Create Your Own Homeschool Unit Study With Ease

Creating a homeschool unit study is not as hard as you may think. In the time it takes to search online for the perfect unit study, you might have been able to create your own! Sure, many amazing unit studies are floating around and you already may have scheduled them into your school year, but for the delight-directed learner or for those times when new opportunities present themselves, why not create your own? This might be the year that you allow your child to begin raising chicks, or a trip to the Grand Canyon might be in the near future. You can create a unit study about anything that you want your children to learn more about! Homeschoolers have been creating unit studies to match their children’s interests for years and with great success. Go ahead and try it for yourself! In six easy steps, you will be a pro.

1. Choose Topic
   Is there something you have been wanting your child to learn more about that you just haven’t pursued yet? Make it a reality. Write it down and commit to making it a homeschool unit study. This could simply be an extension of another subject, allowing for in-depth study. If you are studying the U.S. Presidents and your child has a fascination with the Civil War, for example, create a unit study on Abraham Lincoln.
2. Determine Goals
   Unit studies work well for families with muli-aged students. It allows your children to work together with their own age-appropriate work. Acknowledge benchmarks for achievement for each child and create age-specific goals for each one of your children. Younger learners could be required to listen to a picture book read aloud and then draw their reaction to it. An older child may create a lapbook. A middle schooler may work on a book report or an essay. Additionally, you may have your own book that you read aloud together. Set specific goals for each child, honing in on skills you want them to master. Tie in cursive writing, vocabulary, online or library research skills, or reading comprehension into your study. Know what you want your child to achieve as a result of the study and set a course of action into place to make it happen.
3. Choose a Book List
   Be sure you have the required books readily available for your children before you begin. Order them online, download them in eBook format, or check your local library. Choose a wide variety of books in case you are unable to locate what you are looking for. Keep the titles of the books that you were unable to find in case you want to do this study again in the future with younger children or with the children at your local co-op.
4. Determine Unit Study Format
   What comes to your mind when you think unit study? Does your mind bring you back to public school days when you presented a report in front of your class in a glossy-colored folder? Do you picture your children working tirelessly around the kitchen table on lapbooks while you await with broom and dustpan in hand to clean up all of the paper scraps? Or do you envision yourself snuggling up with your child in the living room reading a living history book to learn more about a historical hero? A unit study may look different in your home than it does in mine, which is one of the joys of creating your own homeschool unit study. It can be tailored for your child, for your family. Some of my children thrive through living history books while others need the hands-on approach that lapbooking offers. Your child may  learn well through digital means. Documentaries or YouTube video tutorials would be a perfect fit. Choose your format, whether it is notebooking, a lapbook, or a digital study. Pin down what method(s) you want to use for this study and begin creating!
5. Plan Activities
   Now is the time to take a pen in hand and make it clear to your child(ren) what is required of them. List exactly what you require them to read, watch, or research for your study. Print out any coloring sheets for younger ones and provide notebooking paper for the older ones. Create a list of any websites you would like them to visit either as a playlist or in a separate document with all of the needed links. Write out any activities involved to go along with the study. This may include crafts, experiments, field trips, or recipes.
6. Create a Schedule
   Once you know what you will be requiring of your children for your homeschool unit study, create a schedule. It does not need to be formal, just easy to follow. Determine if you will require them to work on it daily until it is complete, a few days a week, or one day a week to simply break up your routine.

Once you have created your unit study, keep a copy of all of the materials in a folder or on your computer in a file in case you want to use it again. Take notes on how well it went and what could be adjusted or added in the future.