July 16, 2025 – Unit Studies: What Are They?

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

Chocolate and Ice Cream?

Why does everyone else’s method of homeschooling seem so much better than mine? It doesn’t matter if I am using traditional textbooks or trying to live by a Charlotte Mason or even a classical style, I always think what someone else is doing is better. The only time I didn’t have those thoughts was when I used unit studies.

Unit studies are an effective way to educate your children because you have their buy-in as they get to choose the topic of study. Even though I have been mostly eclectic in my approach and choices, I have taught many fun units throughout my thirty years of homeschooling, and those are the ones they remember. 

I heard about the great benefits of unit studies when my first few children were young, and I asked them what they’d like to study. I was expecting something like ocean animals or castles, but of course, they said, “chocolate and ice cream!” So, I went right to the teacher supply store near me and picked up a unit workbook on chocolate. We then went to the library and checked out many books on the topic, including history, science, and cookbooks related to chocolate. We read aloud about Mr. Hershey and ended our unit by visiting a local chocolate factory. We did the same with ice cream. Over the years we studied many other topics (including those ocean animals and castles). We were able to delve into each topic with much interest and engagement and they didn’t take up the whole year. 

When the kids learned through these unit studies, they loved it, and we could even get good written reports and project boards to share at our annual homeschool project fair! 

There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are families who do, and they all are proven to work well (see www.NHERI.org for the research). If the idea of unit studies interests you as the teacher, try one out this coming school year! Your child’s learning won’t suffer; rather it may become ignited as they ask for more. 

In all of your unit studies, the most important element is incorporating God’s Word into whatever you are studying. Leave God out, and your unit study won’t be nearly as useful in life as you would have hoped. Put God in everything you teach, and everything you teach will be beneficial to your children’s souls as they are Home. Where They Belong.

~Deborah 

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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Art Creativity and Fun for Everyone – YouTube

The Importance of Unit Studies
by Sharon Jeffus

Unit studies can be the very best way for homeschool and classroom teachers to make learning relatable and fun!

Art is an excellent source from which all of the other core subjects can be taught. It is especially effective for visual and kinesthetic learners.

Students can look at The School of Athens by Raphael. History is a study of the High Renaissance in which it was painted. The classic Greek proportions of the face are mathematical. Students can build their own model of da Vinci’s helicopter and study the science of first flight. Students can listen to a Gregorian chant and talk about the music of the time period. They can read Michelangelo’s untitled sonnet on painting the Sistine Chapel in literature and talk about sonnets. In geography, they can study Florence and Rome. Another example would be Albert Bierdstadt’s Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak. Bierdstadt painted at the same time Lewis and Clark saw pristine America in the wild. You can study the science and habitat of the buffalo and, in math, estimate the distance between the foreground and background, as well as the height of the mountain. In literature you can read The Journals of Lewis and Clark. In music you can listen to Bruckner’s Symphony in F Minor. You can even tie in astronomy with your study as many of the constellations have names of animals, etc.  

This school year get all your art and astronomy taken care of on our Youtube channel and Google Classroom. We offer art and astronomy for all ages and high school art and mentoring for only 50 dollars a month. We also offer camps and retreats in Kansas City, MO and the beautiful Montauk State Park in Dent County, MO. Go to:  SharonJeffus.com  or email me at visualmanna@gmail.com.

Shelby Hand

Unit Studies Through History

Although I was a teacher before having children and deciding to homeschool, one subject area that I knew was a weakness for me was history. Because I wanted to give my children the best education I could (and better than what I had), I knew that I needed to face this weakness head-on and seek to make it a strength. A desire for a history-rich curriculum led me to a cyclical approach to homeschooling, which led me to unit studies.

I never would have thought I’d be the unit studies type of homeschooling parent, but I have found many aspects of it that appeal to me. First, a deep dive into a topic (for us, a time in history) immerses us in the content. We talk about our learning more, because it is all tied to so many other areas of learning and playing. Second, a unit study encourages me to find games, activities, and read-alouds that will tie in with our learning (without being another assignment). Third, unit studies give us specific breaks in our school year; we have four unit studies a year, and each unit study is concluded with a unit celebration (typically a history-centric dinner or movie night). Lastly, unit studies challenge me to create a cohesive multidisciplinary unit. It’s satisfying to find all of the ways I can tie math, science, history, Bible, writing, and literature together to expand our learning and make it more meaningful.

Unit studies are a great way to make content more meaningful for the whole family. An area that used to be a weakness of mine has become a subject that excites me. Additionally, with the number of online resources and communication available to us, developing and adapting unit studies for your family is more accessible than ever.

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About the author

Shelby Hand is the wife of Cody and mother to four daughters. She has a doctorate of education in new learning and is passionate about homeschooling her children to the glory of God. She is the interactive content coordinator at SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Danika Cooley

Helping Lessons Stick with Fun Activities

Homeschooling seems to have its own vocabulary sometimes, doesn’t it?

Unit studies may sound complicated, but they just may be one of the most intuitive, hands-on ways for your children to study a particular topic. 

I love them because they can easily be added to a curriculum to enrich your child’s studies, or you can do a unit study purely for the joy of it. Unit studies are a great way to learn more about literature, science, Scripture, history, or any other subject.

A unit study is a short, in-depth, hands-on look at a particular topic. Usually, a unit study is built around a non-fiction book, or a piece of literature. Then, you will add fun activities to enhance your child’s learning.

Unit studies can include:

• Additional books, such as biographies or non-fiction books related to your topic
• Related crafts
• Journaling or lapbooking
• Activities such as measuring the size of a ship in the street with sidewalk chalk
• Field trips or nature walks
• Cooking desserts or meals from a time period or country
• Anything that adds to your child’s understanding of the topic

I frequently added crafts, activities, and books to our studies to enrich our curriculum. My boys created artwork from different time periods, read engaging books about some aspect of what we were studying, and ate unusual desserts from across the world. Our unit studies were really fun and memorable, and my kids remembered what they learned.

We loved unit studies so much, that I now create activities and lapbooks to go with every book I write for children. It’s a fun way for children to deeply explore the Bible and Christian history. Kids remember facts and ideas better when they’re accompanied by hands-on learning. Take a look at the Bible and Christian history unit studies available at Thinking Kids! 

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About the author

Danika Cooley is an award-winning children’s author who blogs about Bible books, crafts, activities, and snacks at Thinking Kids. Her books include Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible, Bible Investigators: Creation, and the Who What Why series, a line of Christian history for 7–11-year-olds. Grab your free three-week sample of her popular Bible Road Trip™ curriculum here.

Brigitte Brulz

Flexible, Family-Friendly, Fun Focus (Unit Studies)

Feeling stuck in the daily grind of your current curriculum? A unit study might be the answer!

A unit study is an educational approach that focuses on one main theme or topic and connects it to multiple subjects. Instead of separating learning into isolated chunks like math, science, or language arts, unit studies integrate these subjects around a single topic, making learning cohesive and exciting.

What makes unit studies so great? Flexibility! They can last as long as you and your child want to explore—a day, a week, a month, or even an entire school year! Topics? Endless. From space to animals, rainforests to inventors, there’s something for every interest.

Best of all, unit studies are family-friendly. They work for all ages—whether you’re teaching one child or juggling multiple ages, you can explore the same topic together by tweaking the activities to fit everyone’s abilities.

I personally love doing unit studies around the holidays with a focus on that holiday—and yes, we once counted National Penguin Day on January 20th as a holiday and did a fun penguin-themed day-long unit study! 

So what did that look like?

• Language Arts: Read penguin-themed books. Brainstormed penguin-related adjectives (cute, funny), verbs (waddle, swim), and nouns (eggs, nests).
• Science: Learned about their habitats, diets, camouflage coloring, predators, prey, life cycles, and more.
• Geography: Mapped where they live—nowhere near wild polar bears!
• Math: Counted, added, and subtracted goldfish crackers (since penguins eat fish). Measured and compared different penguin heights—we taped lines on the wall for a visual.
• Art: Created penguin crafts.
• PE: Hopped on paper plates like Rockhopper penguins and waddled on a line.

No matter your interests, unit studies offer a dynamic, hands-on way to learn while fostering curiosity and critical thinking. Give it a try—it might just transform your homeschool!

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About the author

Brigitte is a veteran homeschooling mom, author, lesson designer, journal creator, and editor. Her book Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles was chosen for the 2019 Read Across Connecticut Program. Published online and in magazines, including The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, Clubhouse, and Clubhouse Jr., she joined the SchoolhouseTeachers.com team as the quality assurance editor in 2021 and is now the editing coordinator. For more information, visit www.brigittebrulz.com.

Curious about unit studies and how they can transform your homeschool? SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers a wide range of flexible themed units across subjects and grade levels. Whether you’re diving into American history or science through literature, you’ll find samples and full courses to help you create a rich, connected learning experience. Explore the list of Unit Studies.

Monthly Goals and Month-at-a-Glance Planner PDFs

This month we’ve gathered these free resources from SchoolhouseTeachers.com to help you get organized with the Monthly Goals and Month-at-a-Glance Planner PDFs. Download and make as many copies as you need for the upcoming year, and stay on track with ease. Grab yours today! Be sure to check out more FREE help charts available from SchoolhouseTeachers.com