"Put your writing materials away – it is time to do History now!" Sound familiar? Of course it does – that is the way most of our school schedules were as we were growing up. However, it isn't just a thing of the past; my children have said this segmentation of their school day was one of the things they disliked most about school! How interesting! Who really wants a choppy day with thoughts still dangling mid-air from a previous subject? As homeschoolers we don't need to recreate the classroom – after all, that is what we are trying to escape. Why not explore learning through Unit Studies? This method of learning entails choosing an area of interest to study, determining activities to support the area of study, finding resources, and perhaps checking that your traditional "curricular areas" are included in the study. Although many people are a bit leery of planning a unit study, once you have completed one study you will feel confident to
many more.

Planning begins with choosing a topic. This may be the easy part if your child already has an area of interest she would like to explore. If not, begin by brainstorming a list of topics and their subtopics. You may want to provide a list of general topics or ideas if you'd like to direct the unit study into a certain area. Depending on how long you wish to continue the study, the topic may be very broad, or it may be limited. For instance, a broad topic heading of Plants could cover an entire year of study with many sub-topics branching from it. Topics might include botany, gardening, food and non-food uses of plants, Early American uses of plants, conservation, farming and crops throughout the world, herbs, fungus, trees . . . the list goes on, and you can see that the topics under the umbrella unit of "Plants" can vary tremendously. Perhaps, though, you would prefer to choose one of the sub-topics and focus a unit study on that.

My daughter chose to study herbs – focusing mainly on their identification and medicinal uses now and throughout history. Our local Nature Center was a bonanza for us as our whole family joined plant and herb identification walks they sponsored. We visited a large herb farm and a local herb store. She read the history of herbs from the mid 1800's to the present to tie in society and events to her study. She took notes and wrote summaries on what she was learning. She took photos of local herbs and, using the computer, created herb identification cards to go along with the herb board game she created. She learned how to make extracts and tinctures of the different herbs.

Once the initial planning has been completed, you will want to search for resources. Once you get started on ideas, they will seem to flow! Resources include the Internet, the library, bookstores, science centers, museums, specialty stores (related to your topic), family, friends, educational television shows, videos, software and community members. To really make this successful, you will need to be bold and ask all different sources for help or for ideas. You will probably be amazed at the resources and expertise within your community! People are a huge resource. Ask that neighbor with the perfect garden to spend time with your child. Have a Scout troop send over a member to explain how to tie knots. Interview a Humane Society worker to learn about the numbers of abandoned animals. Open your mind – and ask your child! Children often have ideas that will amaze you! Again, think about the learning styles of your child and the aspects of your topic you wish to cover.

Asking everyone she knew if they knew of an herb garden or herb farm to visit became an education in itself! She met and interacted with a wide variety of interesting people! Finally the word spread and we found an herb garden! We also visited a nursery and learned about the herbs they carried and took photos, as well as purchased several herbs to take home. She planted herbs, monitored their growth, and then talked to an herbalist who explained how to prepare the herbs for use. She visited the library and found an extensive collection of books about herbs from which to choose. She found an online herb class that provided more background for her study. She asked her brother-in-law, a biologist, to help her on hikes to locate and identify more herbs.

Finally, if you are new to unit studies – or if you need to comply with reporting rules – concern about how the different "requirements" of the curriculum may run rampant. Depending upon where you live, the laws and requirements for reporting vary. You will find that once you have done your planning, you will fulfill the requirements without any trouble. Make a chart with all the curricular areas that concern you. Take your list of activities and plans and insert them under the various curriculum headings. Activities will probably fit under more than one heading – don't try to limit to one. Remember that such things as Language Arts include reading and summarizing, writing a report, descriptive writing, vocabulary, making an oral presentation, and more. If you truly are concerned about one curricular area being light, come up with more activities! Again, include your child, show him the chart, and ask for ideas. On the other hand, not all unit studies may cover all areas you want to include in your curriculum. We have found in our case that Math is always a separate subject (with, of course, supplements that may naturally arise in a unit study). Perhaps you have a topic that precludes science. Don't hesitate to supplement with a separate science study or topic. Keep your mind and your options open and be flexible about time frame and activities.

The herb study that my daughter chose covered a wide variety of "subjects" (although math was done separately). History was included as she studied the uses throughout the time period we had designated. Reading and writing were an integral part of her study as she researched and wrote about the different herbs. She even has included references to herbs and their uses in her creative writing! Science and health, of course, were covered through every activity she did. Her game creation certainly fulfilled any art requirements, and the creation of the cards themselves, as well as her online research more than filled the technology aspects of a curriculum.

Finally, flexibility is the key to successful unit studies. The best-laid plans may fall apart. The best-laid plans may grow and expand in different directions! Don't feel tied to something that doesn't work. As the study progresses, new ideas for projects may emerge. Original ideas may no longer be appealing. Perhaps the time frame originally planned for the study was too aggressive – or the study may be wrapped up sooner that expected. We are homeschoolers – we don't have to abide by a master clock. Once the unit topic has been chosen, and the various projects and ideas for building the study have been brainstormed, and the materials and support system are laid out, the curriculum aspect will naturally fall in place. It takes relaxing and releasing the ingrained ideas and methods of schooling to be able to realize that learning takes place in many forms – not just that classroom setting with blocks of time for each subject. Take the leap!

Looking for more help? Visit my website, http://www.home2teach.com for a how-to on planning unit studies. In addition, you will find a huge collection of resources and links to support many of your unit study ideas. Be sure to check the Lessons and Unit Studies links to find other sites with actual planned unit studies. Beyond this, enter "unit studies" into your search engine and be prepared for overload as you discover that the resources out there are incredible.

Eileen is a homeschooling mother of a 12-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. She lives on 6 acres in northern California in the foothills of the Sierras with her children, her husband, 2 dogs and 2-3 cats (who knows on a given day!). Her website, http://www.home2teach.com , is a wealth of information and resources for the homeschool family. She recently began offering online Creative Writing classes for homeschool students. More information on this can be found at http://www.home2teach.com/creativewritingclass.html
Her background is early childhood education – and engineering! Her best advice for being part of your child's education is to act as a facilitator and include your child in all aspects of planning. In addition – always remember that what sounds perfect for another family may not work for you – and that what works for your family today may not work tomorrow! Be willing to change and be flexible.