Unit Themes for the 2014-1015 School Year

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Three out of four kiddos have been sick this week.  I am welcoming the chance to catch up on some unfinished work.  Each year I keep a binder for each kiddo, with their monthly syllabuses, Individualized Home Instruction Plan (goals for the year or IHIP), and other important papers required by the school district. All of these forms were handed in on May 1.  However, due to our busy lives, I'm just putting the binders together today.  I go through the binders week after week, making sure I'm covering the correct material and checking off each thing we accomplish.  Though I create the syllabuses myself, I'm still bound to them when I hand them into our district, so it's important I look at them weekly.  Every school district, state and country are different with what they require, but for us, this is it.

I checked back through the blog to see if I had shared our plans for the year yet, and was surprised that I hadn't.  I've added our weekly tot activity themes as well.  You will notice that over the course of the 12 months the older kiddos will also cover a study of every continent.

July
Unit Theme:  All American Summer
Week 1:  4th of July/ United States of America
Week 2:  Baseball (The kiddos did this outside of the classroom, which is why there was no unit study shared.)
Week 3:  Carnival/Fair (The Kiddos did this outside of the classroom, which is why there was no unit study shared.)
Week 4:  Pioneer Day

Read Aloud Books:
1. Becoming Babe Ruth, by Matt Tavares
2.  Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
We just started this venture.
1.  Dogs

August
Unit Theme:  Life At Sea Part 2
Week 1:  Shark Week
Week 2:  Beach Fun (This unit is being combined with our Mermaid Unit.)
Week 3:  Mermaids
Week 4:  South America

Read Aloud Books:
1.  Red Sails to Capri, by Ann Well and C. B. Falls
2.  The Tail of Emily Windshap, by Liz Kessler

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Sharks
2.  Beach Fun (This unit is being combined with our Mermaid Unit.)
3.  Sea Turtles
4.  Boats

September
Unit Theme:  The Doctor's Office-We had a LOT of sickness in September.  This unit will be made up later in the year.
Week 1:  Pediatrician/Pharmacist
Week 2:  Dentist/Orthodontist
Week 3:  Optometrist
Week 4:  General Conference Unit

Read Aloud Books:
1.  Matilda by Roald Dahl
2.  Stuart Little by E. B. White

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  My Body
2.  The Doctor's Office
3.  The 5 Senses
4.  General Conference

Due to September being a big birthday celebration week, (click HERE for party details) we added a fun fall unit for the kiddos.
1.  American Football Unit

I also added a new fall themed tot unit.
1.  Squirrels

Since we were unable to cover material planned for this month, due to sickness etc., this unit will be made up in June.

October
Unit Theme:  Witches & Wizards
Week 1:  North America
Week 2:  The Wizard of Oz
Week 3:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Week 4:  Halloween-Check out our tot unit activities that were available for everyone to enjoy.

Read Aloud Books:
1.  The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
2.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J. K. Rowling

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Apples-This unit was part of our Fall Kick Off Birthday Celebration.
2.  Leaves-(Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
3.  Pumpkins-This unit was part of our Fall Kick Off Birthday Celebration.
4.  Halloween

November
Unit Theme:  I'm Thankful for My Family-Weeks 1-3 were combined in one unit.  We spent a lot of time doing activities outside of the classroom as well.
Week 1:  My Family
Week 2:  My Family Heritage
Week 3:  Thanksgiving
Week 4:  Europe Part I

To continue our November theme, our Random Acts of Christmas Kindness for December are focused on our immediate and extended family.  If you'd like to see what we're doing, click HERE.

Read Aloud Books:
1.  Beezus & Ramona, by Beverly Cleary
2.  Little Britches Father & Were Ranchers, by Ralph Moody

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  My Family-(Activities for this unit took place outside of the classsroom.)
2.  My Extended Family-(Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
3.  Thanksgiving-(Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
4.  Taking Care of Babies-(Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)

December
Unit Theme:  Christmas
Week 1:  Carol of the Bells
Week 2:  Operation Christmas Cookies
Week 3:  Grandparent Christmas Party 2014
Week 4:  The Nutcracker (Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
Week 5:  Happy New Year (The kiddos were sick for New Year's Eve & Day. :(

Read Aloud Books:
1.  The Nutcracker, by E. T. A. Hoffman
2.  A Christmas Carol (A Young Reader's Edition), by Charles Dickens

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  The Nativity (Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
2.  Christmas Bells
3.  The Gingerbread Man (Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
4.  Christmas Tree  (Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)
5.  Happy New Year  (The kiddos were sick for New Year's Eve & Day.  :(

January
Unit Theme: Winter
Week 1:  The Arctic
Week 2:  Hockey
Week 3:  Figure Skating
Week 4:  Antarctica

Read Aloud Books:
1.  The First Dog, by Jan Brett
2.  You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter, by John Malam

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Polar Bears
2.  Hockey
3.  Figure Skating
4.  Penguins (Activities for this unit took place outside of the classroom.)

February
Unit Theme:  The Body
Week 1:  Respiratory System
Week 2:  Valentine's Day Mini Unit (This unit took place outside of the classroom.)
Week 3:  Digestive System
Week 4:  Australia

Read Aloud Books:
1.  Robin Hood, by Paul Creswick
2.  The Secret Garden, by France Hogdson Burnett

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  My Body Can Move
2.  Valentine's Day
3.  My Body Needs Healthy Food
4.  I Love Cats

March
Unit Theme:  Civilizations in History
Week 1:  Ancient Egypt
Week 2:  Ancient China
Week 3:  Imperial Russia
Week 4:  Asia
Week 5: General Conference

Read Aloud Books:
1.  The Egypt Game, by Zilpha Keatley
2.  A Medieval Feast, by Aliki

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Cars
2.  Construction Vehicles
3.  Emergency Vehicles
4.  Trains
5.  General Conference

April
Unit Theme:  Spring
Week 1:   Africa
Week 2:  Vegetable Garden Unit
Week 3:  Flower Unit
Week 4:  Fruit Unit

Read Aloud Books:
1.  James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl
2.  The Cricket in Time Square, by George Selden

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Easter
2.  The Tale of Peter Rabbit
3.  The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
4.  The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

May
Unit Theme:  Zoology
Week 1:  Paleozoic Era
Week 2:  Mesozoic Era
Week 3:  Cenozoic Era
Week 4:  Make Up Week

Read Aloud Books:
1.  Tales from the Odyssey, Part I by Mary Pope Osborne
2.  Tales from the Odyssey, Part II, by Mary Pope Osborne

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
1.  Mammals
2.  Birds
3.  Fish
4.  Reptiles & Amphibians

June
Unit Theme:  Kid's Choice
Week 1:  Dinomite's Choice
Week 2:  Bulldozer's Choice
Week 3:  Princess' Choice
Week 4:  Sunshine's Choice

Read Aloud Books:
This will be used as a make up week, if we haven't finished all books mentioned.

Weekly Tot Activity Themes:
These will be coordinated with each child's choice of theme for unit studies.

Weekly unit studies may be combined or eliminated in cases of illness, unexpected vacations and/or events.