Fun Activities for your Homeschool Group
If you are in charge of planning fun activities for your homeschool group, then you are in the right place. Whether your group is a homeschool co-op or just a social club, it’s important to develop a strong community and one of the easiest ways to do that is to plan events and activities that allows your members to come together and do something that allows them to get to know one another.
If you are newly in charge or this is a newly formed group, then the first thing you want to do is take inventory of the current culture of your group. Is it made up of mostly young families? Seasoned homeschoolers? A mix? Did they come to your group for support with academics, social or otherwise? Do you have a large number of extroverts that will help you with social events? It’s important to know what you group primarily consist of so that when you are planning events, you are able to tailor them to your people and develop a strong community that enjoys being together.
Choose your events wisely
When you are first starting your group, you are going to want to plan just a few events at first. This allows you to see who is willing to volunteer, what kinds of events are most popular, and see the commitment level of your members. The first few events should be inclusive in that, the majority of your members can participate.
Homeschool Group Event Ideas
Park Days– This is the easiest event to pull off. You will want to have a specific area that everyone will meet at so that those that don’t know each other have an opportunity to meet before everyone starts chasing children. If you have older kids in the group, you will want to have some specific activities planned like kickball, volleyball or a scavenger hunt. Older kids and even moms often need something to do in order to break the ice.
Movie Night: Rent a projector and screen or have everyone gather at someone’s house with a big TV. Pick a movie that everyone will enjoy, or have a theme night.
Volunteer Day: Volunteering for a local cause is a great way to bond while giving back to the community. Some ideas might be: Trash pick-up, working at a food pantry, animal shelter, Operation Christmas Child.
Game Night: Break out the board games, card games, or video games and have some friendly competition. You can even have a tournament or prizes for the winners.
Sports Tournament: Organize a tournament for a sport that everyone enjoys, such as soccer, basketball, or volleyball.
Dance Party/Class: Hire a DJ or instructor to teach a dance class, or just put on some music and have a dance party.
Karaoke Night: Rent a karaoke machine or go to a karaoke bar and have a sing-off. This is a great way to let loose and have some fun.
Trivia Night: Test everyone’s knowledge with a trivia night. You can have different categories of questions or even make it a themed trivia night.
Group Camping Trip: Get away from it all with a camping trip in the great outdoors. This is a great way to bond with others and enjoy nature.
GAP (getting acquainted party)– have a theme and then invite everyone to just hang out together. This can be done at a park, an event center, community center etc.
Painting Party- You could make it a whole Bob Ross themed party Hire someone to come in and teach a lesson or if you have member or two who are talented in that area, even better!
Field Trips– This might be an obvious option, but field trips are great options for spending time together and getting to know each other.
Geocaching: This modern-day treasure hunt involves using GPS coordinates to find hidden caches. It combines technology with outdoor exploration. Your group can plan ahead and decide if they want to work in teams or go as a group. They can also leave behind their own trinkets.
Museum Challenges: Turn a museum visit into a scavenger hunt by creating a list of questions or objects to find within the exhibits.
Living History: Visit a historical site and dress up in period clothing. This immersive experience brings history to life.
Nature Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of items to find in your local park or nature reserve.
When you are planning events for your group, it is good to try and plan some large everyone events and some smaller ones, where there can be more close interactions among members. It’s also good to plan some fun interactive events and some events that are calmer for those that get intimidated or overwhelmed by a lot of moving around and noise.
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