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We have been wanting to try out a unit studies in our homeschool for a while but I never knew where to start so I was thrilled to be picked to do a review for Homeschool Complete. We reviewed a few of the Unit Studies (K-6) that Homeschool Complete sells separately from their full-year unit study curriculums. This makes a really good option for those who are only interested in doing unit studies some of the time or what to dive deep into a topic but don’t want to ignore the other subjects. We really enjoyed diving deep into Asia and Seasons, we can’t wait to try the other unit studies we received as well, Johnny Apple Seed and Parks.
How The Studies Are Laid Out
Each unit study ranges from one to three weeks long, packed full of skills that cover math, language art, science, and social, along with a few other subjects. The studies are broken up into lessons that you could then complete one a day or maybe even one every couple of days if you are doing other stuff in your homeschool.
Each unit has a book list of the books you will need for the unit as well as some extra book ideas that will also go along with the unit. We really enjoyed the books that were selected for each unit study. Most of the books could be found either in the library, on the digital library, or on Kindle. There were a couple of books that I couldn’t find so I searched for videos on youtube of other people reading the books, this actually worked out really well. Not having to buy a bunch of books on top of the unit studies would make this a really affordable option for homeschooling parents.
I thought that it was interesting that one of the things that all of the units we received had a calendar component that you would complete at the beginning of each lesson. My daughter who is kindergarten really enjoyed this part but my son who is a third grader wasn’t a fan so we just simply left it out. It was nice that if there was anything in the unit study that didn’t work for you it was easy to switch things up and really form it to work for your family.
I found that the lessons would not really work for someone who is looking for something that their child could do independently. There was a lot of parent involvement with doing the activities, reading the books, and reading the questions laid out through each of the lessons within the unit. It was helpful that all of the answers are there for you in the same place as the questions and there’s even a script for when you are asking your child the questions.
Throughout the units, there was also some hands-on projects. In the Aisa Unit Study, we made little paper lanterns, a mini dam, jumping from origami, and even making Lo Mein! The Seasons Unit Study also had some great hands-on activities which included things like, shining a flashlight on a ball to show how the seasons work, leaf rubbings, and making edible snowflakes! These we all part of the learning outcomes for the unit and really helped to bring the study to life. Even my daughter joined in on the activities for her brother’s lessons and vice-versa!
Helpful Features That You Might Like
- You dont have to worry about finding things for seperate subjects
- Unit studies come in topics for children from kindergarten to grade six level
- The activities are fun for the kids and really help make learning something fun
- Everyhting is included, other than the books and activity suppies
- You can get the unit studies as physical copies or digital downloads
- The studies are done in a way that you can tailor them to your child’s needs
- Book selections are great and compiled of books that kids will actually like
What We Are Liking Best
I am really liking that unit studies really allow me to only have to worry about setting up and maintaining one thing. I don’t feel like I am getting so many things ready for our lessons each day, even though you still do have to get some things ready. It’s also great the projects are already planned out for you. We love adding projects to whatever we are learning about so having them already planned out to go with the lesson.
Another thing that is really great is that I can include both of my children in the unit studies that we have used, I just have to adapt the harder ones for my kindergarten student. She really enjoys listening as a read the books, both of my children enjoyed hearing the story of Flat Stanly in China! The picture books are also great to share with both of my children to sit and listen.
Where Can You Find Homeschool Complete Unit Studies?
You can find the unit studies at the Homeschool Complete website, https://www.homeschoolcomplete.com/Complete-Unit-Studies-s/163.htm. We received the digital downloadable, I would recommend this to people who only want to print off the parts of the units that they need for the child to write on. There’s also the printed version available and I think that the print version would be great for those who are buying a bunch of the unit studies and want all the pages printed because home printing can get a little pricey.
The units that we received: Asia (2 week, Gr 3-6, $15.95USD),
Johnny Apple Seed (1 week, Gr K-2, $8.95USD),
Parks (1 week, Gr 1-3, $10.95USD), Seasons (1 week, Gr 1, $8.95USD)
Homeschool Complete also sells All-Inclusive Year Long Curriculums that include unit studies for an entire year. If your kids really like unit studies this could be a really great option for you! You can find all of the information about their Year Long Curriculums here: https://www.homeschoolcomplete.com/Homeschool-Complete-All-Inclusive-Curriculum-s
What my children have to say
Kayden’s Interview (Age 8)
Q: What did you like best about the Aisa Unit Study?
A: I liked that it was all I had to do each day and it was easy.
Q: Did you enjoy the worksheets?
A: They were okay but I don’t the printing sheets (I think he’s referring to the cursive)
Q: Did you like the books that were part of the study?
A: I loved the book that called someone Turnip Cake (He’s referring to Flat Stanly)
Emily’s Interview (Age 5)
Q: What did you like best about the Seasons Unit Study?
A: I liked that there are lots of books I can read with mom.
Q: Did you enjoy the worksheets?
A: Everything was easy.
Q: Did you like the books that were part of the study?
A: I like all the books, I like the dog sled book best because it has a puppy.
You can read other Homeschool Review Crew Members reviews by clicking the picture bellow or follow this link —> http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/homeschool-complete-k-4th-grade-unit-studies-homeschool-complete-reviews/
We sure did enjoy the unit studies our family worked on. We did Pioneers and John Adams. These are so well done. Looks like you all had a great time with them. It made me smile to read that your kiddos loved books! That is a win in my book. 🙂
That’s awesome to hear that other ones were good too! They really did like the books which I was a little worried about because some unit studies we’ve looked into didn’t have very appealing books.