6 Unit Study Themes for a Year

     One of the ways I've approached homeschooling is aiming for weekly themes, so that we can focus our studies on one major concept per week.  I have come up with many ways to do this, and by using several different subjects.  I am currently switching off amongst these unit studies and I allow my daughter to pick out what she would like to learn about.  I figured after all my research, it would be nice to share the unit studies I've organized.  Feel free to use them and fine tune them to fit your family preferences.  All of these subjects can easily be researched online and through your local library.  My favorite search engines are Google and Youtube.  Let me know how it goes and if you need any help.    

    *Based on 36 weeks of lesson plans.

     LETTER & NUMBERS:

    Weeks 1-26: A - Z

    Weeks 27-36: 1-10

      

     ANIMALS :

     September - Farm Animals

           1.     Pigs

           2.     Cows

           3.     Chickens

           4.     Sheep

     October - Nocturnal

           5.     Owls

           6.     Mice

           7.     Bats

           8.     Spiders

     November - Insects

           9.     Ladybugs

          10.  Ants

          11.  Bees

          12.  Butterflies

     December - Reptiles

          13.  Lizards

          14.  Snakes

          15.  Turtles

          16.  Alligators

    January - Mammals

          17.  Bears

          18.  Elephants

          19.  Tigers

          20.  Gorillas

     February - Birds

     21.  Parrots

     22.  Flamingos

     23.  Penguins

     24.  Peacocks

     March - Domestic Pets

     25.  Cats

     26.  Dogs

     27.  Rabbits

     28.  Goldfish

     April - Dinosaurs

     29.  Triceratops

           30.  Brontosaurus

           31.  Pterodactyl

           32.  Tyrannosaurus Rex

     May - Ocean Life

           33.  Dolphins

           34.  Whales

           35.  Seals

           36.  Starfish

     CLASSIC FAIRY TALES:

     September

           1.     The Three Little Pigs

           2.     Jack and the Beanstalk

           3.     Chicken Little

           4.     Tortoise and the Hare

     October

           5.     Three Billy Goats Gruff

           6.     The Boy Who Cried Wolf

           7.     Goldilocks

           8.     Hansel and Gretel

     November

           9.     Cinderella

          10.  Beauty and the Beast

          11.  The Nightingale

          12.  Alice in Wonderland

     December

           13.  Snow White

           14.  Peter Pan

           15.  Snow Queen

           16.  Gingerbread Man

     January

           17.  Peter and the Wolf

           18.  Sleeping Beauty

           19.  Pinocchio

           20.  Puss in Boots

     February

           21.  Rapunzel

           22.  Aladdin

           23.  The Twelve Dancing Princesses

           24.  The Little Mermaid

     March

           25.  Frog Prince

           26.  Princess and the Pea

           27.  Rip Van Winkle

           28.  The Little Red Hen

     April

           29.  Little Red Riding Hood

           30.  Rumpelstiltskin

           31.  Thumbelina

           32.  The Ugly Duckling

     May

           33.  Emperor’s New Clothes

           34.  The Pied Piper of Hamelin

           35.  The Sorcerors Apprentice

           36.  The Elves and the Shoemaker

     TIME PERIODS IN AMERICAN HISTORY:

     September

Colonial America (1492-1763) - How America began.

     October

Revolutionary Period (1764-1789) - The American Revolution. 

     November

New Nation (1790-1828) - Establishing the government--the Federalists and the Republicans become first political parties.

     December

            Western Expansion & Reform (1829-1859) - Presidents aim to expand the borders of America westward.

     January

            Civil War (1860-1865) - Southern states set up an independent government--the Confederate States of America; outbreak of the Civil War.

     February

            Reconstruction (1866-1877) - North defeated the South in the Civil War; work to unite the country again.

     March

            Gilded Age (1878-1889) - Industrial work and a wave of immigrants marked this period in American history.

     April

            Great War & Jazz Age (1914-1928) - Foreign affairs and musical rebellion.

     May

           Depression & World War II (1929-1945) - Stock market crash leads into the Great Depression.     World War II leads to the introduction of the atomic bomb.


      FAMOUS ARTISTS:

     1. Alexander Calder
     2. Leonardo DaVinci
     3. Mary Cassat
     4. Edgar Degas
     5. Jacob Lawrence
     6. Paul Gauguin
     7. Winslow Homer
     8. Katsushika Hokusai
     9. Paul Klee
     10. Michelango
     11. Georgia O'Keefe
     12. Piet Mondrian
     13. Georges Seurat
     14. Pablo Picasso
     15. Andy Warhol
     16. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
     17. Grant Wood
     18. Faith Ringgold
     19. Henri Matisse
     20. Pierre-Auguste Renoir
     21. Jackson Pollock
     22. Wassily Kandinsky
     23. Frederic Remington
     24. Marc Chagall
     25. M.C. Escher
     26. Norman Rockwell
     27. Edward Hopper
     28. Paul Cezanne
     29. Joan Miro
     30. Henri Rousseau
     31. Rosa Bonheur
     32. Claude Monet
     33. Frida Kahlo
     34. Edvard Munch
     35. Rembrandt Van Rijn
     36. Vincent Van Gogh


     SCIENCE:

Here is a link that can be broken down into doing one science experiment per week:
46 Fun Science Experiments for Kids

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An Entire Year of Preschool/Kindergarten Curriculum

     I can't believe I did it! I had no clue where to start in making up a year of curriculum.  I honestly thought I would be choosing random themes weekly to prep and explore with my daughter. She will be 5 early next year, so I was researching preschool/kindergarten curriculums for inspiration.  I was so overwhelmed at first, but today I was inspired to go for it and make up a schedule for the whole year.

     I thought I would be scrambling with all the ideas in my head for a starting off point, but I was inspired by a question that popped into mind.  What does she want to learn?  So I had Marley sit down right next to me in front of the computer.  I asked her what she wanted to learn about.  She started listing off so many things, that I couldn't keep up.  We brainstormed together ideas for themes and concepts.  The list got very long within 5 minutes (examples: insects, the stars, mummies, flowers, etc).  Who would have thought a 4 year old could be interested in so much?  She made the task so much easier.

A breakdown of how I created my curriculum:

1) I opened up an excel spreadsheet using a calendar template and designated when I wanted to start our school year and end it for summer.

2) My daughter and I brainstormed together what she wanted to learn about and compiled a list of themes.

3) I selected season appropriate themes from the list and placed them in the corresponding months. This took some time and a lot of switching around.  Basically the themes would just help us determine what books to check out from the library and what types of art projects we would be doing each week.

4) I still plan to use Easy Peasy All In One Curriculum, since she enjoyed using it last year.  So I just attached a letter of the week to each weekly theme.  Sometimes the themes worked out perfectly with the letter of the week.  The letter of the week will also go hand in hand with our Disneyland trips and be incorporated with my Disney Schooling curriculum ideas.

5) I decided on a daily schedule that would remain simple and unchanged from week to week. For example, Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays I would like her to use her preschool workbook to practice writing and do some educational computer games (we love Starfall.com).  And Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would like her to do an art/craft project or go on a nature/outdoor exploration.  Every weekday, she will review at least one letter and do a brief scripture study. The 2nd Saturday of each month is designated Daddy-led science lesson, when my husband will prepare and conduct a science experiment for our girls. And I decided to schedule an educational family field trip at least once a month.  It sounds like a lot, but I am keeping in mind that we won't adhere strictly to the schedule.  It is just a guide to help us with ideas for educationally stimulating activities.

6) I went online and researched all my local field trip options.  I placed one field trip destination in each month, obviously trying to relate to the monthly or weekly theme.  This also took some time.  And I was pleasantly surprised to find that most educational field trip options around me are quite inexpensive.

7) I then chose one chapter book per month that correlated to the monthly theme. And I added that to the schedule as part of our bedtime reading routine.

     Once I had everything down and organized, I summarized it for Marley and I can't even express how excited she was about the themes and field trips I had planned.  I explained to her that she would not be going to a school like some of her friends, but that we were going to do school at home as a family and we would be learning all these cool things together.  Her gigantic bright smile made my heart full.  She responded by saying, "We are going to have so much fun!"

And here it is; our curriculum schedule for this year:

SEPTEMBER - FARM ANIMALS

(Read: Charlotte's Web) [Field Trip: a local farm] {Science experiment link: Color Changing Milk}

• Week 1 - Sheep - Letter A
• Week 2 - Pigs - Letter B
• Week 3 - Cows - Letter C
• Week 4 - Ducks - Letter D
• Week 5 - Spiders - Letter E

OCTOBER - HALLOWEEN

(Read: The Witches) [Field Trip: a pumpkin patch] {Science experiment link: Make slime}

• Week 1 - Spiders - Letter E
• Week 2 - Bats - Letter F
• Week 3 - Skeletons - Letter G
• Week 4 - Sleepy Hollow - Letter H
• Week 5 - Pumpkins - Letter I

NOVEMBER - HISTORY

(Read: Little House In The Big Woods) [Field Trip: an art gallery] {Science experiment link: Churn butter}

• Week 1 - Ancient Egypt - Letter J
• Week 2 - Pioneers - Letter K
• Week 3 - Famous Artists - Letter L
• Week 4 - Medieval Times - Letter M

DECEMBER - WINTER/NATIVITY

(Read: The Hundred Dresses) [Field Trip: Christmas tree lot] {Science experiment link: Cloud in a jar}

• Week 1 - Seasons/Weather - Letter N
• Week 2 - Astronomy - Letter O
• Week 3 - Happy Holidays - Letter P
• Week 4 - Nativity - Letter Q
• Week 5 - Service - Letter R

JANUARY - FAMILIES

(Read American Girl books) [Field Trip: a historical home museum] {Science experiment link: Bubbles}

• Week 1 - Service - Letter R
  
• Week 2 - AG Kirsten - Letter Review
• Week 3 - Family Members - Letter Review
• Week 4 - AG Samantha - Letter S
• Week 5 - Family Tree - Letter T

FEBRUARY - HUMAN SENSES

(Read: Fantastic Mr. Fox) [Field Trip: children's play place] {Science experiment link: Run Away Pepper}

• Week 1 - See & Touch - Letter U
• Week 2 - Emotions - Valentines Day - Letter V
• Week 3 - Hear & Smell - Letter W
• Week 4 - Taste - Letter X

MARCH - BIRDS & BUGS

(Read: Mouse & Mole: Fine Feathered Friends) [Field Trip: a nature center] {Science experiment link: Raising Raisins}

• Week 1 - Ladybugs - Letter Y
• Week 2 - Butterflies - Letter Z
• Week 3 - Birds - Letter Review
• Week 4 - Ants - Letter Review
• Week 5 - Bees - Letter Review

APRIL - PLANTS & FLOWERS

(Read: A Treasury of Children's Literature) [Field Trip: a nursery or garden center] {Science experiment link: Sun Painting}

• Week 1 - Bees - Letter Review
• Week 2 - Flowers
• Week 3 - Plants
• Week 4 - Gardening
• Week 5 - Photosynthesis

MAY - WATER LIFE

(Continue: A Treasury of Children's Literature) [Field Trip: visit nearest body of water] {Science experiment link: Mini Ocean} 

• Week 1 - Photosynthesis
• Week 2 - Ponds & Swamps
• Week 3 - Ocean Life
• Week 4 - Rivers & Streams
• Week 5 - Prehistoric Water Life 

JUNE - PREHISTORIC ANIMALS

(Read: Dinosaurs Before Dark) [Field Trip: a natural history museum] {Science experiment link: make a volcano}

• Week 1 - Dinosaurs
• Week 2 - Fossils

SUMMER! What should we learn this summer?

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