My favorite thing in school was writing reports. I know I may be in a small club, but I enjoyed collecting, reading and focusing on one specific thing. My kids have never been real big on the whole report idea and we ended up doing so much of it orally and through hands on experiences together. But, I have one last hope and it's Kaden. I know...it's not looking too good over here. Kaden hates writing and would rather eat a bug then do anything over what is necessary to learn. But, I have a small trick up my sleeve. Recently I was given My First Report: Solar System for Grades 1-4 from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources.
They graciously included My First Report: Bugs and Worms and My First Report: Famous People.
We all need help from time to time in our homeschool and having a guideline for getting your kids on the right path of exploring and learning is a blessing. Luckily Hewitt Homeschooling Resources has us all covered. These My First Reports have a section right in the front that says "Off to a Good Start". And in this section they explain the importance of making sure your child uses correct facts in their report and know where to get their research. Here is where you also get the instructions and options for using. Basically, each set includes several different reports that you can do one a week in no particular order or pick and choose. It's up to you! Each report topic offers several questions to get your kid thinking about the topic and a few vocabulary words that can be used, learned and even as spelling words. And at the back is a complete unit study that offers multiple extras and activities to be completed.
Some of Kaden's favorites were the word search, looking up the Bible verses and learning about the constellations through some of the activities. One we are doing this weekend is making constellations with tin cans by using the patterns provided. We are doing it on our Father's day camp trip. We already practiced on aluminum foil.
Some of the other things available to do is to host a party with everyone dressing like a certain planet or constellation. There is a great list of games to play at it. There is map studies, poems and biography suggestions and tons of language arts activities. And the fun and engaging math lessons will get anyone on board, like charting the planets or the sunrise and sunsets. Make a large model of the universe in your back yard or figure out how high you could jump on other planets. There are backyard moon activities, rocket demonstrations with balloons and plans to build your very own telescope. The unit study doesn't just cover Bible, history, language arts and science....physical education, music and art are included too. Kaden looked up many songs listed online that he had not heard of before and drew the night sky as he saw it. He also had fun making a sundial that turned into making a sun oven.
Another bonus is the wonderful field trip guide included. Listed are tons of places you could go and visit like museums and planetariums. But, also included are ideas if you live near the ocean or what to do if you live in a big city. I also love the list of things you can draw and record, like moon, North star, Milky Way, comets and so forth. Kaden did do this and when I started to take a picture of his book he was not happy and was embarrassed. So, I will not be able to share that.
So, what did I think? This is the best unit study I have ever used....hands down my favorite. I love that it's printed on quality product. I don't have to make a zillion copies. There is so much to pick and choose from. Like I said we are packing and didn't get to a lot of the activities because we are saving them for August. But, he learned so much. Each topic he did complete he read the questions and searched through approved resources that were provided and some that we had already. He did write one of the reports out on the provided paper in the back, but he is embarrassed of his writing. We are working hard on his motor skills over here.
These sets are PERFECT if you are new to homeschooling or to unit studies. Even as a seasoned homeschooling mom I was feeling relaxed and totally comfortable that Kaden was not just learning, but having fun while doing it. And I didn't have to stay up all night on Pinterest organizing a huge list of fun things to do. This is right at the 3rd-4th grade range but with parental guidance younger kids would do just fine. And for older kiddos like Kaden that may struggle here and there or just for a review this would work.
Make sure you connect with Hewitt Homeschooling Resources on social media and click below to see what other reviewers had to say about several of their other products.
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