What's
a unit study? Basically, it means integrating all of your curriculum --
history, science, language arts, literature, social studies, fine art,
Bible, geography -- into a specific unit of study.
For example, if you are studying the colonization of America, your history
would be the early American colonies and the Pilgrims, your literature
could be the book Pilgrim's Progress or Little Pilgrim's Progress,
depending on the ages of your children, or any other historical fiction
that takes place during that time period. Language arts would be drawn
from passages from that book. Bible could be the book of Joshua, studying
about the Israelites on their pilgrimage into the Promised Land. Geography
would include mapping the original colonies and learning about each
individual state that was formed from those colonies. Science could be
studying animals or insects indigenous to North America or the oceans that
the colonists had to cross to reach America. Dispersed throughout your
study could be making foods and crafts from the period; fine arts would
explore music and artists of the 1600s; social studies would be learning
about the many different Native American tribes in North America during
this time. Add a math curriculum and you're all set!
The beauty of unit studies is that everything flows together and it all
just "makes sense." It works well with multi-age families, as
read-aloud, history, and Bible times can be a family
affair, with each subject fine-tuned to each child's learning level and
style. Don't be intimidated by doing all the preparation yourself.
Although there are tons of resources out there to help you do it yourself,
there are also several companies that sell ready-made packages. Katie and
I have thoroughly enjoyed our unit studies over the past four years. I
can't imagine doing school any other way! -- Karen Cook :o)
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