Kids Love Nature

When the kids are exposed to the nature they develop their most sensitive sides. For the city kids who do not have mach chance to run to the backyard in the morning, play in an own garden or near wood it’s an urge most and challenge for the parents to organize one. 

Many families do a big afford to plan an outdoor actives. It’s hard to get kids outside and involved in nature, but the hardest part of it it’s to do that for a prolonged period of time.

This year my family came across a great solution which I would like to share with you; an offer which comes from the National Park and Monuments Services – The Junior Ranger Programs - self-guided activities for the younger visitors. Each program is unique to its park and provides family-friendly educational and entertaining activities that keep youngsters engaged while they discover the natural or cultural gems of that park.

Through the Junior Ranger programs, we have not only discovered the parks natural and historical areas, but also explored recreational opportunities; we have listened to rangers, gone on nature walks, examined rocks, explored early settlements, identified plants and animal prints, looked for clues, taken guided canoeing rides, toured a mine, and lastly, and most importantly we have taken care of our own trash.

Happily, most of the programs required a little down time, so in these quieter moments, we have worked on the booklets, word searches and crossword puzzles. In return for completing the Junior Ranger guides (with parental assistance when needed), Barbara was “sworn in” and presented with a badge or patch by the park rangers. A badge is not just a nice reward for something we hope she’ll come to value intrinsically; it’s a great way to preserve family memories.

The Junior Ranger program is a wonderful educational tool that provides opportunities in science, math, language arts, history, music, art, and more. It encourages kids and families to Explore, Learn, and Discover special places, lands and landscapes while fostering a greater appreciation for the preservation and protection of these symbolic resources. There are almost 400 National Park sites and many of them offer “Junior Ranger programs.” http://www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.cfm  Since Barbara is not able to visit all the National Parks at once, we have found other way to do so by visiting a web ranger program: http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/ She has created her virtual office and collected some badges.

The Junior Ranger program is offered to younger children with a goal of getting youngsters comfortable and excited about the natural and historical surroundings.

There is also the Teen Ranger Program, a perfect solution to the teenagers’ question of what to do! Their mission is to engage teens in learning, leadership, and service activities that promote the health and well-being of self, community and the natural world.

For your future reference it is good to know that throughout the year, rangers and naturalists lead children and teens through the fundamentals of environmental education and stewardship. Junior Rangers can earn three achievement awards: Basic, Advanced and Expert. Once they complete their Expert Achievement award, they begin to earn patches in more self guided levels, such as Naturalist, Explorer, Conservationist and Guide. Who knows maybe one day we will see Barbara as a ranger.

Lets summaries the Junior Ranger Program benefits

• Collect badges and patches.
• The kids become easily engaged and enthusiastic about the professionally designed programs.
• The programs are already organized option of family time for the busy parents. The programs are cooperative, as opposed to competitive, by design, so multiple kids can explore together.
• The programs are interesting to parents, too. You can’t help to become involved, explore and learn.
• The programs are flexible, so can be completed in a half-day, or drawn out to last longer.
• The programs are educational, so the kids can learn a lot.
• The programs are inexpensive or free.