Homeschool Fall Activities: The Best Way to Add in Some Fall Fun & Create Great Memories
Top 15 Fun Fall Activities to Add to Your Homeschool Days
Looking for some creative, fun and meaningful ways to add some fall fun into your homeschool days? I’ve put together this list of the top 15 homeschool fall activities to do just that. Whether you’re team summer or team fall, this list is sure to get you excited for the beginning of the coziest time of year! And a big bonus, lots of learning will happen! All while creating some beautiful memories ☺
1. Hand Print Tree with Finger Print Fall Leaves
Super cute keepsake worthy craft for your little ones. Trace your child’s arm on a sheet of paper, all the way up to their hands. They can then paint or color in the “trunk and branches” aka their arm & hand/fingers. Put out some fall themed paint colors for them to make finger print leaves on the branches. Bonus, they will love playing in the paint!
2. Leaf Rubbings
An oldie but goodie! Take a nature walk through your neighborhood or park. Gather up some different shaped leaves and bring them home for some art fun. Kids can then place the leaves under paper and rub lightly with crayons (fall colors are fun here!). See their delight in the pretty shapes appearing before their eyes.
3. Collect Pinecones for Crafting
Self-explanatory ☺ A quick Pinterest will lead you to tons of adorable, fun craft ideas!
4. Make a Pinecone Bird Feeder
Simple and so fun to do! This is an especially good craft if you live in an area where fall brings cooler weather. To make the feeders you will need pinecones, peanut butter, bird seed and twine. Set up a newspaper covered area and let your kids slather peanut butter along the edges of the pinecone. Roll in bird seed and use the twine to tie the pinecone to a tree branch.
Perfect as the weather is getting chilly since birds have to look harder for their food. This is a great activity to tie into a unit study on birds. Your kids can learn all about different bird species and how they cope with the seasons.
5. Pressed Leaves Bookmarks
Is this not the perfect homeschool craft, ha! A craft, learning experience and reading encourage-r all in one! Collect some leaves – different sizes and colors and shapes. Follow the directions to press the leaves & create the bookmark found here. SO much fun and since you have to wait a couple of days to complete the project a good patience lesson! This will make your fall read alouds even more special ☺ They also make great gifts, an early holiday project idea!
6. Play Fall Bingo
Have some fun and create a bingo game by coming up with a list of your family’s favorite things about fall. Once you have a list of say 20-25 depending on how large you want your bingo game board, write them all on pieces of paper. Throw into a bowl and have each child take turns pulling out the pieces and fill in their board. This way each kid will have a different arrangement on their board. Use acorns collected from the backyard or park as bingo pieces!
7. Bake or “Make” a Fall Treat
This one depends on your feelings toward baking, and your kids’ ages. That’s why I say bake or make! Love to bake and have kids who want to help? Bake pumpkin bread or an apple treat allowing your kids the task of reading the recipe and measuring the ingredients. Not much of a fan of baking? You can still have a treat with a lot less mess than baking. One cute idea is a first day of fall treat like these acorn treats. They are adorable & delicious! My kids love these, we’ve made them for years. This is definitely their favorite homeschool fall activity haha!
8. Fall Themed Scavenger Hunt
This can be an indoor or outdoor activity. Make a list of items your kids will need to find. Type and print multiple copies or just write one list for them to share and check off as they find the items. A way to make it more “educational” would be to tie in clues about certain things they’ve studied for some of the items. For example, “This animal works hard gathering & storing acorns as the cooler weather approaches….” A squirrel! Or make it more complex for older kids. Totally customizable and fun! Have a prize at the end of hot cocoa back at home. ☺
9. Fall Unit Studies
I mentioned the idea of unit studies above, but this homeschool fall activity deserves its own spot on the list! And for good reason. Unit studies are an amazing way to learn together. They are also a really nice way to add in some creativity to your homeschool days. Another plus, they give you a change of pace, which is often well needed a couple of months into the school year.
Fall unit studies could be on a variety of topics. Birds or animals and their change in lifestyle with weather changes is a good idea. Weather itself and the changes in the environment around your home, for example the cooler weather and why the leaves change colors and fall. Pumpkins or apples and maybe a visit to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard.
If you need some pointers on how to create your own unit study, I wrote a whole post on how here!
10. Photography Study
This is a great one for older kids and really perfect if you live where you have changes in the trees. Have your kids document a tree over a period of a month or two, through photos. Have them take notes and observations of changes. All put together in a portfolio or on a poster board makes it a really pretty project to display!
11. Library Trip!
Even if you already visit the library weekly, make a fall themed visit! Explore all the seasonal picture & storybooks on display and check some out. Little House in the Big Woods and Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea are a few of the classics with fall settings that are perfect for family read alouds. Your library may also have a fall themed storytime or craft day to attend.
12. Paint Pumpkins
A fun way to extend the life of a pumpkin rather than carving! Set up some newspaper and tempura/craft paints on the back deck or in the kitchen and let your kids bring out their inner pumpkin artists! Fun after a pumpkin patch trip making a full day or two day activity.
13. Fall Garden
Depending on where you live – research what can grow during the fall. You’ll most likely be surprised that there is something you can grow. We have lived in both a cold weather fall area & a milder fall area and have had success both places. We actually had broccolini growing up through the snow one year! You could also start an indoor herb garden. As with spring & summer gardening, your kids can document the process as a project.
14. Learn More about Veteran’s Day
A wonderful, meaningful later fall activity to add to your homeschool. Unit study idea! Teach your children all about what it means to be a veteran and learn more about these brave men and women. Learn about the different branches of the military. Contact a local VFW to see if there are any ceremonies in your area to attend. Also ask if they need any volunteers – particularly great for older kids.
If you have a veteran in your family have your kids make them a card and send it to them as a thank you for their service.
15. Make a Gratitude Tree
The month of November is a perfect time for this activity. Also great to involve the whole family.
Draw or paint a tree on large paper. Cut out some fall colored leaves from construction paper. Each day every family member gets to add one thing to the tree they are grateful for, on a paper leaf. Sweet and simple but a great learning opportunity to see gratitude in action. Another idea for your “tree” is to use a couple of twigs or small branches in a vase and tie the leaves on with twine or clear string.
Happy fall!
I hope you have a lot of fun with these homeschool fall activities! Adding in some creative ways to learn along with the change of seasons is always a nice thing to look forward to. Embrace the beginning of the cozy season!
If you have any other fun fall activities you love to do with your kids, please share in the comments below!
