Educational Opportunities (Museum Pass)

Educational Opportunities are Everywhere

At HomeSchool ThinkTank, we don’t believe that education is limited to the classroom. We see educational opportunities everywhere.

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Some homeschool families follow a school-at-home model while others educate their children in ways that don’t resemble the typical classroom at all. If you’ve been thinking about homeschooling your children and you are concerned about your ability to educate your children, rest assured that there are many ways for children to learn and be educated.

Further down this page, you’ll learn about annual museums passes that will save your family money!

Noteworthy Educational Opportunities

To illustrate how there are educational opportunities everywhere, take a moment to think of the many ways that your children learn each day. Consider the following examples.

Sports
Music
Theater
Online Courses
In Person Classes
Family Activities
Recreation Center
National Parks
Museums
Local Events
Games
Subscriptions
Homeschool Activities
Magazines like National Geographic for Kids
Documentaries on NetFlix
Educational Programs on YouTube
Audiobooks
The Library
Homeschool Groups
Cooking
Drawing
Reading
Play Time
Free Time

While the school-at-home approach is how many parents begin when homeschooling their kids, there are many approaches that a homeschool parent can use to educate their children.

If you’re wondering how you might integrate these educational opportunities into your homeschool day, then you’ll want to visit our Styles of Homeschooling article.

Listen to the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast

Join parents from around the world and listen to the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast. Each Monday we share an episode about mindset and on Wednesday’s we share an episode about homeschooling and parenting.

You can listen nearly anywhere you listen to podcasts. We recommend listening on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.

HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast. Homeschool with Jackie

Enhancing Educational Opportunities

Consider how you could enhance the activities that you are already doing with your kids. For example, if you go to a national park each year, how could you make your vacation a bit more educational?

Here are a few ideas.

Prepare for the vacation. Read books, watch documentaries, learn about the geography, history, and culture of an area.
Get your kids involved. If your children are old enough, they can help with budgeting, planning for accommodations, and mapping out the trip.
Keep a journal. On the vacation, your kids can keep a journal of what they are doing and learning. Encourage your kids to write down how they feel and what they think about various activities.
Create a scrapbook. Afterward, you and your children can create a scrapbook about the vacation. They could even include copies of their diary entries and drawings in the scrapbook. Scrapbooking is also a great way to showcase your children’s handwriting.

One word of caution. While it’s great to draw out the educational aspects of various activities, try not to be so overzealous that you take the joy out of your trip. Remember to spark curiosity rather than zapping the fun out of life.

Education and learning are an everyday part of our lives. Once you begin seeing the educational opportunities in everyday life, you’ll realize that education isn’t something that just happens at school, it’s happening all of the time.

As a homeschooling parent, the number one way to help your children learn is to help create curiosity. Guide your children as they lay a foundation that can be built upon, and then teach them how to discover and utilize new information.

Get a Yearly Museum Pass through Reciprocity Programs

Did you know that many museums around the world are part of reciprocity programs? A reciprocal museum pass is a pass that can get you into multiple museums in a certain geographic region or even around the world.

When you buy an annual museum pass, you’ll save money and have interesting educational experiences with your kids.

Educational Opportunities at the Museum of the Rockes Dinosaur Exhibit. TRex in Bozeman Montana

Benefits of an Annual Museum Pass

Pay one time for your museum pass.
Get into other museums that are part of the program for free or at a discount.
Receive discounts in museum shops.
Attend museum events at a discounted rate.
Enjoy going to museums more often.

The North American Reciprocal Museum Association is an excellent example of a worldwide museum program known as NARM. While you’ll want to visit their website for more information, when you purchase yearly museum pass through NARM, you’ll get into other museums around the world for free.