Unit Studies Anyone?

What is a Unit Study?

This year, the first unit study by the Charlotte Mason First through Third group is snow.  The theme follows throughout all of the subject that are studies by the children, all subject are included and none are left out.  Science is covered with snow related experiments, math with the charting of aspects of experiments and in cookery related activities.  Art studies are of course, pictures by Monet of snow scenes, arts and crafts consist of snow related activities.  Poetry is focused on snow, even the Bible verses mention snow.  The read alouds and picture books are all on the topic of snow. 
Beginning to see the picture?  In essence, a "Unit Study" is simply a "theme" you follow for a given length of time.

How do we make the "Unit Study" a thing of learning?  

Here is how to put together a unit study of your own, and you will understand.  The first thing you need to know, before you even start planning your study, are the standards of learning that the state you live in expects from your child during the year.  Why?  Because so long as you comply with those standards, there are likely to be no ramifications when it comes to the state's determination of your ability to Homeschool.  Of course all states have different laws, and this might not apply to your state, but the progression of your child is important to many states, and it is wise to make sure you comply with the standards.

Once you know the standards, you know the kinds of work that the state wants from you with regards to each subject.  Why is this important?  Because it will help you plan a study, with age/grade appropriate activities.  The younger grades are very easy to work out.  The activities you will naturally want to participate in , will usually be the ones at or even above grade level, making life easy for you.  AS your child gets older, and the activities seem easier to him, you will need to make them a little more challenging, and this is where the SOL's come in.  You'll know what is to be expected, and can incorporate these skills into the learning curve.

We'll start with an example theme of "flowers".  You've decided that since it is spring, you are going to study flowers.  You have a few really good ideas running through the back of your brain... such as making a flower collection, charting the growth of a flower etc.  Where do you begin?

First things first, you have a theme and some ideas, and you know the standards your child needs to keep.  Now you have to see if there are the resources out there for your study, that are appropriate to you age level.  All books are appropriate for all age levels, but you need to learn to pick and choose, and skip judiciously...  meaning that not all of a book needs to be read.  First check on the internet... http://www.amazon.com has many lists that people have compiled with books relevant to any given subject.  There are also lists all over the internet... try www.google.com to search for them, and you will be sure to find them.  When you find a list, check your local library for the books and pre-read them.  The only time this is not necessary, is when you have been given the list by a group or person that you trust... and who also homeschool in the Charlotte Mason way.  Pick and choose two or three of the books to read a week.

Incorporate cooking, mathematic and scientific activities.  There are dozens of books out there with science experiments in (check your library for a few of them) and you can just pick one or two a week that are relevant.  A collection of un-endangered wild flowers counts as a science experiment... providing you have taken care to allow your child to identify and label them.

Artist study is simply using pictures from your artist of choice, with the subject being featured in the picture, and typically artist study lasts several months per artist, so you will have opportunity to approach different works of the artist.

Not all unit studies are created equal.  

CM1-3 has month long studies with resources listed for just that long.  You son however, may not be so thrilled with flowers that he wants to study them for four weeks, or he might prefer to study them longer if he has decided he really wants to collect more flowers.  Similarly your daughter may decide that bugs are "gross" and she doesn't want to touch them, or she might be more like one of our list member's daughters, and have a collection that can knock the socks off a high schooler's project.  The length of a unit study is entirely up to you, based upon the attention span of your child.

How should we display all the things we did?

There are a variety of ways to display learning, whether it was done through a unity study or in the normal course of things.  Unit studies are best, however, when kept grouped together in some kind of display format.

In school, displays are usually place on the wall, and while this is certainly possible in the homeschool, and perhaps desirable when covering seasonal things, much of the time this takes up way too much space.  And that is where we come to the "LAPBOOKS" part of things.

Lapbooks, shutterbooks, portfolders... they are all just different names for the same thing.  A lapbook, is a file folder, folded to give a "window shutter" effect.  Small (miniature/minit) books are placed inside the folder with the narrations and information inside.

Lapbooks are simple to make, go HERE to find out how!

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