It’s fall and we are all excited that the weather is cooling off and we have the chance to enjoy the outdoors for a while before the cold sets in around the nation. Here are just a few ideas on what we can do as homeschoolers to celebrate the fall season through activities.

• For science and math you can graph the changes in the fall temperatures. Students can use resources such as weather.com to get an idea of what the weather may be like. Let them estimate what the weather will be, then measure and graph what it actually is. A line graph or a bar graph will do great. This is a great time to learn about photosynthesis and how the change of seasons effect the world. This is also a great time for fall poetry where you can focus on handwriting and artwork to coincide with the poetry. The ideas are limitless.
• Fall is a perfect time to celebrate certain food items. Apples and pumpkins are in season and a wonderful treat. You can make seeds sprout, learn the history behind each and see why we cook them in the methods we use today (is it different from hundreds of years ago?). Where did each food originate from? This leads into history and geography nicely and you can possibly use math and science if you make something delicious with the ingredient you study about. Cooking is a very useful homeschool resource because it can cover so many topics and concepts.
• It’s harvest time. Research with students how different people of other cultures celebrate harvest time. This is a fascinating topic and it’s amazing what you will find!
• Fall spelling words -make spelling lists of fall related words. Just a few examples are: fall, leaves, color, autumn, harvest, Thanksgiving, Halloween, scarecrow, apple, pumpkin, hay, acorn.

This is a great season with plenty of chances for learning right at your fingertips. Use your online resources, go to your local library, find out what your local schools are doing and be sure to check out your National and State Parks.