Homeschool Planning Ideas for August
Looking for some fun learning ideas for August? I have a list for you! Here you’ll find a collection of resources to help you plan your homeschool activities and learning in August.
I’ve included links to articles containing unit study ideas, fun holidays, and famous August 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 summer and end-of-school year activities.
Bookmark this page for reference and come back each year for new ideas!
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August 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 August.
What Can I Learn Today: August 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 August)
- Athletes (birthdays in August)
- Authors (birthdays in August)
- Composers (birthdays in August)
- Engineers (birthdays in August)
- Inventors (birthdays in August)
- Presidents (birthdays in August)
- Scientists (birthdays in August)
- Interesting People (birthdays in August)
- Unusual Occupations
- Animals
- Plants (seasonal related)
- World Landmarks
- Games
- Crafts
- Study Skills
August 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
August Country Study – Thailand
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.
August 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 August Bucket List.
August 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 August.
August 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.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa, Catholic nun who dedicated her life to helping the poor (Born August 27, 1910)
Resources to learn more about Mother Teresa
- Who Was Mother Teresa? by Jim Gigliotti
- Mother Teresa Facts & Worksheets from KidsKonnect
- Top 10 Inspiring Mother Teresa Quotes (YouTube – The Top Ten Amazing)
Conversation about Mother Teresa
Can you recall a time someone spoke kind words to you? Can you remember a time your intentionally spoke kind words to another person?
Watch the short video of the Top 10 Inspiring Mother Teresa Quotes, and see if any other words from Mother Teresa resonate with you. Start a list quotes that inspire you, and add to it anytime you read or hear words that impact you deeply.
August 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.
August 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 August
- sun
- cactus
- sunflower
- campfire
- palm tree
- suitcase
- sailboat
- mermaid
- window
- pineapple
- unicorn
- party hat
- flamingo
- bell pepper
- lightning
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.
August Activity and Daily Checklist
Grab these pages to record your summer memories—thing you did, books you read, favorite songs and favorite movies of your summer.
In my Etsy shop, I also have a complete set of monthly themed checklists with an activity for each month. The August activity includes these pages as part of a summmer journal printable.
August 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 August:
meatless challenge OR no TV challenge
For a list of 25 challenge ideas, read 30-Day Challenges to Try This Year.
August 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 August 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.
August 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.
August 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 August is “overflow,” and the verse comes from Romans 15:13.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
You can download a set of twelve scripture cards from my free resource library and begin to memorize Romans 15:13 this month.
August Fun Facts Reference Sheet
Celebrating an August birthday? Download this August fun facts sheet to display at a birthday party or give with a birthday gift. Included are the August birthstone and flower, a few fun holidays, interesting people born in August, and this month in history events.
Additional August Resources for Homeschool Moms
Fun Online Games for August
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.
AUGUST ONLINE GAME: Set Puzzle
Pick your own game for August from my list of 50 Fun Online Games for Students.
Life Skills Focus for August
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.
AUGUST LIFE SKILLS FOCUS: Laundry
Summer is a good time to teach your kids to do their own laundry. Have them watch you do it, help you with it, watch them do it, and as you see they are able, pass the responsibility to them. If you work on this skill over the summer, your kids can take on this essential chore for themselves and free up your time. Help them think through how to schedule getting it done as well, like choosing a day of the week as their laundry day.
You can read my extensive list of life skills to teach your kids if you want ideas of more specific tasks to tackle in August: 140 Essential Life Skills to Prepare Your Teen for Adulthood.
Helpful Blog Posts to Read in August
August 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!
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How to Homeschool in August
