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New Reviews Just Arrived for Learn and Do Unit Studies!
Review by Christine Field
Mark & Christine Field were married
in 1986 and had the typical dual-career marriage. After practicing law for eight
years, Christine left the work force in 1991 to raise the children full time.
God has blessed them with four children thus far:
three girls and one boy. Three were adopted and one is biological.
They live and home school in Wheaton, Illinois, where
Mark serves as Chief of Police.
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Kym Wright is a delight! She is
the author of several items, was the publisher of a wonderful magazine
called Open Arms, and is the
creator of numerous unit studies. I had the opportunity to review two of
them for TOS.
Microscope Adventure
is incredibly well done. The adventure begins with getting acquainted with
your microscope and learning to properly use and care for it. Using books
commonly available at the library, the student then reads and researches all
aspects of the use and usefulness of the microscope. A complete course of
lab explorations are detailed for the student. Using fabric, hair, dust,
flowers, plants, seeds, molds, and common insects, the student explores a
wide array of science topics. Kym has included a complete plan for the unit,
called Kym;s Konstruction Kit. A handy checklist guides the teacher through
preparation and implementation of the unit. She has also included a handy
prefatory article by Kathleen Julicher and Steve Lambert on “Buying a
Microscope.” At the end of the unit, numerous websites are listed to
continue the adventure - virtually.
Bird Unit Study
is incredibly detailed and complete. She supplies her famous Kym’s
Konstruction Kit to implement the unit. Through the unit, the student learns
about flight, migration, identification, groupings, bird communication,
careers with birds, and anatomy, in addition to some hands-on projects like
building a birdfeeder and birdhouse. Kym, who thinks of everything, includes
relevant Scripture, library books and literature, writing ideas, complete
guidance on buying a bird, a research outline, field trip ideas and listings
of birding organizations.
Other unit studies available
from Kym include one on spiders, goats, sheep poultry, photography, flower
arranging & wreaths, Victorian sewing & quilting and botany.
Our family is blessed to own
a fairly nice microscope. I know what we will be doing this summer! Join us
in a unit study adventure from Kym Wright and alWright Publishing.
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Review by
Jenefer Igarashi
Senior Editor, The
Old Schoolhouse Magazine
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Kym Wright possesses an
easy style and a fresh approach to Unit Studies. No matter what approach
you may use in your own homeschool (Traditional Textbook, Charlotte Mason,
Eclectic, Classical) these Unit Studies are a great enhancement and even
more important --
FUN for the entire
family. If you need a great idea to bring the family together, Kym Wright,
with her Learn & Do Unit Studies, probably has exactly what you're looking
for."
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Review by
Dr Anne Margaret Wright
Dr. Anne Margaret Wright is a licensed psychologist, with
15 years experience in the mental health field, who currently spends her days
(and often well into the midnight hours) homeschooling and playing with her two
sons, Josiah, age 8, and Benjamin, age 3. Her husband, Dr. Ronny Wright, is
also a psychologist who works with nursing homes near their home in the
beautiful mountains of North Carolina. In their "spare" time, Ronny and Anne
Margaret run Cyber Educational Consultants (www.cybereducation101.com),
which recruits homeschooling high school students and graduates for Touro
University International, an excellent online university.
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Okay, everyone knows
that unit studies are one of the hottest trends in homeschooling, right?
Unit studies provide a great way to teach lots of different subjects, using
different methods, to different ages of kids at the same time. What could
be better for the busy homeschool family? How about having someone write
the unit studies for you in a clear, understandable and logical way! Kym
Wright, a veteran homeschooling mom of 8 children (who also writes brilliant
articles for TOSä
Magazine), has done this difficult task for us. She has written several
unit studies that cover a broad spectrum of topics, but I looked at two:
Microscope Adventure!
and Bird Unit
Study. Both are reasonably priced ($17.95 each through alWright!
Publishing,
P.O. Box 81124, Conyers,
GA 30013).
Both are very thorough with wonderful information about the topic,
activities, worksheets, lesson plans, field trip ideas, additional
resources, etc. I think either unit could range
from a couple of weeks to a whole semester, depending on how detailed you
want to be, and how interested your kids are in the topic. The
Bird Unit Study covers
information about identifying birds, anatomy of a bird, migration,
communication, bird behavior, and the profession of ornithology, among other
topics. The Microscope Adventure!
unit covers how to buy a microscope,
history, lab equipment, and information about how to study plants, animal
cells, microbes, and other ooey-gooey substances
under the microscope. The material is very well laid out and easy to
follow. They would be great for a beginning homeschool family with young
children, or for a more in-depth study for older
kids. They could also easily be adapted for overachieving kids or kids with
special learning needs. My little scientists can’t wait to get started on
these excellent unit studies! If you use unit studies, also check out other
books by Kym Wright: Spiders, Goat Unit
Study, Sheep Unit, Poultry, Photography, Flower Arranging and Wreaths,
Victorian Sewing and Quilting, and Botany (revised).
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