You’ll love the ideas for a fun Yosemite National Park camping curriculum and a cool firestarter. Also, more ideas are here How to Put Together a Middle School Nature Study With Book List.
Put together a fun Yosemite National Park camping curriculum before you take a trip out there or apply the same principles to any national park to create your study.
Before you even set foot in Yosemite National Park there is so much to learn about the park as well as camping safety, rules, and the flora and fauna there.
Of course, at the park, there is so much to see and do.
I have accumulated a great collection of camping skills to learn, books, games, and other activities for you to choose from before you head out and to use while there.
I also have simple but beautiful fire starters to make to take along that work with the kindling you gather to start your fire easily.
But even if you don’t have immediate plans for camping you can use these fire starters in your fireplace or backyard fire pit.
They also make the prettiest gift for other outdoor lovers popped into a nice basket with a box of matches.
Yosemite National Park Fun Facts
First, here are some activities to learn and get more out of Yosemite National Park virtually or in person.
- Learn a little about the park by first visiting Yosemite on the National Park Service page. From there you can grab lists of things to see or even create a scavenger hunt list.
- Become a Junior Ranger through the National Park Service, with activities and tasks to complete this one is just for Yosemite.
Then give your child questions to research on the history and facts about Yosemite.
- Where is it located? California
- Who were the first people there? The self-named – Ahwahneechee
- When did it become a part of the National Park Program? October 1, 1890
- What is the highest elevation in the park? Mount Lyell
- How was Yosemite Park formed? By glaciers
Research the flora and fauna specific to the park, learn what creatures you may need to look out for.
Next, look at some of these games and books to read about Yosemite National Park and to use for guides as camping curriculum.
Yosemite National Park & Camping Curriculum Resources
Whether you leave your house or pitch a tent in your own backyard, you'll love some of these camping resources.
Packed with maps and fascinating facts about the flora and fauna unique to each of the 21 parks portrayed, this lushly illustrated coast-to-coast journey documents in large format the nation’s most magnificent and sacred places—and shows why they should be preserved for future generations to enjoy.Explore Florida's river-laced Everglades, travel down the white water rapids of the Grand Canyon, trek across the deserts of Death Valley, and scale the soaring summits of the Rocky Mountains with this book that brings you up close to nature's greatest adventures.Divided by region (East, Central, Rocky Mountains, West, Tropics, and Alaska), a pictographic map at the start of each section shows the locations of the parks to be covered. Each park is introduced by a stunning, poster-worthy illustration of one of its scenes and a summary of its makeup, followed by individual illustrations of the animals and plants that make their homes there.
Camping Activity Book for Families offers up a wide variety of activities, games, crafts, songs, and good old-fashioned fun for parents and children to share in the wonders of the outdoors. Whether it’s creating pinecone art and giant nests or going on nature-themed scavenger hunts, observing the night sky, or playing flashlight tag at the campground, this book gets the whole family engaged in everything outdoors. With age-specific recommendations, activity suggestions for parents, family conversation starter sidebars, and kids-only tips, this book has fun activities for every minute and every age group.
The Campground Kids begin their next journey in Yosemite National Park. Their trip gets turned upside down after learning that treasure has been hidden somewhere in the park—over one million in gold and precious gems. Once the kids discover that their long-lost great-uncle is involved, they insist on joining the hunt.
As the family begins their adventure, they run into twin brothers, Brody and Brock, and their father. While Brody seems friendly to the crew, Brock and his menacing father are determined to locate the treasure and will resort to ANYTHING to find it!
Encourage young nature lovers to learn about Yosemite National Park. This book is filled with fun and educational activities like mazes, mad libs, word games, and puzzles. Design a poster to encourage other visitors to respect the park. Play matching games about the plants and animals that live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Learn about Leave No Trace principles and consider your impact on the land. Unscramble names of giant sequoias, decode clues about other national parks, and make a packing list for a camping trip. Kids will also learn about conservation while using their imaginations to pretend they are park rangers.
Baby Ranger is ready to take you on an adventure in Yosemite National Park. Hike amazing trails, stand in a grove of Giant Sequoias, look out over Yosemite Valley, and discover rushing waterfalls! From Arch Rock to Yosemite Valley and everything in-between, the entire alphabet can be found on this adventure through Yosemite!
- GET OUTDOORS:Camp is a game where both children & adults can play & learn fun facts about the great outdoors. Designed to grow with the player, starting at level one questions; animal identification.
- ALL AGES: This game would be perfect for a family that has children of different ages/abilities who enjoys nature and the outdoors or for the parents or grandparents to play along with the children.
- Wildly Popular National Parks Game - Winner Of The Mensa And Parent's Choice Award
- Created By National Parks Enthusiasts - This couple traveled to every single national park and then worked with their son to make the game.
- Fun + Educational - It’s the perfect recipe for a family game night! Appeals to a wide range of people: outdoor lovers, board game players, and gift givers. A great board games for kids!
Simple Game Rules inside the Book.Look forward to:
- An in-tent-sly funny conversation ice-breaker!
- Good, clean, family-friendly humor.
- Build stronger relationships with friends & family.
- Promote lateral thinking and creativity through fun thought-provoking topics & situations!
- Fun way to practice word recognition & reading comprehension.
- Perfect for family game nights, parties, long road trips, camping trips, sleepovers, school activities or any social gathering.
- Time to get wild with this family dice game featuring a National Park twist where players race to return a variety of animals to their appropriate locations across the United States
- National Park locations include Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Everglades, Crater Lake, Great Smoky Mountains, Cape Hatteras, Arcadia, Badlands, Rocky Mountain, North Cascades, and Zion. Animal tokens include bald eagle, bison, black bear, rattlesnake, sea turtle, and lynx.
Also, here are more ideas to bring your camping curriculum to life.
Ideas for Camping Curriculum
To prepare your child for fun outdoors and grab ideas for language art lessons, look at my post 20 Nature-Inspired Kids’ Novels to Nurture Interest In the Outdoors.
Also, add these ideas here on my post 15 Hands-On Nature Math Ideas to Make Learning Come to Life.
Have your child help prepare meals in advance for camping like this fantastic list of 10 Easy and Cheap Camping meals.
Teach your child how to put together a First Aid Kit for Camping, what an important life skill this is.
Print this camping checklist to help your child prepare for the trip with some independence.
Next, depending on when you camp, you’ll need different checklists for the season.
If you camp in the summer or spring, look at these topics to cover and lists your child can create. I’ll give you a few ideas under each topic.
Animal Science
Tools to Bring
Cooking Stuff/Water
- identify small and large animals
- if you’re hunting and trapping then education on that too
- compass
- flashlight
- compass/map
- DIY Easy Compass Activity and Survival Ideas
- prep some items ahead of time
- camp stove
- water
- utensils
- Easy DIY Water Filter
Forestry
Personal Items
Educational But Fun Items
- how to identify trees
- toilet paper
- sunscreen
- change of clothes
- boots
- field guides
- binoculars
- notepad/pens
Shelter /Building
Emergency/Injuries
Making Fire
- tent
- waterproof tarps
- blankets
- sleeping bags
- how to put together a first aid kit
Finally, look at how to make these diy firestarters.
DIY Fire Starters
You will need:
- Muffin tin
- beeswax pellets
- wax paper
- candle wick
Nature items:
- Pinecones
- Small twigs
- Fresh or dried herbs
- Dried orange slices
- Dry tree leaves
- Whole dried cloves
- Whole cinnamon sticks
- Whole star anise
First, gather up all your items for kindling like the nature items listed above.
Some of them work for the functionality as well as giving your firestarter a pretty look.
If you’ll be using sticks and twigs, clean off the dirt and break them into small pieces one to two inches long.
Then, cut small pieces of wax paper that are slightly larger than the cup of your muffin tins.
I recommend using standard muffin tins not mini for your firestarters.
Next, stuff each muffin cup with your dried materials as well as some fresh herbs if you like.
Be sure to fill each one well to give your fire enough material for kindling to get it going.
Cut a 2-inch piece of candle wick and place in the center of each cup.
How to Make DIY Fire Starters
You don’t have to worry about it being perfectly straight.
Just use the materials that you stuff the cup with to help it stay up. Leave 1/” to 1” above the level of the muffin tin cup edge.
Melt beeswax pellets in a heat safe container preferably with a pouring lip like a measuring cup.
Start with 1 minute, and then repeat every 30 seconds stirring between each until they are completely melted.
Carefully pour the beeswax into the mold right up to the edge of the muffin tin.
Set them aside and let them harden completely.
Once set and hardened after a few hours remove them carefully from the muffin tin.
If some of your wax has leaked out under the paper and makes it stick just flip the muffin tin over.
And run it under warm water for a minute and it will soften it enough to pop out.
Once removed continue to let them dry and harden for another day or two before using or storing in an airtight container.
You can carry them along on your camping trip in a pretty basket, a wide mouth mason jar or a Ziploc bag.
To use: Place a firestarter at the bottom of your fireplace/pit and stack some logs on top. Light the wick and let the fire starter burn until the wood catches.
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