As the homeschooling adult in my home, I don’t follow a set curriculum to teach my children. We live in the country, so they are learning daily whether we are in the house book-learning, computer learning, homemaking learning, or outside hands-on learning with animal care, garden care, yard care, etc.

Yes, I say it so nonchalantly because it is our life and they are learning in every environment we are in. Here are a few things they are learning outside of the traditional textbook:

• gardening and raising animals teaches where our food comes from

• helping with younger siblings and with animal care teaches them to be responsible for other lives

• how to do things safely: wrangling a goat, changing a tired, tie a knot that will hold, etc

• weather and how it affects the world around us

• they figure out how to use their ‘God-given’ brains to accomplish a hard task, a simple task. with this they learn reasoning and problem-solving skills.

• kids are naturally curious, but given the freedom, they learn how to be entrepreneurial

• life and death, the life cycle

Now this is not an exhaustive list of what a child learns on the farm, but you get the idea. Point here is that it may not be the most conventional learning environment, but they are getting equipped with the knowledge they will need in their future. So, what other ways can one who doesn’t live on a farm promote learning?

Here are 100 sights to see/activities that a homeschool family can do together to promote learning:

1. museums
2. tour the power company
3. tour the phone company
4. tour a radio station
5. tour a police station
6. tour a firehouse
7. build a fort
8. go on a scavenger hunt
9. leaf printing
10. plant a garden or indoor plants
11. weave with tall grass
12. create a sensory bin
13. fishing
14. bake a cake
15. plan a tea party
16. go on a nature walk
17. visit a historical site
18. build a snowman
19. visit an animal farm
20. learn to sew
21. keep a journal
22. compare prices in a grocery store
23. take turns readng aloud
24. imitate famous paintings through dress-up play
25. use a ball of foil and toilet paper rolls for bowling
26. stargaze
27. collect rocks
28. collect different leaves
29. birdwatch
30. visit an animal shelter
31. keep company with the elderly
32. plan a trip
33. make a time capsule
34. create a family cookbook
35. become a helper at the community garden
36. serve at a food kitchen
37. volunteer at a food pantry
38. go to a library
39. mushroom hunt (don’t eat any)
40. make music with different household objects (pans for drums, straws for whistle, etc)
41. visit a zoo
42. visit a planetarium
43. visit an aquarium
44. go to a cultural festival
45. visit the post office, talk to post master
46. visit a hospital
47. be a pen pal
48. tour a factory
49. visit a pumpkin patch
50. visit a greenhouse
51. bowling
52. tour the capital building
53. go to a state park to picnic
54. watch a theater or musical performance
55. tour a cave
56. tour an orchard
57. visit a fish hatchery
58. tour water treatment facility
59. tour a cemetery
60. go to county fair
61. science museums
62. tour a college
63. visit a recycling center
64. tour a military base
65. visit a tv station
66. visit with a government official
67. explore a bridge
68. explore a body of water (river, lake, ocean)
69. go wild fruit picking (research what is edible in your area)
70. go for a scenic drive, visiting the historical landmarks
71. visit a bird sanctuary
72. visit a dairy farm
73. visit a vet clinic
74. sit in on a local court hearing
75. visit an art gallery
76. tour a glass blowing studio
77. attend a local paint class
78. go rollerskating
79. visit an amusement park
80. visit an airport
81. cook a meal together
82. tour a doctor’s office
83. tour a dentist office
84. tour a movie theater
85. visit a pet store
86. visit the arboretum
87. build a raft
88. go to a kite festival
89. make mud pies
90. decorate a tree
91. shadow play
92. paint rocks
93. chalk art
94. dissect a flower
95. plant a tree
96. sky gazing
97. look for insects (don’t touch, some are poisonous)
98. make a calendar of firsts
99. write a story
100. catch butterflies

Some of these options may not be feasible for your family, but many will be. However, think outside the box. Kids are sponges and soak up everything! Just make sure what they are soaking up in your life has educational value. Please do not allow children to do any of these things alone. Use your best judgement when it comes to the activity and the age of your child. What are some other activities that may promote learning in your home?

Thanks for reading!