Extracurricular Activities for Home Schooled Kids

All kids get bored, even home schooled kids. Variety allows kids to explore their desires and dreams. Having a choice in activities to participate in opens a lot of doors to the future. Here are some extracurricular activities to consider for home schooled children.

1.       Scouting. Scouting offers not only the chance to meet kids with similar interests but also to teach survival and life ski9lls. Kids learn to do fun things like build a campfire, read a compass, and make useful tools out of common items. These same kids also learn about CPR, first aid, and different forms of communication in an emergency.

2.       Sports. Kids who like to move and shake need an outlet. One such outlet is community sports teams. Just like public school teams, community leagues have practices, schedules of games, and tournaments. In addition, community teams play during the summer so kids don’t get lazy and out of shape for two months.

3.       Seminars. These can be turned into field trips for school credit as well. At the local zoo or museum, experts teach about caring for animals and how to appreciate art and literature. They are used to conducting seminars for school children to make the presentation more hands-on and interesting. <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.ListParagraph, li.ListParagraph, div.ListParagraph {mso-style-name:”List Paragraph”; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.ListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.ListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.ListParagraphCxSpFirst {mso-style-name:”List ParagraphCxSpFirst”; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.ListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.ListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.ListParagraphCxSpMiddle {mso-style-name:”List ParagraphCxSpMiddle”; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} p.ListParagraphCxSpLast, li.ListParagraphCxSpLast, div.ListParagraphCxSpLast {mso-style-name:”List ParagraphCxSpLast”; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:.5in; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1107895227; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-940511740 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level2 {mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level3 {mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level4 {mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level5 {mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level6 {mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level7 {mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level8 {mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l0:level9 {mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} –>

365days: 100andseven: she makes me smile

4.       Theater groups. Most cities have a local theater group for kids. They can audition for several plays performed throughout the year. Children interested in drama and the stage can stretch their acting chops. Check with the state to see if these plays can qualify as credit for part of the child’s curriculum requirement.

5.       Community activities. The one thing that kids need to learn is how to serve others. We are a nation of people who work together to get things accomplished. Community service teaches humility, patience, and a respect for all people. Kids can participate in soup kitchens, food banks, nursing homes, or create their own community project to implement.

6.       Music lessons. Many public schools are cutting back funding to creative arts programs like art classes and music. Learning to play an instrument or sing is a part of a well rounded education. Children that show an interest in these subjects can be signed up for lessons with a local instructor. Get together with other home school households and the instructor may give a discounted rate to the group.

No shortage of activities exists for home schooled children. In fact, opportunities for them are increased because of the lack of time constraints involved in a public school education.
Creative Commons License photo credit: haifischmaedchen