The Junior Rangers

Before this trip even got started, we already had unrealistic dreams about it being the ultimate learning experience for the kids. We were going to drag them all over the country, and open their eyes to all these great places. What better way to learn about the world, than to see it for yourself, right? It would be easy. The knowledge would just flow into their little minds.

"The Grand Canyon, girls. It's....ummmm....Grand?"

Only, it's not always that easy. I mean, most of these places we went were new to us too. How could we teach them anything, if we were clueless ourselves? On top of that, the National Parks we went to were massive. Overwhelming, at times. It's nearly impossible to take it all in, let alone making sure the girls were taking something away from it all. It seemed a daunting task.

 



Lucky for us, the National Park System had just the thing: the Junior Ranger Program. At over 200 different places throughout the country, kids are given the opportunity to explore and learn about their national parks, and discover how they can help protect them today and into the future.

Swearing. The good kind.

It's a pretty cool program. At each park, they have their own booklet, with tasks assigned by age level. So, the girls went right to work. They interviewed Rangers, They searched through exhibits for answers to questions. They hiked around, looking for other clues. They attended Ranger talks. Completed crossword puzzles. Drew pictures of their experiences. Once they finished everything, they were sworn in as Junior Rangers and received a special certificate and official Junior Ranger badge.

And here's the really crazy thing about the program. It worked. Sure, the girls didn't dive in head first into a bucket full of knowledge, lapping it up like crazy. No. But, they did each have a spark ignited in them at some point. They were fascinated how the Pueblo Indians lived. After completing the Montezuma program, they went home and built their own miniature Native American village. Following Mount Rushmore, all three girls suddenly have shown a ton of interest in learning about all 43 presidents. Science. Geology. History. Spelling. Conservation. Botany. All covered. Thanks National Park System for making us seem like great teachers.