Spring is on the horizon! In this post I will share some spring ideas for homeschooling.
I’m a busy mom like many other homeschooling moms. In order for me to keep an interesting curriculum I tailor my homeschooling to the season.
The change of seasons presents new learning and travel opportunities.
Changing my schedule for the children seasonally allows me to discuss relevant topics and incorporate relevant crafts into our homeschooling. From changing the type of music you teach – be sure to check out these Drum Machine Tips – to the outdoor activities you do, spring provides you with so much choice.
This post will give information about:
- Doing
- Making
- Learning
- Where to find this stuff
Things to do
Taking the children for a nature walk is alway fun. Find a local park or garden that will allow you to walk and have a snack or lunch there.
Getting outdoors is always a great idea. My children love having lunch outside on a moderately warm day.
It’s a great idea to take a treasure hunt or foliage list to see if you can find items local to you. These kinds of lists are usually free on teacherspayteachers.
Another great idea is to visit a nursery so the children can see the plants and flowers.
Don’t worry if there is not one in your area. Once the first day of spring arrives, places like Home Depot and Lowe’s will have seeds, plants and trees.
Buy some seeds and see if you can get them to grow. Planting a pretty flower is easy. Choose something useful and easy to grow like marigolds or daisies.
Because marigolds are also well known to keep pests and insects away like mosquitos, nematodes and cabbage worms they are certainly a plus during the spring season.
Make it easy for yourself. You will not need fancy seeds, soil or pots. Plastic cups and a bag of soil from the dollar store work just fine.
The children really just want to play in the dirt, especially if they are under 10 years old.
If you are more of a serious gardener and want to make sure you are fully supplied, get some gloves for little ones. This will be a lifestyle for you all every season, so enjoy the shopping for supplies part.
Once the first sign of green sprouts the children usually get so excited. I still do at my age.
Things to make
Pinterest has amazing suggestions of spring ideas for homeschooling. There are hundreds of craft boards, rainy day boards as well as homeschool boards. You can follow mine.
Lately my crafting style has changed since we are now on our 3rd homeschooled child. Most of the time I choose to make things we can actually use.
My favorite project is to paint a flower pot. If you go back to “Things to do” in this post, this will work very well with visiting a nursery or planting a flower.
Some of the best things to make are free. Every year Home Depot gives out a free woodworking kit to children.
Find out when they will offer them this year by asking a manager or checking the Home Depot website.
Things to learn
My favorite time of year for lesson plans! Spring ideas for homeschooling does not have to be difficult. There is so much around you to observe and create a lesson from.
Depending on the age of your child you will definitely want to discuss honey bees and pollination. We just did this lesson in my homeschool.
Here is the video we watched…
Another favorite spring idea for homeschooling is the migration of birds. This is a double lesson so save the information for the winter to talk about when birds fly south.
For birds that do migrate like sparrows, wrens, gulls and terns you can discuss their return to the north and the process of making a nest.
Check Pinterest for craft ideas for making a nest. This craft will go well with the nature walk activity. If you take a walk mid-spring you will see many nests in the trees and maybe even some eggs.
Learn about Earth Day!
Earth day is on April 22nd every year. Your town or city probably has some free events to enjoy.
If there are no free events offered by your town an alternative is to play some games!
Our favorite game by Adventerra Games teaches about recycling. Adventerra Games creates games that raise awareness of environmental issues.
Their company responds to the urgency of the environmental challenges around us as well as the need to educate children to respect the environment.
Hungry Bins is the perfect Earth Day game! It’s a sorting game that works for any age.
Set it up to play like the game memory. The packaging is beautiful and sustainable.
Resources
All things are possible when you know where to find what you need. Sharing resources that may be little known with other parents makes things a bit easier.
Everyone loves insider secrets so I hope this share will lead you to some amazing resources, some of which are even free! If you come across any other resources you love please share in the comments!
My List in no particular order:
- Teachers Pay Teachers for free and paid worksheets/activities
- Kids gardening gloves
- My Pinterest, follow me and all the boards I follow
- www.tarakamiya.com Sign up for updates to the blog!
- eightymphmom.com I contribute to this blog as well.
- Marigold seeds
- US National Park Service
- Bento Lunch Boxes
- Earth Day website
As usual everything does not work for everybody. If these suggestions do not sound like your cup of tea, check out The Homeschool Mom.
The Homeschool Mom’s blog is another amazing resource so check out Vanessa Wright’s article. She has a great article on Why I Don’t Do Homeschool Planning in the Spring.
Check out my other articles…How to teach children about death
Thank you for reading and sharing in our Homeschool journey!
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