In the past my family #Homeschooled and finding out about a #Holiday like National Wildlife Day would have made me want to go on a #FieldTrip to the Fort Worth Zoo which would still be fun even though were no, longer homeschooling.
For my family there are some animals that just seem to capture our heart. For Charlie, that animal has always been the white tiger. As for David I would say he would choose a snake.
For me, give me an elephant, and I am probably going to stop what I am doing to watch it. There is just something about elephants that has always fascinated me.
And then there is Suzanne. The first time I took Suzanne to the Fort Worth Zoo, I bought her a pink flamingo. That absolutely became her favorite animal. I still have it.
But then there was the Monkey’s and with Suzanne being known as Monkey Sue, Monkey’s also are close to my heart. Did you know at the Oklahoma City Zoo, we even have a monument to her.
I also still have her monkey. It has tears on it from when she passed away. So when I think about National Wildlife Day, I don’t just think about animal facts, habitats, conservation, or the animals we see at a zoo.
I think about memories. I think about taking my little girl to the zoo. I think about the pink flamingo she loved. I think about Monkey Sue. And I think about how something as simple as taking a child to see animals can create memories that stay with a family forever.
That’s why I wanted to make National Wildlife Day into more than just a list of interesting animal facts. Let’s make it a family learning day because even if your not in school now it doesn’t mean learning should stop.
I have a question for you. Which could be the beginning of a wonderful family conversation. Ask everyone: What is your favorite wild animal? Is it a tiger? An elephant? A flamingo? A giraffe? A lion? A penguin? A gorilla? A wolf? Maybe your favorite isn’t a big animal at all.
Maybe you love butterflies, birds, frogs, turtles, or even the squirrels that seem to think your yard belongs to them. There isn’t a wrong answer. Once everyone chooses an animal, turn that favorite animal into a learning opportunity.
Charlie’s Choice: The White Tiger
Charlie’s favorite animal is the white tiger, so if we were doing this as a homeschool lesson, that would be our starting point. We could learn where tigers naturally live, what they eat, how they communicate, how they hunt, and what challenges wild tigers face.
And here’s a little #TeachingMoment: A white tiger isn’t a separate species of tiger. White tigers are tigers with a rare color variation. That gives us an opportunity to talk about genetics, inherited traits, adaptations, and animal classification. One favorite animal can lead us into science, biology, geography, writing, art, and history.
Glenda’s Choice: The Elephant:
Before we get started when I say Elephant’s I don’t mean Dumbo or Eeyore. I mean real live Elephants which we would find at the Zoo. Elephants can take our homeschool lesson in a completely different direction.
We can learn about African and Asian elephants, their habitats, their diets, their family groups, how they communicate, how large they are, and why protecting their habitats matters.
We could even turn elephants into a math lesson. How tall is an elephant compared with your child? How much does an elephant weigh? How much food does an elephant eat?
How long does an elephant live? How many different elephant species are there? Suddenly we’re not just saying, “I like elephants.” We’re learning and that is the fun part.
And then we have Suzanne’s flamingo. I think this is one of the sweetest things about animals. Sometimes a child doesn’t need to know everything about an animal to love it.
Sometimes they just see it. Maybe it is the color. Maybe it is the way it moves. Maybe it is something silly about it. Maybe it simply catches their attention.
For Suzanne, it was that pink flamingo. And years later, I still have it. That little flamingo is no longer just a toy. It is a memory. It reminds me of a little girl who loved animals and of a day we spent together at the zoo.
That’s something I hope we remember when we’re teaching our children. Learning isn’t always about remembering the facts. Sometimes it’s about remembering the moment.
Turn National Wildlife Day Into a Homeschool Lesson
Choose one animal and let your child become the “expert” for the day.
Science
Study:
- Animal classification
- Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects
- Animal adaptations
- Habitats
- Food chains
- Predator and prey relationships
- Endangered and threatened species
- How animals communicate
Geography
Find your animal on a map. Where does it naturally live? What countries or continents are part of its range? What kind of climate does it need? What does its habitat look like? What happens when that habitat changes?
Math
Compare:
- Height
- Weight
- Speed
- Lifespan
- Number of babies
- Amount of food eaten
- Distance traveled
Younger children can count animals. Older children can make graphs, calculate comparisons, or create a measurement chart.
Writing
Have your child write:: “If I Could Spend a Day With My Favorite Wild Animal…”
Or:: “If I Could Visit My Animal’s Natural Habitat…”
Or: “Why I Chose This Animal.”
Children who don’t enjoy traditional writing can draw a picture and tell you their story while you write down their words. That’s learning, too.
Take the Classroom to the Zoo
Sometimes the best classroom doesn’t have four walls. Here in North Texas, we have two wonderful places where families can turn a zoo visit into a real-world learning experience.
Fort Worth Zoo
The Fort Worth Zoo currently offers homeschool classes for children ages 6–11. The 2026–2027 schedule includes lessons involving insects, classification, animal adaptations, dragonflies, butterflies, bees, pollination, food chains, and more.
The zoo also has Homeschool Day on October 1, 2026. That is a pretty wonderful way to take something your child is already interested in and turn it into a real science experience.
Dallas Zoo
The Dallas Zoo also offers educational programs and a Homeschool Day on October 6, 2026.
The current Homeschool Day focuses on animal adaptations, ecosystems, conservation, and biodiversity, with hands-on activities for homeschoolers of all ages.
And you don’t have to wait for a special homeschool day.
Before visiting, have your child choose three animals to study.
At the zoo, ask:
What does the animal look like? What is it doing? What does it eat? What kind of habitat does it have? Does it live alone or with other animals? What adaptation helps it survive?
Now your zoo trip has become a field study.
Adopt an Animal: Here’s another idea I really like:
Adopt an animal. No, I’m not suggesting you bring a tiger home! Although, if Charlie and my sister could I’m sure they would. LOL If that is the case I’m bringing a Elephant or two home. David better get us a Farm.
Zoo adoptions are generally symbolic adoptions that help support the care of animals. The Fort Worth Zoo offers animal adoption packages, including general adoptions and special animal packages. Its adoption program explains that the adoptions are symbolic and help support the care and feeding of its animal residents.
There is even a classroom adoption program that includes an animal plush, certificates, fact sheets, coloring pages, pencils, and a zoo publication — which could make a fun addition to a homeschool classroom.
I just wish I had knew about this when Charlie and Suzzane were #Homeschooling because I could have signed them up for the program. Wouldn’t that have been fun?
And because elephants are my favorite, I love that the Fort Worth Zoo currently has a baby elephant adoption package featuring Sam Houston and Lady Bird.
The Dallas Zoo has an Adopt-An-Animal program, too.
And right now there is a special African elephant adoption connected with the zoo’s new elephant calf, Matope. Current adoption options include an educational zookeeper report and, depending on the package, an elephant plush, zoo tickets, photos, and other benefits.
That could turn into a whole homeschool project.
Choose an animal. Adopt it. Learn about it. Create an animal notebook. Draw it. Write about it. Find it on a map.
Then learn what people are doing to protect that animal in the wild.
You Don’t Have to Go to the Zoo: This might actually be my favorite part. Wildlife isn’t only found behind zoo gates. Look outside. What do you see? A bird sitting on the fence?
A squirrel running across the yard? A rabbit? A butterfly? A dragonfly? A lizard? Maybe you’ve spotted a hawk flying overhead. Maybe you hear birds before you ever see them.
Take a walk and see how many different living creatures you can find. You don’t have to touch them. You don’t have to know what they are yet. Just observe them. Then go home and research what you saw. That’s science.
Our Wildlife Watch
Here’s a simple activity you can do in your backyard, at a park, or even while looking out a window.
Can You Find:
☐ A bird
☐ A butterfly
☐ A squirrel
☐ A rabbit
☐ An insect
☐ Animal tracks
☐ A feather
☐ A nest
☐ An animal you hear but cannot see
☐ An animal you cannot identify yet
Now choose one animal and record what you discover. Animal: ______________________________ Where did I see it? ______________________________ What was it doing? ______________________________ How many did I see? ______________________________ What did it look like? ______________________________ What do I think it eats? ______________________________ What did I learn? ______________________________ Draw your animal
One reason I love turning National Wildlife Day into a learning opportunity is that children can discover that loving animals also means learning how to protect them.
Wildlife needs places to live. Animals need food, water, shelter, and safe habitats. We can teach our children to respect wild animals and give them space. We can keep trash out of places where animals might find it. We can learn about plants that support pollinators. We can support responsible conservation organizations.
And we can teach our children that wildlife isn’t something that exists only somewhere far away. It is part of the world around us.
Tonight, ask everyone in your family to choose a wild animal. Charlie gets his white tiger. I get my elephant. Or do I get a Monkey or a Donkey? Suzanne will always have her pink flamingo.
Then spend 30 minutes learning something new about each animal. Which goes with our 30 minute reading challenge. As your researching the animals maybe someone discovers a new favorite animal.
Maybe somebody wants to draw. Maybe somebody wants to write. Maybe somebody wants to plan a zoo trip. Maybe somebody decides they want to adopt an animal.
And maybe everyone walks outside and pays a little more attention to the wildlife already living around them. That’s a pretty good homeschool lesson to me.
#TeachingMoment; You don’t have to be a zoologist to teach your children about wildlife. You just have to be willing to stop, look, ask questions, and learn something together.
Well, Buttercup, sometimes the classroom is the kitchen table. Sometimes it’s a zoo. Sometimes it’s a park. And sometimes it’s the sidewalk outside your front door.
And sometimes, years later, the animal you learned about becomes part of a memory you treasure forever. Today, let’s go see what we can discover ahd share the information with a friend.
A Little Wildlife Homework
Choose one wild animal and answer these questions:
- What is its name?
- Where does it live?
- What does it eat?
- What kind of habitat does it need?
- How long does it usually live?
- What is one interesting fact?
- Is the species endangered, threatened, or currently considered stable?
- What can people do to help protect it?
Bonus: Draw your animal and create a “Save Our Wildlife” poster.
National Wildlife Day gives us a reason to stop and appreciate the animals around us — but we don’t need a special day to keep learning about them. Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep noticing. And let’s keep making memories with the people we love.
✝️ Glenda 🐸 David 🎮 Charlie 🦋 Suzanne
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.
GreatfulMoments.com
