Every Last Darn Thing in The Universe is a Unit Study

Everything has a bit of everything in it. Every discipline is interlinked with every other in some way. Like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. Maybe sometimes you have to stretch it, but not really.

Yes, my MA is Interdisciplanary Studies so I am a big fan of this idea.

Here goes a brief (very brief) explanation.....

Learning about a historical event/era:
History
Math- dates, statistics, maps
Science- depends on the event and could be chemistry, medical science, political science, psychology, agriculture, ect.
Reading- most documentation is in written form
Literature- related works

Start from the other end, a literary work:
The work itself, reading.
History- context of the author AND history of the era discussed/set
Science- again, depends on the selection. For example, a book set in the revolutionary war era could include all the previously mentioned sciences
Math- approach varies. With poetry, rhyme and meter. Economics and distribution if the book is a best seller. Statistics, maps, etc.

You could add architecture to just about anything. Or dinosaurs. Lil'Bug likes to add dinosaurs. :) And art. And physical activity. And theatre. And music. Oh and cooking! Do you get the idea?

So, this concept allows me to explore many things from many approaches. A couple months ago I read on a classical homeschooler's blog (scoured for hours to remember which one and provide a link, sorry!) that she couldn't figure out how to add science to her young boys' studies which is heavy on language and arts. I raised my eyebrows in wonderment when she came up with nature studies, drawings of wildlife, to satisfy this? That's a great idea, but so limiting! I mean, if you live and breathe you are walking science! If you eat. If you move. If you do anything at all, science is everything!

But so is math and history and architecture and and and.....

I am constantly seeing connections between disciplines, new ones everyday. My thesis involved art, architecture, history, politics, writing, psychology, sociology, city planning, anthropology, chemistry, math, maps, music, criminal justice, etc. That is why I had to go Interdisciplinary- my idea was to complex to limit, though ultimately I had to focus on three major ones to satisfy the committee. Thesis topic? One, solitary house on the National Register or Historic Places, the restoration of, the history of, and the people who lived in it.

So why limit learning? Why not embrace the complexity? Why not find that bit of passion that your kid has by exploring all angles of a thing, or at least more than one? I don't mean, create a formal unit study- instead just think about this concept when you start asking questions. Use those questions to fuel discussions.

Here are some links to make it interesting:

Strange maps. History, sociology, cartography, and art.

The science of cooking. Math, chemistry, etc

The history of food