All About Unit Studies

Interested in learning all about unit studies? Rather short or long term, unit studies can offer a great variety in your homeschool!

As you know, there are many methods of homeschooling. We have already discussed classical, and Charlotte Mason. Today, I want to share with you all about Unit Studies.

What are Unit Studies?

Unit studies allow a homeschooler to focus on one topic for a set period of time. During this time the students will learn many subjects together. This could include History, Science, Literature, Art and more. For example, a unit study on horses may involve the history of horses, the anatomy of horses, and learning to draw a horse. The students would read books on horses, and maybe even visit a horse farm. All learning will center on that one topic but will incorporate many different subjects.

Will Unit Studies Work for My Family?

Probably! Each families needs are different. However, Unit Studies can work in most situations. Unit Studies are particularly beneficial for large families because parents can keep a wide variety of ages together.

Unit studies can be used for short term projects; we have completed unit studies on Thanksgiving, Dolphins, and Pioneers. These were all topics my children were interested in, so we took a break from our normal book work and studied these subjects. Unit studies are great for learning more about a subject your children are particularly interested in for the short term.

Unit studies are also great for long-term learning. Many parents plan out a school year in advance on a wide variety of topics. They may spend winter learning about the Arctic or Fall learning about astronomy. The sky is the limit when it comes to unit studies.

 Where Can I Get More Information?        

There are a wide variety of sites out there that offer more information on Unit Studies.

Amanda Bennett’s Unit Studies offers a great collection of prepackaged unit studies. These are downloadable in PDF format and are fairly reasonably priced.  These unit studies are available in wide age ranges and can include the whole family.

Currclick also offers a great variety of prepackaged unit studies. Currclick also offers unit studies that focus on set age ranges (High School, Jr. High, etc) as well as unit studies for the whole family.

Homeschool Share offers unit studies that are literature based.

Great Peace Academy made a great roundup of FREE Unit Study options.

Schoolhouse Teachers offers a large variety of unit study options as well as other classes for the whole family.

Now that you know all about unit studies, I recommend that you give them a shot! Rather short or long term, unit studies can offer a great variety in your homeschool!

Author Bio: Misty Bailey is the blogger behind Joy in the Journey and the podcaster behind Joyfully Homeschooling.  Her goal in this online space is to encourage and inspire you on your homeschool journey by providing practical tips for real life homeschooling. Through real stories, real struggles, and real life, Misty encourages her blog readers and podcast listeners to embrace imperfection and strive for a more joyful homeschool.