I don’t know about you guys, but I love spring and summer homeschooling. Maybe it is because we are in New England and the winters are long, but spring is an exciting time in our homeschool. The days are longer and brighter and warmer and everyone seems happier. Spring is also filled with lots of fun, and simple learning projects. Today, I’m sharing five of our favorites.
5 Simple Spring Homeschool Projects
Some of our best learning happens when we keep it simple. Today, I’m sharing five of our family’s favorite super-simple spring and summer homeschool projects. When you are finished reading, I’d love to hear your family’s favorites!
1. Outdoor STEM
Children learn so much when they work together to build something like a fort or a fairy house village. These are among the earliest of STEM challenges. Just think of all the skills that fort and fairy house construction involve:
- Communication and social skills
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Planning
- Problem solving
- Imagination
- Creativity
- Strength
- Appreciation of nature
The fun is not over when the fort or fairy houses are finished! These outdoor spaces inspire creativity and imagination. My children spend hours outdoors together, lost in a world of play.
For more information, check out these posts:
Forts: The Original STEM Challenge
Fairy House STEM
2. Plant Study
I promise you don’t have to have a green thumb to try these first two ideas. When we first started homeschooling, I purchased a root viewer for less than ten dollars and it has been worth every penny. I cannot even begin to tell you how often we have used it! My children love to place different seeds in each tube and then have a “race” to see whose seedling is grows the tallest or fastest or has the longest root system. 
This year, each of my children received a different egg carton garden for Easter
. One was a veggie garden, one was a pizza garden, and one was a night flowers garden. They had a blast studying their seeds, planting, observing, and caring for their seedlings. My kids love to record their scientific observations in their homeschool journals. Our seedlings are almost big enough to be transplanted to our garden. I will definitely do this project again next year.
Once your children have mastered indoor gardening, it’s time to take the fun outside! Last spring, my husband built a raised garden bed and the children enjoyed helping care for the garden throughout the spring and summer months. They will help us again this year, but they also asked for a garden of their own. One recent afternoon, I took them to the local garden center and picked up some inexpensive hostas. The kids have a little plastic cottage in our backyard and they each built a little garden bed and planted their hostas. They have been enjoying caring for their plants and tending their very own garden beds.
3. Insect Study
We love when it is caterpillar time in our homeschool! Every year, we order caterpillars and watch them grow, build chrysalises, and emerge as painted lady butterflies. It doesn’t matter how many times we do this project, it is always amazing!
In addition to caterpillars, this year we also raised praying mantises and ladybugs.
No matter how many times we do this, it’s still SO exciting!
A video posted by MyLittlePoppies (@my_little_poppies) on
4. Nature Study
I gush about this book all the time, but I truly believe every parent out there should read it. Nowadays, our children are better able to identify jungle and zoo animals than the animals that reside in their own backyard.
Louv’s work stresses the importance of spending time in nature and its many benefits, including:
- Increased health and happiness
- Increased attention, academic success, and creativity
- Decreased obesity
- Decreased rates of anxiety and depression
- Increased concern and care for the natural world
After a long New England winter, my kids and I love nothing more than to shed our coats and spend as much time as possible outdoors. We eat meals, read books, and work on homeschool projects outside. When our work is finished, we love to explore the natural world around us.
If you are looking to add more nature to your homeschool, check out these posts:
DIY Nature Explorer Pack
A Simple Pond Study
Exploring Nature with Children
5. Outdoor Art
My children and I love to do art projects together but they can be messy! I’m not going to lie: I love when we can take our art outdoors. There is far less mess to clean up and there is also more inspiration. We love to declare it an artsy day and see what unfolds. At the end of the day, it makes me smile to see all of the kids’ creations drying on our patio.
If you are looking to add more art to your homeschool, check out these posts:
Easy Outdoor Art
Calm Kids Down with Doodle Diaries
Spring and summer homeschool projects don’t have to be complicated…
… they just have to be fun! Some of the best ideas are the simplest.
