Did you know that according to a 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study, kids now devote an average of more than seven hours a day to electronic media use, which equates to about 53 hours a week. That’s more than a full-time job!! Did you also know that today, more than 80% of Americans live in urban areas, and many of these people lack easy access to outdoor spaces.
In honor of the National Park Service’s 100th birthday in 2016, the Obama Administraion, in February launched the Every Kid In A Park Initiative. This initiative will provide all 4th grade students and their families FREE admission to all National Parks, National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, and other federal lands and waters for a full year, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. How cool is that?!?
So how does this affect you as a roadschooler? Hard to tell. I’ve searched for any information on this and I’m coming up empty handed. The best I can do is to tell you to sign the pledge at the National Park Service website and then they will send you news and updates on Every Kid In A Park, so perhaps you could request a free pass that way? The passes will be available beginning in September, 2015.
You guys will have to keep me posted on this one. My roadshooler is too old for this program, but I sure hope anyone with a roadschooled 4th grader can get the pass!! I think this is a really neat program!
I signed the pledge. This is a great idea, and thanks darling for writing about it.
I bitch about “modern times” and what they are doing to my kids so much sometimes I feel like my grandfather, he did the same, 50 or some years ago…
Regardless, this is a great idea and a great program. GET OUTSIDE! Enjoy NATURE! Go to a national park, and TAKE YOUR KIDS!
Oddly, the national parks that come to my mind first, my favorites, are all free. Smoky Mountains. Grand Tetons. Oh My God Yellowstone, are all free to anyone who drives walks or crawls in.
A love of the natural world is mostly passed on through family. The natural world keeps us centered, keeps our feet on the ground. Keeps us knowing that their is a power in this life much greater than us.
Some how some way, visit a national park this year, and TAKE YOUR KIDS!
Sept 1st is the launch for NPS #EveryKidinaPark. 4th graders and their families will be able to sign-up, get a certificate, and then they will take the certificate to nearest NPS site to get pass. Things may change, but this is accrdg to Dept. of Interior person. Check out my family’s webpage for updates: http://www.ayearintheparks.org