Unit Studies ~ When we first started our home school adventure 6 years ago, the words were something I had never heard of. I didn’t understand what they were or how to use them and I certainly had never been taught that way myself in public school. Little did I know, that it would become a way of life for us.
Unit studies are simply studies that focus on one topic at a time. In our home school, our family uses unit studies primarily for science and history, but they can cover all subjects if necessary.
We learned in my son’s kindergarten year that a box curriculum was not the way for us to go. It was dry and rigid and not the fun-filled, exciting, learning opportunity I had envisioned when we first began thinking about home schooling. I wanted something that would encourage creativity and unit studies was the answer ~ we haven’t looked back.
The major benefit for us has been my children's interest lasts longer because we are not dealing with each subject individually, but as a “whole” about our topic. My kids retain so much more information because our reading, crafts, and other activities all relate to the theme we are using. Some studies that I have read say that kids can retain as much as 45% more this way.
This makes lesson planning and teaching easier and simpler for me, my kids can even help with research. And if the kids are really engrossed , we can spend as long as necessary. Don’t forget the various rabbit trails we have taken when learning about a topic leads to a completely different secondary unit of study.
I like the way the unit studies lend themselves to my kids styles of learning ~ if my son learns better from videos, we can watch more videos about a topic or if my daughter learns better from doing, we can take on more hands-on crafts related to our area of study. They are flexible and easily adaptable to any learning style or age group.
Great field trips and unit studies go hand in hand. Who wouldn’t learn so much more about the ocean at the beach or human anatomy by a trip to the chiropractor? One of our best trips was a family camping trip to the Smoky Mountains when we were doing a literature study about life in Appalachia and reading “Down, Down the Mountain”.
For us, unit studies have not only enhanced our education, encouraged creativity and fostered cooperation, but helped to bring my family closer together.
I am thankful everyday that unit studies came into our home school adventure.
Playing with the "Tuzzle"
DS playing a game of fractions...
