Let your kids go on a scavenger hunt on Theodore Roosevelt Island/Kids in Parks

Parents across the country have found themselves turned into teachers as the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools and led to virtual schooling. For those parents running out of materials to keep kids learning and focused so you can get your own work done, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has ramped up its Kids in Parks offerings for virtual audiences.

Kids in Parks has converted some of our most popular TRACK Trail brochures into e-Adventures that kids can do on a smart phone or tablet. Kids can complete these e-Adventures in their backyard, schoolyard, local park, on an official TRACK Trail, or anywhere in between.

For instance, your kids can go on a scavenger hunt at Theodore Roosevelt Island, an island in the Potomac River that in the 1930s was transformed into a memorial to the country's 26th president. The page takes youngsters on a virtual hike around the island, teaching them about marshes, cypress forests, and even a little about the role the island played during the Civil War. Oh, and there's also some information on Theodore Roosevelt, naturally.

Once kids have finished their hike on the island, they can head over to the e-Adventures website created by the folks behind Kids in Parks. On that page you'll find some of the program's most popular TRACK Trail brochures transformed into e-Adventures that kids can do on a smart phone or tablet.

Kids can learn a little about about flowers, and how the color of their blooms attracts different pollinators. They can even learn about "forest bathing," the practice of heading into forests to calm down and even recharge for the rest of the day.

Forest bathing might be the perfect activity for parents, too!