Homeschool Learning Ideas for May
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 May 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 May!
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 May)
- Athletes (birthdays in May)
- Authors (birthdays in May)
- Composers (birthdays in May)
- Engineers (birthdays in May)
- Inventors (birthdays in May)
- Presidents (birthdays in May)
- Scientists (birthdays in May)
- Interesting People (birthdays in May)
- 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 May, 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 May
May is a great time to read a book about spring, gardens, or adventures. Here are a few suggestions for books to read together in May.
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Little Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Movie/Book Combos for May
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 May book and movie combos.
Read: 100+ Family Movie Night Suggestions
Poetry to Read in May
Read poetry aloud to explore the rhythm of the words. Here are some poetry suggestions to consider for May.
May Night by Sara Teasdale
The First of May by Annette Wynne
Calling the Violet by Lucy Larcom
Ode to May by Peter Burn
May by Ellwood Roberts
Additional poems for May can be found at discoverpoetry.com.
Classical Music to Listen to in May
Choose a few pieces of classical music to listen to this month. Here are a couple of suggestions for May.
Quotes to Ponder in May
Flowers are blooming, the promise of summer is close—May feels exuberant and optimistic. Choose a quote to read and discuss in May. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”
– Lady Bird Johnson
“There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien
More May Ideas…
Artists Born in May
Mary Cassatt (American painter)
Henri Rousseau (French post-impressionist painter)
Frank Stella (American painter and sculptor known for using geometric patterns and shapes)
Athletes Born in May
Tony Hawk (skateboarding)
Willie Mays (baseball)
Apollo Anton Ohno (speed skating)
Authors Born in May
Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz series)
Lillian Hoban(Frances series: Bread and Jam for Frances, A Bargain for Frances; I-Can-Read “Arthur” series)
Irene Hunt (Across Five Aprils)
Scott O’Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
Composers Born in May
Johannes Brahms
Claudio Monteverdi
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Richard Wagner
Engineers Born in May
John Bardeen (known for work in superconductivity, the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice)
George Heilmeier (known for his work on LCDs: liquid crystal displays)
Ellen Ochoa (first Hispanic woman to go into space)
Entrepreneurs Born in May
Bill Hewlett (co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard company)
Melanie Perkins (started the graphic design platform, Canva)
Natalie Massenet (founded the fashion website, Net-a-Porter)
Cornelius Vanderbilt (railroad and shipping magnate)
Brownie Wise (pioneered the home party business model with Tupperware)
Inventors Born in May
James Dyson (British inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, Dyson)
Gabriel Fahrenheit (invented the mercury-in-glass thermometer and the Fahrenheit scale)
Robert Jarvik (designed an artificial heart)
Scientists Born in May
Esther Conwell (known for her contributions in the field of semiconductors)
Dorothy Hodgkin (known for confirming the structure of penicillin and the structure of insulin)
Inge Lehmann (discovered that the earth has a solid inner core and molten outer core)
Carl Linnaeus (formalized the modern system of naming organisms, known as the father of taxonomy)
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (proposed correctly that stars were composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, in opposition to the accepted understanding of the day)
U.S. Presidents Born in May
John F. Kennedy (35th president)
Harry S. Truman (33rd president)
Other Interesting People Born in May
Robert Browning (Victorian poet and playwright)
Henry Dunant (co-founder of the Red Cross)
Lillian Gilbreth (psychologist and industrial engineer known as an efficiency expert; the book Cheaper By the Dozen was written by her children telling of their family life)
Thomas Lipton (founder of Lipton Tea company and yachtsman known for multiple losses at the America’s Cup race)
Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing)
Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook)
Find even more interesting people with May birthdays noted on ThoughtCo’s list of May famous inventions and birthdays.
Interesting Occupations to Learn About in May
Animals to Learn About in May
Cougar
Mongoose
Salamander
Plants to Learn About in May
Lavender
Lilac
Rosemary
World Landmarks to Learn About in May
Games to Play in May
Crafts to Make in May
Study Skills to Work On in May
Effective communication: Have your kids think about the various types of communication, what areas they may need to work on, and how their way of communicating is perceived by others.
Top 10 Communication Skills Employers Want (YouTube – Alexander Lyon)
How to Start a Speech: The Best (and Worst) Openers (YouTube – Science of People)
Intro to Human Communication playlist – 21 videos (YouTube – Crash Course
May Nonfiction Reads for Moms
Don’t forget to keep learning for yourself! Here are a few books to continue learning in the areas of time management, homeschooling, and Christian living
Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern: This author also wrote a book directed at managing your stuff, Organizing from the Inside Out. The idea is to personalize time management systems to use what works best for you.
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer: Guide to practical, purposeful prayer.
The Big What Now Book of Learning Styles by Carol Barnier: Suggestions for specific approaches to encourage learning based on different learning styles.
What to Learn in May
Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list. Nor is it a prescriptive list of things you should study in May.
Choosing some of these topics to learn about in May 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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