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unit studies

From Textbook to Homeschool Unit Study Starter

February 2, 2015 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

In my post Homeschool Unit Study Textbook Tips – Uh? I wanted to encourage you to take a no holes barred attitude toward unit studies by even using textbooks.  Creativity in planning can be nurtured by anything and a textbook is no exception.

Today, I want to show you how to bring to life a unit study using a textbook by going from textbook to homeschool unit study starter.

Remember, normally at the beginning of a topic is where you decide if you are just going to do child-led interest on one topic as enrichment or if you are going to do a full-blown unit study.

Right now though for the sake of showing you an example, I am going to use a textbook page below and we are not going to worry about making that call right now.

Too, I took this page of a chapter because it is a great example of information that can be extracted to start your own study.

The copy is from a page about the French Revolution and actually when planning my unit study for the French Revolution, I gave it a glance.

Right away on Number 1, it gives you an idea of a time period to cover.

Textbooks cover broad strokes and this page is no exception because it gives you a longer time period to study about than just the French Revolution.It also includes the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

For my unit study needs, I preferred a more narrow time period so I chose only the period of the French Revolution, which was from 1789 to 1799.

Here you have several choices for your own unit study and questions I would ask myself when planning are: What interests my children? What topics have we not covered? What topics can I connect to previous unit studies?

All of these questions help me to narrow my topic to just the French Revolution so that I could focus on that significant event in world history.

How to Create a Unit Study Outline in 10 Minutes

Another way to grow this page into a unit study is if you wanted to do a unit study based on a historical figure like Napoleon Bonaparte.

Then you could zero in on the years of Bonaparte’s lifetime and use the events on this page of the French Revolution as significant events in his life.

Overlapping events is a strong point in unit studies.

To keep from being overwhelmed with events and information, focus on ONE main topic either the French Revolution or Napoleon Bonaparte and then use the other one you did not choose as a sub-topic.  Both of these topics are connected and you want to introduce them to your children.

The difference in a unit study is that you will work your way from the inside (or main topic) to connect it the outside (sub-topics) and sub-topics will normally have less focus or information.

Key is deciding which main topic is important to your family so that not all information gets the same of time and attention.

Number 2 or Key Events gives a starting point as to what sub-topics to include under the topic of French Revolution.

To use my choice of focusing only on the French Revolution as an example, I could use only the first two events as sub-topics to read more about or to learn about because they pertain to just the French Revolution.

When I research about those two sub-topics, other sub-topic will emerge.  But using two of the points under this sections gives me a point to begin.

Number 3 or The Impact Today gives you a starting point to making a connection today. It is not always necessary to make a connection to present time. This is a feature of a textbook because it gives you a lot of information to gulp.

You will want to decide with each other unit study whether or not it is necessary to make information connect to present day.  You may think that making a connection to present day is always a good idea but I have not found that to be so when teaching a unit study.

Because I kept my unit study of the French Revolution on a middle school level, I didn’t want Tiny to have to make a connection to present day.

Our French Revolution was his first introduction to it and I wanted Tiny to lounge in the time period for a while.  I created a board game so that he could become familiar with that time as well.

In other words, I am giving you ideas as to what goes on in my mind as I look at resources and weigh them against my objectives or goals.

There was no need for me to push Tiny to weigh all the political issues because this will be presented again in high school and at that time we will look at a connection to present day.

Too, if I was doing this unit study with my highschooler, I may grab one of the points to assign a persuasive writing paragraph or two to my highschooler.

The topics under this area are a natural fit for writing why my highschooler may agree or might not agree with one of the ideas.  In addition, if you decided to make a connection to present day, you could still use one of these ideas for a language arts assignment.

Number 4 or the timeline I would eyeball as making a helpful printable to remember some of the key events for my middleschooler.

Too, the events on the timeline could also be used as sub-topics to cover or if one of them interested my children, we could take our time reading about one of the events or key persons.

In addition, the timeline is helpful when deciding what topics to choose to write about.

How to Kill Boring Homeschool Unit Studies

From the timeline, I created a board game so that Tiny became more familiar with the events of the French Revolution.

Also, creating cards for memorizing these events, making a visual timeline, writing about the life of King Louis XVI, making French bread, making a French pastry, studying French fashion are also a few more ways to bring these events alive for this time period.

All of these ideas can be a springboard from this timeline.

Even the picture of the globe or Number 5 could be helpful here.

Taking out our atlas, we could look up this area and label the countries to get our geography bearings about where this significant event in world history took place at.

Creating a salt dough map (always a favorite of ours) can be another hands-on activity.  Also because geography includes modern day issues a country may be facing, we did make a quick connection to modern day France by highlighting one of their issues about energy by creating a solar oven.

Too, the solar oven craft would also be part of a science related topic for this unit study.

When looking at how to include geography remember that geography is not just about labeling maps.

Geography involves the culture, religion, food, present day problems and issues a country may be facing and products made by that country.

If you find a list of products made by a country, past or present, the list could be used to give you ideas for relative crafts and hands-on meals.  For example, when we studied Africa, we made a meal.

When studying about the country of France, this unit study could be extended to make a French crepe, study wine making or making a French meal.

To cover art, focus on famous French artists from that time period or architect designed during that time period.

As you can see, a textbook page just starts the ideas flowing for a unit study and your creativity is the only thing that will handcuff you in any unit study.

Once you start the creative juices flowing with a unit study, it becomes easier to do the next one.  Like anything, every day use of the lesson planning muscles strengthens with use.

Using something you have like a textbook not only lessens the lesson planning stress, but it is a frugal idea when you are a beginner at unit studies.

Planning unit studies from living books is always a great start but not having one should not hold you back from trying a unit study or two.

How about you? Have you tried making a unit study come to life through resources you already have?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina 2015 Signature

 

 

4 CommentsFiled Under: Teach Unit Studies Tagged With: hands-on, unit studies

100 BEST Hands-on Free Native American Resources

November 13, 2014 | 12 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today I have a round up of 100 free Native American resources.

We are fascinated with learning about so many different regions of the Native Americans as well as their proud past, fascinating hands-on activities, and understanding their language.

I have divided this page by learning category to make it easier for you to locate the kind of activity you are looking to do.

100 BEST Hands-on Free Native American Resources

Check out my round up and I hope a few of these ideas spark a creative touch for you when it comes to learning about Native Americans.

Native American Arts, Crafts, and Activities

There’s no doubt that much of the focus on doing a Native American unit study should be hands-on activities. This round up of arts, crafts, and activities covers a bit for each age.

  • Create a Listening Doll
  • Simple Inuit Crafts
  • Make a Fun Birchbark Canoe Craft
  • Frugal DIY Easy Corn Shaker
  • Build An Indoor Campfire
  • Paper Weaving Indian Corn
  • Bubble Wrap Indian Corn
  • Make a Wampum Belt
  • Dream Catcher with hearts
  • Make an Animal Hide with Brown Paper Bag
  • Small Drums out of Salt Container
  • Piper Cleaner Wigwam
  • Native American Vest with Brown Paper Bag, Foil and ribbon
  • Cherokee Rattle Craft
  • How To Make Native American Dress Up
  • Paper Satchel
  • Storytelling with Stones
  • Tiny bow and “Safe”Arrow
  • Make Authentic Arrows
  • Cornhusk Doll, Pinch Pot, Early American Weaving
  • Make Indian Paper Beaded Necklace
  • Edible Mini Indian Corn
  • Recycled Turtle Shell Rattle
  • 5 Activities for Native American History

 Also, you’ll love these other unit studies to go with this study of the Native Americans. The NaturExplorers science series are for multiple ages and gives you several topics to choose from. We loved the the fruits and nuts.

Our Journey Westward

In addition, you’ll love these books about Native Americans. Some are about the Trail of Tears and a few others we loved.

 Books About Native Americans

Books About the Trail of Tears

Furthermore incorporating a living books approach to geography by Beautiful Feet brings learning about this time period alive.

You’ll love this learning Geography through Literature approach when learning about Native Americans.

Furthermore, adding a few clip art sources and some coloring pages allows you to add these resources for a unit study or just as enrichment in your study.

Clip Art about Native Americans

  • Pic of Native Americans
  • Clip Art, Etc.

Native American Coloring Pages

  • Native American coloring pages for adults
  • 52 Page Learn About Texas Indians Coloring & Activity Book
  • Native American Coloring Pages

Native American Dioramas

  • A Fun Cradleboard Craft
  • Teepee Indian Village Diorama
  • Many ideas here for studying the Cherokee
  • A variety of Native American Dioramas

Then have you seen this unit study at Home School in the Woods?

This unit study that would compliment the Native American unit and it is a Colonial Unit Study and Lapbook over at Home School in the Woods which is one our favorite hands-on history programs.

Native American Lapbooks

  • Iroquois Lapbook
  • Squanto Lapbook
  • Plains Indians
  • French and Indian War Lapbook
  • Iroquois Lapbook
  • The Inuit And Arctic Region Lapbook
  • Meso-America Lapbook
Our Journey Westward

Too, I have included some lesson plans below in case you want to study another topic or use it for a jumping off point.

 Native American Lesson Plans

  • Plains Indian
  • Native Americans Elementary Lesson
  • Images of Woodland Indians Grades 7 – 12
  • Not Just Another Native American Lesson Plan Grade 2
  • Our Native Americans Grade 3
  • Taming the Frontier Grades 9  – 12
  • English Indian Encounters Grades 9 – 12
  • Native Americans and World War 11 Grades 9 – 12
  • American Indian Art Grade 3

HOW TO EASILY BRING HISTORY ALIVE

Also, coloring is an easy way to bring any subject alive. You may love history coloring pages.

Here is what the 10 page download contains.

I put a few key words to explain each picture on the page. This way you can use the coloring pages as title pages too.

Page 3:  Native American on horseback,
4: Lewis and Clark Trek,
5: Lewis and Clark and The Piegan,
6: Lewis and Clark Exploring Rivers,
7: The Plains Indians,
8: Pioneer Life,
9: Moving West, 10: Westward Ho,
11: Settlers, and
12: Fur Trappers and Mountainmen

Grab your fun copy below!

  • 0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    0. Westward Expansion History Fun 10 Coloring Pages

    $1.75
    Add to cart

Science, Sign Language, Folks Tales, & MORE!

  • Round up of Native American Symbols
  • Acorn Use by California Native Americans
  • Guide for Marking Horses in Battle
  • The Cherokee Alphabet and How to Use It
  • Venn Diagram Illustration – Colonist and Native Americans
  • Native American Folktales
  • Native American Cinderella
  • The WampanoagTribe
  • Native American Sign Language

Native American Printables for Kids

  • Writing Prompts
  • Free Leather Craft Patterns
  • Free Poster and Predictions
  • Color Canoe, Paper Figures
  • Tribal Regions of the United States
  • Native American Tribes Word Search
  • Native American Form to Write a Report
  • Read Kansas! Middle School – M-7 Indian Removal to the Great American Desert

Native Americans Recipes

  • Native American Recipes
  • Ojibwe Fry Bread Recipe
  • Cherokee Garden Pan Bread
  • Apache Corn Soup to Zuni Corn Soup

Teacher’s Guides For Studying Native Americans

  • Native American Pottery Making Methods 3-12
  • We Have A Story To Tell Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region Grades 9-12
  • Plains Indians Teacher Guide
  • Infectious Disease Grade 6 – 8
  • Native American Lesson Plans 6 – 12

Native American Unit Studies

  • Native Americans by Region
  • Native American Cherokee and Shawnee
  • Free Native American Unit Study
  • Native American Unit Study
  • Montessori Inspired Native American Unit Study
  • Upper Elementary Native American Unit Study

You Tube, Media, Interactive

  • Story Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
  • Music – Earth Songs
  • The Math Catcher stories are free and are a great combination of math and Native American culture.
  • America Before Columbus
  • What Can You Make From a Buffalo
  • Art and History Images separated by region

What do you think?  I think I will keep adding to this growing list as I discover new gems for studying about Native Americans.

This blog hop is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutual beneficial projects. Click the image below to visit all the other blog articles from the homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network.

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12 CommentsFiled Under: 1. My FREE Learning Printables {Any Topic}, Free Homeschool Resources, Hands-On Activities, History Resources Tagged With: hands on history, hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, lapbook, lapbookresources, middleschool, Native Americans, nativeamericans, unit studies

50 Free History Unit Studies–History Lover’s Round Up

May 1, 2014 | 24 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Rounding up 50 Free History Unit Studies, I hope you can use one of these. Also, you’ll love my page Best Homeschool Unit Studies.

You know history is my first luv, okay maybe planners, well maybe organization or new homeschoolers.

I have a fixation on all of the above, but today like I mentioned I am sharing 50 Free Unit Studies.

Maybe you will find one or two ideas that will spark an interest for you or that you can use this summer or when planning for next year.


50 Free History Unit Studies

Also, you’ll love some of these other hands-on unit studies that I love.

And we’ve also used Home School in the Woods and love them too!

Too, unit studies are not anything unless they have hands-on projects.

I am sharing my favorite series of books that make teaching and learning about history a passion.

Look here at my Amazon Store to see my board or list for favorite unit study books.

Where possible, I tried to list unit studies that listed a few more teaching ideas, hands-on projects or maybe just had an idea or two to spark your creative juices.

50 History Unit Studies

Whether you're looking to switch up your approach or want to focus on one aspect of history while homeschooling, you'll love this round up history unit studies.

Photo Credit: www.proverbialhomemaker.com

George Washington Carver Unit Study

The Groundbreaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver

Photo Credit: www.homegrownlearners.com

Benjamin Franklin Unit Study

Our simple Ben Franklin Unit Study has been a lot of fun.

Photo Credit: www.proverbialhomemaker.com

Beric the Briton by G.A. Henty - FREE Unit Study!

But before the Romans brought civilization to Britain, the British were called Britons and they were actually barbaric!

Photo Credit: ourjourneywestward.com

Settling the New World: Colonial History Unit Study

Over the course of about six weeks, our Colonial History unit study covered everything from the first colonies of Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth to the settlement of the 13 original colonies to life in colonial times.

Photo Credit: ticiamessing.com

These courageous explorers changed the course of history, the Age of Exploration

These courageous explorers changed the course of history, the Age of Exploration.

BEST Westward Ho Unit Study and Lapbook!

The trail began as a footpath of the Indians and was later used by explorers, fur trappers, and missionaries.

Between 1841 and 1869 the Oregon Trail was used by settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners, and businessmen migrating to the Pacific Northwest.

Photo Credit: educationpossible.com

Discover the 13 Colonies Notebooking and Activity Unit

This 13 Colonies notebooking unit is a great addition to your middle school history lessons.

Photo Credit: rabbittrailshomeschool.com

The Underground Railroad Unit Study

The Underground Railroad is a topic in history I was excited to cover with my kids in our homeschool. 

Photo Credit: www.homegrownlearners.com

Study of The Adventures of Robin Hood

I am able to pause our reading in The Story of The World for a couple of weeks to work on a thorough study of The Adventures of Robin Hood

World War II Free Resources For a Middle School Unit Study

I rounded up some World War II free resources for a middle school unit study because I plan on tackling this tough part in American history soon.

Photo Credit: homeschoolgiveaways.com

FREE Great Depression Unit Study

Check out this FREE Great Depression Unit Study and start exploring the past–and how it relates to the present–today!

Photo Credit: ticiamessing.com

Looking to get your kids involved in learning about Ancient Babylon?

The Babylonian ruins were particularly fascinating to explore as they had large portions of walls that were intact in the museum to explore.  

Photo Credit: www.theunlikelyhomeschool.com

Ancient Egypt: Mummified Apple Experiment

When beginning a study of world history, it's always best to begin at the beginning...with ancient civilizations.

Photo Credit: raisingroyalty.ca

History Resource: Ancient China

Ancient China is such an interesting historical study

15 Hands-on History Ideas for Kids Studying the French and Indian War

The French and British discovered prior to the French and Indian war that they were claiming lands that were not empty. The Iroquois had been in the New York State for several hundred years before Europeans arrived. The British and French tried to get different Indian tribes on their side, including the Iroquois.

American Revolution Unit Study and Lapbook 1775 - 1783

American Revolution Unit Study and Lapbook 1775 – 1783

Iroquois Confederacy

We found this topic on the Haudenosaunee to be a captivating topic  because of the working thriving nation they were prior to the American Revolution but also because we wanted to view them as Benjamin Franklin would have – contemporaries or as equals.

30 Fun Resources for Learning About Daniel Boone

Today, I have rounded up 30 fun resources for learning about Daniel Boone.  He straddles quite a few epoch time periods in American history.

Photo Credit: ourjourneywestward.com

Presidents of the United States Unit

A thorough Presidents of the United States unit study can be a unique way to learn American history and geography. However, a quick study of one or more presidents can be just as great.

Photo Credit: redheadmom8.wordpress.com

Free 12-Week Greek Mythology Unit Study

Learn Greek mythology as a family with these fun hands-on activities!

Photo Credit: jimmiescollage.com

World War 1 Notebook or Lapbook

We used the Eyewitness WW1 book as our main resource, and I pulled a few chapters from True Stories of the First World War. The stories were not as good as I’d hoped. 

Photo Credit: www.123homeschool4me.com

Pilgrims for Kids

Make learning about pilgrims for kids fun and engaging with this hands on history for kids unit for preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students! T

Learning American History through the Life of Wyatt Earp - Hands-on Activities

Today, I have the newest lapbook, which is the American history lapbook, learning about The Old West through the life of Wyatt Earp finished.

Marco Polo Unit Study and Lapbook 1254 to 1324

I am so excited to finally share the free Marco Polo lapbook and unit study.

War Between the States Unit Study and Lapbook

American Civil War – The War Between the ‘Tates 1861 – 1865.

Lewis and Clark Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

Studying about Lewis and Clark has been one of the best ways to study American History. 

Vikings Lapbook Unit Study and Hands-on Activities

Your kids will love this Vikings lapbook and Vikings Unit Study. Barbarians as we use the term today had a very different meaning to the Ancient Greeks. The term Barbarian was coined by the Ancient Greeks and then used by the Romans. 

Medieval Japan Unit Study and Lapbook 1185 – 1600 A.D.

This Medieval Japan Unit Study and Lapbook covers from 1185 – 1600 A.D.{1185 – 1600 A.D.} From the end of the Heian Period to the Beginning of Tokugawa {Edo} Period.

Photo Credit: ticiamessing.com

Paul Revere unit

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. I think that was when my fascination with him started. 

Meso-America Unit Study and Lapbook

Meso-America, meaning “Middle America” is a term used to describe the lands of Central America and Mexico.

Photo Credit: www.embarkonthejourney.com

FREE King Tut Printable Mini-Unit

She loves ancient history, and can’t wait until we start studying Ancient Egypt. She’s excited to build pyramids, mummify an apple, and try to write her name in hieroglyphs. 

Photo Credit: www.proverbialhomemaker.com

Christopher Columbus Unit Study

This year we just happened to be studying Christopher Columbus leading right up to Christopher Columbus Day!

Photo Credit: homeschoolgameschool.com

Hands-On Medieval History Unit Study

Hands-On History for Homeschoolers: Medieval Times Unit Study.

Fun Ancient Greece Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook

About 2,400 years ago ancient buildings in Greece were shining marble temples dedicated to the gods of Mount Olympus. Myths were part of the every day of Greeks. We know about these stories because they have been passed down to us.  Also there is much Greek art that has survived to our day.

The FBI

J. Edgar Hoover was named Assistant Director on August 22, 1921. We focused on the time period around his start with the FBI.

Ancient Civilizations Lapbooks

Nothing better than learning the ancient civilizations in order. Grab free printables and lapbooks.

RMS Titanic Unit Study and Free Lapbook

Grab this fun and free unit study and lapbook.

Pirates Unit Study and Lapbook

Pirates unit study and lapbook. Who hasn’t heard of pirates? They conjure up in our mind scenes of swashbucklers and wealth of hidden treasures untold.

Photo Credit: ticiamessing.com

The Great Wall of China

Little known fact: The Great Wall of China is made of play dough.NO really.  That’s what we learned in our homeschool history lesson this time. It’s a little-known fact from ancient history.

Photo Credit: www.homegrownlearners.com

Learn About Davy Crockett

My son wanted to learn more about Davy Crockett.

Photo Credit: ourjourneywestward.com

Slavery and Civil War Unit Study

While this particular study was mostly literature-based, there were some fabulous materials that provided many of my lesson plans. By mostly literature-based, I mean: we chose really good books and learned about the life of slaves and struggles of the Civil War through the living literature .

Photo Credit: peanutbutterfishlessons.com

Gold Rush FREE Unit Study

It can be presented as a read aloud over about 4-5 days. Or a child that reads at the 3rd grade level or higher could read it over several days.

Photo Credit: peanutbutterfishlessons.com

US Constitution FREE Unit Study

Studying the beginnings of our Constitution always leaves me amazed! A group of people with different ideas of what this country should look like were able to come together and create a framework that has lasted for over 200 years!

Famous and Historic Trees Fun Nature and History Homeschool Unit Study

The beauty of unit studies is the ability to combine multiple subjects. This famous and historic trees fun study combines nature, history, and geography. Add in some art and music and it’s a memorable unit study.

Photo Credit: homeschoolhelperonline.com

Unit Study Based on An American Girl: Kirsten

Learn about what it would have been like to have been an immigrant pioneer by reading the American Girl Kirsten books and completing this free unit study.

Photo Credit: www.123homeschool4me.com

Jamestown for Kids Unit with Fun Activities

Discover what it was like to live in the first permanent English Settlement in America with this fun, engaging Jamestown for Kids unit study.

Photo Credit: faithandgoodworks.com

Learning About Jesse James {A Mini Unit Study Resource}

Here is a round up of resources to help you learn a little more about Jesse James,

Photo Credit: faithandgoodworks.com

Pilgrims and The Mayflower Mini-Unit Study {Part 1}

Unit study about Pilgrims, & the Mayflower,

Photo Credit: homeschoolgiveaways.com

Knights of the Round Table FREE Unit Studies and Printables

King Arthur and his loyal knights of the Round Table is such  a great story and legend to read about when you are studying knights and the Middle Ages. 

Photo Credit: www.mamaslearningcorner.com

Johnny Appleseed Printables and Unit Study Resources

John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed, was a unique man in many ways.  His greatest desire was to spread the beauty and love of the apple throughout our great country.

More Free Homeschool Unit Studies

  • 10 Days of Diving into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together
  • Super Seashore Watching Unit Study and Beach Lapbook
  • Foraging and Feasting Nature Unit Study and Lapbook 
  • A to Z List: 100 Fun Summer Homeschool Unit Study Ideas

Hugs and love ya,

24 CommentsFiled Under: Other Unit Studies Tagged With: hands-on, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, unit studies

Day 10. Unit Study Beginnings. 10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together.

April 27, 2014 | 3 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Last, but certainly not least important is to determine how to begin or open your unit study.  Unit study beginnings matter because you want a hands-on activity that will hook your children onto unit studies.

There are several ways to introduce a unit study besides reading a book though I have used that hook before to get my boys’ interest piqued in our unit study.  Most children will engage when you open your unit study with something that is not expected like a hands-on project.

Day 10. Unit Study Beginnings-1

I have used many different ways to introduce a unit study that moved me outside of the box or in this case the book.

6 Creative Unit Study Beginnings that Stick

Take a look at this last of ways to introduce your unit study that spark an interest in any hum drum unit study.

  • Instead of doing a whole lapbook, just do one small minibook.  When we studied the Native Americans, we started by creating a pop up book.  Instead of a boring quiz on what my boys knew or didn’t know about the Native Americans, we made an interactive mini pop up book.
  • Begin your unit study with a field trip.  Sure, you can save it for the end, but if you have enough places to visit, try to make it your first event too.  The field trip sets the mood for learning that topic and for my boys they could recall what they already experienced by the place we visited.  One year, I did a fall unit study with the boys and instead of reading about what fall is, I took them to a field trip where we could pick our own pumpkins and experience hands-on about fall.
rainforest - homeschool co-op

  • Begin with an easy science activity.  We tested out some plants when we began our Amazon rain forest unit.
Egyptian Game

  • Begin your unit with a game. And if you can’t find one on the topic you are studying, you can create an easy one based off the basic games like Go Fish, Battle or even trading cards.  You are only limited by your imagination.
  • Begin your unit study by listening to music or even doing a drawing, illustration, art or craft.
Moroccan Inspired Meal

  • Begin your unit study by creating a meal or favorite dish.

I hope you have enjoyed this step by step series in helping you to ease down the unit study trail.  As you can see, I feel a unit study is a superior way to teach a child though I never claim it is easy.

Sometimes it is flat out hard, but I always focus on the rewards.  I always look at my return in investment.  When my sons learn research skills early and have a say in what they want to learn with my guidance, I feel it gives them a mastery of material that would otherwise take us a few years to learn.

Doing my part in the process too by using living books, choosing topics they are enthusiastic about and working hard alongside them, keeping it all about hands-on when I would rather it be hands off at times, I have tried to reduce education boredom.

One of the biggest payoffs though is when my oldest son who is now graduated and doing college level work tells me Thank You.  His thank you comes from a place deep down inside because he knows I could have chosen a little easier path and some years I had no choice.  But where possible, I always tried to bring our learning around to a central theme or topic.

It’s true small ideas give a huge payoff.

Did you come up with a theme or try one or two unit studies?

Hugs and love ya,

10 Days of Creating A Unit Study Together

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3 CommentsFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Diving into Unit Studies by Creating A Unit Study Tagged With: unit studies

Day 9. Flow of Our Day with A Unit Study Schedule. 10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together.

April 10, 2014 | 2 Comments
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Homeschoolers are anything but typical and that difference is reflected in the flow our day with a unit study schedule.

I cringe when I think about sharing “typical homeschool schedules” only because I don’t want to ever give you the impression that this is the best way for the season of homeschooling that you are in right now.

But having said that, I would rather share with you how my unit study schedule works for my day so that you see how relaxed that it can be.  I have had many schedules, even having to schedule to half-hour increments where needed.  And all of them have worked for the various stages of homeschooling that I have been at in my journey.

So sharing the groove to our unit study day, I am hoping that you see that when planning by “blocks of time” if you can, you have more control over your day.  Freedom with a block of time still gives me boundaries and helps me to plug along in the day, but it also allows me to decide if we need to focus on a previous day’s assignment or work on the next assignment in our unit study.

The Flow of Our Day With A Unit Study Schedule

Too, I am an early riser and believe in the value of getting the day started early because I don’t want to waste any time.  No, we don’t have to start schooling right then, but I like having a little bit more time to enjoy quiet mornings.   Believe me, it was not always possible with little ones, but they grow up, trust me.

We start our day early most mornings with school too and I do occasionally begin our day with fun subjects like geography, history and science and especially if we feel a bit of burnout coming.

However, for a majority of our homeschooling years, we begin our morning focused on the 3 Rs.  I have read numerous articles throughout the years and we have experienced the same thing and that is my sons prime time for learning is first in the day.  Tackling tougher subjects first instead of giving left over time to them allows them to not be frustrated on such essential life-long skills.  For most kids tough subjects are usually math and some of language arts like writing.

It is especially important to me to cover math and grammar first because those subjects are harder to cover in a unit study and I don’t want them to suffer.  For the little ones, you will want to focus on phonics first as well.  Too, a fun hands-on project waiting to be done in your unit study is a great motivating factor for you for your kids to finish the skill subjects early.

Relaxing and savoring our moment with our unit study is more satisfying when I know that I don’t have to force a subject to fit. Get it done early and move on to the delight of the unit study.

It has been my experience to not labor subjects like math, grammar and phonics. If they fit in a unit study topic, then fine.  If not, always schedule time for them separately and move on to enjoying your day.

Blocks of time work for us. And I always make sure I have time to give to my youngest son if he is struggling and allow time for them to finish up an assignment that might have taken a little longer to cover.   A block type of schedule allows us longer stretches of time to set up our hands-on materials, work on them and not have to put them away right then for the day.  We can come back later in the day to work on them also.

As you can see from my schedule above, we are either together for out unit study from about 10:00 a.m.ish on or right after we finish our early lunch, which is normally around noon.

I decide each day how we will spend it depending on the previous day’s assignment.

A unit study schedule should have an ebb and flow, but be relaxed and flexible.

Do you think you can create an easy unit study schedule based on the tough subjects that you need to tackle first?

Hugs and love ya,

10 Days of Creating A Unit Study Together

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Day-8.-Creating-A-Unit-Study-Lesson-Plan.-10-Days-of-Diving-Into-Unit-Studies-by-Creating-a-Unit.png
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2 CommentsFiled Under: 4. {10 Days of ... Blogging Series}, Diving into Unit Studies by Creating A Unit Study Tagged With: unit studies

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