Some of these ideas come from a good friend at our homeschool co-op. Don’t they all sound like fun?

ABC Storytime, courtesy of Mother Reader. Preschool or early elementary.

Butterflies: Insects of Beauty by Heather E. Langston. Kindergarten or early elementary.

Bats and Spiders. Incorporates a study of Stellaluna by Jannell Cannon and of Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White into a scientific study of bats and spiders as creatures that God created. For kindergarten or early elementary.

Journey North Mystery Class. Upper elementary or middle school students.
Journey North Mystery Class overview.

Rubik’s Cube Teaches Math. Upper elementary or middle school students.

Introduction to Shakespeare. All ages, but especially upper elementary, middle school, and high school.

Advanced Reading Survey. High school. Students could keep a notebook and discuss their reading each week.

Civil War. Study the Civil War through interactive simulation and discussion. Role-play Union or Confederate life in camp or on the homefront through such things as hearing telegraph dispatches, dramatizing soldier interview, reenacting Pickett’s charge, etc.

Modern American History Mini Simulations Through role-playing, students re-create key points in early 20th century U.S. history including a doughboy boot camp, depression era soup kitchen, Ford assembly line, and early radio shows.

Stock Market Simulation. Learn the fundamentals of the stock market, key terms, and how to read stock market data. Work in teams to decide criteria for selecting a company (or companies) to invest in, and then track and analyze the performance through the semester. See which team makes the “best” selections.

Lord of the Rings. Students read (or listen to audio) two books a semester (starting with The Hobbit), discuss them using primarily Progeny Press materials as a guide, complete light-hearted group activities, and hold a fun “movie watching event” at the conclusion of each book. For those desiring writing opportunities, one optional writing assignment is completed each semester (literary analysis – fall, literary research paper – spring). Brief “mini” lessons on building skills for these papers are covered each week, with periodic due dates towards completing the paper – including peer review opportunities.

Discover Houston. Learn about how Houston works and explore some of its less obvious locations. Students study and discuss the history, major sites, city government, city layout, major industries, transportation systems, etc. of Houston. Approximately monthly optional “meaningful” field trips are offered such as Metro/light rail trip to down town, tunnel exploration, medical center overview tour, Convention Center “behind the scenes” visit , short jury trial observation, historical district walking tour, etc. Field trips help students develop “life skills” as well as learn about various careers.

Travel Through Australia. Learn about the fascinating island continent of Australia and develop travel planning skills at the same time! Students work together to plan a dream trip to Australia by using travel guides and websites to plan and research all aspects of a special vacation: budget, flights, car rental, hotel selection, sites to see, food, passports, etc. Also consider careers in the travel industry and hopefully have a few guest speakers such as a travel agent, pilot, etc.

Boy Scout Merit Badge books are great sources and always have group and hands-on learning as well as technical “meaty” info. A teacher could just work their way straight down the requirements in the merit badge book. Here are good ideas of guide books available that could interest boys and girls:
– Architecture
– Chess
– Drafting
– Electronics
– Geocaching
– Insect Study
– Orienteering
– Radio
– Reptile & Amphibian Study
– Space Exploration