I think the best way to explain homeschool unit studies is to share how I create them. First, let’s start with what a unit study is. Basically, it is a thematic study of a topic that integrates all the subject areas you normally teach in your homeschool.
How Can You Create Homeschool Unit Studies
For Your Family?
Keep a running list of topics that interest your family. Alternate topics so that all your kids get to study something they truly enjoy.
Once you choose a topic for your unit study, start looking for resources that your family can read to learn more about the chosen topic. I choose a book we can read aloud together. This helps tie all the ages together as we discuss that book.
From there, I try to find a book for each child to read on his level.
Depending on the ages of your kids, have them write about their book.
- Young Kids – let them narrate what they read. Mom types out the narration. The next day have your child copy his narration.
- Middle-Aged Kids – write narration themselves.
- Older Kids – journal “about’ their readings. Write their thoughts about their readings.
Find other activities for subject areas. I’ve listed some general ideas below, as well as a specific activity if you did a unit on the ocean.
- Language – Copy a paragraph (or sentence) from the book your child is reading. Make a few mistakes as you copy from the book. Let your child correct the mistakes.
- Vocabulary – Have each child learn 2-3 new words related to the topic. Then have the students include their new words in their writings.
- History – Research the history of that topic (use variety of topics). Watch a video about the historical aspects of the topic.
- Science – Find a few science experiments that relate to your topic. Not sure what to do? Use pinterest.
- Math – Create 5-10 word problems about the chosen topic.
- Art – Draw, paint or sculpture about that topic.
- Writing – Write a story related to the topic.
- Bible – Research what God says about the topic. Or discuss the Biblical perspective of the topic.
- Research – Find a project at your child’s level for him to present to your family. This might include a research paper, craft project, art project, poem, story, science project, etc.
Unit studies take a little bit of time to get started. But in the end, you should consider what kind of education your children receive with unit studies. Unit studies are superb to other methods, it’s well worth your time. Discover how to create your own unit studies with our Unit Studies Tool Kit.
My Unit Studies Tool Kit will help you create your own unit studies, step-by-step. You’ll also receive 5 mini units as my gift to you when you grab the Unit Studies Tool Kit. Click here to see how you can get started with unit studies this week.
To help you get organized, I have a 3-part video course, called How to Simplify Your Homeschool. Although I could charge for this course, I’m giving it to you completely free. Just enter your name & email below.
Then, check your Inbox for your first lesson. Each day, I’ll email you a short video with a quick task to get started. You’ll also receive my How to Simplify Your Homeschool Workbook for free. Each video has a one-page task to get you started on the way to confidently homeschooling your children this year.
Question: How do you create your homeschool unit study? What topics have you studied with unit studies? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
