Ultimate Home Education Bucket List: Ideas & Inspiration

Have you ever thought about creating a home education bucket list? Well, it hadn’t crossed my mind until I was thinking about all the things I’d already done and what I also wanted to do with my daughter and then I thought, ‘wait a minute, why haven’t we got a list?’ 

So that’s when I put one together, and it was so much fun! I hope this home education bucket list will give your family some ideas and inspiration for different subjects or personal goals too!

Home Education Bucket List Ideas

Personal 

• Start a gratitude journal
• Talk about and reflect on the day every evening
• Speak words of affirmation every morning
• Make a list of goals for the day
• Write a to-do list every morning
• Write a letter to my younger and future self
• Organise a special family event
• Surprise a family member with a visit
• Have a ‘no technology’ day
• Try a new hobby every month
• Do something spontaneous
• Make a mindfulness jar
• Create a self-care kit
• Learn about different personalities
• Do an act of kindness
• Repay a favour
• Create a ‘positivity wall’ (put a positive note up every day)
• Have at least half an hour of family time every day
• Create a list of achievements
• Make a bucket list every season 
• Create a vision board of what I want to learn
• Make a donation box to give to charity every month
• Keep a sleep diary
• Do a family taste test

Social

• Bake treats for the neighbours or friends
• Get a penpal 
• Participate in a local market or event
• Volunteer at an animal shelter or in the community
• Make cards for people in hospitals or care homes 
• Have regular learning days with friends
• Have a board game or movie night with other homeschoolers
• Make thank-you posters for essential workers, like nurses and firefighters
• Visit people in care homes
• Start a fundraiser

Writing & Reading

• Do a reading challenge every month
• Read a novel together and discuss its themes
• Do a book swap with friends
• Create a cosy reading corner
• Use a timer to do a writing sprint
• Write and illustrate my own book
• Write a letter to my favourite author
• Create a book club with friends
• Try different styles of writing
• Create a comic book
• Start a journal about my learning adventures
• Record an audiobook 
• Write a book or film review
• Write my own adventure story from experience
• Rewrite a fairytale
• Create a ‘words of the week’ jar and add a new word each day
• Write a collection of short stories and bind them into a book
• Write an “If I were . . .” series
• Create a family newspaper
• Interview a family member and write their story
• Read a book from each genre (mystery, adventure, fantasy, etc.)
• Write my own mythology or folklore story
• Create a book trailer video
• Have a family story night

Creative Arts

• Create a piece in the style of a famous artist
• Write a screenplay and act it out
• Take an online art or music class
• Make my own musical instrument
• Visit a museum or art gallery
• Learn origami
• Start a sketchbook and draw every day
• Learn a new dance style every month 
• Create my own art exhibition
• Make puppets and create a puppet show
• Create a stop-motion film
• Knit or crochet a hat, scarf or blanket
• Take a pottery class
• Make a model village 
• Create a fantasy map
• Try a new craft every week
• Make candles or soap
• Design a family logo
• Learn different printmaking techniques
• Make a flipbook
• Create mosaic art
• Sculpt with paper mache or clay
• Write a song
• Learn how to read music
• Learn how to play a song on an instrument
• Try voice acting
• Create a family talent show
• Start a photo journal with daily pictures
• Learn how to edit videos
• Make a windchime

Nature & Exploration

• Start a vegetable patch in the garden
• Grow plants and herbs indoors
• Set up a butterfly garden to watch caterpillars grow
• Visit a farm, zoo and aquarium
• Follow a woodland trail
• Go on a hike
• Identify trees and plants on a walk
• Create a compost bin
• Create a nature journal
• Go bird watching
• Collect and press flowers
• Build a mini terrarium or greenhouse
• Create an archaeological dig using sand
• Camp in the garden
• Plan a ‘survival’ day
• Create a bug hotel
• Make a bird feeder
• Collect rocks
• Go foraging in the woods and research what I find
• Learn about endangered species
• Create a nature scavenger hunt
• Track the weather every day
• Explore a cave or geological site
• Visit a rockpool and collect things from the beach
• Build a shelter outside
• Go pond dipping

Life Skills & Practical Skills

• Learn how to cook a favourite family recipe
• Do a first-aid course
• Learn basic car maintenance 
• Learn simple DIY repair skills
• Start learning a new language
• Manage a budget when shopping
• Learn basic sign language
• Learn the basics of sewing
• Fix or upcycle an old piece of furniture then try to sell it
• Make something from scratch
• Have a decluttering and organisation day
• Have a self-care day

Maths

• Create a budget and manage it
• Play a strategy game
• Have a weekly riddle and puzzle night
• Measure things around the house
• Set up a pretend shop
• Make predictions with dice or coins
• Create a maths board game 
• Explore geometry

Science

• Do a fun chemistry experiment
• Learn about planets and constellations at night
• Make a DIY water filter
• Create a lava lamp
• Do a plant-growing experiment
• Test the acidity or alkalinity of household items
• Dissect a virtual frog
• Read a book on science
• Learn about Newton’s laws
• Learn about evolution and create my own example

History & Geography

• Visit a historical site
• Dress up as a historical character and learn about them
• Pick a random country to learn about by spinning a globe
• Watch a documentary about a significant historical event
• Create a family museum
• Build a model of a famous landmark 
• Make a salt dough map
• Make a paper mache globe
• Start a travel journal
• Track the weather in different countries
• Identify countries on a map
• Make a timeline of major events
• Rewrite an event or period of history
• Write a historical diary

STEM

• Learn the basics of coding
• Build a simple robot
• Design and print a 3D model
• Go geocaching
• Design a video game
• Start a digital portfolio
• Build a small windmill
• Create a balloon-powered car
• Create a website

Physical Education

• Stretch every morning
• Have a sports day
• Plan a triathlon day
• Do a workout
• Set a fitness goal and track my progress
• Do indoor rock climbing 
• Learn some basic self-defence
• Learn a new sport
• Build an obstacle course
• Go on a bike ride
• Do yoga or meditate

Philosophy & Ethics

• Talk about big questions
• Discuss morals and fables
• Discuss a hypothetical scenario
• Debate the ethics of a current event
• Write my own ‘code of ethics’
• Create a vision board of the world I’d like to live in

The World & Culture

• Plan an imaginary trip around the world
• Cook a meal from a different culture every week
• Listen to music from different cultures
• Learn the alphabet from different languages
• Make a mini dictionary of phrases from around the world
• Watch a movie from a different country
• Research traditions and celebrations around the world

Careers & Entrepreneurship

• Plan and start a small business
• Learn the basics of investing
• Make a vision board of career goals and dreams
• Start a savings challenge
• Design a logo for a business
• Pitch a business idea
• Read about a famous entrepreneur

Seasonal Projects

• Make handmade decorations for each holiday
• Make seasonal crafts
• Make a gratitude tree 
• Make a new year’s resolution
• Organise a summer or winter olympics
• Plant bulbs and watch them grow
• Learn about the holidays
• Make an easter egg
• Donate a gift

Why Should You Create a Home Education Bucket List?

One of the main reasons why I wanted to start a home education bucket list was to create a focus on important subjects and have achievable goals for my daughter. It allows her to explore different topics and learn about a range of different things, which has really sparked her curiosity. It also means we never run out of things to do and we’re always adding new ideas to our list. 

Some of the other great benefits of creating a home education bucket list include:

• Bonding over activities together
• Creating more independence 
• Being able to personalise the learning
• Encouraging new skills and hobbies
• Being able to track progress and achievements
• Giving a sense of purpose

Tips for Creating Your Own Home Education Bucket List

Talk about interests and passions

When you first start to create your own home education bucket list delve into your child’s interests and passions. Talk about them but also encourage your child to be open about their curiosities. What do they want to learn? Which subject are they most interested in? What do they have questions about?

Add your goals to the bucket list

The whole point of a bucket list is to tick it off, so write out all your educational goals and incorporate ideas that will help to achieve them.

Plan age-appropriate activities

No activity is off limits as long as it is planned appropriately depending on age and ability. 

Include a mix of short-term and long-term activities

It’s a good idea to include activities that vary in terms of duration because it offers both quick achievements and long-term goals. Some activities might only take an afternoon, whereas more complex activities, like learning an instrument, can take weeks or months. 

Adjust it when needed

Sometimes interests change or certain activities may not seem as exciting anymore. Be open to adding or removing activities to make your home education bucket list even better. Remember, it needs to be something that your child is excited about. 

Tick off those achievements

Every time your child completes something from their bucket list, tick it off or make a chart or list of their achievements. It’s a great way to keep track of progress and you can celebrate every win along the way.

Make it visually appealing

You’ll likely want your home education bucket list to be something which really captures your child’s attention and looks great hanging up on the wall. Involve your child and make it decorative so that they have a colourful reminder of the wonderful journey they’re on and the goals they are going to achieve.