Homeschool fun plans!

[Shanti]

My daughter-in-law and I both home school. My grandkids are close in age to my two youngest.
Anyhow, we talked today and drew up some fun field trips and learning adventures we will be doing together with the kids.

We are taking the kids at the end of this month to our local zoo. Its a free zoo. :)
Also if we go during school hours, the zoo is practically empty at this time of year!!

We of course have the pumpkin farm on our agenda for Halloween time. Its more than a pumpkin farm. They go all out for Halloween and have a mini tour of their farm with info on how things work for all the kids that come.

Then in the city in the next county, there is a children's museum all focused on hands on and education. That we will all go to in Nov.

We are also working with the local fire dept on setting up a tour there.

Plus my DIL and I are working on doing things together that are educational and fun right here at my place.
One thing we are planning is a 'be a sheep day'. The kids will where 'wool' socks and run through the pastures and field pretending to be sheep to see what plant seeds stick to their 'wool' socks. Its a lesson based on how some plants utilize animals for the spread of the plant species, with identification and study of the species of seed they pick up. For the older kids it will of course be more involved in the study of the plants species, etc, and for the younger it helps them experience and understand the importance of the plants seed scattering techniques.

This is one aspect I love about homeschooling, being able to do things like this that are educational, fun, and together as a family. :)

[Willow Rosette]

Ohhh Shanti can I be one of your kids??? Even as an adult your activities always sound like so much fun. I wish I could think of these things to do with Toria.

[Faol-chù]

This is one aspect I love about homeschooling, being able to do things like this that are educational, fun, and together as a family. :)

Yep...:)

My kids have been involved in a 'nature enthusiasts' club', where every couple of weeks, they go out in the woods with their field guides and look up at the trees, look down at the rocks (or up-we're in the mountains!), or pore through the creeks, ponds, and mud puddles, as well as carefully (occasionally quietly) observing the wildlife they find to identify them. Then they go home and to the library to find more information...:) They'd never be able to seriously pursue such an activity with the same focus and depth if they went to public school.

What's really cool is that we get to go on some really cool vacations after motel rates go down and most crowds have dissipated (because most other kids are back in school...:)) In a couple of weeks we are going to go to Jamestown. (We live in VA.)

I think that's the coolest part about homeschooling!

[Ceres]

Our plans for the next month:

-Nature hikes at the local conservation area - I LOVE fall
-We go to the beach as late in the year as possible - most years we get at least one day in october
-the apple/pumpkin farm has tours and play areas and a corn maze
-The local native village has an annual day where you get to taste foods the natives would have ate the way they would have cooked them (three sisters - corn, squash beans)
-The war of 1812 day at the village that shows what life was like for pioneers with people in period costume and building that are restored (that war is the one the canadians won against you americans :lol:)
-There is a day coming up with the largish city nearby offers free tours all over the city. WE will likely take in the more expensive native museum and one factory - I am thinking the Beer factory might be fun.
-The local apiary (bee place) has educational tours.
-We went to the amish community in the summer and I would like to return to that this fall

We often do the same things every year, but we learn new things at them every time we revisit them. I am finding with my kids getting older that they are developing independent areas of interest, so my job is becoming more about co-ordinating these seperate things which is a challenge.