cover image for post with title and art supplies in background.

Using Unit Studies in Your Homeschool

One of our favorite ways to learn in our homeschool is through unit studies.  When I was first researching homeschooling (6 years ago!), I was originally drawn to the Charlotte Mason method.  One of my favorite aspects of this method was living books.

Living books are  written in narrative or story form.  They are books that ‘come alive’.  In other words, historical fiction, biographies, interesting literature…not dry text books!

I quickly realized that the Charlotte Mason method did not work as a whole for my active learners, but that living books did!  So I started using living books and other resources to create unit studies for my children around specific topics. (I didn’t even realize ‘unit studies’ were a ‘thing’ at the time.)

Why Use Unit Studies?

Unit studies are great for child-directed learning.  You can find or create a unit study around any topic your child may want to learn about.  Or if you have specific history or science topics you feel your children should learn about, you can revolve a unit study around those!  You can even create a unit study around a great piece of literature or a classic movie.

Two boys overlooking Cowpens Battlefield as part of their homeschool unit study.
A field trip to Cowpens Battlefield as part of our Revolutionary War unit study.

And not only do unit studies teach to a child’s interests, but they also allow us to learn about a topic in ways that are interesting to our children.

You can incorporate your child’s passions…maybe they like to read books, watch movies, make crafts, draw, build with Legos, and/or cook.  All these activities and more can be included in unit studies about a variety of topics.

So let’s talk more about how you can use unit studies in your homeschool.  Head over to the How We Homeschool Blog Series at Fervent Mama and check out my guest post, Using Unit Studies in Your Homeschool.

Graphic for the How We Homeschool Blog Series with title and school supplies against an aqua wood background.