Homeschool Planning Ideas for October
Looking for some fun learning ideas for October? I have a list for you! Here you’ll find a collection of resources to help you plan your homeschool activities and learning in October.
I’ve included links to articles containing unit study ideas, fun holidays, and famous October birthdays. You’ll also discover bucket list ideas, journal prompts, art prompts, and more.
In addition, you’ll see links to helpful articles related to seasonal activities and project suggestions to include in your school year.
Bookmark this page for reference and come back each year for new ideas!
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October Unit Study Ideas: Fun Holidays
Each month has designated awareness holidays, and these can be a great way to introduce your kids to a new experience or get them to try something new. They can also be used to spend additional time focused on a particular area of interest.
Here’s my list of unit study ideas to incorporate in your homeschool in October.
What Can I Learn Today: October Homeschool Ideas
This article offers suggestions for learning topics related to that month. Use the specific suggestions given, or research additional people or topics in a particular category.
You can expose your kids to books, music, poetry, people, and careers they might not otherwise encounter, just through choosing a few to read about or watch a quick video on each month.
The learning suggestions are grouped in the following categories:
- Read Aloud Book Suggestions
- Movie/Book Combos
- Poetry
- Classical Music
- Quotes
- Artists (birthdays in October)
- Athletes (birthdays in October)
- Authors (birthdays in October)
- Composers (birthdays in October)
- Engineers (birthdays in October)
- Inventors (birthdays in October)
- Presidents (birthdays in October)
- Scientists (birthdays in October)
- Interesting People (birthdays in October)
- Unusual Occupations
- Animals
- Plants (seasonal related)
- World Landmarks
- Games
- Crafts
- Study Skills
October Fun Learning Ideas
Each category can open up discussion of history, science, art, entrepreneurship, relationships, and the list goes on. The categories I chose to use this year are as follows.
- birthday of the month
- invention of the month
- country of the month
- life skill of the month
- character trait of the month
October Country Study – United Kingdom
These mini-unit studies covering 12 different countries are a great way to expose your kids to the beauty and culture of countries around the world.
Using video, engaging books, games, and maps, kids of all ages can get a taste of the uniqueness of different cultures, along with understanding our fundamental similarities as humans.
Try out a sample of France from my free resource library. You can purchase the full pack of 12 countries from my Etsy shop.
October Bucket Lists
Bucket lists are one of my favorite lists to make. I also love to read what’s on other people’s bucket lists! Here are two lists of ideas for your October Bucket List.
October Prompts for Three Things Thursday
If you use a Three Things Thursday prompt in your classroom or homeschool as part of a morning meeting discussion or individual writing activity, here is a list of prompts to consider for October.
October Motivation for Kids
Each month’s quote comes from a famous historical person who was born in that month. I’ve included resources for further learning, and conversation ideas around that person’s life or ideas.
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt, longest-serving First Lady of the United States, diplomat, and activist (Born October 11, 1884)
Resources to learn more about Eleanor Roosevelt
- Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt? by Gare Thompson
- Eleanor Roosevelt Facts & Worksheets from KidsKonnect
- History Brief: Eleanor Roosevelt (YouTube – Reading Through History)
Conversation about Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was orphaned by the age of 10, certainly experiencing times of fear and uncertainty. Do you believe that facing and overcoming fear can help you grow and gain confidence to face down whatever may come?
Can you think of an example of a time you did the thing you thought you couldn’t do?
October Fun Journal Prompts
Each day prompts for a list of three things. The first prompt of each month is “3 things you’re thankful for.” This is a gratitude exercise to get them in a mindset of remembering to be thankful. Then at the end of each month is a prompt for “3 favorite things about this month.” The purpose of this is to urge them to reflect upon what brings them joy or delight.
October Art Prompts
These simple drawing prompts are a low-key way to encourage students to create a habit of sketching and drawing.
How to Use the Prompts
First, decide on how frequently you want to use them. Daily, weekly, or even monthly if you prefer.
Next, decide on the size you will recommend. My favorite way to do this is in small 1-1/2 inch square boxes, requiring students to keep their drawing simple. You may wish to limit the size to 3 inch squares or a 5.5″x 8.5″ half-letter page size.
Finally, decide on the allowed art supplies. The simplest form is to allow only pencil sketches. My preference is to allow colored pencils so kids who love color can let their creativity shine.
Suggestions for using these simple drawing prompts:
- bell-ringer activity
- daily or weekly sketch practice
- year-long creative project to save as a keepsake
- activity during read-aloud times
- early finish activity
15 Simple Art Prompts for October
- leaf
- pumpkin
- acorn
- owl
- rake
- fox
- dancer
- volcano
- castle
- house
- citrus slice
- tent
- sunset
- planet
- beach ball
You can also download a full school year’s worth of 180 prompts to make this a daily activity or choose your favorites and make this a weekly activity.
October Activity and Daily Checklist
Grab these pages to help your kids tackle their closet clutter. They can follow along step by step and take ownership over whether to keep or donate items that are cluttering up their drawers and floors.
In my Etsy shop, I also have a complete set of monthly themed checklists with an activity for each month. The October activity includes these pages.
October 30-Day Challenge
30-day challenges are highly popular in the health and fitness arena. You can pick pretty much any exercise and make a 30-day challenge of it. In the healthy eating realm, cutting out junk food, sugar, or soda is common.
Beyond the physical challenges, though, you can find challenges inspiring you to spend time cultivating a hobby, decluttering your home, or learning something new.
Try one of these 30-Day Challenges in October:
drawing challenge OR journaling challenge
For a list of 25 challenge ideas, read 30-Day Challenges to Try This Year.
October Character Trait Study
The character trait focus for October is creativity.
Find suggestions for books, movies, video content, activities and more to encourage creativity this month in my Character Counts series.
Character Counts: Encouraging Creativity
October Encouraging Proverb
A month or so into the school year, you may be feeling frustrated that things you thought would be running smoothly still aren’t. Some curriculum choices may not be working as well as you hoped. Your kids may be complaining about the workload, or their chores, or arguing with one another. This proverb is a great reminder to take a deep breath and bring your frustrations to God in prayer instead of giving full vent to your angry feelings in the moment.
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Proverbs 29:11
Download a free list of proverbs to cover the whole school year from my resource library.
October Pray Around the World Country List
To pray for every country in one year, you’ll need to pray for 16-17 countries each month. I’ve assigned the countries alphabetically to each month of the year. However, by praying for one country every weekday you can actually cover every country over the course of a school year if your summers are hectic and you prefer to organize it that way.
You can download my free calendar for October to pray for countries of the world, along with a few questions for your kids to learn a little bit more about a country of their choice.
October Focus Word
Perfect to use on a bulletin board or other display board, my set of monthly focus words provides one word to reflect on and prioritize each month of the year. Visit the free resource library to download your free printable pack of 12 words.
October Scripture Card
If one of your goals is to memorize more scripture this year, try using my monthly scripture cards to memorize twelve Bible verses over the course of the year. The scripture word of the month for October is “kind,” and the verse comes from Proverbs 31:26.
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
You can download a set of twelve scripture cards from my free resource library and begin to memorize Proverbs 31:26 this month.
October Fun Facts Reference Sheet
Celebrating an October birthday? Download this October fun facts sheet to display at a birthday party or give with a birthday gift. Included are the October birthstone and flower, a few fun holidays, interesting people born in October, and this month in history events.
Additional October Resources for Homeschool Moms
Encourage Your Kids in October
Share personal stories
Your kids can be encouraged by hearing stories of your life. Let them know that you failed a test, couldn’t figure out how to change a tire, or found it really hard to make friends in middle school. Tell them about the times you made a mistake and had to learn the hard way.
They may also be encouraged by reading, hearing, or watching stories about well-known historical or famous people who overcame obstacles or took unconventional routes to achieve their goals.
OCTOBER ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOUR KIDS: share personal stories
If you’d rather choose a different way of encouraging your kids in October, read this article: 10 Practical Ways to Encourage Your Kids This Year
Fun Online Games for October
If your kids love games, there are a lot of opportunities for them to learn while they play! Choose a game of the month for them to try out—or have the whole family play either collaboratively or competitively.
OCTOBER ONLINE GAME: Daily Jigsaw: Paintings
Pick your own game for October from my list of 50 Fun Online Games for Students.
Life Skills Focus for October
Every so often, I encounter something that I thought my kids knew how to do…but they definitely do not. To make sure we’re covering a variety of life skills, I like to focus on one or two things each month.
OCTOBER LIFE SKILLS FOCUS: organizing personal belongings
October is a good time to create systems of storing and keeping track of personal belongings like headphones, water bottles, or backpacks. Emphasize the importance of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” The more your kids develop a routine of choosing one spot to keep items and always putting them back in their place, the easier it will be for them to find what they need and save time and frustration.
Helpful Blog Posts to Read in October
October Homeschool Planning & Routines
The possibilities really are endless. If your kids are interested in nature, plan to incorporate a mini-unit study of one plant or tree each month. Try listening to a specific type of music each month, trying out a new game, recipe or podcast every month of the year.
This collection of ideas is intended to provide inspiration only. Obviously, there are far more activities and learning opportunities than you could fit into one month. Pick and choose a few things that sound fun to you or your kids and see what sparks interest in them.
Visit my homeschool resources page for monthly unit study ideas, projects, and homeschool planning help!
Join my mailing list to receive updates when new printable resources are added to the library, plus tips and encouragement for your organized homeschool journey.
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How to Homeschool in October
