Unit Studies/The Checklist

What a great resources!

If you have been homeschooling for any amount of time, I'm sure you've at some point stumbled upon the great website from Oklahoma and you may have heard of Cindy Downes. If not, here's a few links to some really awesome things I stumbled upon today.

First of all, since it's Christmas - I'll give you think link to her free Christmas Unit Study. Then, since you're interested in her unit studies now, I'll give you the link to her long list of free unit studies!!

And, to top it off, here is a link to a really great homeschool resource she created called The Checklist. It has a list of EVERYTHING you could think of that we want our children to learn in the course of our homeschool. It's one of the best tools I've seen to make sure you "fill in the learning gaps" and assures that you cover it all (as best as humanly possible). Very cool in my opinion.

I personally think the Checklist would be great to have as a yearly planning tool. As the end of the year approaches, it's always a good time to make sure you're on track for what you planned in your homeschool for the year or the long haul.

Here's yet another resource I'm putting on my wish list. :-)

Great book!

You have probably heard of this book before, but I hope to buy it soon! I checked it out a the library recently and I have been in awe of it ever since. Oh, you are wondering what book it is I am talking about?

Handbook of Nature Study
By Anna Botsford Comstock

It was first written in 1911.

She has taken the idea of studying nature and made it enjoyable & EASY to do. It is a guide with over 850 pages (but it's not too bulky amazingly). The one I am looking at is the older edition from 1976.

It has been broken down into 4 parts:
1.Teaching Nature Studies
2.Animals (which includes fish, birds, reptiles, etc.)
3.Plants
4.Earth and Sky

The choices to study are not at all uncommon either. She has even included things such as chickens, cats & dogs, apple trees, pumpkins, honeybee, etc. I can do those!

Each one has a little information about the subject, questions to think about or to pose to the child, and an occasional poem that may fit your study. She even has suggestions on how to expand the use of Nature Studies in every subject, including Math, English, etc.

And, for those of us who might not be able to purchase right away (although the price is fantastic considering all that it has!) we can view it online for FREE!!! Here it is FREE for ya!

A very valuable book for every homeschool in my opinion!!