Homeschool Learning Ideas for April
Do you want to introduce your kids to a variety of people and places, historical time periods, and interesting ideas? Here you’ll find a big list of April homeschool ideas. Choose a few to explore and see what sparks their interest.
As you read through these ideas, you may be inspired to search out additional people, places, or events to learn about in April!
This article is part of a series of monthly homeschool learning ideas. Each month offers suggestions for seasonal activities and homeschool projects, along with a list of topics relevant to the month.
The learning suggestions are grouped in the following categories:
- Read Aloud Book Suggestions
- Movie/Book Combos
- Poetry
- Classical Music
- Quotes
- Artists (birthdays in April)
- Athletes (birthdays in April)
- Authors (birthdays in April)
- Composers (birthdays in April)
- Engineers (birthdays in April)
- Inventors (birthdays in April)
- Presidents (birthdays in April)
- Scientists (birthdays in April)
- Interesting People (birthdays in April)
- Unusual Occupations
- Animals
- Plants (seasonal related)
- World Landmarks
- Games
- Crafts (seasonal related)
- Study Skills
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Where to Find Learning Resources
After you decide on a few people or topics you want to learn about in April, head to your local library to check out books, magazines, movies, and more related to your topics of interest. You may find that your library system is able to request additional material from other libraries as well.
Another free source of information is YouTube. There is a massive amount of educational content on YouTube and a quick search will turn up many options to learn about almost anything.
For relatively inexpensive and sometimes free resources related to many of these topics, check out Teachers Pay Teachers.
Read-Aloud Suggestions for April
April is a great time to read a book about spring, growth, or fresh starts. Here are a few suggestions for books to read together in April.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Carry On Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie/Book Combos for April
If your child loves movies, but isn’t as keen to read, try reading a book that’s been made into a movie. Read the book together with the promise of a popcorn and movie-watching party when you’re finished! Or, if you think the movie will generate interest in the story, do it backwards for your child. Here are a few suggestions for April book and movie combos.
Read: 100+ Family Movie Night Suggestions
Poetry to Read in April
Read poetry aloud to explore the rhythm of the words. Here are some poetry suggestions to consider for April.
April by Sara Teasdale
The Spring by Thomas Carew
Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth
A Little Prayer by Robert William Service
Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Additional poems for April can be found at discoverpoetry.com.
Classical Music to Listen to in April
Choose a few pieces of classical music to listen to this month. Here are a couple of suggestions for April.
Peer Gynt – Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg
Spring Song by Felix Mendelssohn
Quotes to Ponder in April
Spring is in full bloom in April, with themes of spring fever, new life, and possibilities. Choose a quote to read and discuss in April. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”
– Laura Ingalls Wilder
“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”
– Gustav Mahler
“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring!”
– Lilly Pulitzer
More April Ideas…
Artists Born in April
John James Audubon (American artist known for his pictorial record of North American birds)
Leonardo da Vinci (renowned Italian painter, sculptor, and architect)
Edward Hicks (American folk painter)
Athletes Born in April
Bobby Doerr (baseball)
Chloe Kim (snowboarding)
Picabo Street (skiing)
Authors Born in April
Hans Christian Andersen (best known for literary fairy tales: The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, etc.)
Beverly Cleary (Ramona series, Henry Huggins series)
William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing)
Gertrude Chandler Warner (Boxcar Children series)
Composers Born in April
William Bergsma
Sergei Rachmaninov
Albert Roussel
Robert Volkmann
Engineers Born in April
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (British civil engineer known for his designs that revolutionized public transport during the Industrial Revolution)
Yvonne Young Clark (pioneering African-American and female engineer)
Mary Jackson (NASA’s first black female engineer, her story was featured in the movie Hidden Figures)
Entrepreneurs Born in April
William Keith Kellogg (founded the Kellogg Company)
John Pierpont Morgan (investment banker and businessman)
Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit)
Tina Wells (founder of Buzz Marketing Group)
Inventors Born in April
Clement Ader (French inventor who pioneered work in early aviation)
Alfred Mosher Butts (created the Scrabble game)
Dean Kamen (invented the Segway)
Linus Yale (inventor of many types of locks)
Scientists Born in April
Carl Friedrich Gauss (physicist and mathematician who contributed significantly to number theory, astronomy, magnetism and other fields)
William Harvey (physician known for his study of the circulatory system)
Max Planck (physicist who originated the field of quantum theory)
Claude Shannon (mathematician and cryptographer known as the father of information theory)
James Watson (molecular biologist known for his contribution to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA)
U.S. Presidents Born in April
James Buchanan (15th president)
Ulysses S. Grant (18th president)
Thomas Jefferson (3rd president)
James Monroe (5th president)
Other Interesting People Born in April
Charles Ferdinand Dowd (first person to propose multiple time zones)
Sophie Germain (self-taught mathematical genius known for her progress on proving Fermat’s Last Theorem)
Jane Goodall (known for her 60-year study of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania)
Mellody Hobson (co-CEO of Ariel Investments and chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation)
John Muir (naturalist and advocate for wilderness preservation in the United States)
Alan Perlis (computer scientist known for his work in programming languages)
Find even more interesting people with April birthdays noted on ThoughtCo’s list of April famous inventions and birthdays.
Interesting Occupations to Learn About in April
Animals to Learn About in April
Bobcat
Chicken
Rabbit
Plants to Learn About in April
Japanese magnolia
Peas
Tulips
World Landmarks to Learn About in April
Games to Play in April
Crafts to Make in April
Study Skills to Work On in April
Test Taking: Have your kids learn helpful ways to approach test taking, as they will likely encounter testing in a variety of scenarios throughout their lives.
Test Taking Skills (YouTube – Kimberley Bailey)
Test Anxiety (YouTube – UNC Learning Center)
5 Rules (and 1 Secret Weapon) for Acing Multiple Choice Tests (YouTube – Thomas Frank)
April Nonfiction Reads for Moms
Don’t forget to keep learning for yourself! April is a great time to revisit time managment topics and consider ways you may wish to approach homeschooling for next year.
168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam: Begin to think about your time in weekly blocks rather than short days with this look at how women can fit a lot into one 168 hour week.
Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson: Be encouraged and inspired to engage your children in learning with delight and wonder.
An Intentional Life by Karen Stott: Slow down and consider the life you truly want.
What to Learn in April
Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list. Nor is it a prescriptive list of things you should study in April.
Choosing some of these topics to learn about in April will expose your kids to a variety of people, places, and ideas. If they find something or someone especially interesting, feel free to dive deep. If not, read a short excerpt, watch a short video, and move on to something else.
Your kids won’t necessarily know what they find interesting or exciting until they read, see, or hear something about it. Give them the chance to discover things that generate interest by providing a broad spectrum of learning opportunities this month.
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