The Dow's Schoolroom

Unit Studies

Unit Studies can be an exciting way to learn a whole lot about a few things. When using Unit Studies, you can cover all subjects (except math) while studying something the whole family enjoys.

For example: Plants

Spend a couple of months in the Spring on this one. Check out and read books from the library on gardening, forestry, famous botanist, etc. Read and memorize passages from the Bible about plants -- The parable of the sower, a time to plant, Gen. 1. Memorize a poem about plants. Do experiments involving plants. Plant a garden. Cook food from the garden. Keep a picture and/or written journal about the garden. Take walks in different areas and observe the plant life. The list of things to do can go on and on. Just from the activities listed above, your family has learned science, history, reading, writing, art, poetry and Bible.

Unit Studies can be time consuming and involve a lot of teacher preparation time. The students will rarely get bored and can't help but learn. The rewards are well worth the trouble.

There are a lot of packaged Unit Studies written by homeschoolers that can help you get started. These are very good, but can be expensive and sometimes have so much to do that they can be overwhelming.

If you want to plan your own Unit Study (it isn't hard to do), check out UNIT STUDIES MADE EASY BY VALERIE BENDT. She goes through the entire process of planning one and gives examples of some her family has done.