Deschooling Activities: 115 Ideas and Examples for the Parent and Child

100 Deschooling Activities, Ideas and Examples

Deschooling is the transitional period between traditional school and embracing homeschool. It’s a journey of discovery, growth, creativity and educational rest and reset.

Parents and children together can learn, explore and grow.

If you are looking to incorporate a period of deschooling into your family’s lifestyle, you’ve come to the right placeFrom nature walks and gardening to cooking and learning a new language, there is something for everyone. These activities not only provide opportunities for fun and learning, but they can also help foster strong bonds between parent and child.

Get ready to embark on a new and exciting journey of self directed learning with your family.

At Home

1. Take apart old electronics
2. Learn a new handicraft
3. Play boardgames
4. Enjoy a bonfire
5. Create a fairy garden
6. Mad Libs
7. Origami
8. Bake a new recipe
9. Play solitare
10. Color in an adult coloring book
11. Have a garage sale
12. Write handwritten letters to family and friends
13. Host a sleepover
14. Hang a bird feeder and practice birdwatching
15. Wash cars
16. Read a long novel
17. Climb trees
18. Learn how to watercolor
19. Start a daily journal
20. Do extreme dot-to-dots
21. Update a room or rearrange furniture
22. Let kids plan and make dinner
23. Get backyard chickens
24. Start a journal
25. Investigate your family tree

In Your Community

1. Visit friends and family
2. Go on a family bike ride
3. Be tourists in your own town
4. Let kids pick the next field trip
5. Plan and pack a picnic lunch
6. Volunteer
7. Attend a local concert
8. Help an elderly neighbor with yardwork
9. Start a neighborhood business Take a daytrip
10. Find free local classes
11. Try a new sport
12. Go fishing
13. Visit nearby historical markers
14. Practice random acts of kindness
15. Visit garage sales
16. Explore new parks and playgrounds
17. Spend the day at the library
18. Browse a local bookstore
19. Tour a university
20. Train for a race as a family
21. Go bowling
22. Spend the day at a beach
23. Explore the museums in your town
24. Join a scouting program
25. Make a map of your neighborhood

In Nature

1. Play in the rain
2. Make an outdoor fort
3. Identify your backyard birds
4. Explore the closest state park
5. Climb trees
6. Identify the trees and plants in your yard
7. Track the weather for a month
8. Plan and start a pollinator garden
9. Visit a local nature center
10. Start a rock collection
11. Play in a river/stream/creek
12. Go on a hike and journal afterwards
13. Paint rocks and hide them at the park
14. Raise butterflies
15. Plan and plant an herb garden
16. Visit a local botanical garden
17. Make a mud kitchen
18. Raise tadpoles
19. Hunt for and identify animal tracks
20. Make bug and animal shelters for your backyard
21. Build a birdhouse
22. Build a snow fort/igloo
23. Go campling
24. Tour a working farm
25. Go geocaching

Educational

1. Learn a new craft
2. Listen to an educational podcast
3. Take online art lessons
4. Practic photography watch documentaries
5. Start a kid blog
6. Start a kid YouTube channel
7. Learn how to sell on eBay
8. Study personal finance and investing
9. Start a relaxed unit study
10. Visit mom/dad at work
11. Visit a local science center
12. Take music lessons
13. Build a huge lego town
14. Minecraft a new city based on a historical era
15. Make a historical diorama
16. Join a math club
17. Join a chess club
18. Join any club of interest
19. Learn a new graphic design program
20. Practice coding
21. Listen to an audiobook
22. Work on a family puzzle
23. Begin a creative project
24. Write a story for pleasure
25. DIY home improvement projects