Junior Ranger Badges You Can Earn From Home

For those looking for ways to incorporate the nation’s National Parks into your homeschool, there are plenty of fun and engaging options. If you find yourself thinking, ‘there are no National Parks near me, how can my kids participate?, we’ve got you covered! There are plenty of Junior Ranger badges you can earn from home. 

Earn a National Park Junior Ranger Badge at Home  

• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Joshua Tree National Park  
• Cesar E. Chavez National Monument 

Occupation Based Junior Ranger Badges You Can Earn From Home

• Junior Ranger Railroad Explorer
• Junior Paleontologist
• Spaceflight Explorer Junior Ranger
• Junior Archaeologist
• Night Explorer Junior Ranger
• Junior Ranger Sounds Explorer

National Park Activities for Homeschool History

The following Junior Ranger badges you can earn from home, also include lessons in history so they’re the perfect option when you want to make a full unit study of National Parks.

Visit the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument and earn a Junior Suffragist certificate.  This location was the home of the National Woman’s Party for almost 90 years. It was the center for all things related to the women’s rights movement. Earn an online certificate by completing the educational booklet to learn more about this historic monument.

Virtually visit the North Carolina Home and Farm of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and journalist, Carl Sandburg. The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site  Junior Ranger program is a great place to learn about his poetry and experiences. Complete the booklet activities while perusing the website and earn a Junior Ranger Badge right from home.

Head to the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument website to learn about Charles Young and earn a Junior Ranger badge online.

One National Park on my bucket list is Glacier Bay in Alaska. The Glacier Bay Web Ranger program kids to learn about this national park online and earn a sticker and certificate upon completion of the online activities. 

Other Ways to Learn about National Parks in Your Homeschool

If you’re looking for additional ways to incorporate the national parks into your homeschool, consider traveling the Parks unit study from The Waldock Way.

This study explores 60 of the nation’s national parks in a fun and engaging way for all ages. It corresponds with America’s National Parks book and covers information about animals in the parks, notable people, history, games, and more. 

The National Park Foundation has an entire website dedicated to the Parks at Home initiative. It’s a wealth of information, including activities and resources about our national parks to incorporate into your homeschool. 

Additionally, Netflix has released a docuseries about national parks around the world. Our Great National Parks is narrated by former President, Barack Obama and chronicles a number of national parks around the world.

Each hour-long episode offers insight into the vast array of wildlife and nature the planet has to offer and includes a variety of geographical locations per episode.

Disney+ offers a series of 45-minuted episodes – perfect for a homeschool lesson – on a number of America’s National Parks, including Yosemite, Saguaro, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and The Great Smoky Mountains, among others. There are a total of 8 episodes in this 2015 anniversary series. 

National Parks Games to Play

Gameschooling is an important way of learning for many homeschooling families. The following National Park-themed games are a great way to extend the learning in a fun and engaging way.

National Parks Edition Monopoly Game 

 

 

Trekking the National Parks: The Board Game 

 

Yahtzee National Parks Travel Edition

 

 

Whether you choose to visit a National Park in person, virtually, or incorporate some games into your homeschool, these historical sites and geographical wonders are the perfect resources to bring into your homeschool.