40 Deschooling Activities That Teens Will Love

If you’re thinking about deschooling your teenager or have just started, you’re probably wondering what you can do to help them transition from school to Home Education.

Deschooling teenagers can be tricky to navigate — they want their independence but, at the same time, they might have no idea about what they’re doing or what they want. In fact, their heads might be all over the place. Don’t worry, deschooling is all about having fun and finding your feet (for both parents and children!)

So, we’ve made things a little easier by listing 40 deschooling activities that teens will actually love!

1. Throwing a deschooling party

What better way to start off deschooling than by throwing a deschooling party? And we all know that teens love parties! Invite their friends and family round to celebrate the start of their Home Education journey and have fun!

2. Having a day with friends

Teenagers love spending time with their friends, so if they’re not up for spending time with you, rather than take it personally, let them have a day to hang out with their friends.

3. Having a movie day or binge-watching a series

Everyone loves a good movie day and binge-watching their favourite series. So why not sit back, grab some snacks and pop Netflix on with your teenager?

4. Visiting a rage room

Dealing with a particularly emotional teen? Why not take them to a rage room? It’s the perfect place to smash things up for fun!

5. Taking on an obstacle course

If you’d like to get your teen active, do an obstacle course together. It’s a sure way to get motivated and have a laugh.

6. Doing a mud run

If your teen loves obstacle courses, they’ll likely also love a mud run. Who would have thought that running and getting dirty could be so fun?

7. Going on a cheap mini break

Although a lot of teenagers love their home comforts, there’s nothing more exciting than getting away and visiting somewhere new. It will give both you and your teen time to relax and reset. It’s what deschooling is all about!

8. Making funny videos together

No doubt you’ve probably heard of TikTok — it’s the platform that all teens love. So why not make some funny videos together? If you’d rather not post them online, make them for personal use to look back on as fond memories.

9. Doing something creative

Believe it or not, teens do love to get creative. Whether it be painting, writing, sculpting or crafting, see what creative project they’re interested in doing. 

10. Sleeping!

We all know that teens love their sleep and sometimes it’s just nice to have a lazy day. So, have one day a week to do just that!

11. Cooking dinner for the family

Trust your teen to cook you a nice family dinner? You’ll be surprised at how much fun they have!

12. Volunteering or finding a part-time job

If your teen is interested in earning their own money, having a part-time job will do wonders for a number of reasons. 1. They’ll be more responsible 2. They’ll be able to earn and save 3. They’ll learn great skills for life! And if your teen is still a bit too young for a job, they can always do a bit of volunteering!

13. Creating a vision board of things they love

Vision boards are great sources of inspiration and perfect for motivating your teen during their deschooling period.

14. Making an app

Your teen doesn’t have to be tech-savvy to create their own app. In fact, lots of people are doing it now and it may bring more than just a sense of accomplishment.

15. Taking a daily photo to see how they change

When you first start deschooling your teen, take a photo every day. They will love looking back at how much they’ve changed over time. 

16. Going on a spending spree

We’re all guilty of doing too much shopping, but why not make it one of your deschooling activities? You can buy things you need and things just for fun! Just stick to a good budget!

17. Recreating their favourite movie in real life

If your teen has a favourite movie, a great idea is to recreate it in real life. Haven’t we all dreamt of being one of our favourite on-screen characters? 

18. Jamming to music

Most teens just love a good jam. So, put on their favourite music and jam together. 

19. Setting up their own side hustle

A great and beneficial deschooling activity is encouraging your teen to set up their own side hustle. Discuss what they’re passionate about and get those entrepreneurial juices flowing!

20. Going on a bike ride

Bike rides are both fun and good exercise. So, whether you’ve got a bored teen or one that needs to burn off some energy, get those bikes out!

21. Gaming

A lot of teens love gaming. Why not join them and have a gaming day?

22. Looking after an animal

Whether it be a family pet or someone else’s. Who doesn’t love animals?

23. Doing a thrill-seeking activity

If your teen is a thrill-seeker or just up for a bit of excitement, do a thrill-seeking activity together! Who said deschooling wasn’t fun?

24. Going camping

Even if your teen isn’t a fan of bugs and sleeping on the ground, they’ll secretly love going camping. You could do it in your back garden or be even braver and camp somewhere completely new. 

25. Learning survival skills

Survival skills are valuable no matter how old you are, but teens can really take an interest in them because it makes them feel like they can conquer the world!

26. Going to a concert

Your teen will love dancing and singing the night away at a concert. 

27. Raising money for charity

A more heartfelt deschooling activity is raising money for charity. Think of unique and fun ways that you and your teen could raise money, whether it be growing and cutting your hair or doing a marathon.

28. Seeing how long they can go without technology

Now this is a fun one (for us parents maybe!), but it’s also interesting to see how long our teens can go without technology. Hey, it’s a challenge, but they’ll want to prove themselves! The question is, how long will they last?

29. Going backpacking

For something a little adventurous, why not take them backpacking? Or, if they’re old enough, let them go with their friends.

30. Going thrift shopping

Bargains! Bargains! Bargains! We love to find them, and we’re sure your teen will love to find them too!

31. Having a picnic

It may be a simple activity, but having a picnic is one of the more relaxing deschooling activities, and it allows you and your teen to talk and bond with each other. 

32. Going to a water park

When was the last time your teen wore their swimwear? Get it out and get to the pool! 

33. Going to a theme park

Another thrill-seeking! What teen doesn’t love a theme park? They can let loose and have fun!

34. Looking through old family photos

We love this deschooling activity because it’s really sentimental. It’s always lovely to look back on old memories and reminisce. 

35. Performing a random act of kindness

When we do good for others it makes us feel good. Get your teen thinking about potential acts of kindness that they’d love to do for someone.

36. Redecorating their room

This deschooling activity is great because it allows your teen to be hands-on, have their say on how their room looks, keeps them busy and creative, and is probably well needed!

37. Going stargazing

Stargazing is a relaxing activity which is great for de-stressing and having sentimental conversations.

38. Starting a blog

We love this one because there is so much possibility when starting a blog. Your teen can write about anything of interest to them, and with great platforms like WordPress and Blogger, it’s really easy to get started!

39. Writing a letter to their future self

Deschooling is only a small part of any Home Education journey and so much can change from now until then. Wouldn’t it be nice for your teen to write a letter to their future self, so that one day they can read it and remember what advice they gave to themselves and realise how far they’ve come?!

40. Playing truth or dare

We end this list with a fun deschooling activity! Honestly, playing truth or dare with your teen will have you in fits of laughter!

If you like this list, our post on how to deschool your teen may be really useful to you!