The younger boys and I visited some places recently. One of our trips was to The Crayola Factory in Easton, Pa. I knew that both Sean and Mikey would enjoy it, but I was not sure about the newly-turned-12-year-old.I can happily report that this is a fun place for little and big kids alike!

Lots of hands-on activities with paint, modeling clay, and melted crayons thrilled each of them. The live show about how the factory produces crayons never gets old – and I have seen it many times. For your admission price, you leave with nice little souvenirs like your artwork, small boxes of crayons, a marke or two and a little bit of Model Magic.

Another excursion took us to The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. We are able to enter free courtesy of Somerset County Library System owning a pass that can be checked out – talk to your library!

This is really a magical place. There are surprises around every corner in the form of hidden and unexpected statues. Neither the boys nor myself are artistic in any way, and yet this place never disappoints. They are most interested in what medium the exhibits are created in and the names. The fact that all this art is placed out-of-doors over many acres so you are walking the entire time suits my kinetic learners. They are completely captivated the entire time they are here.

While we were here, the gallery hosted a story time where The Curious Garden was read. Mikey told the story reader that the landscape in the book resembled New York City – yeah Mikey! He could even identify landmarks. Gavin revealed that it was actually based on The High Line Park – yeah Gavin! I feel like each new place I take them and every new experience they are exposed to adds little bits of information to a bank of knowledge. They can put more pieces together and have greater context for art and literature and frames of reference for the world. We are saving up memories and information like they are dollars – and we are rich!