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Diving into Homeschool Unit Studies : The Dos and Don’ts

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I think about sharing what swirls around in my head and what I am so passionate about, I get plain giddy.

Diving into Homeschool Unit Studies The Dos and Don'ts @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I want to share a few pointers from my sweat and tears to help you put together a unit study.

Diving into Homeschool Unit Studies:  the dos and don’ts list type of approach keeps things simple for me to remember.  I hope a short list like this will keep things simple for planning a homeschool unit study.

do and do not listv2

Do not think you have to incorporate every single subject into the topic.

It makes me exhausted thinking about it.

With the abundance of curriculum available, use what you have in your home already to cover subjects that don’t fit naturally.

Eliminating Meaningless Subjects in Homeschool Unit Studies

Covering topics that your family finds more captivating keeps the unit study meaningful.

Focus on what captivates you.  Find your family’s groove and move on.

That simple tidbit keeps the stress level down and energy level up for learning.

Do not have an unrealistic view of the in-depth planning that may need to be done on the front side.

I know it doesn’t sound very flattering but I have to be realistic. Who is afraid of hard work anyway?

After all, we are homeschooling our kids, which a lot of people find over the top hard.

On the other hand, along with hard work comes a very REWARDING payoff.

My sons remember the material we cover from unit studies more than any other approach I have used.

For a lot of families, including us, unit studies have meant a level of mastery on the initial study.

Do not be setback, if at first, your children do not respond to this new way of learning.

The unit study approach has such wide spread freedom that not everybody feels so comfortable with it.

An older child may want a check off list for the day.  Make them one or better yet have them journal what they learned in their student planner.  I do not make my boys do this every day now.

You may want a check off list. You know how I feel about my 7 Step Homeschool Planner. I use it. At first, we all did journaling so I could gauge progress. I needed to see what we have done.

do and do not list 1

Do understand the basic definition of a unit study THEN redefine it to meet your needs.

One very simple definition of a unit study is to use any curriculum available {free or otherwise} to teach your children about a topic.

I can go one step further for you and define curriculum.

Curriculum includes books, workbooks, DVDS, CDS, a set of subjects, life’s experiences AND parental influences, social situations, hands-on experiments, games, lessons learned from everyday contact or modeled by peers, family or other adults.

Some homeschoolers use only real books and others will incorporate text books.
I blogged in a previous post what my definition is of a unit study.  “I define a unit study as a study on any subject that delights us.”

True, while I lean more toward living books, I never close my mind toward a wonderful text book. Look at my post From Textbook to Homeschool Unit Study Starter to use what you have to start a unit study. No need to spend a ton of money.

Do recognize which subjects are easier to cover in a unit study and which ones are not.

Too, this depends on the topic. I have listed them here generally. Just remember this is subjective because some units can be very language arts or math oriented.

Subjects easier to cover: history, science, art, Bible, memorization, geography, art, vocabulary, literature, composition, character building, music, and physical education.

Subjects not as easy to incorporate are: math, grammar, spelling, and phonics. {books can be readers but learning how to read with direct phonics instruction is important}

I don’t force a fit if it doesn’t come naturally.

Do keep in mind introductions and first impressions are everything.The same is true with a unit study.

Though many unit study ideas say to have an ending event to culminate the unit study, I find it equally important to open with something that grabs your kids’ attention and whets their appetite.

With the FBI unit study, we watched a documentary on the FBI {pop some popcorn, oh yeah baby}.

On the Amazon rain forest we also watched a documentary about the rain forest.

On War Between the ‘Tates, we had my sweet sis come over who did American Civil War reenactments.

She helped us to step back in time. My sons remember those events.

Whet their appetite for learning and they won't easily forget

It could be something as simple as reading a book, solving a mystery, playing a game or visiting a museum to set the mood.

Lastly, I put to picture, what I feel, is the process to a unit study. Unfolding of a Unit Study I Sip - The Steps @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The I SIP process stands for immersion, separation, investigation and personalization of the material.
I will be posting more about each of these steps in upcoming posts, but I wanted you to see how to funnel down the information to your family.

Understanding the process is key to developing a unit study that is memorable.

Don’t rush the unit study because you may miss out on how learning comes alive and actually takes place.

I am inspired by this quote today as we take responsibility in educating the next generation outside of the box when diving into homeschool unit studies.

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.

Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.”

-Jim Rohn-

Are you following the unit study approach?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature

Also check out my 10 Days of Diving into Unit Studies by Creating One Together

 

Should I Let My Homeschooled Teen Graduate Early?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The question should I let my homeschooled teen graduate early crossed my mind a few years before high school.

My oldest son was the kind of teen that never needed to be reminded of deadlines and pretty well knew that he wanted to do some missionary type of work after graduation and before he pursued a career.

Too, even before taking his high school courses, he would work into the afternoon without my prodding him to do so. 

In ninth grade, I could have noted the 8 credits he had because we schooled year around and because he didn’t mind working long hours on his curriculum.

If he kept up that schedule and pace, he could easily have graduated in about 3 years depending on the number of high school credits I had planned.

In other words, I just knew he was on the path to early graduation.  Do you know that my plan was for him to graduate early? 

If you have been following me for a while, you know however, that our lives took a significant change when the Mr. had his heart attack during the 10th grade year of Mr. Senior 2013.

Mr. Senior 2013 stepped up and helped me run our business while my husband recuperated and of course, my son’s schooling suffered.

Instead of focusing on the sad time then though, I always like to focus on the good that came out of that for all of my boys. 

Should I Let My Homeschooled Teen Graduate Early @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Though, Mr. Senior 2013 did not graduate early as planned, I realized that he didn’t mind at all because he learned more about our family owned business then he ever knew before.

He has learned valuable skills in customer service because he was the one that had to go with our installation guys to our customer’s homes.

I was very nervous, but like a lot of our mature homeschooling teens he was equal to the task.

Though things don’t always happened as planned, I still see many positives for allowing a mature teen to graduate early.

If a teen knows what they want to pursue, then they have extra time to pursue what interests them.

There are many teens who are mature and already know that they want to pursue a career that requires minimal college time. 

I knew one teen boy in our homeschool group that knew he was going to be a chef and wanted to start pursuing culinary classes.

In his early high school years, he was hosting food parties in his home cooking for people.

He had a true gift for the culinary arts and his parents recognized the need to allow him to pursue his dream.

Many schools encourage a gap year and see the benefit of it.

Does it really matter if your teen takes a “gap” year earlier? 

Only you as the homeschool parent knows if your teen is mature enough to take a gap year and pursue what interests them.

High achieving and mature teens are ready to get on with their life.

Some teens are high achievers and are ready to get on with their life.

On the flip side, homeschooling is about recognizing the different personalities of our teens and some want to be done with the “book learning” part of school so they can get on with doing activities they know will help them be independent adults.

They may never be the bookish type of person but our teen may still be mature enough to have already decided what course he or she will pursue.

Too, teens feel the same satisfaction that we do as adults when it comes to knowing that they can finish early if they have fulfilled the number of high school credits we require.

If a teen is on the college track, then wouldn’t a year head start help him or her to add a internship to the mix, pursue some other goals or just get them ahead in college?

Homeschooling highschoolers can be complicated, but you don’t have to worry about ALL the choices, just concentrate on what your teen needs.

There is nothing wrong with a teen not being ready to finish high school earlier because teens all mature at different rates and there is no rush – really. 

They only have one time in their life to be carefree, independent, yet totally needing your guidance.

There are so many things that affect whether or not it’s beneficial for a homeschooled teen to graduate early, but in the end all that matters is the decision that allows your teen to pursue his or her chosen course when they are ready.

What about you? Do you have a teen you feel may graduate early?

Hugs and love ya,

 

Check out these other posts to help with homeschooled high school teens:

Homeschool High School Readiness?

Homeschool High School How To Prepare THE Transcript

Homeschoolers Who Want More Than College

Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School?

When You Feel Like a Homeschool Failure

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Admitting homeschool failure is not easy. Homeschooling has always been the right choice for our family although many years I wasn’t sure if I was the right teacher for the job.

When You Feel Like a Homeschool Failure

When you feel like a homeschool failure as a teacher, it can be a pretty gray period because you feel like you have really messed up your children.

I was a contributing factor for Mr. Senior 2013 getting behind in math.

Yep I did, I messed him up. First, let me tell what I did and then tell you what I learned.

Homeschool Failure or Wrong Ways to Homeschool?

We had been using Math U See and I didn’t think he was absorbing the formulas as well as I thought he should; I switched him to Teaching Textbooks right before high school.

Shortly after we started using it during high school, I realized that Teaching Textbooks put him behind and that he was actually ahead of where I thought he was. 

So we switched back to Math U See.

Can I just tell you how bad I felt?

Although I had been homeschooling for a while, I still didn’t recognize that Mr. Senior 2013 was just at a plateau and that some of the concepts he would soon understand.

Look at some of these tips that helped me to sort through the feelings of failure I had and get us back on track.

What if they are not just getting it? 

This is a tough one because each child is different and many factors affect whether or not your child is understanding a certain subject or curriculum.

Looking back now, I should have backed up to the point where Mr. Senior 2013 understood the curriculum and isolate the math concept instead of right thinking it was the total curriculum.

When I did this later on after I made the switch of course, I realized he was getting most of Math U See, but had only reached some upper level math that required a bit more time to understand.

Questioning Your Homeschool

I knew Mr. Senior’s 2013 ability to work at higher levels and instead of accepting his difficulties as part of his development, I thought he needed to keep sprinting forward. Pushing was the mistake on my part.

I knew Mr. Senior 2013 excelled at math and did not need constant repetition.

Instead of trusting his learning style, I was afraid that I was going to hold him back and in the process I did.

What I am trying to say is that his learning style was not going to change over night and I should have looked at other things that affected him instead of just the curriculum.

What do I feel like we are going backwards? That was another question I had to ask myself.

I had to analyze everything we were doing. Was I not spending enough time with him because the younger boys were tugging at my time?

Was his schedule too full?

Knowing that Mr. Senior 2013 flourished with routine, was I allowing too many outside activities to interfere with our routine.  These were all questions I had to go back and answer.

As I have learned now, one solution would have been to take off a month and do review and go back over previous mastered material.

I could have easily grabbed one of those inexpensive work texts and just let him sat at his comfortable level for a bit until the frustration passed.

It was hard for me to come up with that solution because math is one of his best subjects.

I just didn’t realize then that my kids would even need to step back in subjects they excelled in.

Last thing I wanted to do was to bore him with previous mastered material.

That was just the thing he needed as he was going through a period of physical growth.

School had to to take a second seat to allow time for his physical and emotional development.

Is the problem in just one subject? This is another tell-tale sign of how I knew it was developmental.

When we had problems before, it was normally one subject and that is a clue that maybe I needed to switch out that one curriculum.

Other things were going on in my son’s life that helped me to see that the curriculum was not the culprit.

He pretty much struggled with the everyday basics of doing school.

I didn’t take this lightly because this was my kid who was such a joy to teach because he loved routine and didn’t have to be told to start school.

Again, it’s easier to look back now. At the time I felt like I pretty much was failing my child because I didn’t have the luxury of looking forward.

Mr. Senior 2013 was going through changes when I did a honest self-evaluation.

He was getting real mouthy, disagreeing pretty much with everything I said, started looking for a job and expressed his concern about supporting himself.

I finally understood that when I felt like a homeschool failure that my son needed me more than ever. Not all failures are a “curriculum thing”.

He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with our homeschooling because of his inexperience. 

I needed to step up and help us sort through it without my son feeling like I was going to send him to public school or throw in the towel either one.

Instead of feeling like a homeschool failure, I realized the time was closing in on how much time I would have with Mr. Senior 2013.

Mistake I Will Never Make Again

I focused on the satisfaction of knowing that his changes in puberty was a part of his life that I was proud to be part of as me and my husband guided him along.

When You Feel Like a Homeschool Failure

Experiences like feeling like a homeschool failure build a deep down resolve and dogged determination to keep on homeschooling when you come through them and can finally pinpoint the problem.

Update 2020: As I write this, my three kids have graduated and are now adults. I’m mentoring a preschooler.

All the tears, all the worry, all the stress pales into comparison to how well-rounded and successful each of my kids are. What I’ve learned is that teaching my kids about defeat, how to get up, and move on have been of way more value in their every day life than being behind.

I’ve learned it was IMPOSSIBLE to teach everything, but I taught them how to research everything they wanted to know. When they have perceived gaps now as adults, they are not intimidated. I can’t hold back my happy tears.

Moms, you GOT THIS!

Look at these other tips about how to find solutions when you feel like nothing is working.

What about you? Does this resonate with you?

Hug and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature
When You Feel Like a Homeschool Failure @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Teaching Homeschooled Boys How to Read – When to Panic!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I began to teach Mr. Senior 2013 how to read, I had read that teaching homeschooled boys how to read was a lot more challenging than teaching girls.  Guess what? It was true in my case but certainly way easier after I learned a few secrets, which I want to share with you today.
Too, sharing my experiences now after my second son is about to graduate, I feel my experiences that I may have shared early on in my homeschooling journey may have been a bit shallow.

When beginning to teach boys how to read, I needed more specifics and to not be told, “Oh well, they will just learn at their pace.”
While that statement is true, there are other specific things I did and did not do to nurture my boys’ love of reading.

Boy-Friendly Environment

Reading a lot about why boys lag behind girls, I understood early on that the learning environment I created could possibly be part of the problem.
In other words, the environment we create may cater to girls that love to sit still, color for hours and otherwise listen.


Of course girls can be wiggly too, but I am speaking generally there are differences in the genders that can be spotted early on.
I had to balance my need for an environment or school room that was organized with my boys’ need to learn out of the box.

The most important thing I had to let go of was thinking that because my boys had the need to move, learn hands-on and have a lot more physical activity that something was wrong with them.

Embrace a boy’s natural desire to get rough, move and be rowdy when teaching them to read.
I see that I had to let go of reading activities that required very little movement and include more creative tips for learning their letters and sounds.

Some boys learn well on a iPad, Kindle and leap pad, but again because of their need to move, physical activities have spanned the years as far as the best tips.

Look at some of these tips I did when letter burnout loomed overhead.

  • Use balloons. Can’t say enough good things about them.

What is there about punching anything that makes a boy get interested?

Yes, it took some time to blow up the balloons, but I got a lot of mileage out of them.

I would write letters on them with a marker and they would have to hit them up in the air while saying the letter.

Then I used them for vowel sounds, or diphthongs and later on for recognizing numbers.

  • Boys like hopscotch too. Either use chalk if you do this outside or use tape if you have to do this inside.

Tape off a section and use tape for the letters to go inside the hop scotch squares.

Too, I went and got discontinued carpet square samples and wrote on them with a permanent marker for sight words, letters or sounds.

  • Giant Puzzles.

Just to sprawl out on the floor and move around to put together a giant puzzle that is related to what you are learning was something that two of my sons looked forward to.

  • Empty plastic bottles equals endless games.

Again, anything that requires a crash and burn like throwing a ball or rolling a ball into empty plastic bottles marked with what I wanted my boys to learn was an all time favorite.

  • Never, never forget the ball in a hole activity also.

I remember one cold winter in teaching Mr. Awesome to read that the kid just loved shooting hoops anytime.

I bought a new clean plastic trash can and lots of small balls that I labeled with sight words. As he shot the ball in the basket, the word “bam” always followed the sight word on the ball.

  • Jumping off the couch, clapping their hands in the air and yelling the word.

Letting go of the no jumping off the couch rule when we schooled, Mr. Awesome thought this one of the most awesome things we ever did for the day.
It was like he was getting away with something when I let him jump off the couch, clap his hands in the air while saying the sight word I flashed at him.

Not every activity we did had to be so action packed but it always helped to sprinkle moving activities in with quiet time after sitting still.

No amount of worrying on my part could hurry the process of being ready for reading. Unless your son has a learning disability, it is normal for boys to read anywhere from between 5 to up to 9 years of age.
One of the biggest mistakes I made was focusing so much on how to read and not setting enough of an example of how to enjoy reading.
What you do not say is just as important.  Quickly, I figured out that I wanted my boys to view reading as pleasurable and not a chore.

Do not fill your reading time with always laboring over letter recognition, sounds and sight words.  Make that a part of your day, but also make part of your day reading something that your sons want read to them.
Boys do have a timetable to learn to read on and it normally is not in sync with girls.

Teaching reading is very similar to their developing into young man.

I have no control over the timetable of when my sons would have a deep voice, shave every day now and have broader shoulders but can only savor the moments of being a partner with my sons as they have grown to just not being avid readers but to young men who truly love reading for the sheer enjoyment of it.

What about you? What boy friendly activities work for you?

Also, look at these other tips. What Makes Reading Painful for Homeschooled Kids. Let Go of Busywork to Raise Lifelong Readers, Help! I Can’t Teach My Homeschooled Child How to Read – 5 Step Checklist and Teach Your Homeschooled Child How to Read in 20 Easy Lessons.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature

Homeschool Curriculum ABCs Part 2

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Curriculum is one of those topics that I have to dig through my font size to see if a smaller one exists so then maybe my post does not look as long.

It is a disease I am telling you to love collecting, using, buying, reviewing and giving advice on curriculum.

Homeschool Curriclum The ABCs Part 2 @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Yesterday, I shared Homeschool Curriculum The ABCs Part 1 and today I am finishing up my tips on Homeschool Curriculum ABCs Part 2. 

I have nuggets of experience to share on letters N to Z to help guide you in being selective about choosing homeschool curriculum.

N is for Narration.

Don’t pay for endless textbooks and worksheets when a simple and effective tool like narration is of more benefit.

Listening to our children tell back what they have learned about any topic is a way to nurture and stimulate intellectual skills.

Check out my post 3 Unexpected Benefits of Homeschool Narration.

O is for Objectives.

 Objectives are clear steps to reach a goal.

Whether you make your own or follow a scope and sequence, having even a simple objective like your child learn the ABCs or multiplication tables helps you to make forward progress as you meet each tiny objective.

Don’t wander aimlessly from year to year, focus on an objective.

P is for Pinterest.

There are too many visual learners for you to not take advantage of free lessons and curriculum found on Pinterest. Be sure you are following me on Pinterest.

Q is for Quiz.

A much overlooked tool, a quiz is something that is brief and can be done orally. There is no need to do a print quiz unless you want to.

If you went to public school, like I did, then you remember the groans and heavy sighs as the teacher announced an unplanned pop quiz.

What if, instead of a written quiz, you just orally discussed the subject?

Oh yes! Talking and a question and answer style give me that any day and I can tell you back what I learned. A quiz each day makes headway.

R is for Read Aloud.

Reading aloud should become a lifelong habit.

Read to your children ALL the way to high school. Each year as your children grow they should associate reading with warmth, security and pleasure.

How can I possibly list all the benefits associated with reading? Success in life, at work, with others and especially to have a spiritual relationship with God are of lasting value.

S is for Spice.

Spice used in the right amount added to any bland food can give it a kick.

Instead of throwing out what you may think is a bad curriculum purchase, add spice to it.

Look at this book Homeschool Spice: Help for Hum Drum School Days. It is a great read full of tips.

T is for Types of Curriculum.

Textbooks, Unit Studies, Classical, Charlotte Mason and Relaxed/Unschooling are types of curriculum.

Most of your purchases will fall into one of these categories. If you prefer one over the other, then do not waste your time at conventions, on the internet or otherwise trying to understand ALL of the other types of curriculum.

Focus on the curriculum that fits your family instead of being overwhelmed with choices.

U is for Used Curriculum.

There is an abundance of used curriculum websites on line. They have literally sprung up everywhere. It use to not be that way. One site I have a soft place in my heart and that has been around for years and years is Vegsource. Crazy name uh? 

I started following it sometime after Mr. Senior 2013 was born. I couldn’t make the connection between a website that promoted a plant-based diet and homeschooling.

I figured out along the way they homeschooled and they put a small spot on their website for selling used curriculum.

Not so small now, it still is a happening place for all things homeschool and to sell/buy used curriculum.

Side note of interest: If you get a chance, read about the background of Mr. Nelson’s family on the site. His great-great grandfather started the Armour Meat Company and now Mr.Nelson is a vegan. Talk about being removed from his roots.

V is for reVISIT.

Curriculum is about change.

A lot of homeschoolers that we help to get on the road to homeschooling feel they will stay the whole course with what they initially purchased. They have if it works now, why change it mentality. This thinking works for some projects but not for homeschooling.

Change happens not necessarily because the curriculum changes but because the needs of your children do.

A routine and curriculum can become boring and dull, then you have created a rut. A wise teacher will revisit her initial approach whether it is Charlotte Mason, Classical or Textbook to see if it still fits the needs of your children now. Find your groove at that moment and move forward.

W is for WORLD.

As veteran homeschoolers we take for granted the saying; “The World is Our Classroom”.

However, even seasoned veterans grasp for a full and rich meaning of this well known verse in the homeschool community.

For me, it means that once we abandon the mindset that we learn in one room, with one set of curriculum, at one designated time and be tested by it, we look to everyday living and the world around us for lessons.

Get out of the house. Attend a ballet, an art show, a historical reenactment or cultural event.

Learn in Tents When Homeschooling

{learn in tents,……..}

Homeschooling When Learning at the Library

{learn at the library,……}

Homeschooling Learning at a 4H Club with others

{learn at a 4h club with others, ……}

School at the Park

{learn at the park. Get out, get out.}

By observing the things God has made, we let Him be the Grand Instructor. Then our teaching truly becomes elevated, supreme and worthy.

Homeschooling Learning Outside and Pausing for Learning Moments

{A new born calf at our place was a cause for pause and a valued learning moment.}

X is for ‘XPLORE.

If there is anything that causes burnout, it is not being able to expand and explore new options. 

Choosing curriculum is more about taking what works “good enough” for our family and expanding it.

Explore options to round it out. It does not mean we have to complete the course, but we finish it. Huge difference.

Finishing it means we have used the parts that filled our needs for the year. It may or may not mean completing the whole curriculum.

Y is for YEAR.

Measure your progress using your curriculum by the year.

Sometimes we want instant results in a few months. It takes more than just a few months to see progress the progress in our children. Oh don’t use something that you think is not working at all, but don’t be so quick to abandon a curriculum because there could be other things that affects how a child is learning right now. Immaturity and growing spurts are some things we can’t control but are often culprits of our child not understanding a curriculum.

There is a lot you can’t control about learning but by measuring by the year, you will know if the curriculum was a mistake or if your child was experience a change.

Z is for ZEAL. 

The definition of zeal means to boil over.

Enthusiasm and zeal for learning is contagious.

It is more important that as the teacher, you have a zeal for learning. No amount of curriculum can impart a thirst for learning.

The example set by the parent is what becomes the curriculum. It’s not easy every day to boil over with excitement but it should be true a lot of the time.

I am hoping in these last two posts that you can quickly grab a few nuggets of experience that will tame the curriculum conundrum for you and help you to make a better choice about choosing curriculum the first time.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature