Sonlight’s 50 States Unit Study makes Homeschool Geography Fun!
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Preparing a 50 states unit study for your homeschool geography curriculum can often be overwhelming and exhausting! If you like the sound of an all-in-one, already prepared state unit study, I’ve got just the curriculum for you!
Whenever I write a short biography or description of myself (for any of my guest blogging features or whatnot), I always…always…include that I am a “proud Jersey Girl!” While New Jersey isn’t the perfect place to live, I’ve lived here for the most of my life and have many fond memories of “The Garden State.”
State pride is a real thing. I’m willing to bet you might consider yourself to be a “proud {one of the states} person,” too. I’m even more willing to bet that you have told stories to your children about said state, about growing up in said state, and even special moments in your life that happened to occur in that state.
Many homeschooling parents are required to include a state study as part of their child’s homeschooling career. While telling stories is one way to learn the history of a state, I’m thinking an organized 50 states unit study is a more thorough & detailed way to learn about the state! This is where a particular Sonlight Curriculum comes into play!
Sonlight Curriculum is Literature Based
Growing up as an avid reader, I’m always looking for ways to include interesting & fun pieces of literature into our homeschooling lessons. Learning through literature makes lessons fun, interactive, and memorable! I mean, it makes sense. If you grew up learning through (often monotonous) textbooks, do you remember much of what you “learned?” Yeah, me neither.
Sonlight Curriculums are taught alongside colorful & informative picture books! Fun, right?! It’s really just one of many reasons why a homeschooling parent might choose to include Sonlight in their child’s homeschool experience.
I love how he mixed the colors together for the leaves!
Our Experience
For the past number of weeks, my kids (and I!) have been learning all about New Jersey using Sonlight’s 50 States Unit Study. A hard-copy study broken up into 36 sections (1 section per week), my kids will complete the curriculum having learned a number of state facts including:
- state bird
- state tree
- important people
- historical events
- and more (This has already included a deep dive on learning about the notorious Jersey Devil as well as discussing whether “it’s pork roll or Taylor Ham. If you know, you know!)
While I totally love that my kids are learning important information about the state in which we live, I also appreciate that they’re learning skills that will last them a lifetime like:
- how to find accurate facts on the internet
- how to use the dewey decimal system (we’ve included a number of library books in our research!)
- how to utilize various sections of non-fiction books like the glossary and the index
- how to organize information
In addition, I also love that this unit seems to be an easy fit with our busy days. We have a number of activities each week and time can sometimes get away from us. Even though the state unit study is designed to have 1 lesson completed each week, we’ve been pretty successful completing 2 lessons per week when we feel the need to “catch up” or when we’re just really interested in learning more.
It’s not often that my kids want to spend “extra” time on a lesson, so it’s pretty awesome that they have asked to “keep going” on numerous occasions.
Since Sonlight Curriculums are literature based, my kids were even able to learn & research while we were on-the-go! Instead of sitting down on the sofa to read a book, they would just read books in the car!
Sidenote: If your kids get carsick, too, these anti-motion sickness glasses have worked wonders for my kids! They used to feel sick after reading in the car, but haven’t had an issue since we started using the glasses.
Speaking of books, this particular 50 States Unit Study includes a book that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time: The 50 States! You’re going to love it! The graphics are fun & colorful and really make learning about the 50 states in the United States of America a memorable & enjoyable experience.
Didn’t he do a great job drawing it?!
Learn about All the States!
Even though we’ve been using our unit study to learn about New Jersey, it is very important that I mention this unit study can be used to learn about any state. Again and again!
The hard-copy worksheets of the 50 States Unit Study are not state specific and can be copied, as many times as desired, for personal use. Just think about all the possibilities. Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking this unit study could be used for:
- learning about a neighboring state
- learning about a state you’ll be visiting during homeschool travel
- creating a fictional state for the use of storytelling or creating a graphic novel (my favorite possibility!)
Give Sonlight a Try
If you ask me, Sonlight’s Curriculum options are very reasonably priced…especially since they include a number of books and hard copies of the worksheets. They provide a great bang for the buck and include materials that can be utilized in a number of other lessons or enjoyed merely for the pleasure of reading.
In addition, while their products do seem very straightforward, Sonlight offers the option to chat with a Sonlight Advisor if you have any questions about incorporating Sonlight curriculum into your homeschool days. This is a great feature for even the most seasoned homeschoolers. I totally appreciate that they’re available to help out!
We’re really been enjoying our time spent completing the 50 States Unit Study together. If you have any questions about this study, feel free chat with a Sonlight Advisor, email me or leave a comment below – I’d be happy to help!
Until next time, stay safe and enjoy quality time with your family,
Elizabeth Dukart is a proud born and raised Jersey Girl, wife, and mom of 2 human boys & 1 canine boy.
Created in 2021, Elizabeth owns and publishes That Homeschool Family: a free resource for homeschooling parents and beyond! A seasoned blogger, Elizabeth previously published a popular location-specific family resource blog, but decided to “Pivot!” her blogging focus after she started homeschooling her two boys in 2020. In addition to this blog, you can follow Elizabeth’s homeschooling and family adventures on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
When she’s not busy taking over the world or homeschooling, Elizabeth can be found listening to music (especially The Beatles & Harry Styles!), being silly with her boys, watching movies with family, shopping, or traveling!
Have a question or want to work with Elizabeth? Send her an email!
