You probably spent much of your time in elementary homeschooling completing hands-on activities and projects to enhance your child’s learning, but these tend to taper off as kids get older and play is replaced by textbooks.  Here are forty hands-on activities that your older kids will love (and will keep them learning!).

One-Time Activities & Projects

History & Geography

• Use invisible ink to write a spy communication
• Perform an archaeological dig
• Create authentic-looking uniforms for the Civil & Revolutionary Wars
• Make your own historic newspaper
• Bake some pioneer hardtack
• Direct your own historic film
• Make a topographical map
• Create a salt dough map to represent an area
• Determine north with a homemade compass

Science & Math

• Plant dissection project
• Create an animal cell / plant cell
• Anatomy resources (tons of hands-on fun!)
• Model the human brain
• Create a robotic hand
• Practice taxonomy with candy
• Bake an eyeball cake
• Make your own lava lamp
• See how enzymes work
• Grow your own mushrooms
• Learn the constellations
• Watch crystals grow
• Set up a compost system and watch it in action
• Maintain an ant farm
• Use red cabbage to learn about acids and bases
• Study the mathematical concept of Pi
• See surface tension in action
• Create working circuits and electrical connections
• Practice statistical concepts using M&Ms
• Apply math using real-world concepts

Culture & the Arts

• Cook meals from around the world 
• Study contemporary art with Andy Warhol templates  
• Throw handmade pottery
• Japanese Shibori craft  
• Chalk Pastel (free e-book)
• Get up close with nature photography
• Study digital technology by making a Lego stop-action design
• Bake up homemade bread (learn how to donate it for good!)

Download a printable checklist of hands-on activities for upper grade kiddos!

Subscription Box Projects

• Craftsman Crate  (See a full review here)  This is the perfect box for teen guys who want hands-on projects. It’s also a convenient way to try out new hobbies, use your hands to create, learn skills you can keep using, and have fun, too!  Comes with real tools, complete kits, and a new project every month.  There are also video reviews for this box on our YouTube channel. Use coupon code FIRSTTEN to take 10% off The Cost: $33.77 / month   (price drops with 3, 6, and 12 month subscriptions)
•  Creation Crate  Learn how to program and build electronics with new and more challenging projects delivered to your door each month!   Creation Crate uses hands-on projects to teach 21st century skills! Users receive a new project/course every 30 days with access to an Online Classroom. Projects become more challenging as you learn new skills. All projects and courses are approved by STEM.org. Original Crate  $29.99 / month