What to Study This Fall in Your Homeschool (Especially for Teens!)

As kids get older, I know how much fuller your days get. These ideas — all of which happen in the fall — aren’t meant to add a lot of time & effort to your week. They are intended to add some fun to your days.

Because I also know that the homeschool work of older kids can quickly become drudgery between textbooks, tests, and trigonometry! And I know how that struggle can suck the joy out of your days.

We do some together stuff for the last 20-30 minutes of the day a couple of times a week. Sometimes it’s a book; sometimes, it’s learning about cows!

ALL SEASON LONG

Let’s cook!

By the time your kiddos are teens, they know what an apple looks like, and they’ve ‘dissected’ a pumpkin with jack ‘o lanterns. But how well do they really know fall foods?

• Make your own pumpkin puree & freeze it for your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.
• Or use the pumpkin puree in this pumpkin bread recipe.
• Make apple butter to spread on biscuits & freeze some for later in the season.
• Love soup? This butternut squash soup is easy for beginner cooks. It doesn’t take very long, so it would be a great lunch.

Discovery Dairy’s Adopt-a-Cow program

When: Already open for registration & continues throughout the year

“Forget the guinea pig. How about adopting a 100-pound dairy calf for your classroom mascot by joining the Adopt A Cow program? Don’t worry about finding a pen big enough to hold her. The photos and stories we’ll send you about her life on the farm will make her “come alive” for your students! The best part? It is FREE!”

Best of all, there are resources for kids of all ages…preschool through high school.

Resources:
Sign up for your cow & get your free materials

AUGUST

The 50th State

When: August 21

North Shore, palm trees, surfing & volcanoes. Pineapple, Pearl Harbor, Mele Kalikimaka & Maui. But what else makes up our 50th state? And how did Hawaii even become part of the US?

Did you know that Hawaii has its own ‘Grand Canyon‘? Beyond Pearl Harbor, how else did World War 2 impact Hawaii? Why do the Japanese love Hawaii? What do locals eat & why are the 7/11s so cool?

Resources:

• The Legal Strategy (a brief & totally understandable overview)
• How did Polynesian Wayfinders navigate?
• The Mysteries of Vernacular: Ukelele
• Look at the original Admissions Act
• Hula: Preserving Culture & Language or More Than a Dance
• The Lasting Ecological Effects of Pineapple Plantations
• Hawaii: Islands of Wonder (by PBS)

SEPTEMBER

Fat Bear Week from Katmai National Park

When: Dates vary based on the weather, late September/early October

“Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive, and Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation.”

Not only is this a week to celebrate the absolute gargantuan rolls of fat on these bears, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to learn about bears, salmon, the geography of Alaska, keystone species, and more.

I’ve got a curated list of resources, a short & sweet lesson plan & a bite-size study (for all ages):
Fat Bear Week: Add Some Fun to Your Homeschool Day

Mark the Anniversary of September 11

When: Early September

If you’re old enough to be reading this, I don’t need to tell you anything about 9/11. We lived it, we know it. In that way, there can be a mixed approach to how we cover it with our own children. For many of us, the emotions surrounding this day still feel raw. Whether it’s the day itself, the days that followed, or the complicated fallout since.

Whether you’re looking to cover it in a just-the-basic-facts way or digging into it, I’ve got a list of low-prep, easy-to-use resources & book ideas for you.

Emmy Awards & Hollywood

When: mid-September

Okay, hear me out. This is a perfect example of taking something that’s happening in the fall & finding all sorts of spin-off topics.

Creative writers can learn how a show goes from a pitch to your TV. Or the script-writing process.
A logistics-minded teen could learn about all of the people involved in clothing, feeding, directing, lighting, etc., the cast & crew.
For that “I was born in the wrong decade” kiddo, a trip through old photos of a past Hollywood might delight them.
The one who’s always taking things apart could learn about the technical side of taping, editing & getting a show available to the masses.

Whether it’s a 10-minute-and-done video or something that you find them pouring over at 12:30 AM, the idea of staying curious & learning beyond the textbook is reinforced.

Resources:
How TV Shows are Pitched & Made
Who’s who on a film & TV set?
How to Feed a Netflix Film Set | On the Job w/NYT Cooking
The Hollywood Sign: History, Photos and, for the younger crowd, a variety of activities
The Hidden History of the Hollywood Sign

OCTOBER

National Fossil Day

When: October 12

“Join paleontologists, educators, and students in fossil-related events and activities across the country in parks, classrooms, and online during National Fossil Day.  National Fossil Day is an annual celebration held to highlight the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations.”

Resources for Older Kids & Teens:
Fossil Preservation in the National Parks
Fossil Activities/Lesson Plans (for a variety of ages)
Fossil Footprints Across Our Parks: A Virtual Tour
The Great Fossil Find (activity)

Resources for the Littles:
Prehistoric Life Coloring Book & Become a Jr. Paleontologist
Explaining Fossils to Little Kids
25 Fossil Activities for Littles

Write Out from the National Parks Service

When: Opens up in early October & it goes quickly!

“Write Out is a free two-week celebration of writing, making, and sharing inspired by the great outdoors. As teachers and Park Service Rangers, we find that writing outside and in our communities gets the creative juices flowing, engages learners, and supports important connections. It is also fun!

Write Out taps into the value of the outdoors in support of learning while also building on the importance of place-based writing and education.” 

Resources:
Learn about Write Out

World Migratory Bird Day

When: Second Saturday in October

“On this day and every day, it is important that we prioritize the need to conserve migratory birds and their habitats. Migratory birds connect different places across the planet. They also reconnect people to nature and to themselves like no other animals.. They are among the most powerful indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem health to be protected across borders.

Let’s raise our voices for our feathered friends this #WorldMigratoryBirdDay!”

Resources for Older Kids & Teens:

• Learn about Birds from Cornell (lesson plans & activities covering all grades)
• National Zoo’s Migratory Birds Center
• Games & Activities from Migratory Bird Day
• Migratory Bird info & activities from Audubon
• Migratory Birds from Sri Lanka
• Learn about Migratory Birds from the National Fish & Wildlife Services
• Owl Dissection Kit from Home Science Tools

Resources for the Littles:
Learn about Birds from Cornell (lesson plans & activities covering all grades)
8 Activities to Teach Kids about Birds

NOVEMBER

Creating America

When: All Fall (elections, Constitution Day on Sept 17)

Election season can leave us feeling discontent & disconnected from each other. Political discourse rarely includes listening for the sake of understanding. And despite the power of the internet to help us learn more about others, we’re pretty content to “keep to our own”, so to speak.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There’s so much that unites us. And we can imagine a way to leave this country even better for future generations.

I’m an eternal optimist in this regard. (I also believe that someday I’ll do a complete load of laundry in a single day…)

Resources:

• A Guide to the Elections (playlist I created)
• America From Scratch
• Teaching Women’s Suffrage & Unstoppable
• How to Be Civically Engaged

• The Election Collection (PBS Learning)
• As Ohio Goes (So Goes the Country)
• America: The Story of Us by The History Channel
• What Unites Us: The Graphic Novel
• Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Graphic Novel

Great Thanksgiving Listen from Story Corps

When: Thanksgiving (easy to use any time of the year)

With a mission to “preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world,” StoryCorps is one of my favorite things on the radio. Their stories every Friday morning warm my heart. 

When I learned they have a program for kids to do this, my ears immediately perked up. 

The Great Thanksgiving Listen is designed for kids to learn the stories of their families. There are lesson plans and videos designed to help you walk through the process of preparing for the interview. I had my kiddos each pick two or three questions from the provided lists to interview their grandparents. It was a great learning experience for them and for me.

Don’t Miss These!