THE WORLD - Travel is the best teacher and the world is the ultimate classroom. Whether they are learning a new skill or learning a life lesson, there is no better way to gain knowledge than through experience. Children are sponges, absorbing everything they see and hear, so here are 10 ways children can learn through travel:

1 Learn the local language

Children don’t need to learn the language fluently but a few words such as “good morning, please and thank you” in a local tongue will go a long way and put a smile on someone’s face. Search and find a few phrases for them to learn before travelling or use a language app that can be fun such as Duolingo, Babbel and Mondly. (All available via Android and iOS)

2 Sample different foods and flavours

With beautiful and unusual looking fruit and vegetables in many destinations, it is the perfect opportunity for children to try new foods and flavours. They may not like everything, but at least they will learn what they do and don’t like. You can educate them on how different foods grow. Many farms and plantations are happy for you to wander around and will even talk to you about the fruit and vegetables they grow, allowing you to pick and taste as you go along.

3 Learn to read a map

This is a great skill, learning to navigate a map and follow directions. Let them lead the way but know that you are there if they have any questions or need guidance. Remember that a wrong turn is also part of the learning process and may take you somewhere magical and off the beaten track. Follow your journey on a map and the children can plot and draw where you are going, or let them plan any excursions and routes.

4 Build their confidence and learn something new

It is very likely you will have access to activities and experiences which are not easily available back home, so whether it is snorkelling or riding a camel in the desert, learning a new skill means they come back feeling they have accomplished something, in turn, helping build their confidence. Until they try it, they won’t know if they will enjoy it.

5 Learn about the history of a place

History is all around us. Seeing and experiencing places that they may only have heard about in books brings it to life. Their faces when they encounter something they have read about is pure magic.

6 Learn to take pictures and get creative

In an era before digital cameras, you didn’t know how your shots turned out until they were developed, resulting in many pictures of fingers and floors. Today’s digital cameras and smartphones allow you to snap away and delete many times. Let the children be the photographer for the day using their own camera, allowing them to make their own memories.

7 Learn about nature and the local wildlife

When travelling away from home, stepping outside (or sometimes inside) your accommodation, you are confronted with wildlife and creatures that you may not encounter back home. There is nothing like seeing animals in their natural habitat. Many destinations have great safari parks and animal sanctuaries for you to learn about creatures.

8 Learn about the value of money

Depending on how old your child is you can teach them many things about using a different currency:

• Ask them to identify the value of the note or coin;

• Work out how much change they are due back;

• Ask them to convert the price of something back into your own currency using the current exchange rate

9 They learn what to do when there is nothing to do

Learning the skill of patience is important. There will be many road trips or delayed flights that require children to deal with boredom. Take this opportunity to start a conversation that leads to all sorts of imaginative thinking or engage them in games such as “I went shopping” or word association. This teaches them to use their imagination and take in what is actually going on around them.

10 They learn to understand the world better

Travelling gives kids a new-found appreciation for everything they own and do. It improves their social skills and helps them understand that there is a world outside their little bubble. Gaining a better insight and understanding of people, cultures and the world broadens their minds.