Minimum Class Size: 10

Maximum Class Size: 16

Midterm Enrollment:  Yes

Class Time: 1st hour (8:30-9:25)

Prerequisite: None

Estimated homework hours: 0

Required Materials or Books:

• Several glue sticks
• Crayons
• Colored pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Washable markers
• Pencils
• Child-size scissors
  

Class Description:  This is the 1st hour of a 2-hour Unit Studies class.  The Unit Studies Science and Literature classes go hand in hand and children will benefit the most from taking both classes.

Do you want your child to experience all the fun of early childhood--handprint crafts, fingerplays, centers, painting, thematic picture books, fun food creations--but can’t always find time in your weekly schedule?

Join me this year as we explore seasons and holidays. We'll use wonderful children's literature, hands-on activities, crafts, poetry, music, drama, games, science experiments, graphing and more!  The order and flow of the activities will be tailored to the short attention spans of this age group.

The 1st hour has a Science/History (nonfiction) focus and the 2nd hour has a Literature/Creative Arts (fiction) focus.  If everyone can take both classes, we will have a mixture of fiction and nonfiction throughout our 2 hours together.

We will cover the following topics: apples, pumpkins, scarecrows, leaves, harvest, turkeys, Thanksgiving, Christmas around the World, snow and ice, mittens, quilts, Chinese New Year, hearts, Valentine’s Day, kites, Easter, weather, flowers and more!

Here are some examples from our Pumpkin Unit.  For science, we’d investigate a pumpkin by estimating the number of seeds, the number of ridges, and its weight.  Using manipulatives, we’d guess the height and circumference of the pumpkin.  Then we’d count the seeds by putting them in groups of ten, count its ridges, weigh the pumpkin, and check our height and circumference guesses against the pumpkin.  We’d read nonfiction picture books about pumpkins, use life cycle of a pumpkin sequencing cards, examine pumpkin guts, make a flip book What’s Inside a Pumpkin? and eat toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin bread.

For literature, we’d enjoy an acrostic poem about pumpkins, read books such as The Biggest Pumpkin Ever and Too Many Pumpkins, create a list of words describing pumpkins, write a few of the describing words in our flip books, make pumpkin puppets, and use the puppets to sing some silly pumpkin songs.

During the transition time between classes (for the 10 minutes between science and literature), I’ll set up some theme-related centers such as floor puzzles, puppets, stamps or stencils, games, science collections, activity pages and children’s books related to our current unit topic.  Children will also be encouraged to use the restroom and get a drink during this time.  The centers help provide a structured break time in the classroom and give children a chance to interact, make choices, and wiggle.

I love teaching early childhood and am excited about offering these classes again.  The children always amaze me with the amount of information they learn from a read-aloud or song or poem.  We make lots of noise and have lots of fun while learning!


Teacher Information: Rhonda Bunce graduated from Baylor University with a BS degree in Education with specializations in Early Childhood and Speech Communications. She taught second grade in public schools and is returning for her 6th year at the Brazos Valley Co-op. She is active in children's ministries at her church. Rhonda is a homeschooling mom of 3 including a high school son, middle school daughter, and a 2nd grade daughter.  She really enjoys the primary grades and loves picture books, crafts, hands-on activities and anything dramatic.