Explore the National Parks in Your Homeschool + Free Printable

National Parks are basically giant classrooms. Between geography, science, history, art, wildlife, and conservation, there are so many directions you can take your homeschool learning!

While I’d love to pack up the kids and visit every National Park in person, that might get a little expensive. Thankfully, you can explore these incredible places right from home through research, virtual field trips, games, and hands-on activities.

And, because you know I can’t resist making a printable, I’ve created FREE National Parks Homeschool Exploration printables that you can use again and again!

Why Learn About National Parks?

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is being able to connect different subjects together. Instead of learning geography during one hour, science during another, and art later in the day…why not combine them? Homeschool smarter, not harder, my friend!

5 Ways to learn About National Parks

Start by letting your kids choose a National Park that interests them. Maybe it’s somewhere you’ve already visited, a destination on your family travel list, or a park they’ve discovered in a book or video.

Once they’ve chosen a park, try these five simple activities:

1. Explore the geography. Locate the park on the map, identify its state and region, and calculate how far it is from home. Older kids could even plan a pretend trip or create their own travel brochure!
2. Investigate wildlife. Research the plants and animals that live there, their habitats, and how they’ve adapted to the environment.
3. Discover the landscape. Investigate the mountains, canyons, glaciers, volcanoes, or other geographical features that make the park unique.
4. Explore its history. Learn when and why the park was established, including the history of Indigenous peoples and other communities connected to the land.
5. Discuss conservation. Find out why the park is protected and what visitors can do to help preserve it.

You don’t have to turn every question into a formal assignment either! Sometimes the best homeschool lessons happen when one question leads to another and you end up learning something you never even planned to cover that day.

Add National Parks Art to Your Homeschool

Art is another easy way to bring a National Park study to life…and I’m ALWAYS willing to include art in our homeschool days!

The kids could sketch a famous landmark, create a landscape painting, draw native wildlife, design their own vintage-inspired National Park poster (like these – aren’t they so cool?!), start a nature journal, or practice photography during an actual park visit.

We recently tried the National Parks Watercoloring Kit from Timberdoodle, and simply flipping through the National Park paintings had us talking about places we’d like to visit on future family adventures.

My boys followed the video tutorials on their phones and completed their paintings independently. I was also super impressed the the quality of the supplies, especially the fancy metal watercolor tin.

And, there was NO fighting or complaining. That’s a homeschool win right there!

Even if you don’t use the watercolor kit, I’d definitely include some sort of creative project in your National Parks study. Art encourages kids to slow down and really look at the landscape they’re learning about.

That Homeschool Family is a participant in a variety of programs including the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made from links on this website may result in That Homeschool Family receiving a monetary payment at no extra cost to you. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.

Play a National Parks Board Game

If you’ve been around here for a while, you probably know that my family and I LOVE incorporating games into our homeschool days. Didja know there’s even a homeschooling “style” called “gameschooling?” It’s pretty cool!

My family and I LOVE the Trekking board games from Underdog Games so, naturally, Trekking the National Parks is a perfect fit for our homeschool days!

Players travel across the United States, collect cards, and plan their routes. It’s a fun way to practice geography and strategic thinking while discovering destinations we might want to visit someday. Yep…another excuse to add something to the family travel list!

If your family enjoys board games as much as ours, check out Trekking the National Parks and consider adding it to your next homeschool game day.

Take a Virtual National Park Field Trip

Can’t visit a National Park in person? Bring the adventure home with virtual tours, ranger-led videos, webcams, and interactive activities.

Here are six websites to help you get started:

1. National Park Service – Find Your Virtual Park
   • Virtual tours, webcams, videos, and online ranger programs.
2. Google Arts & Culture – United Parks of America
   • Interactive stories, virtual tours, and historical exhibits.
3. National Park Service – Junior Ranger Online
   • Educational activities, videos, and Junior Ranger resources.
4. National Park Service – Educator Resources
   • Lesson plans, educational materials, and distance-learning opportunities.
5. National Park Service – Park Playlist
   • Videos and audio experiences for exploring parks from home.
6. Catoctin Mountain Park – Virtual Field Trip
   • Ranger-led videos and a downloadable activity booklet.

Choose a park, explore it virtually, and use my free National Parks Homeschool Exploration Pages to record what you’ve discovered!

Visit a National Park (or Explore Somewhere Local!)

Of course, if you have the opportunity to visit a National Park in person…DO IT! There’s nothing quite like experiencing the landscapes, wildlife, and history firsthand.

Can’t make the trip? Visit a local park, nature preserve, or wildlife refuge instead. Encourage your kids to observe the plants, animals, and geographical features around them. For more ideas, check out my 25 Screen-Free Ways to Explore.

And, if you have a fourth grader or fourth-grade equivalent, be sure to read about the Every Kid Outdoors Pass before planning your next adventure!

FREE National Parks Homeschool Printable

You know I wasn’t going to write an entire article about learning through the National Parks without makin ga printable, right? Come on – you know me better than that!

I’ve created National Parks Homeschool Exploration Pages that can be used with ANY National Park. Simply print another set whenever your kids discover a new park they’d like to explore!

The five-page printable includes:

• National Park Profile: Record basic park information and interesting facts.
• Wildlife & Nature: Explore plants, animals, habitats, and adaptations.
• Explore the Landscape: Investigate the park’s geographical features.
• National Park Detective: Discover its history and conservation efforts.
• Inspired by the National Park: Create artwork inspired by the park and its landscape.

Use all five pages for a complete study, choose individual pages for a quicker activity, or collect completed pages in a binder to create your own National Parks notebook.

And, as always, you can find even more free resources inside my Printable Playground.

Where Will You Explore First?

Whether you spend an afternoon learning about one park, take a virtual field trip, or plan a future family adventure, National Parks offer so many opportunities to make learning meaningful, memorable, and fun.

Now, grab your free printable, let the kids choose a park, and see where the adventure takes you!

Until next time, stay safe, & enjoy quality time with your family,