alicai Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 We have decided to invest in a travel trailer and start roadtripping the US over the next several years. Our first big trip will be this summer. We're beginning in Sacramento, CA and heading to Yellowstone/Glacier NP and back down through Idaho. We're planning to take 2-3 weeks. Of course, being a homeschooler, I decided that the kids would get the most out of this trip by doing some historical preparation. Except that we're right in the middle of the early Kings of England and have only touched upon American History :) Suggestions? Am I crazy and should just leave a good trip well enough alone? I was contemplating just seeding a series of good living books. Otoh, it might be a great opportunity to motivate early American history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Ooo, I've always wanted to take some extended road trips/history lessons. I'd definitely prepare them a little for the places you know you will see. My boys have retained many more memories from places they've learned about in advance. But, if you don't do that, I think bringing along some living books, and maybe some journals/coloring pages for them to do while you're traveling would be a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harm Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 You've got 2-3 months to prepare them for the parts of American history that you want to see! We've been doing medieval history and have an opportunity to spend time travelling through France! I'm totally planning on making it a live history lesson! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 We have decided to invest in a travel trailer and start roadtripping the US over the next several years. Our first big trip will be this summer. We're beginning in Sacramento, CA and heading to Yellowstone/Glacier NP and back down through Idaho. We're planning to take 2-3 weeks. Of course, being a homeschooler, I decided that the kids would get the most out of this trip by doing some historical preparation. Except that we're right in the middle of the early Kings of England and have only touched upon American History :) Suggestions? Am I crazy and should just leave a good trip well enough alone? I was contemplating just seeding a series of good living books. Otoh, it might be a great opportunity to motivate early American history. Yeah, just leave well enough alone. :-) You can prepare your dc for the trip by having maps on the walls, and marking the places you're going, and casually discussing with them what might be interesting--the way you and Mr. Raisingainsley might do. On the trip, y'all can pick up postcards and flyers and booklets and whatnot, and make a scrapbook (or two) when you get home. Chances are your dc will learn boatloads of history without even half trying. Best.field.trip.ever. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 We do a major road trip every three years. My husband's family lives in Georgia and we live in Washington. We take two months and drive/visit. The homeschooling we do only has to do with the various things we see. We went to the Chicago Art Museum and read all kinds of stuff, but only at the museum. We went to the Chattanooga Aquarium, but only did the learning at the aquarium. We went to the Ranger Talks at Yellowstone, but didn't try to make it a homeschooling experience. Ds has seen more National Parks, museums, planetariums, geographical landmarks, all kinds of stuff, but it was just a fun educational experience, not some extension of homeschooling. It is a family experience, not a school experience. This separation is important to my son. If that is not a dynamic you have with your family, then no biggie. I would definitely ask your kids though. I would ask your husband as well. Since it is the entire family going, you might want to be sure that the entire family does not have to change their vacation if everyone does not want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 When you arrive at Yellowstone, get Junior Ranger guides for your children (www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm). Check the Park Service website for Junior Ranger programs (www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm) at other parks you plan to visit. Some of the guides are available to download. Read the guides with your children and decide which activities they would like to complete. If they complete the required number (varies by age of child), they earn a patch/pin for that park. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 When you arrive at Yellowstone, get Junior Ranger guides for your children (www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm). Check the Park Service website for Junior Ranger programs (www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm) at other parks you plan to visit. Some of the guides are available to download. Read the guides with your children and decide which activities they would like to complete. If they complete the required number (varies by age of child), they earn a patch/pin for that park. And isn't it cumulative? That is, if you go to more than one park, there are more badges or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 When you arrive at Yellowstone, get Junior Ranger guides for your children (www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm). Check the Park Service website for Junior Ranger programs (www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm) at other parks you plan to visit. Some of the guides are available to download. Read the guides with your children and decide which activities they would like to complete. If they complete the required number (varies by age of child), they earn a patch/pin for that park. Yes, this. The Junior Ranger program is awesome. In fact, we did almost exactly the scenario you are planning last summer. We flew to Hawaii and managed Volcano National Park, then stopped in California when we flew back to the mainland. From there we went to Boise, ID where my family lives and rented a vehicle. We then spent almost 5 weeks traveling from National Park to National Park, camping and stopping at zoos, monuments, and science museums along the way. If you have a family zoo membership and science museum membership this is an awesome way to break up the drives (as well as educational and cheap!) as most have a reciprocal agreement. Don't forget to buy the NP pass to save money and avoid a few lines. The National Parks tour lends itself amazingly well to a geography/earth science study as well as history. There are so many land features in that area that you won't find elsewhere. In Idaho, I HIGHLY recommend the extra drive out to Craters of the Moon NP as it is the only place short of Hawaii you can see the lava beds and walk through lava tubes underground. On the way stop at Bruneau Sand Dunes:) of course, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons have features you won't find elsewhere by the hundreds! Each of the NP badges you earn has a series of requirements you do to earn it. Some of he parks are more involved, but almost all have a history component of the park. YellowStone has one of the best, and since it was the very first NP it lends itself well to history lessons. Most of the badges require that you go to at least one Ranger-led talk, but you can do as many as you want and time allows-they are awesome and in depth. The kids complete a little booklet of learning activities (that they keep) so we picked up a few books on the history, the geo features, and the local animals at each park. We kept a nature journal and let Alex take pictures to put in. Also, you can buy a cool NP 'passport' to get stamped at each NP and each ranger station. This was a lot of fun too. Another fun way to add in a bit of history was learning a few facts about each state we hit. The motto of each state actually lends its of really well to the history on the go, in a laid back manner. For example, Wyoming is also known as 'the equality state' because it was the first to allow women to vote. This led to all sorts of discussions, YouTube videos, and oddly enough a tangent that inspired Alex to learn the Gettysburg Address when we came home:) Also, doing the Jr. Ranger program like that was fun, but didn't feel overwhelming as though we were trying to turn a fun family time into a school, KWIM? We learned and created memory pegs to build on. When we came home I helped compile all the pictures, postcards, and small paper-ish souvenirs into a big book, and we researched odds and ends to fill in. She loves that book! And she has a vest (sold at the parks) with all of her badges sewn and pinned on:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 This was going to be my recommendation. If your children complete the Junior Rangers booklets as designed (guide them, but don't tell them the answers), they will learn a fair amount. Of course, it depends on what National Parks you visit to how much history will be covered. Otherwise, they will learn mostly life, earth and environmental science. Not all parks have a true historical aspect to them. Most parks offer plastic badges (some specific to the individual park and some more generic), but some offer patches (sometimes for an additional fee). A lot of them also hand out pencils, posters, postcards, that sort of thing. And, often a discount to the gift shop. Some Junior Ranger booklets are very nice and educational. Some...not as great. All in all, a wonderful program that I highly recommend. Here are a couple of blog links from some of our trips. Pics are mine. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/2013/05/junior-ranger-programs.html http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/2014/06/hiker-skill-building-badge.html - Scroll to the bottom for this one. Also, you can check out audio books (historical fiction) before your trip that complement some of the historical places you'll be hitting. We always plan history stops in our trips. Living history museums are especially good. When you arrive at Yellowstone, get Junior Ranger guides for your children (www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm). Check the Park Service website for Junior Ranger programs (www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm) at other parks you plan to visit. Some of the guides are available to download. Read the guides with your children and decide which activities they would like to complete. If they complete the required number (varies by age of child), they earn a patch/pin for that park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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