Katka’s Story: How I Became an Author of City Family Kits for Worldschoolers
February 5, 2018
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Katka’s story: How I became an author of City Family Kits for Worldschoolers
The thing is I’ve always loved to travel. I lived in many different places on different continents. And all these experiences have shaped my opinions, values and who I am.
But then kids came along (and don’t get me wrong, I love my kids) and suddenly travelling became exhausting. We always ended up going to the beach, animal farms or fun parks to keep them entertained. There were so many beautiful capital cities on our bucket list, but with the kids, we had a hard time making it a pleasant experience. Cities were just too much hassle. But why?
So I kept asking myself a question: How to make exploring cities with kids easy? Or at least bearable?
Cities with the Kids are Tough
I talked to many other families and visited couple European cities with my kids and it always came down to the same issues. Parents can’t plan a perfect day with kids in a city they’ve never been to. And if they try, it takes sooo much time! Since it’s hard to just nail the basics, it’s mission impossible to come up with interesting games and fun facts along the way to make it joyful and at least a bit educational.
Learning by What I Knew Best
Knowing the problem I couldn’t help myself but to look for a solution. I tested my ideas on Prague, my home city. I came up with a set of self-guided tours that give parents all the necessary info to find their way around the top sights in the city and at the same time give the kids a way to play and learn along the way. You should have seen my kids being all excited about spraying on the Lennon Wall, looking for hidden statues or hiding treasures. That’s how I’ve created the first Prague Family Kit.
Worldschooling as an Eyeopening Experience For Me and My Family
It turned out families who were most enthusiastic about the City Family Kits were Worldschoolers! The idea turned out to be completely in line with Wordshooling philosophy of learning by travelling, exploring, tasting and hands-on creating. Meeting Worldschooling families and talking to them got me thinking and Worldschooling became my own mission in life.
During my research, I started writing a blog about Prague after creating the Prague Family Kit I found co-writers in other big European cities and started publishing and offering more different destinations. Together with their help, I have already finished the Rome Family Kit, Paris Family Kit and Barcelona Family Kit. and tested all of them with my kids..The activities in the Kit are different and tailor-made for each of the cities.
Exploring Paris in the Worldschooling Way
Visiting Paris with the Paris Family Kit was a whole different experience. Instead of cravings for fun parks and junk food, my boys were so excited to see the Eiffel tower and have a picnic in the park like the French families do. They were absolutely eager to find out if the Eiffel Tower was made of iron because they had a task in their Activity Books to test it with a magnet provided in the Kit. We had a wonderful time together, no hassle or stress involved.
Do One Thing Right the Rest Will Follow
Looking back, it all started with the problem “how to visit big cities with kids” and ended up with me setting up the project Travelove, working with people all over Europe and becoming a Worldschooler. You never know what one single initiative can bring into your life!
Katka, mom of Krystof (7) and Marian (9)
Founder and designer of City Family Kits
Author of blog Prague with Family
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