The coronavirus pandemic has turned many parents into teachers, and the National Park System has a rich collection of teaching materials they can use/Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
August is nearly gone, classrooms are in flux as some are open, many are not, and many parents are being recast as homeschoolers. Looking for some additional content to keep your kids busy? Look to the national parks.
The National Park System, 419 units strong, is rich with educational materials touching biology, botany, biodiversity, climate change, wildlife, paleontology, archaeology, and so many more "oligies." And that's not to overlook the cultural and historical resources to be found in places like Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Arizona, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in New Hampshire, and Nicodemus National Historic Site in Kansas.
Whether you're hunkered down during the coronavirus pandemic on the East Coast or on the West, or somewhere in between, there are virtual programs developed by the National Park Service and friends groups and cooperating associations you can tap into to not only keep your "students" busy, but learning from a wide range of subjects.
"Unlike in the early days of the pandemic, when our school system first shuttered and only offered a review of previously covered material for the rest of the spring semester, this fall the school system has vowed that there will be new content and curriculum, and that it will be more rigorous and engaging. So I expect my kids to be quite busy this fall keeping up with the new material," said Kim O'Connell, a Traveler contributing writer from the Washington, D.C., area and mother of two school-age kids.
"That said, I do have concerns about an educational system that relies on students sitting in front of computer for many hours, and I have concerns about how to keep them engaged and motivated for many weeks and possibly months with that system. Although people talk about how resilient kids are, and that’s often true, kids are struggling to adjust to a new normal like the rest of us, and I’m concerned about their emotional health and level of academic engagement," she said. "I would welcome supplemental educational resources from the National Park Service, because I do believe that it will fall to parents to help our kids find more opportunities for learning and projects that are interesting and engaging. Our family already understands that the National Park System is a source of knowledge and inspiration. Both my kids are veterans of Junior Ranger programs from Shenandoah to Acadia to Yellowstone to Theodore Roosevelt national parks and many more, so plugging into NPS materials would be a no-brainer for us."
Across the continent in Seattle, Sharon London, who works from Washington's National Park Fund, said she's introduced teachers to some of the Virtual Field Trips that organization has created.
"The Virtual Field Trips can be great resources for home-schooling parents and teachers, especially since all the past field trips are recorded. The ones labelled 'Junior Ranger' are especially good for younger kids, while all the other field trips are relevant for Middle and High School students," said London. "I shared a number of them with my kids' teachers and they offered them as resources for their students. My son’s middle school science class watched the one about Microplastics in the Cascades when studying PCBs in the ocean, and my daughter’s high school physics teachers shared the glacier field trip as they were learning about snow properties. My son’s Spanish teachers also encouraged the students to watch the Spanish field trip."
An upcoming Virtual Field Trip from Washington's National Park Fund looks at the impact of melting glaciers/NPS
Creating educational materials for school-age children is nothing new for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the driving force behind the popular Kids in Parks program, a particularly handy program if you have time head out to a park for outdoor learning.
"The Kids in Parks program has a suite of materials that can be used by teachers, parents who are now teaching, and students to engage them in outdoor activities that promote learning in nature," said Carolyn Ward, president and CEO of the foundation.
"Kids in Parks works with parks to convert their preexisting hiking trails (and other types of trails) into 'TRACK Trails' through the installation of signs and brochures that turn an ordinary hike into a fun-filled, discovery-packed adventure," explained Ward. "Each TRACK Trail has four brochure topics kids can use to learn about and connect with nature: Flowers, Lichen, Dragonflies, Nature's Relationships, Birds, etc. (We have a catalog of 30+ brochures). Kids that register their adventures through our website earn a series of prizes designed to make their next outdoor adventure more fun and encourage repeat use of the program. Over the past 11 years, we have had 700,000 kids and 1.7 million people hike our trails.
A simple pair of binoculars, or even a good set of eyes, and a quiet spot in nature can teach youngsters about what surrounds them/Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
"In relation to STEM education, these topics do teach science-related themes along the trail. However, more directly, we worked with Haw Creek Elementary School in Asheville, North Carolina, to create a STEM Trail, designing 12 different brochures that align with curriculum standards for grades K-5. We created four topics: weather, insects, soil, trees... and then each grade level got two topics... and each topic is touched three times between the grade levels. For example, here are the Weather brochure for grades K, 2, 5," she said. "We are currently in the process of updating these site-specific brochures so they can be applicable to every elementary school in North Carolina (and beyond). With that being said, some of the brochures are already generic enough to be used anywhere... and even with the site-specific versions, the activities can still be completed at home or in a green space. We've had parents that homeschool utilize the materials as part of their childrens' studies."
The foundation also, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, created some e-Adventures that can be done in a backyard, neighborhood, safe-to-visit green space, or at an official TRACK Trail site. These programs give parents and teachers the ability to promote outdoor time every day through the use of smartphone/tablet based materials.
Even more educational tools can be found at the North Cascades Institute in Washington state.
"North Cascades Institute continues to navigate the constantly-changing terrain of these unusual times, making plans for the future when we can reopen the Environmental Learning Center and re-engage our passion: inspiring environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature," said Executive Director Saul Weisberg. "Our talented instructors have been incredibly resourceful to bring education, inspiration and fun to you, wherever you are. What helps get me through these trying days is my belief that the work we do at North Cascades Institute - and RELCS (Residential Environmental Learning Centers) all around the country -- is even MORE necessary and relevant now."
North Cascades Institute also is sharing lessons and activities from its Mountain School instructors. Recent activities include:
- How to start a Sit Spot Practice and a Tree Bud Journal
- Ideas for making art out of nature and journal writing prompts
- A song about native tree identification
- Baking lessons from Chef Justin
- Videos on adaptations that make hawks and owls amazing hunters
- Learning Bird Calls
One at-home program offered by North Cascades Institute's Mountain School instructors focuses on creating maps/North Cascades Institute
The National Park Trust also is gearing up to help homeschooling parents and others who are interested in using national park materials for teaching.
"As soon as school campuses were closed, we reached out to our teachers to find out how best we could support their needs. Our teachers looked to us to provide fun, engaging educational activities that supported their classroom curricula by bringing parks and nature to kids as they practiced social distancing at home," Trust staff said. "In response to their needs, we created more than 30 Buddy Bison activities and Camp Buddy Bison, resources that have been downloaded more than 30,000 times."
Ivan Levin, the Trust's director of strategic partnerships, said the program will launch this fall with about 30 schools nationwide that will be hitting the ground running.
"There are two versions of the program. Version one is going deep - schools will be provided toolkits, lesson plans, virtual park and ranger experiences, and more," said Levin. "Version two is a wide approach - open access creative learning materials that will be available on our website in the coming weeks - activities, virtual resources, and more."
The custom-created park-themed lessons are based on the Trust's most popular park trips across the country and align with common core curriculum. All materials created will emphasize the three pillars of our Buddy Bison program:
1) Education: using parks as outdoor classrooms through hands on activities, virtual visits from rangers, environmental educators or other special guests
2) Health and Wellness: encouraging kids to get outside safely near their home or at parks whenever possible to promote their mental and physical wellbeing; something that is even more important during these times
3) Park Stewardship: teaching kids about their role as park stewards and caretakers of the environment
Homeschoolers will be able to access many of the creative learning materials - activities and virtual resources," said Levin.
Here Are Some Other Programs, Resources, And Products For Homeschooling
Every Kid Outdoors: Exploring Federal Lands And Waters
Every Kid Outdoors: Our Nation's Native Peoples
Every Kid Outdoors: Citizen Science
Friends of Acadia Coloring Page
Junior Ranger Railroad Explorer
National Park Foundation Kids in the Parks
National Parks For Preschoolers
North Cascades Institute Family Getaways At Home packages
Comments
Another important resource is from NatureBridge, the NPS' biggest educational park partner: https://naturebridge.org/outsidestillopen
Thank you, National Parks Traveler, for this valuable compendium of resources. Here's another one based in Great Smoky Mountains National Park: https://smokieees.org