Unit Studies (General)

A Unit Study is an approach to learning in which the bulk of the school day revolves around studying one particular subject, and usually lasts between four and eight weeks.  This subject can be anything from the solar system to the human body, the rain forest to the desert, or an event that is happening right now.  This approach gives the teacher the option to study in-depth where there is a lot of interest, or just hit the high points when it is something that doesn't keep the children's interest or is very difficult to understand. As we are entering our second unit study, I have found several pros and cons for this approach.

 PROS:

• Concepts are better understood by children when the information is repeated, or revisited, then built upon on a daily basis
• Information is better understood and retained when it is discussed across the curriculum (Bible, math, history, science, etc.)
• Finding books about a particular subject encourages children to think creatively (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)
• The children know what to expect next, and look forward to what else they can learn about a subject
• The teacher has the freedom to see what events are taking place in the world or what her students are interested in, and teach the things that they are interested in learning, while still reaching pre-set goals for the school year
• The teacher can extend a study or follow a unforeseen path when there is a need or desire from the student
• Varying ages can learn together, though the expectations are not the same

CONS:

• There is a lot of homework to prepare to teach a unit study, organization is key
• It is still necessary to use textbooks in some subjects (spelling, grammar, etc.
• Information must be found in many different places (internet, textbooks, library, etc.
• It is difficult to plan in advance the many activities that a unit may require, so many options should be prepared

I have downloaded four of Amanda Bennett's unit studies, and have really enjoyed them. My children love making lap books, and they will have them to look back on in the future to refresh their memories of the things they learned. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment when they see their very own book! I've also gotten a lot of information ideas from KONOS, which is very detailed and filled with activities from across the curriculum.

So far, my children have enjoyed this approach and have really enjoyed learning so much about each subject. We've studied the five senses, and have begun studying the four seasons. Fall is upon us, and I have found that there is a vast amount of information to discover right under our noses! Although I planned this unit to take six weeks total, it appears that it will take eight. As long as there is interest and the desire to learn more, I am going to fill their minds with whatever we can find.

First Weeks of School

We are now entering our third week of school.  To answer your question of whether our first year is off to a good start, I would give a resounding, "Yes!"  It wasn't easy learning to teach to our two children on two different levels (with a toddler in the background, I might add), but the Lord has given me direction and I am able to teach them at the same time without losing my focus.  With thanks to one of my sisters in Christ, I have found this verse to meditate upon for our school year: Eph 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." May the Lord bridle my tongue and use me to build up my children, as well as train them in the way they should go.

Our first unit of our year is the "Attentive" unit from the KONOS book.  (You can read more about it and the other books for our curriculum here.) We are studying our five senses, as well the expedition of Lewis and Clark.  It will be a seven-week unit in which we will spend one week on each sense individually, as well as an overall look at the five senses in general for one week at the beginning, and one week at the end of the unit.  We have just finished week two, studying the eye and sight in-depth.  The kids are really loving this unit, and I'm glad the Lord gave me this path to take.  (If you would like to have more details about this unit-study, feel free to check out my 7-year old's blog here. She "tries" to update daily.)  We have found some great exercises and videos online, and are looking forward to learning about our sense of taste this week.

When we begin our study of the ear and hearing, we plan to visit one of the free performances at the Singletary Center, which will have a full calendar once the college students are back full-time.  We're also hoping to visit the Hummel Planetarium in Richmond, KY for one of our weeks, but I'm going to have to make sure we don't have any belief conflicts before I plan that trip any further.  From there, I don't know where this unit will take us, but I'm very encouraged by the excitement I see in my children, as well as their desire to learn more.

Do you have any suggestions for our upcoming weeks?  I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below!

We Dove Right In!

Well, since my first post, so many things have changed!  I traveled to Louisville, KY with a couple of other first-year homeschooling moms to visit the CHEK conference.  I absolutely loved it, and got a lot of encouragement from attending.  I enjoyed the Mom2Mom room most of all, where we got to ask homeschooling moms specific questions about their homeschooling experiences and methods.  It was that discussion that helped me decide on a curriculum.  I had been leaning toward a unit-study program, but had no idea where to start.  Most of the ladies that I had the pleasure to speak with in the Mom2Mom room used a Charlotte Mason/unit-study approach, and this helped me gain confidence to know that YES, I can do this!

So, I decided not to go with a boxed curriculum, and instead picked spelling, math, grammar, and other books based on each child, and their individual strengths and weaknesses.  I am also using KONOS to help direct our unit-studies approach.  From the books I purchased, I'm MOST satisfied with my 5-year old's Explode the Code, and my 7-year old's Horizon's Math.  These were perfect for them respectively, and I look forward to seeing their progress as the year goes along.  We bought several other books that I will talk about in upcoming posts.


In our first two weeks of school, we have seen some difficult days, as well as exciting ones.  However, most importantly, I can already see them moving on up the ladder as the build on each skill on a day-to-day basis.  I should also mention that although KONOS is great as far as giving you a starting point and a basic foundation of a unit-study, I have found that my outside sources (books from the library, videos online, electronic information) are what I use most when teaching for our unit studies.

And you know what? Worrying really didn't help or change anything, so why did I waste so much time doing it?!?  :)  May God bless you on your journey!