Those of you who have already visited our blog know that our goal is to suggest ideas and cues for activities that suits children even in a city like Venice that, at first sight, might seem complicated to visit and discover with children.
For families sometimes could be difficult to fully enjoy the beauty of the city while walking up and down the infinite number of bridges and along the tiny “calli” of Venice.
What to do? What kind of activities are the best for children to have fun in the alleys and squares of Venice and to surprise them with the astonishing details of this city?
Here are some ideas to inspire children and arouse their imagination inventing stories and eccentric characters among mysterious palaces in a magic atmosphere…
SECRET PATHS AND LABYRINTHS
Have you ever wondered what happens behind those beautiful palaces windows? Have you ever stopped to observe them and asked yourselves what you would be able to see if your gaze could penetrate the curtains hiding the rooms?
Linger with your children to observe the venetian palace that strikes you the most. Invent together a short story following these few steps:
- Who are the main characters that hide behind the windows? What are their names, how old are they and how do they look like?
- How many rooms are in the palace and what happens inside them? Draw a sketch of the map of the palace!
- One day the inhabitants of the house and their neighbours decide to build a new secret room in the basement. Why? What happened? Plan a secret path through the palace and try to imagine a surprise ending!
FROM STORIES TO POETRY
It must be said that writing a whole story while walking around might take time and a lot of work… it may be easier to sit down and write the full story once at home sitting down around a table.
As an alternative, during your walk around the city, why not to try to find some key words and put them together to make a creative collective poem!
Or maybe you could write the key words down on a piece of paper and cut them out. Put them in a little bag and mix them. Pull them out, one at a time, in a random order: invent a creative plot and turn it around in order to have characters to go through crazy adventures!
Here you are! You have a story!