It is so easy for a homeschool family to stay inside working hard to ensure that their children are receiving a thorough education. After all, deciding to homeschool your children requires you to acknowledge and accept that you are solely responsible for your children’s education. However, many homeschool outdoor activities contribute to your children receiving a well-balanced and rounded education.
I love being outdoors. There is so much to see and do, the opportunities truly are endless. No matter what your children’s interests or activity level, there are homeschool outdoor activities that they’re sure to enjoy.
8 Homeschool Outdoor Activities
- Hiking
Hiking is by far my favorite outdoor activity. There is something about being out in nature that is good for the soul as well as the body.
A few educational opportunities your children can experience through hiking include; mapping skills, physical fitness, photography, journaling, drawing and mental health.
- Camping
I had the opportunity to take both of my kids on camping trips during their childhood and those trips are some of our most precious memories.
Depending on how involved your children are in a family camping trip, lessons they could learn are; grocery shopping, budgeting, organizational skills, cooking and fire safety.
- Biking
My favorite memory of biking was on a trip with my parents and brothers when I fell in love with mountain biking.
There are many different types of biking that your children could enjoy. From the newest fat biking to street biking, from mountain biking to dirt biking. All of which teaches coordination and safety skills as well as being a lot of fun.
- Water Sports
Kayaking, canoeing, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing and whitewater rafting are water sports that my family have all enjoyed over the years.
Teaching children to be safe in the water is an important life skill. In addition to water safety, water sports require a tremendous amount of physical strength and endurance.
- Birding
I love hearing the birds sing in the morning and often whistle their own song back to them. I’ve started verbally naming each bird I see to remember them by sight.
No matter where you live, there are birds in your backyard. If you don’t have a bird book at home, pick one up the next time you’re at the library and let your kids figure out what birds call your yard home.
- Gardening
We’ve only had an actual full garden once or twice. However, we have enjoyed fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, berries, lemons and herbs thanks to container gardening.
Let your kids plant a few of their own veggies or herbs this year and see how green their thumbs are. We used a gardening planning book for kids similar to this one. Teaching kids how to plan, plant and care for their own food are important life skills!
- Art
When kids are little, art can be messy, making it one of my preferred homeschool outdoor activities. As they get older, they may still enjoy doing art outdoors.
A few homeschool outdoor art activities for older kids may include photography, landscape painting or sand art.
- Landscaping
It takes a lot of physical strength and endurance, determination and design skills to complete landscaping projects.
In addition to being an activity that benefits your family home, it is also one that your children can use to earn money throughout their high school years and even beyond.
This list of homeschool outdoor activities is obviously not an extensive list, but a few of our family’s favorites. I hope there are a couple of ideas that you can use with your kids and that this list is springboard to help you think of more homeschool outdoor activities for your family to enjoy!
