It’s almost time to get the 2nd half of our school year underway.  This semester holds some exciting studies - units on our state, the Middle Ages, earth science and an artist lapbook.  First up is a study of our state – Kentucky.

I’m straying from the typical sort of unit study we do around here.  This unit will be mostly worksheet-based, with final projects being research-based.  Why?  Well first, I want the unit to be really quick.  Second, Mahayla has covered this topic before at co-op, so it just made more sense to provide them each with worksheets covering different topics.  Third, for Mahayla, I want this unit to be independent as much as possible.  And fourth, remember, I’m whatcha call curriculumADHD – I can’t help myself from bouncing around!    I think it’s good for all of us to learn in different ways.  Each type of learning encourages new and varied skills.

So, the plan is to give them each their own notebook full of worksheets on everything from state symbols to government to industries.  Mahayla will be on her own to complete the assignments as she sees fit.  The only stipulation is that she must be finished by a certain date.  Caleb and I will work through his notebook together over about a week and a half.

Each day will find us reading lots of library books together.  I’ve found several non-fiction, historical fiction and picture books about Kentucky simply by typing “Kentucky” into the library search engine.  I also will be checking out some books by Kentucky authors.  We’ll also do a few projects together like a cookie relief map of the state and making a derby pie (yum!)

After the notebooks are completed, I will give them a list of possible projects from which to choose.  Mahayla will choose three or four (depending on how hard they are) and Caleb will choose one or two.  The choices will range from….

*Research a native american group that lived in KY.  Build a model of their home and present information about the group to your parents.

*Choose a famous Kentuckian to research.  Create a poster-sized body of your person and cut the face out so your face fits in the hole.  You will present first-person information about your famous person as you hold the poster.

*Learn all the words to “My Old Kentucky Home” and sing the song to your family.

And, voila, there’s the unit in a nutshell.  Worksheets, books, a few family projects and a few research projects with presentations.  We should knock this one out in two to three weeks.

Here’s a link to some of the resources I’m using.

Here are a couple online resources we’ll use.

AWAKE – KY Wildlife Site

USA Geography – states, capitals, geographical features

And finally, here are a few things that will be out for free time fun during the unit.  Books, nature journals with wildlife and bird guides, a US state puzzle, a KY board game, some US board games and a bird concentration game.