Studying indoors can be boring and unstimulating especially for homeschoolers who often have no distinction between classroom and home. Learning doesn’t have to take place in your usual classroom but can happen anywhere you go. Close the books and take your homeschoolers outside for these fun, educational outdoor activities!
1. Treasure Hunt
Plan a fun treasure hunt so that your homeschool children can learn a healthy way of competition and have a new, exciting experience and, of course, loads of fun. You can have a treasure hunt in your backyard, local park, or just about anywhere you want. A treasure hunt in your backyard is great for a small group of kids of all ages, while your neighborhood can accommodate a larger group of older kids. Once you decide on a place, you can come up with different items to hunt and set a prize for the winner. You can incorporate some educational lessons in your treasure hunt by hiding different numbers and alphabets for your children to find and match-- this will be a fun, engaging way to teach beginning number and alphabet learners.
2. Nature Hike & Neighborhood Map
Hiking is a great way to connect kids to the outdoors and teach them to appreciate nature. Teaching kids to enjoy and appreciate nature is an important part of preserving wilderness and nature for future generations. Go on a hike with your kids and help them put together a neighborhood map on their own, marking different streets and establishments as well as trees, plants and wild animal habitats. This activity will help them not only to understand directions and geography but also to develop deep appreciation for their surrounding environment and motivation to harmoniously coexist with other forms of life on Earth.
3. Gardening
Gardening with your kids can be a very fulfilling bonding exercise. It will help create not only great family memories but also appreciation for nature in your children. Gardening is also a great way to teach the value of hard work as well as hands-on biology and science concepts. Take fun trips to the gardening store, teach your kids different types of seeds and the plants they grow, let them grow and clean vegetables and have a fun cooking lesson with the vegetables you grew together.
4. Solar Oven & Panel
Go outside with a cardboard box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, dish, and cooking ingredients and build your own solar oven or panel! This is a great way to teach kids about basic science concepts like heat, reflection, absorption, and insulation without boring them. Help them see how the heat from the sun gets trapped inside your solar oven and reflected by the foil, eventually heating the air that's trapped inside the oven and eventually cooking the food.
5. Woodworking Class
Woodworking classes can teach kids how to use tools, build things from scratch and collaborate on a project. You can also teach them how to solve problems, build a clear and efficient plan and create things with their hands using creativity. It is no secret that actively building things using hands also greatly helps children stimulate and train their developing brains.