Taking your homeschool classroom outside the walls of your home can be a huge way for your children to explore and learn as well as break up the structured activities of the day. Engaging outdoor learning activities are not just for science. There are so many cross-curricular applications and reasons to enjoy outdoor activities for your homeschool classroom.
Engaging Outdoor Learning Activities
Here are a few we love to integrate into our curriculum.
Geocaching
Called the world’s biggest treasure hunt, geocaching uses technology through smartphones and GPS. Geocaches are everywhere! Just download the app, search for a cache in your area, and navigate. You may choose geocaches your kids can walk or bike to or go for a family road trip. The choice is yours. When you find the cache, there will be a logbook to sign. You can add knick knacks if you’d like and move onto another cache. Geocaching is a great way to explore the world and a fantastic way to integrate social studies through community and cultural sites, science through environmental and geological discoveries, and language arts while writing about the experiences. Geocaching works alone, but you may find it even more engaging and enjoyable to get a homeschooling group together. Making geocaching a competition or a race is also a blast!
Nature Walk
Find an area (it could even be in your own backyard or local park) to walk and observe nature. Have your child bring a sketchbook to draw what they see and write about their observations. Returning to the site of the nature walk at different times of the year or even throughout the course of a season will help your child record how seasons affect environment, including animals and plants that occupy the area. Nature walks are also a way to incorporate physical fitness and education into your homeschool day.
Chalk Drawings
Chalk drawings are no longer just for PreK and hopscotch. Study important, historical works of art and recreate them in your driveway or at an open public park area on the sidewalk. Have your children write messages of kindness and positivity. Do some mental mapping by drawing a United States or world map on the concrete. Anything your child can do on paper, they can do with chalk drawings on a larger, creative scale!
Clean Up
I am always so surprised to see the amount of litter in area parks and even neighborhoods. Practice good citizenship and improve the environment with your child by taking some time to clean up the environment. Pick up litter, plant some flowers, and pull weeds in a public park, school, retirement home yard, or even in your own neighborhood. Your family’s care for the natural environment will be contagious as others will see you and reach out to protect the earth.
Homeschooling gives us the ability to set our own schedule. We always try to work an outdoor element into our day when the weather allows for it. As summer is upon us, these engaging outdoor learning activities for your homeschool classroom will support many curricular areas as well as get you and your children outside to enjoy the sun!
Author: Amber Louchart
Meet Amber, a busy work-at-home mom to four fantastic kids: Damian (27), Rosaleigh (15), Carlyn (12), and Naomi (9)! 🌟 When she’s not running Metro Detroit Mommy, she loves to dive into creative projects like drawing, photography, and crafting, or unwind with some gardening, reading, and meditation. 🌿🎨📸 Amber cherishes the moments she gets to spend with her kids and feels incredibly fortunate to provide them with endless opportunities and experiences through her work. She’s also on a personal journey, focusing on improving her emotional health every day. 💖✨ Life is full, fun, and always an adventure with Amber and her crew! 🎉
Meet Amber, a busy work-at-home mom to four fantastic kids: Damian (27), Rosaleigh (15), Carlyn (12), and Naomi (9)! 🌟 When she’s not running Metro Detroit Mommy, she loves to dive into creative projects like drawing, photography, and crafting, or unwind with some gardening, reading, and meditation. 🌿🎨📸
Amber cherishes the moments she gets to spend with her kids and feels incredibly fortunate to provide them with endless opportunities and experiences through her work. She’s also on a personal journey, focusing on improving her emotional health every day. 💖✨
Life is full, fun, and always an adventure with Amber and her crew! 🎉