10 Creative Ways to Use Zines in Your Homeschool
What are zines?
Zines (short for magazines) are small, self-published booklets that can be about absolutely anything - from a nature journal to a silly comic series. They’re simple, flexible, and a fantastic way for kids to express themselves through writing, drawing, collage or even photography.
They’re also especially neurodivergent friendly. Zines can be:
built around special interests
broken into small, manageable steps, and
adapted to your child’s unique strengths.
If you’re new to zines and want to learn more about how they work (and why they’re such a powerful fit for neurodivergent learners), check out our Ultimate Guide to Zines for Neurodivergent Homeschoolers.
10 Zine Ideas to Try in Your Homeschool
Each one is flexible - you can adapt them for different ages, abilities, and energy levels.
Special Interest Showcase
A zine is a great way for your child to dive deeper into something they love. Each page can highlight a different angle of their interest.
For example:
A fact page with quick notes or bullet points
A ‘top 5’ list of favourites
A page of drawings or diagrams
A comic strip or short story inspired by their passion
A collage of photos, clippings, or screenshots
The finished zine can be a mix of formats - factual, creative, or purely visual - whatever feels right for your child.
ND friendly tip: Offer simple page templates (like ‘Title + Picture + 3 Facts’ or ‘List + Illustration’) so they don’t have to invent a layout from scratch.
2. Nature Journal Zine
Turn a walk in the park or a day in the backyard into a mini field guide. Your child can sketch leaves, press flowers, or paste in printed photos of bugs and birds they’ve spotted. Each page could focus on one discovery, with space for drawings and notes.
ND friendly tip: Keep the zine pocket-sized so it can be carried on walks and filled in outdoors.
3. Collection Zine
If your child has a collection they treasure - rocks, Lego, stickers, plushies, or anything else - a zine can be a fun way to showcase it. Each page could feature one special item with a drawing, photo, or short description. They might even organise the zine into categories (for example: soft toys, mini figures, rare finds.)
ND friendly tip: Use photos for items that are tricky to draw, and let your child add short captions instead of full paragraphs.
4. Animal Fact Book
A zine can double as a mini field guide for a favourite animal. Each page can explore a different aspect, such as:
What the animal eats
Where it lives (habitat)
How it grows (life cycle)
Its unique features or adaptations
Why it’s important in the ecosystem
Fun or surprising facts
They can fill pages with drawings, magazine cut-outs, or printed photos, and add text in bullet points or short captions.
ND friendly tip: Use simple headings on each page (Food, Home, Life Cycle) so your child has a clear starting point.
5. Comics and Graphic Stories
For kids who prefer to tell stories visually, a zine of comics is ideal. They could create an original character, design a superhero, or draw a fan comic about a favourite series. The format is flexible - a few panels per page, or one big illustration with speech bubbles.
ND friendly tip: Provide pre-drawn comic strip templates to lower the blank-page barrier.
6. Travel or Adventure Log
This can be a record of a real outing (like a zoo trip or a holiday) or a completely imagined journey. A page might show a ticket stub from the train, a map they’ve drawn of the zoo, or a made-up island with labelled landmarks.
ND friendly tip: Even a single-day adventure can fill a zine - it doesn’t need to be a big holiday.
7. Coping Strategies Zine
Some kids love having a ‘toolkit’ they can return to when they’re overwhelmed. This zine could include calming activities, sensory supports, affirmations, or step-by-step strategies like ‘What helps me when I feel anxious’.
ND friendly tip: Make it small and portable so your child can carry it in their bag or keep it in their nest.
8. Mini Biography
Choose a person your child admires - a historical figure, a family member, or a fictional hero. Each page could cover one part of their life: early years, challenges, achievements, fun facts.
ND friendly tip: Combine short captions with images (drawings, photos, cut-outs) to avoid overwhelming blocks of text.
9. Music Zine
Your child could make a booklet about songs they love, musicians they admire, or lyrics they’ve written. Pages could include playlists, doodles inspired by music, or mini reviews.
ND friendly tip: Encourage them to add QR codes or links to songs if they enjoy digital tools.
10. ‘Day in the Life’
Document a regular day - breakfast, activities, pets, routines, or silly moments. Kids can use a mix of doodles, photos and short captions. It’s a lovely way to capture every day memories.
ND friendly tip: Encourage your child to take photos throughout the day and then paste them into the zine later with quick captions.
Free Zine Project
Zines are such a flexible way to bring creativity into your homeschool - whether your child is filling pages with animal facts, drawing comics, or creating a toolkit of their favourite calming strategies.
If you’d like a little extra support to get started, our free Zine Zone mini project includes templates and prompts designed with neurodivergent learners in mind.
Download Zine Zone and let your child’s creativity take the lead.
