Our family recently took a trip to Washington, D.C. Since we are currently spending a year living in North Carolina, we knew we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the capital of our country while we are just a short drive away.
Planning a trip to D.C. is a little overwhelming. There is just so much to see! The good news is that there are a ton of awesome free sites (hello Smithsonian!). The bad news is the traffic–parking is difficult, but we were super grateful for our GPS (seriously, how did anyone get anywhere before GPS??!!).
Before our trip we did a lot of research. I went to the library and browsed the Juvenile non-fiction section. I found a whole bunch of books on Washington, D.C., in the 975…section. I checked out 4-5, and spent a few weeks looking at the pictures with my youngest children. I tried to give them a preview of what we would see, so that the monuments would have a little more meaning. But honestly, I think the highlights of the trip for my three year old and five year old was riding the elevator and seeing ducks in the pond.
I gave my eight-year-old daughter this book to read: A Kid’s Guide to Washington, D.C.
The book was engaging, and she enjoyed it. The background information she read helped to make the sites that we saw more meaningful.
I’m so glad that you posted this! We’re currently in NC as well and have been thinking of planning a trip up to DC. My boys REALLY want to go (and I’ve never been either!) This will be the perfect book for my two oldest.