 3 when we had hens and does not remember much, quickly acted and grabbed one perfectly on top of its wings slipping the hen on the side of her body to keep it from moving and brought it back to the coop. Somewhere, she clearly remembered. And I believe it's exactly the same for traveling... 

  :: Glacier National Park, Montana, Highline Trail, September 2012 ::

 :: Dry Fork Canyon, Utah, October 2012 (Aïsha) ::

  :: The Wave, Arizona, November 2012 (Mara and Mathilde) ::

 :: Snorkeling in the Florida Keys, February 2013 (Mara) ::

Now that they are older, the memories they are forming from the experiences they are having in our travels are incredibly rich. No book, lesson, movie, or YouTube could come close to leaving the same impression they had when we hiked up to the Wave in Arizona. I am pretty sure they will remember what they learned about aviation from our short visit at the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Pueblo people while visiting Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, or celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And it's the same for learning about shells and sea treasures from a passionate man on the shores of Edisto State Park in South Carolina. 

It's the stuff travel memories are made of...

By the way, this was a group writing project inspired by a wonderful group of traveling families I am part of, so if you'd like to read their take on Travel memories and children, here are the links to their posts:

Mary from Bohemian travelers http://www.bohemiantravelers.com/2013/05/is-traveling-with-young-kids-worth-it.html 


Nancy from Family on Bikes   http://familyonbikes.org/blog/2013/05/why-travel-is-good-for-kids-even-if-they-dont-remember-it 

Alisa from Living Outside of the Box http://livingoutsideofthebox.com/2013/05/28/but-will-our-kids-remember/

Melissa from Break Out of Bushwick 
http://breakoutofbushwick.org/never-too-young-why-travel-isnt-wasted-on-kids/

Bethaney from Flashpacker Family
http://flashpackerfamily.com/is-travelling-with-young-children-worth-it/

Jenn Miller  http://edventureproject.com/why-travel-is-not-wasted-on-the-very-young/

Kris Herwig from Simon Says - Traveling With Tots: The World is My Playground  http://simonsays2010.blogspot.nl/2013/05/traveling-with-tots-world-is-my.html

Heather Costaras from Living Differently - http://liveagainsttheflow.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/the-gift-of-travel/

Kalli from Portable Professionals http://portableprofessionals.com/philosophies-on-travel/why-i-dont-care-if-my-child-remembers-our-travels/

Kirsty from Barts go Adventuring http://bartsgoadventuring.com/will-kids-remember-travel-is-it-worth-it
  
Anne from The Journey is the Reward http://anvl.travellerspoint.com/65/ 

Sharon from Where's Sharon - http://www.wheressharon.com/2013/05/why-travel-when-your-kids-are-too-young.html

Annie from Practical Adventurology - "Why You Should Travel With Kids Even If They Won't Remember" http://www.annieandre.com/2013/05/why-travel-with-kids-wont-remember

Lainie from Raising Miro on the Road of Life (and Aimee from Suitcases and Strollers): http://www.raisingmiro.com/2013/05/28/doubt-that-travel-has-value/

Nichola from We Travel Countries - http://www.wetravelcountries.com/why-travel-when-they-wont-remember-experience-vs-memory/ 

Tracey from The Expat Experiment - http://expatexperiment.com/why-travel-when-mak-wont-remember/

Natalie from Magnificent World - http://earlyeducationessentials.com/travelling-with-young-children-would-they-remember-an-amazing-revelation/