Stress Free Homeschooling Ideas
In light of all the new homeschoolers out there, I thought I would put together a list of educational activities that don’t require you to purchase any curriculum, are fun, and most can be done without a parent’s help.
Fun, Free, Homeschool, Learning Activities
- Work on Life Skills. Learn how to:
- Cook
- Do Laundry
- Check the oil in the car
- Change a Tire
- Paint a room
- Budget
- Grocery shopping online
- Make a meal plan with a budget, then shop online
- Banking online
- Home repair
- Mow the lawn
- Start a garden
- PE Ideas
- Online exercise video
- Family Olympics
- Obstacle course
- Train for a 5K together
- Bike rides
- Roller skating/blading, skateboarding
- Family game of basketball, soccer, football
- Google different ways to play tag, and have a family game of tag
- Learn about Outer-space
- Learn the constellations
- Research the planets
- Family stargazing party
- Visit https://www.nasa.gov/
- Learn about the phases of the moon
- Go for a walk in the full moon.
- Look at the moon with binoculars or a telescope
- Do some Family History
- Write down favorite family stories
- Write your personal history
- Organize family photos
- Make a slide show of favorite family pictures and/or videos
- Interview Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles
- Type up their stories
- Research where your parents/Grandparents/Great-grandparents were raised
- Learn how to use Family Search. (It’s free) https://www.familysearch.org/register/custom/1
- Make a book of one of your ancestors, include pictures, and stories
- Do something kind for your neighbors
- Plant some flowers
- Shovel/sweep their side walk
- Cover their door with hearts and kind messages
- Rake/mow their lawn
- Wash their windows
- Go caroling, sing fun songs
- Walk their dog
- Nature Ideas
- Go for a nature walk, everyone bring back something you found and research more about it.
- Have a nature scavenger hunt.
- Put up a bird feeder in your yard.
- Research and record the birds that come to the feeder. What do they like to eat? How can you attract other birds to your yard or feeder?
- Go bird watching
- On YouTube listen to bird songs of local birds so you can identify them.
- Start a nature collection, i.e.: leaves, rocks, feathers, bugs, bark rubbings, wildflowers
- Research the wildlife that live in your area. Look for evidence of them where you live, i.e.: scat, tracks, fur.
- Keep a nature journal
- Learn about native plants around you. See how many you can identify.
- Document the weather and temperature each day.
- Learn about weather prediction and patterns
- Watch the clouds, find shapes, and research types of clouds
- All about books
- Book club with family or online. Everyone reads the same book and then you discuss it.
- Book Party with family or online. Everyone brings their favorite book and gives a brief synopsis of the book and tells why it is their favorite.
- Write and illustrate your own book.
- Illustrate your favorite story or book
- Research your favorite book. Where did the author get the idea?
- Join a fan club centered around your favorite book.
- Write a story that offshoots your favorite book, or continue the story.
- Make a mini movie of your favorite book
- Research your favorite author/s.
- Read other books by your favorite authors.
- Create your own fantasy world. Write stories about it, create a language, customs, maps, style of dress, mythical creatures, magical powers etc.
- Have a read-a-thon complete with snacks
- Listen to an audio book in a homemade fort.
- Be a book character and have others ask questions to figure out who you are.
- Write your own graphic novel or turn your favorite book into a graphic novel.
- Read a book then watch the movie. Compare the two and have a family discussion about the similarities and differences.
- Write a letter to your favorite author.
- Watch How Things are Made on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCELt4nocnWDEnYJmov4zqyA
- Watch science videos on YouTube
- Google Easy Science experiments and do your favorites.
- Make a family newspaper to send to friends and neighbors, ideas for articles could include: things you have learned for school, family news and activities with pictures, weather report, recipes.
- Learn more about your favorite animal.
- Math games, you can find a lot of ideas online
- Plan a family vacation you can take after this is over. Research the area, find fun things to do, plan a budget for your vacation, and plan travel time.
- Keep a journal
- Family game tournament. Chess, checkers, dominoes, Yahtzee
- Learn stop motion photography.
- Make a claymation movie.
- Memorize the continents.
- Memorize the countries on a continent.
- Memorize the 50 states.
- Make a map of your neighborhood.
- Make a map of an imaginary country.
- Learn about how movies are made.
- Research how your favorite movie was made.
- Learn how cartoons are made.
- Make your own cartoon.
- Learn about an event in history and make a movie about it.
- Read to a younger sibling or to your cousin or grandparents over Facetime.
- Write to a pen pal, with everyone homeschooling it should be easy to find someone willing to write back.
- Start a family Youtube channel. You could share recipes, book reviews, movie reviews etc.
- Start a podcast
- Design and draw your dream home.
- Study church history. Learn more about a specific person or time period.
- Learn Morse Code as a family and leave each other secret messages all over the house.
- Learn about other codes
- Create your own secret code and share it with a friend. Write secret messages to each other.
- Learn a new language. (There are many apps now to help you learn a new language)
- Memorize your favorite poem
- Have a tea party and everyone share their favorite poem or one they have memorized
- Look up what happened this day in history. What happened the year you were born, the year your parents or grandparents were a born?
- Make a soap or wood carving.
- Get a house plant and research how to take care of it. How much water, sun, and fertilizer does it need?
- Read stories from Greek, Roman, Native American, or Norse mythology.
- Write your own mythology story.
- Host a family or online Geography Bee with your friends.
- Host a family or online Spelling Bee.
- Learn how to do origami.
- Play store. Give everyone monopoly money and have fun!
- Research your dream job. What would you do on a daily basis? How much would you make?
- Research your dream place to live. How much does a house or an apartment cost? What is the cost of living in that area?
- Research the type of car you want to buy.
- Play school. Take turns being the teacher and teach something to your siblings, friends, or cousins online.
- Learn to do paper mâché. (There are a lot of great tutorials on Youtube about paper mâché.)
- Make a vision board.
- Make a collage
- Make a diorama
- Make sock puppets or paper puppets
- Make a puppet theater and put on a play
- Learn to make shadow puppets, and a shadow puppet theater.
- Make a life-size version of yourself. Lay down and have someone trace the outline of your body, and then color it.
- Learn the systems of the body.
- Learn how to take your pulse.
- Write a song.
- Study a famous artist, composer, sculpture, mathematician, zoologist, astronomer, author, botanist, actor, scientist, or world leader.
- ACT or SAT prep
- Learn how and write your own resume’.
- Practice and have a pretend job interview.
- Watch a movie based on actual events, then research more about that event. Was the movie accurate?
- Research a pet you would like to own.
- Study backyard homesteading.
- Learn outdoor survival skills.
- Build something with Legos or wooden blocks
- Have a family art exhibit.
- Have a photography scavenger hunt.
- Learn to knit or crochet.
- Make paper airplanes. Have a contest to see whose can fly the farthest.
- Make play-dough.
- Make slime.
- Research your favorite sport, sports team, or player.
- Measure things.
- Weigh things
- Play sink or float. In a large bowl of water put small objects in the water. Before putting the object in the water guess if it will sink or float.
- Using magnets go around the house and see what the magnet sticks to.
- Learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
- Look up riddles to solve.
- Design your dream outfit.
- Design a whole clothing line.
- Learn to sew something.
- Lean more about photography.
- Tour a museum online.
- Read the news online.
- Explore the world with Google Earth
- Research a country. Learn their customs, dress, products, and food.
- Have a culture night, dress like and eat foods from the country you studied
- Research the biggest man-made structures in the world.
- Research the natural wonders of the world.
- Learn about your favorite sea animals.
- Read the Declaration of Independence
- Read the Constitution of the United States
- Learn more about your state.
- Learn more about the city you live in. When was it founded, and who were the first people that lived there?
- Write a ”Thank You” note to someone.
- Watch an online music tutorial for an instrument you own and can practice.
- Learn to make a PowerPoint presentation.
- Learn to write computer code.