Monthly Supplemental Learning for Middle School and High School
Are you one of those homeschool moms who wants to learn everything? Do everything? Not miss out on anything? I’m raising my hand over here! One way I accommodate that desire to know a little bit of everything is by adding in fun supplemental learning on a monthly basis. I choose a few categories, then we learn something related to that category each month of the year.
This article is an introduction to the concept of monthly learning themes, so feel free to use these or get inspired to create your own monthly fun learning ideas.
Monthly Fun Learning Categories
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
This can be a historical figure or a contemporary figure. I might choose someone who is a household name like Albert Einstein, or someone less well known to my kids, like Melanie Perkins, the founder of Canva.
Invention of the Month
Generally, I use the date of a patent filing, but the goal is less the memory of the date, and more a way to generate interest in learning about the invention.
Country of the Month
I love to pick a country and throughout the month include video content, learn how to say a few words in the language, eat food from that country, and learn a bit about the history, natural resources, or famous landmarks in the country.
Read: Country of the Month Mini-Unit Studies
Life Skill of the Month
With all the activities my kids are involved in, I’m regularly reminded of how little time we have to prepare them for actually adulting. Choosing a life skill to focus on each month helps me make progress on all those little things they need to know how to do for themselves.
My kids are middle and high school, so the life skills I chose are relevant to that age, but you can adapt for elementary ages as needed.
Read: 140 Life Skills to Prepare Your Teen for Adulthood
Character Trait of the Month
This serves as a way to remind myself too of the person I want to be. Each month we read some quotes related to a specific character trait, watch some video content, read scripture, and generally keep the character trait focus front of mind.
Monthly Fun Learning Ideas FREE DOWNLOAD
I’m giving you a complete set of my preformatted pages with the birthday, invention, country, life skill, and character trait of the month! Keep reading to see what they look like.
If you want to personalize with your own information or even add your own categories, you can purchase the set complete with fillable forms from my Etsy shop.
August Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Usain Bolt, August 21, 1986
Invention of the Month: Philo Farnsworth patented a television, August 20, 1930
Country of the Month: Russia
Life Skill of the Month: Map reading/orient to north, south, east, west
Character Trait of the Month: Generosity
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
August Homeschool Ideas
September Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Agatha Christie, September 15, 1890
Invention of the Month: First Bible printed on Gutenberg printing press, September 30, 1452
Country of the Month: France
Life Skill of the Month: Car maintenance
Character Trait of the Month: Curiosity
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
September Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Curiosity
October Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Eleanor Roosevelt, October 11, 1884
Invention of the Month: Ballpoint pen patented by John Jacob Loud, October 30, 1888
Country of the Month: Germany
Life Skill of the Month: Troubleshooting technology
Character Trait of the Month: Creativity
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
October Homeschool Ideas
Character Counter: Encouraging Creativity
November Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Andrew Carnegie, November 25, 1835
Invention of the Month: Elmer’s glue trademark registered, November 18, 1952
Country of the Month: Turkey
Life Skill of the Month: Introduce yourself/make small talk
Character Trait of the Month: Thankfulness
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
November Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Thankfulness
December Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Louis Pasteur, December 27, 1882
Invention of the Month: Scrabble board game copyrighted, December 1, 1948
Country of the Month: United States
Life Skill of the Month: Setting a table/hosting a party
Character Trait of the Month: Joy
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
December Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Joy
January Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15, 1929
Invention of the Month: Electric lamp patent granted to Thomas Edison, January 27, 1880
Country of the Month: Thailand
Life Skill of the Month: Time management/goal setting
Character Trait of the Month: Self-discipline
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
January Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Self-Discipline
February Monthly Fun Learning
Birthday of the Month: Edith Clarke, February 10, 1883
Invention of the Month: Chester Stone patented a washing machine, February 17, 1827
Country of the Month: China
Life Skill of the Month: Writing a professional email
Character Trait of the Month: Kindness
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
February Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Kindness
March Fun Learning Ideas
Birthday of the Month: Emmy Noether, March 23, 1883
Invention of the Month: First rubber band was patented by Stephen Perry, March 17, 1845
Country of the Month: Spain
Life Skill of the Month: Spring cleaning
Character Trait of the Month: Resourcefulness
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
March Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Resourcefulness
April Fun Learning Ideas
Birthday of the Month: Leonardo da Vinci, April 15, 1452
Invention of the Month: Walter Hunt patented the first safety pin, April 10, 1849
Country of the Month: United Kingdom
Life Skill of the Month: Filing taxes/understanding insurance
Character Trait of the Month: Optimism
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
April Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Optimism
May Fun Learning Ideas
Birthday of the Month: Gabriel Fahrenheit, May 24, 1686
Invention of the Month: Mattel’s Barbie doll was registered (invented by Ruth Handler), May 9, 1958
Country of the Month: Mexico
Life Skill of the Month: Read and understand ingredient/nutrition labels
Character Trait of the Month: Self-awareness
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
May Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Self-Awareness
June Fun Learning Ideas
Birthday of the Month: Jacques Cousteau, June 11, 1910
Invention of the Month: Arthur Melin received a patent for the hula hoop, June 23, 1964
Country of the Month: Italy
Life Skill of the Month: Basic first aid
Character Trait of the Month: Diligence
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
June Homeschool Ideas
Character Counts: Encouraging Diligence
July Fun Learning Ideas
Birthday of the Month: Elias Howe, July 9, 1819
Invention of the Month: Monopoly game copyright registered (invented by Charles Darrow), July 30, 1933
Country of the Month: Malaysia
Life Skill of the Month: How to pack for a trip
Character Trait of the Month: Dependability
Find additional suggestions for birthdays, inventions, music, quotes, crafts and lots more!
July Homeschool Ideas
Find lots of fun learning ideas in my series of daily theme and hashtag suggestions. Think Maker Monday, Top 10 Tuesday, Where in the World Wednesday, This or That Thursday, or Famous Failure Friday.
I have a huge list of theme ideas for each day of the week to use as bell ringers, icebreakers, or any type of brief learning opportunity.
Ideas for Month by Month Fun Learning Opportunities
You never know what will interest your child, but as they get older we tend to let the fun go and focus on preparing for college or SATs.
Choosing a few fun monthly learning topics is a low-stress way to keep your kids engaged in learning on a broad level.
You can tailor the topics to your kids interests, or branch out into areas your kids aren’t likely to explore on their own and offer up a variety of interesting information for them to learn about.
Visit my printable resource library to download a free copy of the monthly preformatted pages. Post the monthly page on a bulletin board and find a short video or article to explore each topic.
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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Monthly Fun Homeschool Learning Ideas
