To Break or not to Break?

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

This week, the kids and I traveled over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house! Now, we're snuggled up with family, enjoying our time together and eating too much food. I'm forgoing most of the mega deals this year, so no need to brave the Black Friday crowds.

This is the first time, though, that we've gone on a vacation like this and I brought our homeschool stuff with us! *gasp* I know, I know. Usually, I like to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off, or at least only focus on Thanksgiving-related activities.

However, this has been a really rough season for us, health-wise. I was sick for an entire 3 weeks in October, and all 3 of my kids seem to be taking turns getting sick themselves or making each other sick. That's put us way behind in our curriculum.

I'm not really one to obsess over something like that. Correction--I am that type, but I'm learning to overcome that bit of the perfectionist side of me. While I'm not in any hurry to "catch up," I also believe we need to stay on track. So, we're brought a little bit of homeschool with us.

Granted, many of our activities are still Thanksgiving (and starting Monday--Christmas) related--the books we read, the crafts we do, etc. We are still making sure to plunge on in our studies. The girls are enjoying learning about the medieval times and animal habitats in science. In another post, I'll have to share the travel books I made for them, which bits of math, spelling, reading, and history/geography in the form of games! Yes, I'm sneaky like that.

What about you? Do you continue to homeschool through the holidays? Why or why not?

Sharing Thanksgiving Traditions

I am a big fan of the last two months of the year. Halloween kicks off an amazing time of year. As a military family, Veterans Day is very important to us, and then Thanksgiving, which leads into the Christmas season. Two months of love, compassion, thankfulness, and remembrance.

Many people think that Thanksgiving gets looked over, but I don't believe that's necessarily true. Although the original reason for celebrating might get lost in translation, its essence is highlighted even more in light of the Christmas season, which seems to come earlier every year. I tend to see Thanksgiving as the kick-off celebration. Christmas is all about Jesus' birth and what he would ultimately do. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have, thankful for what God has done for us.

The original Thanksgiving was a celebration of a full harvest of food after experiencing a particularly rough winter the year before. Of the men, women, and children who originally arrived on the Mayflower, only about half survived that first went. With the help of Squanto and his fellow Indians, the people learned to plant corn and other crops, to use the local plants, and to hunt/fish. By the time, the next harvest arrived, there was plenty to go around. They then held the feast to celebrate God's provision with their new friends.

Now, we gather together with friends and family for a meal to celebrate our "harvest," whatever that might look like for us. Some years are more bountiful than others, but we always have something to be thankful for, even if it is only the salvation provided by Jesus' death and resurrection.

Being a military family, Thanksgiving looks different every year. We haven't really been able to build too many traditions.

The past few years, though, we've done our thankful leaves. We all write what we are thankful for on leaves cut out of construction paper, and then tape them to the sliding door. The kids seem to have a lot of fun with it, and sometimes it amazes me what they find to be grateful for. There are the typical kids answers like their favorite toy or TV or the like. But, when, without prompting, they say something like Jesus's sacrifice or my family or time with Mommy/Daddy, etc. it just makes my heart melt!

And then there's pumpkin pie and fried turkey. Doesn't seem to matter where we are or who we're celebrating Thanksgiving with, those two items end up on the list somehow. ("Say, have you tried fried turkey--it's just mouth-watering!")

This year, I think I'm going to start a new tradition of having the girls weave our placemats for the big meal. We'll start with construction paper, but maybe when they're older, we'll try some weaving with something else. :)

What are your Thanksgiving traditions? Anything fun or unique?

Creating a Unit Study

There are plenty available. Just do a quick search and you are bound to find more than one unit study for the very next topic in your lesson plan. Some will cost you. Some are free.

One of them may just be perfect for you and your family. The topic, lessons, and activities are spot on. It couldn't get any better. After all, the work is done for you. You just have to implement it.

But what about those of us who actually want to plan our own? Maybe customize it completely? How do you plan a unit study?

Today, I'll walk you through a few quick steps to planning your own unit study. These steps will work for almost any unit study, whether it be a multi-subject unit study or a simple history unit.

How to Plan a Unit Study

1. Pick a topic. Perhaps you'd like to study a time period in history, a specific culture, or science topic. Maybe you would like to build a unit study around a book you will be reading with your children.
2. Find one main reference book, resource, or website. This resource will serve as a guide or starting point, depending how you choose to use it. Generally, if you want to build a unit study based on a piece of literature, this becomes your reference book.
3. Create a list of subtopics. Good reference resources can be used to glean subtopics or areas of further study within one main topic. Some can be used as spines for the entire study. Usborne, DK, and other books like them lend themselves well to this usage. Their typical one topic per two page layout easily creates an outline for more in depth study. Unit studies based on literature, might use elements from the plot, characters, setting, and author. For instance, a unit study on Charlotte's Web could include subtopics like farm life, barns, spiders, farm animals, rats, and fairs.
4. Collect {or create your own} ideas. Find books, projects, activities, and worksheets for each of the subtopics. Be sure to include ideas below, at, and above grade level. Generally, anything can be altered a little, and sometimes you may want an activity to serve as a review or a challenge for your child. In the past, before Pinterest, I used to collect all my ideas in a file. Now, I simply pin the idea onto a board.
5. Find field trips. List local places and events which could relate to one or more of the subtopics. Check into virtual tours as well. Sometimes it may not be possible to visit a place, but students can 'tour' it through a website.
6. Outline the order of study. It may seem backwards to place this step so far down the list. However, once you have the details collected, then you can decide which of the subtopics you'll likely spend more time covering or which are more important in the unit study.
7. Assign a schedule for the unit study. Judging by the ideas you have found or created, you can decide how much time to allow each one. Be sure to keep it flexible and include a few extra days for topics of interest. Children often want to explore a specific topic further. Allow them the freedom to do so, by setting aside extra time.

If you are creating a unit study which is cross curricula, then you will need to pay careful attention to include subtopics, activities, and field trips which are indeed cross curricula. Balance your unit study by finding or creating lessons which include all the areas of study you want to cover.

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Dorie and her drummer husband, Jerry, began the homeschooling journey over ten years ago. Currently, they home educate four children ranging from early elementary to high school. Dorie can be found at Homeschooling Just Next Door, Facebook, or Pinterest.