As homeschoolers, we do not have to keep each subject separate in our learning or in our documentation. In traditional school, teachers have to keep every subject in their lesson plan separate and ensure they have a dedicated time for each subject area but homeschoolers do not have to do that which I personally love as a homeschoolers. So let’s look at the topic of Space or Astronomy which is a popular subject many families cover in their homeschool:
We are required by SC Code of Law to cover math, science, social studies, reading, and writing (literature and composition for grades 7-12). We can cover all of these subjects while learning about our Space/Astronomy unit:
If you are reading a book about Neil Armstrong- you are covering: reading, science, history
If you are learning about the planets and discussing their distance from Earth, their gravity ratio to Earth, calculating your weight on that planet versus Earth, size compared to Earth, atmosphere of the planet versus Earth- you are covering math, reading, science, social studies if you are discussing when Pluto was removed from the list of planets in 2006 and why.
You can have your student write a summary of a planet to cover writing, write a paper on an event that happened regarding space to cover composition. If the student is lower elementary, you can have the student draw a picture of something space related for writing and you dictate what they tell you the picture is about, you can sub a few easy words out to write in yellow highlighter for the student to trace too.
Another luxury homeschoolers have is the ability to cover topics with field trips, videos, hands on projects, through art, through play, through discussions. You can create a model of the solar system, take a field trip to the planetarium, watch a documentary (there are hundreds out there), spark a discussion with family, talk to grandparents about what happened when they were your age with space travel. The possibilities are endless with homeschooling and you truly have the ability to customize the learning to make it more fun, interactive, and interesting for your students of all grades even high school.
If your high school student is interested in Astronomy, you can make that a class for a high school science credit or elective. A lot of families feel at the high school level their student is limited to only book work but you too can truly customize the education and have more fun with it. You can take trips to the planetarium, watch a documentary, Roper Mountain Space Center has monthly webinars on their Facebook page. There are a lot of ways to cover topics for even high school students that are not strictly sit down textbook based.
I hope this helps someone with their homeschooling journey!
