Homeschool Calendar

Built for homeschoolers in America.
But, public/private teachers can use this too! In fact, ANYBODY can use this!
Brought to you by Leon's Planet (hosted by Neocities.org)

NOTE: If you have bookmarked this page,
You will want to refresh each time to get the latest updates.

P.S. I realize that homeschooling doesn't typically happen on the weekends, so those weekend activities can be incorporated sometime during the week.
P.S.S., Don't try to do all of this! That would be too much. These are only suggestions. Pick and choose which ones that you want to teach/do. Don't overwork yourself. One of the things about being a teacher (especially when you've got more than one child to teach) is to learn how to combine lessons, so that you are maximizing your time/effort. For instance, all the children, regardless of age, can be involved in a writing lesson [because they will all use the same template]. It's just that the criteria used to judge their work will obviously differ. Please use the writing process regardless of age.
SUGGESTIONS:
1) Pick and choose which ones you want to focus on.
2) You should not feel obligated to actually do related activities ON the day.
3) Maybe choose two or three that you'd like to make a theme for each week.

I am constantly updating this page. Be sure to refresh each time to visit to get latest updates.

Month	Themes / Celebrations / Observances	Educational Ideas	Sources
August	American adventures month. American artists appreciation month. Children's vision & learning month. Family fun month. Nat'l back-to-school month. Nat'l catfish month. Nat'l parks months. Nat'l peach month. Nat'l wellness month. RE: Picture to left Title: "Back to School" By: A.I. and Leon	RE: ELA (English Language Arts) Depending on age and level, ELA work will vary, but it is the most important subject of all the subjects. Maybe start a journal. Write about factual and/or fictional adventures. Make sure to follow the writing process. RE: Math Depending on age and level, Math work will vary, but math is the second most important subject of all the subjects. Review everything learned the previous school year. RE: Science There are five sciences covered in elementary every year: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, and Cosmology. You must cover all of them (state standards vary; look them up on google). But, for Geology, there are many national parks to explore. Any museum of natural history will have both geology and biology to explore. I like fishing for catfish (and eating catfish). Maybe explore the taxonomy of catfish, and the biology of catfish (including dissecting a catfish). Also, explore the taxonomy of a peach. RE: Health Health is a part of the curriculum. Explore the many facets of a well-rounded wellness program and implement it. Have your child's vision tested to make sure learning is going to go well. RE: P.E. Go on an adventure.... maybe at a park (like a state park or national park).	Parade.
September Pic by A.I. and Leon.	Baby safety month. Better breakfast month. Childhood cancer awareness month. Nat'l chicken month. Nat'l honey month. Nat'l mushroom month. Self-improvement month. World candle month. And, September 15th to October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month.	RE: ELA Have your child do some research into childhood cancer. Think of some ways to help (St. Jude's comes to mind... maybe write letters to the children in the hospital). RE: Math Measuring is part of math. And, in order to follow a recipe, one must measure. Find a recipe using chicken. Have the children follow it. RE: Safety Safety is a part of the every education. Review (or learn) how to keep babies safe (if there is a baby in the house). If not, just learn general safety. Wouldn't hurt to have a family emergency plan. RE: Health They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day (I think that depends); but nobody can argue that eating a healthy breakfast is important. Teach your children about eating a balanced diet. Have them plan out balanced breakfasts. RE: Self-improvement Have your child make a list of educational goals for the near future. RE: Emergency Preparedness Learn how to make candles (for in case the power goes out).	Parade.
October Click on pic to learn the true history of Halloween. Pic by A.I. and Leon.	ADHD awareness month. Celebrating the bilingual child month. Computer learning month. Cookie month. Down syndrome awareness month. Dyslexia awareness month. Emotional intelligence awareness month. German-American heritage month. Global diversity awareness month. Health literacy month. Healthy lung month. Nat'l apple month. Nat'l arts & humanities month. Nat'l bullying prevention awareness month. Nat'l chili month. Nat'l crime prevention month. Nat'l cyber security awareness month. Nat'l dental hygiene month. Nat'l diabetes month. Nat'l pizza month. Nat'l reading group month. Nat'l roller skating month. Nat'l Spina-bifida awareness month. Polish-American heritage month. Positive attitude month. Talk about your medicine month. And, ... of course, October is Halloween month! Please see my Halloween page for the TRUE history of Halloween. It has nothing to do with the Devil. Halloween was originally a Norse myth when Hel opened the gates of the Underworld for all the spirits to visit the physical realm on the last day of the Celtic calendar--and Yes! The last day of the Celtic calendar was on our October 31st.	RE: Learning Disabilities It is worthwhile to explore these with your children, so that they can have empathy/sympathy for those with such disabilities (like ADHD, Down syndrome, and Dyslexia) and/or understand themselves better. RE: Bilingualism Explore the possibility of having your child learn a second language. If your child is already bilingual, then both languages need to be constantly taught and fostered. RE: I.T. (Information Technology) I.T. is part of the curriculum. Research your state standards for I.T. for your child. RE: E.Q. (Emotion Quotient) Let's face it; your child's emotional well-being is of paramount importance. Foster things like, self-confidence, positive attitude, compassion, gratitude, and charity. RE: Diversity Nowadays, diversity seems to be evolving into different things, but to keep it simple, we just need to love everyone regardless of their ethnicity, origin, creed, or lifestyle. That doesn't mean that we condone bad behavior. Love the individual, judge the action. RE: Health Learn/review the food pyramid, and educate your children on proper diet. Learn/review the need for exercise (kids love exercise in the form of sports). Learn/review the need for mental wellness and how that affects one's overall health. Learn/review the REASONS for proper dental hygiene. RE: Arts All of the arts are part of the curriculum. See your state standards for your child's level. RE: Math Since it is national pizza month, make pizza together from scratch and learn fractions through the making of pizza, and fractions when cutting the pizza. RE: Halloween I hope you are incorporating Halloween-themed work into your program. Halloween is my favorite holiday, because it is fun and has absolutely nothing to do with the Devil. Learn the true history of Halloween on my website.	Parade.
November Pic by A.I. and Leon.	American diabetes month. Aviation history month. Epilepsy awareness month. Nat'l Native American Heritage month. Nat'l novel-writing month. Peanut butter lover's month. Picture book month. And, of course, November is Thanksgiving month!!! Learn the history of Thanksgiving on my website.	RE: ELA - Writing It is national novel-writing month. I don't want your child to write a novel, but write a story--Yes! Please follow the writing process and make sure all of the story elements are present. See my writing page for details. I teach the writing process for free and give templates to writing free of charge. RE: ELA - Reading Go to the library and find some new picture books to read together. Also, find books about Native Americans and read about them. Find books about aviation history and read them together. Perhaps find some books about the first Thanksgiving with Squanto and the Pilgrims. RE: Social Studies You can learn general history along side the aviation history (to make it very interesting). Plus, learn about our country's original inhabitants. Do a broad overview, then do a deep-dive into one tribe. Make a diorama.	Parade.
December	Art & Architecture month. Egg nog month. Handwashing awareness month. Learn a foreign language month. Nat'l Drunk & Drugged Driving prevention month. Nat'l pear month. Read a new book month. Root vegetables month. Tomato month. Winter squash month. Universal human rights month. Write a friend month. And, of course, December is Christmas month! Learn all about Christmas traditions on my website. RE: Picture to left Title: "Tallest Christmas Tree" By: A.I. and Leon.	RE: ELA - Reading It is read a new book month. While your child should be reading a new book every day until they get to novels, (in which case every week); it might be a good time to actually make a plan for which new books to add to one's reading "menu". It is in the curriculum that children explore many different genres of reading. Try a new genre this month. RE: Bilingualism By the end of high school it is expected that every child has learned a second language. Why not start early. Studies have shown that the best time to start learning a new language is before age 12. That's not to say that it is impossible afterward (I know because I have learned many new languages after age 12. You can learn some new languages on Leon's Planet!). RE: Health Explore ways to integrate root vegetables, tomatoes, and squash into one's diet in fun, tasty, and nutritious ways. RE: ELA - Writing As it is write-a-friend month, consider the possibility of getting a pen pal for your child. And, Santa is friend. Write letters to Santa! (Follow the writing process). RE: Social Studies Discuss age-appropriate human rights issues. Also, learn the history of Christmas traditions on Leon's Planet! RE: Art While doing Christmas decorations, have your child explore different media while making Christmas ornaments and decorations.	the Spruce.
January	Apple month. Bath safety month. Brain-teaser month. Celebration of life month. Family Fit Lifestyle month. Financial-wellness month. Int'l Creativity month. Nat'l candy month. Nat'l egg month. Nat'l hobby month. Nat'l meat month. Nat'l mentoring month. Nat'l skating month. Nat'l staying healthy month. RE: Picture to left Title: "Eggs, Meat, and Apples" By: A.I. and Leon.	RE: Apples My apples page has some fabulous information about apples that can be applied to both the biological sciences and social sciences. Plus, there is some mythology which is part of the English curriculum. Finally, just how healthy are apples? RE: Safety Safety is part of the curriculum; not particularly bath safety, but I'd definitely cover it. RE: Brain teasers Brain teasers are a wonderful way to stimulate the mind and develop the brain. Got to develop those critical-thinking skills! RE: P.E. In January, even though it is cold, it is important to stay in shape. Get out and do stuff (like skating--and that includes both roller skating and ice skating.) RE: Health In honor of Family Fit Lifestyle month, explore the place of fitness as a part of a healthy body. Look up your state's standards in this area. RE: Mentoring Month As a homeschooling parent, you are a mentor. It is time to celebrate what you do and give yourself a reward. Take a day for yourself. Get the kids involved by giving them the opportunity to do service to their parents.	Parade.
February	American heart month. Bake for family fun month. Cancer prevention month. Humpback whale awareness month. Int'l Friendship month. Library lovers month. Nat'l Children's Dental Health month. Nat'l women inventors month. Youth leadership month.		Parade.
March	Women's history month. Irish-American awareness month. Nat'l reading month. Greek-American heritage month. Nat'l optimism month. Int'l ideas month. Dolphin awareness month. Listening awareness month.		Parade.
April	Child abuse awareness month. Nat'l decorating month. Financial literacy month. Nat'l garden month. Global astronomy month. Nat'l month of hope. Keep America beautiful month. Nat'l poetry month. Scottish-American heritage month. Stress awareness month. Nat'l volunteer month.		Parade.
May	ALS awareness month. (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) (Lou Gehrig's Disease) Asian-American month. Lupus awareness month. Nat'l barbeque month. Nat'l bike month. Nat'l hamburger month. Nat'l inventor's month. Nat'l Lyme disease awareness month. Nat'l mental health month. Nat'l wild fire awareness month. Nat'l youth achievers of tomorrow month.		the Spruce.
June	Brain awareness month. Audio book month. Dairy month. Effective communication month. Family month. Fresh fruit and veggies month. Great outdoors month. Perennial gardening month. Rose month. Zoo & Aquarium month.		the Spruce.
July	Nat'l blueberry month. Nat'l grilling month. Nat'l hot dog month. Nat'l ice cream month. Nat'l parks and recreation month. Nat'l watermelon month. Nat'l family reunion month. Nat'l make a difference to children month. Social wellness month.		Parade.
August	at top of this table