FREE Harvest Days Journal + Family Harvest Activities
Published:
August 23, 2019
Contributor:
Sarita Harbour
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Fall is almost here and with the cooler temperatures comes one of our favourite times of year – harvest season! Although we homeschool and homestead year-round, September is our time to ease into new levels and studies.
Don’t miss the FREE Harvest Days Journal that I’m sharing with our readers. You’ll find a link to it down at the bottom of this post.
This year we’re tackling American Studies using our Sonlight Curriculum (going into our seventh year as Sonlighters). And I cobbled my own Canadian Studies curriculum for our 4th grader and 1st grader to work through too.
I know that homesteading, harvesting, and pioneer studies are important topics in North American history. And since it’s almost September we’re diving right into harvest studies! Now my girls love using notebooking and journaling to record their notes and memories. So I created a simple free Harvest Days Journal that I’m sharing with our readers. You’ll find a link to it down at the bottom of this post.
And whether you’re homeschooling way out in the country, in the middle of the suburbs, or right downtown in a busy city, here are some ideas to get your kids into the fall harvest spirit.
Go Apple-Picking
Make the most of comfortable fall weather and head out to a local orchard for apple picking. Pack a picnic and make a day of it. Search online for area orchards and look for ones that offer hayrides, corn mazes, and farmyard tours to keep kids of all ages interested.
Harvest Your Garden
Don’t overlook the harvest in your own garden. If your kids planted seeds, watered them and tended vegetables (and maybe they even recorded this in their gardening journals) celebrate their success. Help them gather their bounty, clean it, then prepare it for canning, preserving or dehydrating. And if they grew a bumper crop of something like zucchini or tomatoes, encourage them to share with friends and neighbours!
Head to a Pumpkin Patch
Plan ahead for October days and schedule a Pumpkin Patch field trip as a special homeschool outing. Pumpkins come in all sizes and can be used for fall decorating or Halloween fun if your family celebrates. And when it’s time to clean out that pumpkin, have a competition to see who can get the most pumpkin seeds. Don’t forget to save the raw pumpkin for another fun harvest-time activity – baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!
Follow Up With Harvest Reading and Writing Time
Cozying up with a heart-warming picture book or pioneer days read-aloud is a great way to round out your harvest days activities. Here are a few to get you started.
Encourage your children to record their memories of family harvest fun!
