Solorio Academy, Week 4: Organizing a unit study

There are so many different styles, methods, and varieties of homeschool. We have a group of friends that can just about cover all of the possibilities. Classical, traditional, unschool, Waldorf, you name it. I would say our homeschool is a blend of Charlotte Mason and unit study styles. If you don't know what that means, I can sum it up for you in a simple phrase: Read all the things!!!

As I mentioned in my first blog post from this school year (to read that post, click here), I don't buy history or science curriculum. I probably will when we reach jr. high or high school, but for now we are loving unit studies. My kids respond so much better, and retain so much more knowledge when they are able to read, watch, touch, and explore. There are many resources that have ready-made unit study outlines, put I prefer to shoot from the hip. Here is how I typically structure a unit study.

1-Books 

An idea for a unit study usually begins at the library. I see a book that has fun pictures and a good story, and decide to go for it. I am a history junkie, so basically anything that has happened in the history of the world seems like a good story to me. Here are the books we used to get started on this study.

2-Experience

I took the kids out for a walk around our neighborhood and taught them how to use a compass. I explained how Lewis & Clark didn't have maps to find their way, they had to rely on a compass and the sun to make sure they were going in the right direction. Beckham thought this was super official business. 

3-Creativity

Typically, our unit studies are a blend of history and science. Since Lewis & Clark is mostly history, I decided to have the kids keep an animal journal for a little extra science. While I was reading to the kids each day, there was always mention of an animal that Lewis & Clark had seen or hunted. We would choose one of those animals for the kids to draw as a fun way to remember details of the story. Beckham definitely takes his creative liberty when drawing an animal. This picture of a buffalo quickly grew into a whole scene, complete with someone being gored by a buffalo during a rainstorm. While the kids were drawing, I would read to them a little bit more about the animal. We crumpled paper bags to use as a cover for our nature journals. The paper bags were supposed to be reminiscent of a leather bound journal that L&C would have taken on their expedition. 

4-Visualize

There are Netflix documentaries and youtube videos for basically anything you could possibly think of. I try to weed through and find a couple that would be educational and entertaining enough to hold the kids' attention. Even if the video repeats a lot of what I already read to the kids, it's a nice review. This time, the kids watched a children's documentary called "Song of Sacagawea" on Amazon prime (it was kind of cheesy), and a very neat National Geographic, reenactment type documentary, "Lewis & Clark" on Netflix.

5- Field trips

Sometimes it works out to take the kids to a museum, event, or historical site that ties in with what we have recently learned. As luck would have it, we live less than 2 hours away from the Lewis & Clark museum! (fun fact: my Dad was the one-millionth visitor to this museum). On Friday afternoon we left straight from co-op classes and drove to St Louis. In addition to the museum we visited the Confluence Tower, a 150 foot tower that overlooks the point where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi River. 

(I'm 30 weeks pregnant, and as big as a house. Evah-Kate is picking her nose and Jonas' arm is still in a heavy plaster cast. Real life!)

Evah-Kate thought the bed inside the boat cabin looked cozy. 

I would say this unit study was a success! It will probably be a week, maybe two, before we start another unit study. I don't know what it will be yet, I'll have to make another trip to the library to see what I can find. 

Do you have suggestions for a unit study? Leave your ideas in the comments below!