Micro Unit Studies: Pirates or Privateers, You Decide

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This post, Micro Unit studies: Pirates or Privateers, You Decide, was made possible with a copy of Pirates or Privateers: You Decide from the Once-a-Week Micro-Studies collection by Homeschool Legacy for review as part of the Homeschool Review Crew.

While I have never been diagnosed with an attention disorder, I find that I love to have variety in life. This includes what we are doing in our homeschool for the younger grades.

Sure, the basics need to be covered. My 1st grader is working through a phonics-based reading program and we cover science, math and religion as well.

But, when it comes to other things I am totally drawn more towards a unit study approach. A way to take a topic of interest and dig in deep.

A visit to the library had us find several books on pirates perfect for my 1st grader.

Unit Studies from Homeschool Legacy

Homeschool Legacy offers a variety of options when it comes to unit studies for your homeschool. Some of them even tell you which scouting badges or requirements a child can get for completing it. Each is meant to be done over a short period of time, anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks.

Sharon Gibson is the woman behind the company. She found that a unit study approach worked well for her family. Not only did she see academic results from the approach, she saw long lasting positive effects on their family.

Homeschool Legacy was created to share this once a week unit study approach with other families. Sharon does the heavy lifting of compiling the study and you get to implement it in you home.
A few years ago, we reviewed We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution.  The timing was perfect for that review as my eldest son was working on the Citizenship in the Nation Eagle required merit badge for Boy Scouts. And we had fun exploring the topic a bit more with resources I had not considered prior to getting the unit study.
Each of these unit studies can be purchased individually or in bundles to save some money.

About Pirates or Privateers, You Decide

Pirates or Privateers You Decide Micro Unit Study from Homeschool Legacy.

Pirates or Privateers, You Decide is one of their Once-a-Week Micro-Studies. These micro-studies are written to take about 30 minutes in 3 sessions each week, with the whole family participating. For older kids, working on it all in one week is quite feasible, too.

During week one, there is a suggested novel to use as a family read aloud.  For this one, the suggested novel is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

The unit study  has a lot of great historical background about pirates. As you read through the material for each week, there are activities to be completed like timelines and mapping.

Other suggested resources are presented in the week it is needed. This includes links to websites of interest (even linking to a YouTube video of a suggested movie from the 1940s!), books and movies.

 

Our Thoughts on Unit Studies from Homeschool Legacy: Pirates or Privateers, You Decide

For my 1st grader, this particular choice was a mixed blessing.

He loves pirates. What self-respecting young lad isn’t drawn to the tales of danger and dastardly deeds?

Yet, some of the activities and background reading soured about his head.

While this could be considered a disadvantage, I remind myself constantly that you never know what kernels of knowledge they might be gleaning. So, I persevered in reading the background history to him. We just elected to not do all of the related activities for now.

For the family read aloud, I choose the Treasury Classics version of the book. They contain all the basics of the story, but add those pen sketches and easier prose to allow a younger child to enjoy the story.

J totally devoured Treasure Island. What started as a read aloud with me quickly became this new, avid reader in the house curled up on the couch reading to himself.

I was looking forward to all the read aloud time. However, I can say that seeing him dive into reading like that brought joy to this mom’s heart.
As for the rest of the study…. I was surprised at how many things I was learning! This is definitely one of my favorite benefits of being a homeschool mom. Learning alongside the boys, whether the information is a refresher or totally new, is a joy for me.

Parting Thoughts on Pirates or Privateers, You Decide

The beauty of these unit studies is that I know I can revisit it with J when he is in upper elementary or middle school and have a whole different level of learning at that time. For now, we are enjoying finding additional books at the library that fit the theme as well as movies depicting pirates.

For now, we are enjoying finding additional books at the library that fit the theme as well as movies depicting pirates.

Do you like to add some mini studies to your homeschool to spice things up?
Would this kind of ‘micro-unit’ study be a fit for your family?

Don’t just take my word for how we found this to be. Visit  Homeschool Legacy post on the Homeschool Review Crew website to see what other homeschooling parents thought about this course and other ones.

Crew Disclaimer
Embrace a unit study approach for short term interest studies. Review of Pirates or Privateers: You Decide from Homeschool Legacy.

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