40 home-ed meet-up ideas by age

By PipsVillage · Updated 2026-11-12 · General information, not legal advice.

The best meet-ups are simple, cheap and easy to repeat. Here are forty that home-educating families use, sorted by age, with ten more that work when the ages are mixed. Pick one, name a day, and invite one other family.

Under 5

1. Teddy bears' picnic in the park.
2. Messy play in the garden: water, sand and mud.
3. A music morning with pans, shakers and songs.
4. A walk to feed the ducks and count them.
5. Story time at the library, then the swings.
6. Playdough, with a batch made together first.
7. A scooter and balance-bike meet on a flat path.
8. A colour hunt: find something for every colour of the rainbow.

Ages 5 to 7

9. A nature scavenger hunt with a list of ten things.
10. Den building in the woods.
11. Park Olympics with five events and leaf medals.
12. A baking morning: one recipe, everyone measures.
13. A pond-dipping session with nets and trays.
14. A treasure hunt with a hand-drawn map.
15. A craft swap, where each family brings one activity.
16. Bug hotels, built and checked a week later.

Ages 8 to 11

17. A science morning: each family brings one experiment.
18. A book club with cake.
19. A museum trip with a challenge sheet the children write themselves.
20. A market day, where children make, price and sell.
21. Orienteering in a country park.
22. A board-game afternoon.
23. A junk-model engineering challenge: tallest tower or strongest bridge.
24. A geocaching walk.
25. A sports morning with rounders or football.
26. A coding or stop-motion animation session.

Ages 12 and over

27. A climbing or bouldering session.
28. A cook-off, with teams and a budget.
29. A study group for a shared exam subject.
30. A film club with a discussion afterwards.
31. A photography walk with a theme.
32. A volunteering day: a beach clean or a litter pick.
33. A debate afternoon, with topics the teenagers choose.
34. A bike ride with a cafe stop.
35. A games tournament, tabletop or video.
36. A day trip planned and budgeted by the teenagers.

Mixed ages

37. A picnic and a walk: the simplest meet-up of all.
38. A beach or river day.
39. A skills swap, where older children teach younger ones something.
40. A seasonal party: harvest, winter, spring or end of term.

Making it happen

Keep the first one short, about an hour and a half, in a public place and in the daytime. Choose a spot with toilets and somewhere to shelter. Then repeat it: the same place on the same day does more for friendships than a new adventure every week. Our guide to home-ed meet-ups covers hosting and safety in more detail.

Need families to invite?

PipsVillage is a free-to-join app that shows you home-educating families near you, with their children's ages and interests. You heart the families that look like a fit; when they heart you back you can chat and plan a meet-up. Exact locations are never shown, children's names stay private, and it's adults only. If you're the first family in your town, you're the one the next family finds. Join PipsVillage free. You can also create an event in the app and share it with families nearby.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good first home-ed meet-up?
A picnic and a walk in a public park on a weekday morning, for about an hour and a half. It needs no booking, costs nothing and works for every age.

How do I organise a meet-up for mixed ages?
Choose an open-ended activity such as a picnic, beach day or skills swap, where older children can help younger ones, and a place with space to spread out.

How often should home-ed families meet?
Weekly works best for friendships. The same place on the same day each week helps children know who will be there.