I had the opportunity to review a physical copy of Horsing Around, a four-week unit study, written by Sharon Gibson and published by Homeschool Legacy.
I like the concept of the unit study – “focusing on one particular topic, while incorporating a variety of subjects.” Although it sounds interesting and exciting, I have resisted unit studies because of the amount of time I think they take. Because they usually cover the required subjects (as well as a few others) so that they can be done as full curriculum, I have not been able to carve out enough time to complete one. We already have curriculum we like for our required and other subjects and taking time away from those to complete a unit study just hasn’t seemed possible.
Author, Sharon Gibson, who is the creator of Homeschool Legacy has managed to put together a unit study curriculum that may be completed with the commitment of only one-day a week in your school studies. I like that idea; I have at least one-day a week I can spare for additional learning outside of our regular scope of work.
Homeschool Legacy offers a number of Once-a-Week studies that include four week unit studies Birds of a Feather; Forest for the Trees; Christmas Comes to America, Westward Ho II and Knights & Nobles that has a fifth week option. Other titles that are five weeks or more are Early Settlers, Lewis & Clark: From Sea to Shining Sea, Native America , Revolutionary Ideas: The Story of the American Revolution Weather on the Move; We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution, Westward Ho I and Westward Ho I and II. All of the studies, except for We the People (grades four through twelve), are for second through twelfth grade students.
Lily is a lover of horses and plans to become a veterinarian when she grows up. We have known this unit study was available for a while, but since we didn’t have access to a horse, we had to wait. Now comes the benefit of living in the country. We have access to horses, which made using the unit study more fun and educational.
The features of the study are a little different from most unit studies that are currently available. Homeschool Legacy’s unit studies can be completed over the course of four to eight weeks, depending upon the study you choose, with only one-day a week of study. All of the work has been prepared for the teacher all the way down to a list of library books with the Dewey decimal numbers included. She provides a variety of book selections each week that may appeal and be helpful to students as they move through the material. The books are categorized according to different reading levels – young reader, mid-level reader and older reader.
Gibson even provides a suggested schedule for incorporating your unit study into your week. It is helpful and I really like that the schedule didn’t require us to set aside our regular studies for the period of time we were doing the unit-study.
Each weekly study begins with the focus of the week and lists books and other media (ex: video) resources that may be helpful. It provides a list of supplies and a list of activities that can include a virtual tour, watching a documentary, listening to music, cooking, writing, art and more. As with unit-studies, many subjects are covered.
A feature I really like is the inclusion of Bible study in the unit-study. Each week, there is a family devotional (and Bible verse) and also a character trait that is presented. Gibson ties it into the lesson for the week. This was good Bible time for Lily.
Lily was able to work through the study independently. She spent more time on the study then is required, because she enjoyed reading or looking through the suggested books we were able to find at the library.
Even though Homeschool Legacy unit studies are able to be used alongside your current curriculum, they also work well independently as a main source for your science and history studies. Lab sciences for high school students will need to be completed using other resources.
Students who participate in Boy Scouts or American Heritage Girls are able to earn credit towards their merit badges. If your child is a member of 4H, they may be able to use the studies for their 4H Project Record.
Homeschool Legacy has a product that addresses the needs of a family like mine, who wants to use a unit-study, but finding the time has not been possible. The lessons are easily adaptable into a school week, not time consuming, well organized and easy to prepare because Gibson has done that for you.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The paper-back Horsing Around Once-a-Week unit study is available for $18.95.
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You can read more reviews of this item by fellow crew members.