Here is a a story about surroundings. A woman in San Francisco decided to make her home a total experience for her children. She was an artist and thought that all stimulation of the the sense of sight is helpful. She covered her walls with every kind of painting and every kind of color. No surface was without something adventurous to look at. No surface including the ceiling and floor. Her children grew up in this house and moved away.
What do you think happened to the children? Did they become great collectors too, or did they become artists or musicians or scientists? The answer is they became people who loved things simple. One painting, one vase one pillow. Minimalist. Each child in his own right. They were ALL Brilliant in their chosen field. But they had enough stuff growing up that when they matured they did not need more looking. They had looked enough.
The moral of the story is you deeply affect your children and they will run run run to where you did not take them. That is the nature of children. They will not be like you even though you think they will. BUT, that said, everything you do to feed their eyes when they are young will feed their minds and souls.
The woman in San Francisco succeeded in sparking her children in very different ways. I applaud her extreme efforts to be a monumental mom. Her children knew why she was doing what she did and the love she plastered all over was forever imprinted on them.