By Micki Bare

Traditionally, teachers like to motivate young learners to work on their writing skills by assigning them the task of writing about things that happened during the long summer break. Sometimes the assignment is to write about places traveled. Sometimes it is people visited. Sometimes it is things done.

My favorite by far, though, is things learned.

Should my children be so fortunate as to be required to write about what they learned during their summer break, they will be able to write pages. With a little creativity, they could probably squeak out a novel – but I’m sure they are waiting until they are 30-something before they fire back at me with their version of their childhood.

We learned quite a bit this year already, and we still have over a month to go. For example, we learned that it is best to park at a relative’s house in Jersey and get a ride from a laid-back uncle to the ferry station in Hoboken rather than drive into New York City. There are many reasons why, not the least of which is the honking ordinance.

My middle child pointed out several times that the fine for honking can range from $100 to over $300, depending on location. He read the signs whenever we walked by one, noting how much money we were saving by not letting Mom drive into the city.

Once we hopped off the ferry onto Manhattan, my children also learned that the honking ordinances were not enforced well. Honking was still part of the constant background noise in the big city. Maybe Mom could’ve driven after all.

They quickly learned that while the yellow cars – cabs actually – honk all day long, they don’t stop. In drivers’ education class, the boys learned that pedestrians have the right of way. In New York City, they learned that cab drivers have the right of way if you don’t want to get squashed.

My youngest, after a near-death experience, looked up at me with terror in his eyes, “That Elf movie was right, the yellow ones DON’T stop!” On the subway ride back to Hoboken, he declared with much authority that he will never ride in a cab because he cannot support a business that encourages the squashing of slow pedestrians.

We learned that there is no treasure under the Trinity Church on Wall Street. We learned that the $3 snow cone from the umbrella guy in Central Park was made years in advance and frozen solid, so that you cannot bite into it and as soon as it melts enough it WILL pop out of the paper cone and splatter all over the sidewalk and your mother’s shoe.

We learned that people handing out “free” hats near Rockefeller Center want a donation for the hungry. We learned that musicians on the sidewalk are more entertaining than most artists aired on the radio. And we learned that even though the subway worker and NYPD uniforms sounded loud, mean and rude, they only wanted to help rather than arrest us.

And that was just the day we spent in New York City. I should note here that you don’t have to travel to New York City to ensure your kids have something to write about come late August. You simply need to explore a place that is new to them.

I suggest picking a location that is very different from the city or town in which you reside. The more contrast, the more memorable the trip will be. Also, when a place is new and different, the children – regardless of age – tend to want to stay close to the parents. Younger ones stay as close as they can without crawling up a pant leg. Older ones engage the parents in constant conversation, making frequent eye contact.

To keep costs down, pick a place near friends or relatives. They will be familiar with the area and can serve as a tour guide. If you take them to lunch as a thank-you gesture, they might even invite you back to see what you missed because of time constraints or weather.

There is still plenty of time left this summer to explore, connect with your children and learn something that will earn your child an A on that first essay. For those of you who do not have children, you can still assist the educational system by creating memorable moments for the tourist-children you encounter while out and about.

For example, you can follow the lead of that sweet older woman in Rockefeller Center who shoved a camera in my middle child’s hands and instructed him to take her picture with the statue in the background. Better yet, you can be the stranger who offers to take the group photo so at least one picture exists that includes the entire family on vacation together.

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Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, “Relative Expressions.” She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com.