Through the years as we have done our unit studies, we have come across so many wonderful ideas through friends, our KONOS curriculum books, online, and some we just made up. The sad thing is, you can’t always get to every project before you have to move on to the next topic.
I’m wrapping up my days as an elementary teacher & unit-study mama (I’ll always have a big heart for unit studies… but we are probably not going to be using them as our “spine” any longer). I wanted to get our “Leftover List” written down so I can come back and check it off as opportunities arise for us to do some of these things. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t… but if we have a rainy day or some free time in the summer, this list will be one I definitely come back to.
The name of the KONOS unit we were working on is above each list of activities… the ones that have them, that is. Some of these are more like “wish list” items rather than leftovers (ie: trip to Italy). Some of the reason we didn’t do them was just that we couldn’t afford it at the time. Not every unit we’ve done is on here. Just a few that had some things we really wanted to keep a note of. I also didn’t start keeping a list like this until the kids got a little older. Now that it is here on the blog and handy, I’ll probably stop in and add things now and then.
SPRITTIBEE’S LEFTOVER UNIT STUDY LIST
Indians
List foods Indians gave us (put a start by your favorite)
Cook more Indian foods (get cookbook)
Map territories for Texas Indians
Sheep & Weaving
Bible study on David’s life
Sheep farm
Home made dyes from (onion, turmeric, red cabbage, beets, etc)
Shelf sheep from Family Fun (possibly at Easter)
Space Unit
Science book Experiments
Read Alouds for this unit
Planetarium
Rocks
Make rock display case for collection
Subscribe to gem magazine
Field trip to Geologist
Gem displays at museums
Field trip to gem cutter/jeweler
Finish the rock lapbook
Crater of Diamonds State Park – Arkansas
Use acid to clean crystals we mined
Military
Visit Texas military museums
Civil War reenactment
Visit a military base
Fly in a helicopter/prop plane
Learn more about wars of past
Learn about great grandfather’s position/medals in WWII
Frontiersmen/Pioneers
Participate in Rodeo Art
Ride horses
Make a diorama Indian village
Historic Communities Early Settler Life Book Series
Frontiersmen Wrap-up
Write report on Sam Houston
See Little Bear Wheeler videos
Journal animal tracks in nature journal
Make a coil pot or throw pot (Hopi/Zuni pottery)
“Foods the Indians Gave Us” by Wilma R. Hays
Read about edible wild plants
Historic songs of Texas
Kings & Queens
Write the Queen of England
Medieval Times – Dallas
Birds
Learn about John James Audubon
Make a bird house or feeder
Plot migration routes for a native bird
Write Audubon society
Seasons
March Ornament (clover, kite, wind)
April Ornament (umbrella, rain, Easter)
May Ornament (flower, mom)
June Ornament (summer, beach)
August Ornament (hot sun)
September Ornament (leaves, school)
October Ornament (pumpkin, harvest)
November Ornament (thanksgiving)
Redo our season tree for the school room (threw the last one away)
Spring clean challenge
Rainy day can (book)
Egg crafts
Natural dyes *see sheep unit above
Make Greek lemonade
Flag ornament
Campfire songs (Blue Shadows)
Study Shells (books)
Play baseball
Make a summer reading chart
Proserpine
Human Birth & Growth
Be present at a birth (looks like that one will be coming up this spring!)
Animal Birth & Growth
ink blot art
paint a butterfly on flower
watch born free
see a Jane Goodall documentary
try caviar and sushi
watch eggs hatch
watch more animal science documentaries
Fish hatchery field trip
Geography
Cook Azerbaijani foods
Cook Nepali foods
Cook Uzbekistani foods
Start a countries notebook/spiral
No Specific Unit
Trip to Italy
Cross country trip USA (east coast, west coast)
Passion Play
Silver Dollar City
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We gave up Konos a couple of years ago and are using the Robinson Curriculum. It is geared for self-teaching. My guys are 13 & 9 and we are expecting our third boy in February. I am so glad we made the switch. Good luck finding the curriculum that works for you.
Christy in TX
I graduated my first in ’07, my second will graduate in ’10. We used KONOS for 10 years and loved it! My third is now in 7th grade and doing her last KONOS unit — Russia: The Land of Endurance. (We took three weeks for each of the 9 weeks to make it last a year, and we have needed that time!)
For the next five years, she will be getting high school credit (for certain subjects while in 8th grade). Since it’s her desire to become a librarian, I have gone with the fantastic Beautiful Feet books for a more literature-based study (right up the alley of my voracious reader!).
I firmly believe in teaching to the bent of the child. She’s enjoyed the hands-on KONOS things, but she remembers so much more of what she’s read!
FYI and for kicks and giggles:
Math – Math U See
Science – Apologia
Composition – Institute for Excellence in Writing
etc, etc. 🙂
Oh, for Bible we use Deeper Roots. Excellent.
I am new to Unit Studies & LOVE IT!
You've got some great ideas 🙂
This month, we're doing space!
Fun list, but throw it away! It’s much better looking at what you actually got to do than what you didn’t. We’re in Frontiersmen right now. I hope we don’t actually catch an animal as we’re studying trapping. Lol.