WHY A THEME-DIRECTED AND INTEREST-LED LEARNING FRAMEWORK
HIGHLIGHTING NATURE AS A LIVING TEACHER IS THE NUMBER ONE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM TO USE!
Children learn best when they're interested in a topic and having fun.
When they can relate to a subject, connect the dots, and really explore something in depth.
Which is why Theme based studies are such a great tool for homeschooling.
You and your child can really dive deep into a subject and let their natural curiosity guide the learning.
But sometimes, it can be tough to come up with homeschool unit study ideas that are both fun and educational. Especially if you're homeschooling more than one child!
A unit study is a homeschooling method that focuses all the lessons and activities around a certain theme or topic.
For example, one unit study topic might be sea animals. So you and your child might:
A/ Borrow some books about sea animals from the library (literature)
B/ Classify different types of sea animals and discuss their diets and habitats (science)
C/ Map out different migratory routes of different sea animals or where they live (geography)
D/ Take a trip to a local aquarium and make a graph of what kinds of sea animals your see (math)
Though all the activities relate to sea animals, they touch on different subject areas.
Unit studies are a great way to connect learning across multiple subjects and dive deep into topics your child is already interested in.
You can include as much or as little into a unit study as you prefer.
Thematic Education uses the following subjects in all unit studies:
Reading
Writing
Grammar
Math
History
Science
Social Science
Outdoor Activities
Geography
Art
Technology
Music
There is a reason that unit studies are so popular with homeschool families.
They provide a great opportunity to personalize your child's education and explore subjects that truly interest them.
Here are some great benefits of using unit studies:
Great for homeschooling multiple ages at once.
With unit studies, you don't have to worry about teaching each of your children each subject separately.
You can teach all of your children at once as you explore different topics.
With older children, you might borrow more advanced books from the library or do more in-depth activities, but for the most part, you can all learn together.
This is a great way to homeschool multiple ages!
Flexible learning
Unit studies are also very flexible.
If your child isn't interested in a certain topic, you can easily switch gears and try something else.
There's no need to feel like you have to finish certain lesson plans.
You can always try again later or find another homeschool unit study idea that's more interesting to your child.
Creative learning opportunities
With unit studies, the sky is the limit when it comes to finding creative ways to learn.
You're not limited to just books and worksheets, but can get outside, go on field trips, do hands-on experiments, and more.
This is a great way to help kids who learn best by doing or seeing things in action. And it's also just more fun for everyone!
Connected learning
Another benefit of unit studies is that your child learns across multiple subjects at the same time.
Our brains don't segregate learning into only math now, science at this time, and reading completely separate.
Unit studies help better mimic how children actually learn by allowing them to make connections between different subjects which helps them better understand the topic.
Hands-on learning
Unit studies are also great for kids who learn best by doing.
With this homeschooling method, you can really get creative and find ways to incorporate hands-on learning into every subject.
This could include things like cooking to learn about fractions in math or doing a science experiment to see how plants grow.
There are endless possibilities when it comes to incorporating hands-on learning into your homeschool unit studies.
Comments