This unit study is part of our Racing Through Creation series which follows the days of creation found in the book of Genesis. We are exploring what God created in those six days and taking this opportunity to learn as much as we can about every little thing.

The Sky Unit Study

In this unit study, we are combining fitness and science together. The child will learn the following things:

• Memorize Genesis 1:1
• Learn what it means to separate something.
• Layers of the Atmosphere
• How to Read a Nutrition Label

Before we go any further, let me say thank you for visiting our website! We are so glad you are here. My name is Kaycee Hobbs and I am a homeschooling mama to our large family. We are blessed with seven beautiful children and want to give them the best education we can. One of our reasons for success is using unit studies.

What is a Unit Study?

If you already know what a unit study is, skip this part HERE.

A unit studies combines a variety of subjects while you study one topic. It is a homeschool lesson plan that is used as curriculum. I like to think of it as taking a topic and placing it under a magnifying glass. Within the study of that topic, you will explore a variety of subtopics. It allows the child to create a file folder in their brain to all the information that they learn under on topic.

There are several advantages to learning through unit studies so let me share a couple with you:

• Multi-level Teaching
• Saves Time in Your Homeschool Schedule
• Sensory Teaching
• Accommodates Different Learning Styles
• Makes Memories
• Saves Money

Multi-level Teaching

Since we have seven children, the unit study method is a perfect way to combine the teaching of different age levels and grades. We get to incorporate everyone no matter their ages and levels of development. I just change the activities to be something every child can do based on their skill level. Don’t be afraid to alter any of a unit study to fit your child or the dynamic of your family.

I wrote and in-depth post about how we multi-level teach, check it out here!

A Parent’s Handbook: Multi-Level Teaching

Saves Time in Your Homeschool Schedule

When you teach all the children together, it saves time in your daily homeschool schedule. Instead of meeting individually with every child, you can teach them the same thing as a group all at the same time.

Now, I am going to be very honest with you here. We use a boxed curriculum for our Language Arts and Math subjects. I do this because I know that you can’t teach these subjects on the same development level.

However, if I have the chance to throw in an everyday math word problem into the unit study, then you can guarantee that’s what I will do. If I can have them list adjectives for a piece of our unit study, then I go with that. If it fits, then I am going to incorporate it wherever I can.

Homeschool Homepage

We use Christianbook.com to buy our homeschool curriculum. I have found they tend to offer the best prices! Almost everything else is taught with unit studies. This is what we use for our math and language:

Math-U-See Shop

Easy Grammar Shop

Sensory Teaching

In a unit study you want to let the child act out or experience as much of the unit study as you can. To do this you want to include as many of their five senses as you can. I have a rule that I try to follow… I try to include a minimum of 3 senses in every activity. I figure that sight and hearing are going to automatically be a part of the lesson, so I intentionally try to add touch, taste, or smell to it.

I give lots of tips and practical ideas in this post! Check it out!

Making Memories with the Five Senses in Your Homeschool

Accommodates Different Learning Styles

So, as I mentioned before, we have seven children and guess what? They are all different and they have a variety of strengths and weaknesses which creates a variety of different learning styles. It can get chaotic when you start to think about how differently each of the seven kids learn. When we use unit studies we can adapt and customize their learning plan easily.

I wrote a unit study on how I taught my kids the 8 Great Smarts. Check it out! These concepts based on the book by Kathy Koch is a game changer!

How I Taught the 8 Great Smarts to My Kids

Makes Memories

Learning together as a family gives us the opportunity to learn stuff together. We design it so we get to experience the activities together, so we have the chance to make memories together. When our children get older, I want to hear the “remember when?” stories and these experiences make that possible.

Saves Money

For us using unit studies saves quite a bit of money. I have a good-sized school supply collection that I keep on hand and so I try to use those. It helps the bottom line when you can use common supplies instead of supplies that are hard to find. Even with the cost of field trips, I spend less on unit studies than I do on buying boxed curriculum for our large family.

It also saves money because I can customize to the child and their specific needs. We all know that homeschool curriculum is NOT one size fits all.

What subjects does this unit study cover?

We will studying the following subjects within this unit study or lesson plan:

• Bible
• PE and Fitness
• Language Arts
• Science
• Health
• Writing

Supply List

Our Picks

Teacher or Parent Directions and Details

Warm-up

The students will practice memorizing their memory verse in Genesis 1:1. This verse is the foundation of this entire Racing Thru Creation Unit Study series.

The students will select a start and finish line. They will set up the cones in between the lines so they can kick the soccer ball around the cones.

Once they say the memory verse then they get a turn with the soccer ball. You can repeat this as many times as it takes for the child to memorize the verse.

Starting Point

In this part of the lesson, the child will learn their vocabulary word ‘separate‘. Look up the definition of ‘separate‘ in a dictionary or online. After they have written the word on one index card and the definition on another index card, they will get to act out the word.

Have the child help you gather various items that can be sorted. It can be categories like hard or soft things, round or square things, or different colored things. It can be anything.

Create a pile in the middle of a large area and designate smaller areas for them to sort or separate their items into. Have them select an item and place it into the correct pile.

Workout

In this task, they will watch a YouTube video that explains the layers of the atmosphere. I always recommend that the leader previews any videos prior to showing it to the students.

Once they have watched the video, give each child a white balloon and a permanent marker. Watch the video again and pause it at each layer of the atmosphere, to give the child time to label and divide their balloon. They can add any symbols they want to help them remember what that layer does.

Planet Earth 

Interval Training

For this activity, the students will use the “Atmosphere Balloon” they just made. The students will spell the word separate by saying one letter every time they bop the balloon. If they spell it incorrectly, they must stop, hold their balloon and spell separate twice. Then they can start “bopping” again.

Aid Station

What is a nutrition label and how does it help us? This is what kids will learn about in this portion of the lesson. While they are watching the YouTube video, they can fix their “Cloudy Day” snack. They will cover a rice cake in berry cream cheese and top it with marshmallows.

This would be a great time to look at the nutrition label of their favorite foods and discuss how healthy they are.

First Encyclopedia of the Human Body

Writing Assignment

The point of this part of the lesson is for the child to realize that God is sovereign, and He is in complete control of what happens. They are given a writing prompt and asked to write a short paragraph.

Writing Box Set

In this box you will find everything you need to start your writing career: two books loaded with tips and prompts for writing stories, poems and essays, and a handy journal to write down your notes, observations and chapters. Includes Creative Writing Book, Write Your Own Storybook, and Writing Journal.

Finish Line

This is the finale of this portion of our lesson plan. The child is going to paint the sky. I encourage them to lay down and look at the sky and the clouds if possible.

Then they can paint what they see. Letting them do this outside will help control the mess.

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Thank you so much for visiting us! We hope you found this resource to be helpful in your homeschool, homeschool co-op, in your children’s church, or for something to just keep the kids busy.