Whether you’re a veteran homeschooler or one of the enormous number of new homeschool parents this fall, you know that you want to give your kids an excellent education. My name is Valerie Chase, and I started homeschooling six years ago when my oldest was entering fourth grade. I like to use a literature based homeschool approach. That means that high quality books form the basis for my homeschool.
I’ve put together some unit studies which you can do with your students. They are appropriate for a wide range of grade levels so you can use them with multiple students. You can also easily adapt the unit studies for use in pod schools or co-ops.
When books are above your student’s reading level, read him or her the book. When children listen to books above their reading level they learn vocabulary and develop listening and reading comprehension skills.
For a more extensive list of books, please visit my shop at https://bookshop.org/shop/literaryhomeschool
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Learn About The Water Cycle and Water Conservation
Project ideas: Have your student make a poster or diorama explaining the water cycle. Research with your student where your local water comes from and where it is treated. Maybe your family has a well, learn about that. If the reservoir in your area is open to the public, visit it.
Water is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle by Miranda Paul, Illustrated by Jason Chin
Did a Dinosaur Drink This Water? by Robert E. Wells
Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by James Graham Hale
Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis
A Drop Around the World by Barbara Shaw McKinney, illustrated by Michael S. Maydak
One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Rosemary Woods
The Water Princess by Georgie Badiel & Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Exploring Space and Learning About Physics
Project Idea: If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a clear sky at night, go outside with your student and star gaze. If you don’t have a telescope or binoculars you can zoom in on objects in the sky with your phone’s camera. Remember to never look directly at the sun.
Who Was Galileo? by Patricia Brennan Demuth & Who HQ, illustrated by John O’Brien
Who Was Isaac Newton? by Janet B. Pascal, & Who HQ, illustrated by Tim Foley
On A Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson
Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson with Gregory Mone
Literary Homeschool makes it easy to put together unit studies for your homeschoolers.
