Get On The Seasonal Learning Train, Week 3 Is Here!

🍂 Week 3 September Homeschool Curriculum – Seasonal Learning

As a homeschooling mom, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how I want to approach our learning this year, and the more I plan, the more I realize how much I love the idea of season-based, monthly themes. It gives us flexibility, it makes lessons feel relevant and alive, and it ties our family learning into the natural rhythm of the year. And if you haven’t decided on your homeschooling style, don’t hesitate to use my quizz, it’s free and will give you a bit of an indication of how you might want things to go 🙂

For Week 3 of September, I’ve created a plan that blends poetry, history, maths, Irish culture, and hands-on seasonal activities so that learning feels fresh, connected, and fun. And because I also have a very curious two-year-old at home alongside my 5th graders, I’ve added activities that she can enjoy too — so everyone gets to be part of the learning in their own way.

📅 September Week 3 Theme: Autumn in Ireland & Local Heritage

This week is all about observing the changes of autumn in Ireland, connecting with our local history and culture here in County Cavan, and getting outdoors to see, feel, and experience the season.

We’ll also take advantage of some amazing Irish September events:

National Ploughing Championships (from the 16th of Sept!) – a brilliant chance to learn about agriculture, harvest traditions, and the role farming plays in Irish history and modern culture. (Learn more here)
Harvest Festivals and Local Markets – perfect for tasting local food, practicing money maths, and connecting with the rhythm of the farming year. I am just giving an example of the Dunshaughlin one but there are so many of them around the country
Dublin Fringe Festival – a creative mix of spoken word, theatre, and visual art, a great way to connect our poetry studies with real-life performance. (for the little story, I used to work for the Fringe ages ago! It was the best hands on experience ever trying to book groups in and enjoying the shows for free :)) I am not quite sure if we will make it to one of those to be honest, as we live a good bit far from Dublin, but I am hoping to see something online! If anyone is closer, do go, it’s AMAZING!

📚 Without Further Do… Our Week 3 Curriculum Is Now Released!

The highlights of the week are: (if you want to download the parent planner with the poem it’s in: Week 3 of September,) As I always say, we do have ‘books’ as well, so for instance our maths problems are all from the Figure it out 5th grade, the cursive writing is from Follens and couple of spellbounds as well, if you are interested please drop a line and I’ll share the links.

🌸 Poetry / Language Arts

We’ll begin the week by reading an autumn-themed poem — something that captures the sights, sounds, and feelings of September mornings in Ireland. I’ll encourage the kids to look at imagery, similes, and metaphors, and then we’ll use that as inspiration for writing their own short poems about what autumn feels like to them. Later in the week, we’ll work on performing the poems, reciting them aloud, and even acting them out in a little “reader’s theatre.” This builds not only literary analysis skills but also confidence in public speaking and communication.

🏰 History & Irish Culture

Our history focus will tie into County Cavan’s heritage and autumn traditions. We’ll learn about the harvest season in Ireland, the role of markets and fairs, and stories passed down through folklore. I also plan to explore local legends and Irish myths, and we’ll compare how traditions here connect to other cultures around the world — for example, looking at how harvest is celebrated in France or Portugal where the September weather is still warm.

➗ Maths in Everyday Life

Maths this week will be very hands-on. We’ll bring out our weather kit (like this one
) and track rainfall, temperature, and cloud cover each day, recording the data in charts and graphs. We’ll also practise money maths by setting up a pretend harvest market at home — buying and selling apples, potatoes, and little treats, giving change, and budgeting. We’ll also use measurement and geometry by collecting leaves and examining their shapes, symmetry, and sizes.

🌳 Activities & Nature Study

Nothing beats heading into the forest in September, and I plan to take the kids on walks to collect leaves, acorns, and other natural treasures. We’ll take photos of trees to see how they slowly change colour and create a seasonal photo journal. Back at home, we’ll do leaf pressing, painting, and collage art with what we’ve gathered. Later in the week, we’ll explore The Burren, one of Ireland’s most fascinating natural landscapes, and use it as a living classroom to study geology, ecology, and history.

👶 Activities for My 2-Year-Old

Of course, while my big kids are doing their learning, my little one still wants to be involved! I always try to set up activities that are safe, engaging, and in line with our theme, so she feels included:

Leaf basket sorting – while the big kids study leaf symmetry, she can collect and sort leaves into baskets by size or colour.
Nature sensory tray – a shallow box filled with acorns, pinecones, and safe leaves, letting her explore textures.
Play kitchen harvest – giving her a few mushrooms and soft veg and her kid-safe knives (the good thing is I can use all of that, taken they didn’t fall on the floor, for any of dishes!
Colouring autumn leaves – simple colouring pages of apples, trees, and pumpkins keep her busy and creative.

This way, while the older ones are working on poetry or history, she’s doing her own learning and developing her fine motor skills, creativity, and love of learning. When her concentration is gone, I just need to switch on her favourite program for a few minutes or until she decides to get back to the messy trays 😉

✨ Why I Love This Approach

What I love most about this plan is that it connects our family to the real world and real seasons we’re living in. My kids aren’t just memorising facts — they’re experiencing autumn in Ireland, engaging with their local culture and history, and learning how subjects like maths, poetry, and science all interconnect in daily life.

As a homeschooling mom, I can honestly say that this kind of flexible, seasonal, hands-on curriculum feels right for us. It gives us freedom, creativity, and structure all at the same time, and it reminds me that education doesn’t have to look like rows of desks and raised hands — it can look like muddy boots, leaf baskets, poems read under trees, and math problems solved at the kitchen table.