Easy Fall Unit Studies for Homeschoolers

Now that fall is here, celebrate by going outside to enjoy the weather and by making hot apple cider! Here are some ways to celebrate in your homeschool, too, with these easy fall unit studies for homeschoolers!

I love to celebrate our constantly changing world by creating unit studies surrounding the current season. This has the added benefit of keeping kids interested in learning and preventing boredom. It’s fun to add in seasonal activities when you can. These might have to do with the seasons of the year, holidays, or events that are happening in the world or your community. Combine all this together, and you have some terrific themed unit studies for homeschoolers.

Easy Fall Unit Studies for Homeschoolers

Choose Activities for Your Study

You can use these ideas to create a unit study centered on fall topics. All you need to do is choose an activity (or several!) for each subject you want to include.

Adjust Expectations According to Your Kids’ Ages

Do you have kids of various ages? No worries! Simply do the study or activity together and adjust expectations according to the ages/grade levels of each child.

Science:

Cook or Bake Together

• Bake a pumpkin pie and discuss the science behind the process! You can find a deliciously different pumpkin pie recipe here or a recipe for No Bake Pumpkin Fluff Pie here.
• You can find some information about the science behind pumpkin pie in this article.
• Apples are another terrific autumn-themed food. Let your kids help you make this amazing apple spice cake with candied pecans.

Study Nature and the Outdoors

The study of nature is always a terrific addition to any unit studies for homeschoolers. Here are a few ideas:

• Create fall crayon rubbings of leaves, rocks, acorns, pine cones, and other natural objects to learn more about their shapes.
• This fall herb unit study is a fun way to learn all about herbs and which herbs naturally are produced in the fall.
• You can also teach your older kids how to preserve fall leaves using a glycerine solution.
• Not everyone celebrates Halloween, but even if you don’t, your kids will appreciate the gross science behind these Halloween science experiments.
• Extract color from leaves with this fall chromatography experiment. Kids will love doing this over and over again!

Do These Life Cycle Mini Unit Studies for Homeschoolers

These mini unit studies and mini books will round out your kids’ education nicely.

• All About Pumpkins: Life Cycle Unit Study
• Pumpkin Life Cycle Mini Book
• All About Apples: Life Cycle Unit Study
• Apple Mini Book
• All About Sunflowers: Life Cycle Unit Study

Literature and Language Arts:

No unit studies for homeschoolers are complete without literature and language arts aspects.

• This Fall Early Learning Pack is perfect for preschool through the lower elementary years. It includes fall-themed word recognition (or spelling–if your kids are ready for that), writing, matching, and beginning sounds.
• Read books that take place during autumn. Our family loves reading Little House in the Big Woods during the fall.
• If you have preschoolers or kids in kindergarten, these upper and lowercase pumpkin-themed alphabet match cards are the perfect way to celebrate!
• Use these Create-a-Face Pumpkin Printables just for fun or as a language arts activity.
• Make this Pumpkin Spice Playdough and have your child use the printable playdough mats to practice numbers and letters!
• And here is a list of 7 Must Read Harvest Books for Young Children.
• If you’re working on English grammar, take a look at this series of printables for young children who are being introduced to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and verb tenses!
  • Fall Nouns Read & Write Pack
  • Fall Verbs Read & Write Spelling Pack
  • Fall Adjectives Read & Write Pack
  • Fall Past, Present, and Future Writing Pack
  • Fall Part of Speech Word Search

Arts and Crafts:

• For art class, make these fall leaf magnets.
• Or try these Two Fun Fall Leaves Art and Science Activities.
• Or try this fun pumpkin-related art activity–Pumpkin Pointillism: An Art Lesson in Primary Colors.
• And here’s a craft idea for a fun and Easy Decorative Pumpkin Paper Bag Craft.
• This Whimsical Autumn Tree Paper Bag Craft is similar to the pumpkin paper bag craft and is simple enough for kids of all ages!

• Another kind of papercraft (which results in a craft that’s pretty enough to enjoy as a decoration or to give away for someone else to enjoy) is this Gorgeous Autumn 3D Paper Art (with Free Printable Templates).
• Another fun activity for kids of all ages is creating Fun Fall Leaf Creatures!
• If you want to create a fall decoration (or gift for someone you love!), make these Beautiful Fall Lanterns. (My black cat, Hazel, posed for some of the pictures in this tutorial!)
• These Etched Glass Lanterns are another way to add some beauty to the longer nights of fall and winter.

Math:

Yes, contrary to popular opinion, there are ways to make math fun, and this is something you definitely want to try as you put together your fall-themed unit studies for homeschoolers.

• This super cute Fun on the Farm with Apple Tree Math printable activity can be used in lots of ways! (You’ll find examples in the article, and you may come up with some of your own!) It can even be used with playdough, “counters,” or markers, etc. to make it more fun.
• Another fall math activity for young children is Preschool Leaf Math.
• Make math more fun this fall with Pumpkin Ten Frame Addition.
• Or you may want this Apple Math: Multiply by 6 printable for children who are working to master their times tables.

More Ideas for Fall Unit Studies for Homeschoolers:

• Host a fall pie-making party with other homeschooling friends.
• Make Corn Husk Dolls!
• These fall-themed printables are the perfect way to bring a bit of fall into your homeschool and learn all at the same time.
• Bring your homeschool outdoors with this fall scavenger hunt!
• Make these simple Pumpkin Bird Feeders with your kiddos and hang them out for the birds to enjoy!
• This fun fall bingo game for kids will be enjoyed by all ages!
• Small children can enjoy the textures and colors of fall with this Fall Sensory Bin for Preschoolers.
• Toddlers/preschoolers (and even older siblings) will also enjoy exploring these Autumn Sensory Bags.

Pick and choose from the ideas and activities we’ve listed here or make up some of your own! But no matter what you do with your children this fall, have some fun learning together!