November Homeschool Activities: Ideas, Books, and Field Trips

I earn a commission from products purchased through links in this post.

Sharing is caring!

The month of November can be really busy, but these November homeschool activities are a great way to incorporate a little bit of whimsy, fun, and education into your homeschool.

Here you will find November homeschool activities, useful ideas, books, November unit studies, relevant homeschool freebies, and field trip suggestions.

November Homeschool Activities: Ideas, Books, and Field Trips

November homeschool ideas written above candy and cookie turkeys

November Homeschool Activities

November is a wonderful month for spending time together with friends and family. Fall is in full swing, Thanksgiving provides natural opportunities for history and gratitude, and cooler weather makes it a great time for nature study and hands-on activities.

Choose a few November homeschool activities to add some seasonal learning and fun to your normal routine.

Study Leaves and Trees

Take advantage of the last colorful leaves of fall by really paying attention to the beauty that surrounds us. Collect several different leaves and compare their shapes, colors, textures, and sizes.

Younger children can sort and identify leaves, while older students can learn about tree identification, photosynthesis, and why deciduous trees lose their leaves.

Make a Fall Nature Journal

Head outside with a notebook and spend some time observing the changes happening around you. Children can draw leaves, trees, birds, insects, or other signs of the changing season.

Encourage older children to record the date, weather, location, and observations alongside their drawings.

Learn About the First Thanksgiving

Use November as an opportunity to explore the history of the First Thanksgiving. Learn about the Wampanoag people, the English settlers at Plymouth, and what historians know about the 1621 harvest celebration.

Look for primary sources and age-appropriate historical resources so children can learn about the event from more than one perspective.

Create a Gratitude Jar

Set up a gratitude jar for the month of November. Each day, have family members write down something they are thankful for and place it in the jar.

Read the notes together at the end of the month. Younger children can draw pictures instead of writing their responses. When I was a classroom teacher, I liked to read The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu and then create a classroom gratitude jar.

Study Turkeys

Turn the Thanksgiving turkey into a science lesson. Learn about wild turkeys, their habitats, diet, adaptations, and life cycle.

Explore the Science of Cranberries

Cranberries provide a fun opportunity for hands-on science. Examine fresh cranberries and investigate why they float in water.

Read more: Homeschool Friendly Thanksgiving Science Experiments

Younger children can sort and count cranberries, while older students can learn about how cranberries grow and are harvested.

Make a Thanksgiving Math Activity

Add some seasonal fun to your math practice with Thanksgiving-themed problems. Count turkeys or Thanksgiving mini erasers, sort leaves, graph favorite Thanksgiving foods, or create word problems involving a Thanksgiving meal.

You can also use a recipe to practice fractions and measurement.

Study the History of Thanksgiving Parades

Have your children research how Thanksgiving parades became a holiday tradition. Compare different Thanksgiving parades and learn about floats, marching bands, balloons, and other traditions.

If you want to visit a Thanksgiving parade in your area, check on the date early. Many local Thanksgiving parades are held a week or two before Thanksgiving.

Read more: Balloons Over Broadway Activities

Have a Thanksgiving-Themed Book and Activity Day

Choose a Thanksgiving or fall-themed book and build a simple afternoon around it. Read the book together, make a related craft or snack, and talk about the themes or historical ideas in the story.

This is an easy way to add seasonal fun without creating an entirely separate unit study.

Read more: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Activities

Host a Thanksgiving Poetry Teatime

A Thanksgiving poetry teatime is one of my favorite November homeschool activities. Some years we have enjoyed this activity with just family, and other years we have invited homeschool friends. All you need is a few Thanksgiving-themed poems, a cozy beverage, and some festive treats.

Literary Adventures for Kids has a fantastic Holiday Poetry Teatime plan available. It features twelve themed poetry teatimes, enough for an entire year. There is a Thanksgiving teatime that is perfect for November.

Read more: Hosting Thanksgiving Tea with Poetry

November Homeschool Themes

November offers plenty of natural themes for learning. You can build an entire unit study around one topic or simply use a theme as a starting point for books, science experiments, writing, art, and hands-on activities.

Here are some November homeschool themes to consider:

  • Fall
  • Elections
  • Turkeys
  • Thanksgiving
  • Harvest
  • Thanksgiving foods
  • Trees
  • Gratitude
  • Animals preparing for winter

November Homeschool Unit Studies

These homeschool unit studies are perfect for November. A ready-made unit study can take a lot of the planning off your plate.

Here are some November homeschool unit studies worth checking out.

Rabbit Trails Through Thanksgiving

Elementary-age students will learn about the first Thanksgiving with the book The Thanksgiving Story. After reading the story, they will complete copywork and themed hands-on activities. This Thanksgiving unit study is intended to last 1 – 2 weeks.

Thanksgiving Online Unit Study

Middle-elementary through middle school students will learn all about Thanksgiving with this unit study. They will complete activities that teach about the history of Thanksgiving, the science behind Thanksgiving parade floats, and Thanksgiving presidential traditions.

Elections Online Unit Study

Students will learn all about the American election process with this online unit study. It is geared for middle-elementary through middle school students and lasts 3 to 4 weeks.

November Homeschool Freebies

Thanksgiving Scramble

This free resource is one of the November homeschool activities that I always included in a Thanksgiving-themed boredom busting basket. Children will cut out the letters and see how many new words they can make from the letters of Thanksgiving-themed words.

Mashed Potatoes Listening Game

I remember the years when my children would only eat mashed potatoes, rolls, and pie on Thanksgiving, so I thought this freebie from All About Learning Press was a great fit for November. This game is so silly that kids are bound to listen to it.

Thanksgiving Interactive Notebook

This Thanksgiving interactive notebook guides students through Thanksgiving educational activities. Students will compare and contrast Thanksgiving traditions, write Thanksgiving poetry, complete a Thanksgiving book review, and more!

Rabbit Trails Through Elections

This election unit study follows the same format as other Rabbit Trails products. Elementary-age students read books related to the history of elections and then complete related hands-on activities and copywork exercises.

Elections and the Voter

This free unit study from Pandia Press is a fantastic resource for 7-12 year olds learning about the American election process. It contains a full week of history lesson plans, including a chapter from their history curriculum.

November Homeschool Books

November is a wonderful month to add seasonal books to your homeschool reading. Thanksgiving, fall, gratitude, harvest, turkeys, and changing seasons all provide opportunities to find books that connect naturally with what your children are learning.

Here are a few November homeschool book ideas can help you build a seasonal reading list.

November Homeschool Field Trips

November can be a great month to get out of the house and enjoy hands-on learning experiences. The weather is often cool enough for outdoor adventures, while farms, museums, and historic sites offer plenty of opportunities to connect your field trips to your homeschool lessons. I suggest going on November field trips early in the month before families start traveling for Thanksgiving.

Here are some November homeschool field trip ideas to consider:

  • Farm
  • Historic site
  • Native American cultural center or museum
  • Bakery
  • Grocery store
  • Art museum
November homeschool activities written in a circle between voting sticker, pumpkin pie, Mars, and American flags
Save this post full of November homeschool activities so you can easily find these ideas again!

November Educational Holidays

These special days are meant to be a fun addition to your homeschool, but they are certainly not inclusive of all November holidays. To see another list of November holidays, silly and important, check out NationalToday.com.

Library and Information Services Awareness Month – November is Library and Information Services Awareness Month. I have been learning quite a bit about this specialty ever since my daughter decided she was interested in becoming a librarian.

I put together an Introduction to Library Science course. It is great for any high schooler interested in a career as a librarian, but I don’t think you have to want to be a librarian to enjoy some of the book choices.

Another way to celebrate this special month is by simply visiting your local library. I’m sure the library staff would appreciate a kind word of appreciation.

National Novel Writing Month – Many people choose to try their hand at writing novels in November. This exercise is often called NaNoWriMo.

Any writing is great, but if your kids want a little extra structure, try checking out the free NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers program. Kids might enjoy writing during a writer’s workshop.

National Family Literacy Month – November is also National Family Literacy Month. I’m beginning to sense a theme with the topics this month.

There are many ways to weave family literacy into your days:

3rd – Election Day (This varies by state and county for local elections.) – Voting is important. Help kids understand why voting is important with these election books for kids. They will also learn about the election process.

4th – National Candy Day – If your kids went trick-or-treating on Halloween, I suspect you might have lots of candy in your house. You do not need to add any additional candy on National Candy Day!

Instead, try using the candy you do have with these history of candy ideas.

8th – STEM / STEAM Day – STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. A few ways to celebrate the day include:

The great thing about STEAM Day is that it is fun for kids of all ages. Young kids can do easy activities, and older students can do more challenging projects. For extra fun, try getting a few homeschool families together to do STEAM activities together.

Perhaps meet at a local park to keep the mess outside.

9th – Go to an Art Museum Day – November 9th is Go to an Art Museum Day; however, you don’t have to go in person. Sometimes schedules just don’t work out to let you actually go on field trips whenever you want. In those situations, virtual field trips are a great option. There are a few links to virtual art museum tours in this post of free virtual field trips.

11th – Veterans Day – Veterans Day is special in my household. My husband spent the first few years of our marriage serving in the United States Air Force. My daughter was along for the ride the last few years of his service, but I know she doesn’t remember anything about that lifestyle.

Reading books about Veterans Day, looking at old photos, and talking about our service members is a way to remember that part of our lives.

12th – Beginning of Get Outdoors Week – Switch up your nature walk for Get Outdoors Week. My family goes for a walk most afternoons.

Every once in a while, we switch it up and go for a walk after dark. We notice things at night that we don’t see during the day. One benefit of the time change coming up is that we can go for walks in the dark a little earlier.

Hike Day is November 17th. It is a wonderful way to get a little extra family time.

Add to this nature study with a nature identification app.

21st – National Gingerbread Cookie Day – I’m not really sure why National Gingerbread Cookie Day is in November, but I will never turn down a chance to celebrate with cookies.

When my kids were younger, we had an annual Gingerbread Day. It was so much fun! We built gingerbread houses, baked and decorated cookies, went on a gingerbread walk, and even made gingerbread slime.

23rd – Fibonacci Day – Fibonacci Day is a day dedicated to Leonardo Fibonacci. He was a mathematician who discovered the Fibonacci sequence (each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. The sequence begins 1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and continues indefinitely.)

Fibonacci Day is the perfect time to add a little extra math to your day by reading a few of these Fibonacci picture books.

26th – Thanksgiving – I created a master Thanksgiving post to make it easy to find all of my Thanksgiving content. There you will find:

  • Book suggestions
  • Thanksgiving poetry teatime
  • Parade activities
  • Charlie Brown Thanksgiving ideas
  • Thanksgiving science experiments
  • A great unit study about the history of Thanksgiving in the White House
  • Free printables
  • Thanksgiving lesson plans
  • Craft ideas

I recommend spacing these ideas out all through November rather than trying to do everything when you are already busy prepping for Thanksgiving dinner.

However, if you need a little bit of quiet time on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday, try setting out a boredom-busting basket full of fun hands-on activities.

28th – Red Planet Day – Mars is known as the red planet. Learn more about Mars and the other planets with these solar system activities.

November Homeschool Planning Tips

November can be a really busy month for homeschool families. Between Thanksgiving preparations, family gatherings, and travel, your regular homeschool routine may look a little different.

A little planning can help you enjoy the season without feeling like you’re falling behind.

Keep using your regular curriculum

You don’t need to turn November into one giant Thanksgiving unit. Keep the core subjects moving as usual and add seasonal activities, books, and projects around them.

Choose a Few November Themes

Rather than trying to cover every seasonal topic, choose two or three themes that interest your children or naturally fit in with your lessons.

Reserve seasonal books early

Make a November library list based on the topics you’re studying. Reserve popular Thanksgiving and fall books early, since seasonal titles can become difficult to find as the holiday approaches.

Plan Around Your Family’s Schedule

Look at your November calendar before planning your November homeschool activities. If you know you’ll be traveling or hosting family for several days, plan lighter homeschool days around those dates.

Don’t Try to Do It All

There are so many fun November homeschool activities that it can be tempting to fill your lesson planner with them. Choose the activities your family will actually enjoy and let the rest go. You don’t have to do everything all in one year.

I hope these fun November homeschool activities help you have a great month. This is a wonderful time of year!

Check out these other fun activities for different months!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Welcome! My name is Jennifer. I am a teacher at heart. Before my children were born I was a public school teacher. Now, I am a homeschooling mom of two.