And all at once, summer collapsed into fall…
~Oscar Wilde~
This pretty much sums up what I feel right now. How can it already be fall?? It feels like the summer just started. We’re going back to school after Labor Day, but I know most of you start earlier. Therefore I’ve come up with a new Bucket List with lots of Homeschooling ideas for the FALL. See bottom of post to download the FREE printable I’ve created. It’s packed with fun things for your kids to do in the fall.
I LOVE the fall! There’s just so much to do and learn with all the holidays coming up. And not to speak about the change in nature! Everything sparkles with color and the air turns crisp. The season is made for spending lots of time outdoors!
I separated the activities into a few different sub categories:
- General fall activities
- Columbus Day and the Missions
- Learning about the Native American People
- Halloween
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving
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General Fall Activities
- Go for (lots of) hikes
- Collect leaves
- Go biking
- Collect pinecones
- Climb trees
- Jump in leaves
- Make pincone animals
- Rake leaves
- Make a bird feeder
- Play in the rain
- Go out with a sketch pad and draw nature
- Do leaf rubbings with use of crayons
- Go apple picking
- Bake an apple pie
- Make apple prints
- Study the parts of an apple
- Learn about hibernation
- Learn about animal migrating
- Plant flower bulbs
- Learn about different kinds of mushrooms
- Make a mushroom diorama
- Identify different kinds of mushrooms outside
- Try leaf printing
- Learn why leaves change color in the fall
- Weave, using a homemade cardboard loom
- Try weaving on a stick
- Make birds or other creatures from leaves
- Make leaves from rubbings and watercolors
- Paint sticks
- Make a rain stick
- Make fall slime!
- Download the “Sky Guide” app
- Research one star constellation
- Make a solar system diorama
- Create a fall scavenger hunt
- Make your own fall art exhibition
- Have a picnic in the park/woods
- Make pom-pom forest animals
- Make fall Pom Pom mobile
- Make friendship bracelets
- Make a chime, using old silverware, washers and keys
- Make a fall wreath
- Paint feathers
Columbus Day and the Missions
- Research the origin of Columbus Day
- Visit a local mission (or research one)
- Write about how the arrival of Europeans affected the indigenous people in the Americas
Learning about the Native American People
- Research a Native American tribe
- Make a Native American tribe diorama
- Build a tee-pee in the yard
- Make a talking stick
- Make a totem craft
- Visit a local pow wow
- Make bows and arrows
- Paint Native American pictographs on rocks
- Tell stories, using the rocks
- Make a Native American game
- Make paper “buffalo hide” art
- Read/tell Native American ancient stories
- Make a dream catcher
Halloween
- Visit a pumpkin patch
- Learn about a pumpkin life cycle
- Visit a corn maze
- Carve pumpkins
- Paint a pumpkin
- Make a scarecrow
- Learn about spiders
- Make toilet paper roll spider stamps
- “Preserve” a real spider web on black paper
- Make spider web art (crayon and watercolors)
- Make jumping spiders
- Learn about bats
- Do some bat crafts
- Draw fantasy monsters/creatures, using wiggly eyes or stickers as starters
- Make ghost slime!
- Do some ghost experiments
- Do something that scares you
- Make an erupting volcano (using a pumpkin as volcano)
- Decorate for Halloween with window markers
- Go on a hayride
- Make a pom-pom pumpkin garland
- Make spooky Halloween treats
- Bake pumpkin bread
- Roast pumpkin seeds
- Make your own costume for Halloween
- Guess a pumpkin’s circumferance
Veterans Day
- Learn about the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day
- Find a way to honor a veteran
- Write a poem about veterans
- Make painted coffee filter poppies
Thanksgiving
- Read a book about Thanksgiving
- Research the pilgrims and the history of Thanksgiving
- Plan a thanksgiving dinner
- Write notes to friends to tell them what you appreciate about them
- Make a centerpiece for the thanksgiving table
- Bake a pecan pie
- Make napkin rings for the thanksgiving table
- Write a thanksgiving poem
- Make a “gratitude pumpkin”
- Play thanksgiving games
- Make turkey popcorn treat bags from clear gloves
- Make handprint turkey with feathers
There is no description, no image in any book capable of replacing the sight of real trees, and all of the life to be found around them in a real forest.
~Maria Montessori~
Additional tips for a fun (homeschool) fall
- Chill -Try not to be over ambitious. Pick one thing to do at a time. If you plan too many things before starting the risk is high you’re not gonna follow through…or does it only happen to me??
- Pick the things from the list you think that you and your kids will really enjoy doing. If one activity doesn’t feel fun and worth doing, skip to the next.
- Plan ahead! Countless hours -and days- can pass without anything exciting happening if you don’t plan ahead. Try to sit down together at the beginning of the week and decide which fun activity you’d like to do and when.
- Make sure you have all the materials at hand before starting.
- If you need any printables, print out the day before. Otherwise you might loose your kids’ interest (while you’re frantically looking for things online) even before starting.
- Have fun!
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~Albert Camus~
Please share your ideas and experiences with us!
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