Finding a Hands-On Unit Study

We have struggled to find a history curriculum that fits our learning needs. I found myself scrambling to supplement.  I needed something that was more complete.

Last summer when the Olympics were about to begin, we did an abbreviated study of Ancient Greece with a focus on government and the games themselves.  We even created a mini-Olympics in our home.   That just wasn’t enough to fully appreciate the Ancient Greeks.  Luckily, I  came across Project Passport.  We have been diving deep into Ancient Greece using this unit study curriculum.

 

This is not an open and go curriculum, but it is relatively easy to execute and well worth the upfront time investment.  This curriculum is perfect for a family who appreciates making projects which take center stage for the homeschool day. The best part for me was that two hours would go by and my whiny reluctant learners never complained. Upper elementary school and middle school aged kids will benefit from Project Passport unit studies.

My kids don’t tend to be crafty. Scissors and glue are a source of stress in my house, but this was definitely a doable set of projects with clear instructions.  The large variety of projects were easily adapted to meet my kids needs. I found a good balance for my kids that struggle in some academic areas.  This was not a case where we got fed up and frustrated with the work. The work itself was a good compliment to the learning and created a more hands-on experience that my kids (and I) appreciated.  Lapbooks and notebooking were part of the adventure and not presented as extraneous busy work.

The history unit study is divided into stops on your journey. There is a travel planner that gives you a brief overview and another detailed itenarary for each stop. The flow created a logical journey through the time period. Each stop contains a text and has a variety of reinforcements, some of which are repeated types of activities.  Things like map work, postcards, newspapers, and timelines repeat during the study.  Additional projects kept it from becoming predictable and some of the stops had audio files that were fantastic.

I played the role of the tour guide while my boys were the tourists.  They were very happy to get to soak up the information.  For the Ancient Greece unit, they were also thrilled to be able to add in details that we had talked about previously AND learn new things.   If you have studied the time period before, I would not let that detract you from using these studies.

 

These unit studies are ideal for students that like to dive deep into a subject and really immerse themselves.   Homeschoolers that have dedicated time planned into their week for this type of study will find these enjoyable.   This is not the type of curriculum that you can dedicate 20 minutes here and there into and get the same benefits.  It is well worth the investment.  I like to have 1-2 hours set aside for a stop as a bare minimum.  The studies are designed to last 6-12 weeks, but homeschooling is all about flexibility.

I think that one of the biggest positives for me was that my guys would ask about doing it.  As a parent to kids with some learning differences, that is a rarity.   When my kids are interested and engaged, their learning differences often seem to melt away.  I truly appreciated that in this curriculum.

We will be using these for the forseeable future in our homeschool.   There is a full line of products and I can’t wait to start on the Renaissance & Reformation. I have previewed it and it looks just as amazing. Ancient Egypt and the Middle Ages are currently available with Ancient Rome planned for 2018.   These unit studies are available as downloads and CD.

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