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

Those first hints of spring — even knowing bitter days will still pop up — draw me outside. Deep breaths in the fresh air are so invigorating, even in a mild winter climate like we have in NC.

So, of course, spring learning ideas are going to focus on that. Even if spring comes late in your area,

Why should I add fun to middle & high school?

As kids get older, I know how much fuller your days get. These ideas aren’t meant to add a lot of time & effort to your week. They are simply 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.

Pinterest boards overfloweth with coffee filter projects, messy science, and adorable projects. But then the fun stops. And it shouldn’t have to; it’s just going to look different.

We do some together work 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! Always, it’s about finding the joy in learning.

Irish-American Heritage Month

When: March

Between 1820 & 1860, ONE-THIRD of immigrants to the US hailed from Ireland. Today, more than 30 million Americans can find Irish roots. HALF of our presidents — 23 — have Irish ancestry. With numbers like those, it’s little wonder why we have an Irish-American Heritage month.

Make it easy by making some potatoes for lunch & watching a video about the Irish Potato famine while you eat. (Weird History, Geographics, or Ted-Ed). Or dive into Irish immigration, what it means to be part (or not part) of the British empire, or what it means for one island to be two countries.

Resources:
Library of Congress Resources
National Archives Irish-American Heritage Month Resources
Irish Immigration: Beyond the Potato Famine
When America Despised the Irish
The Irish & Ellis Island

Crash Course Episodes: Immigrant Cities, Irish Renaissance, Revolutions of 1848

March Mammal Madness

When: March 12 – April 5

We love a good NCAA basketball-style animal competition, so I was thrilled to come across March Mammal Madness hosted by Arizona State University.

Yes, your teen knows how to identify mammals & probably more than a few facts about a wide variety of them. But this competition isn’t dumbed down, and it doesn’t feature the mammals we all know. (Bumblee bat? Side-striped jackal? Greater rhea?!)

And a Spotify playlist just makes it even better.

Resources:

Get your brackets, Google research slides, and everything else you need to know over on ASU’s website.

US Enters World War I

When: April 6

Three years after it began, April 1917 would be the month the US formally joined in. President Wilson requested a declaration of war on April 2, the Senate supported it on April 4, and the House also voted for it on April 6.

Keep it simple by adding a novel, like Button War, or by watching All Quiet on the Western Front. Make your study more in-depth by reading a handful of interesting tidbit articles from the Imperial War Museum, or by exploring some of the reasons why the US waited so long to join the Great War.

Resources:
20+ World War I Resources (my round-up of books, videos, & more)
The Music of World War I
The Food of World War I: Eating in a Trench, Victory Recipes of the Great War, Bread: A Slice of War History

Earth Day

When: April 20

Recycling, animals & plant life are easy topics to go along with Earth Day. But less obvious topics? People-led movements, animal conservation programs, or sustainability programs in other countries.

Take it local — teach your kiddos to write a letter to the city council, organize a clean-up day, etc.

Resources:
Low-Prep Earth Day Ideas (a round-up of ideas)
Earth Day Writing Prompts
The First Earth Day: A Founder Remembers
When the Movement Took Off
Animal Conservation from Ted Talks (US & around the world)
Recycling Lessons from Around the World

National Park Week

When: April 22 – 30

Every year, National Park Weeks brings awareness of the parks & their purposes. (Bonus: It also comes with FREE entrance fees!)

The NPS lends itself to SO many rabbit trails. How does a national park become one? What’s the history of various parks? What animals live there? What animals or plants used to live there? Plan a road trip. Become a Junior Ranger from home. Etc, etc, etc.

Resources:
Criteria for New National Parks
The Near Impossible Process of Making a National Park
59 Fun Facts about the National Parks
Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

President Wilson (created the NPS)
George Catlin (inspired the idea of the parks)

Who turned out the lights?

When: mid-April (April 15 – 22, 2023)

International Dark Sky Week brings awareness to the issues of light pollution and nature. They have a few low-key activity ideas on their site. You could even go as simple as looking at the sky in your neighborhood & then drive further into the country to look.

Resources:
Ted Talks: Light Pollution & Dark Skies
Death Valley at Night: Capturing the Night Sky w/o Light Pollution
Light Pollution & Bird Migration

International Jazz Day

When: April 30

Not even halfway through watching Disney’s Soul, I knew a mini-unit on jazz would be necessary. But what I envisioned — listening to some music, learning a bit about the musicians, and studying what else was going on in America at the time — was just the tip of the iceberg.

Because as we dove into it, I realized that the music was just the icing on a much more complex story. The Great Migration & Green Book Travel Guides. Segregation and ‘cancel culture’. Hope & love. An export of jazz music & culture to other countries. And the food!

An easy idea would be to save this Spotify playlist and play it throughout April. After my boys watch the news each morning, they watch a video or two from a themed playlist I’ve created. 10-15 minutes is usually easy to find in your day — in the car, as you eat lunch, etc. Watching a video from YouTube about the places & sounds of jazz can be done then.

Resources:
Jazz: More Than Music playlist (locations, musicians, and more
Jazz Lesson Plans from the Smithsonian Museums
The Great Migration from Crash Course
A Jazz Journey Around the World

Birth of Cool: How Miles Davis Found His Cool (a picture book but enjoyable to older kids)
Read a collection of jazz poetry
Jazz in America lesson plans
Another collection of Jazz lesson plans (history, language arts, & more)