Sep 14, 20222 min read

Wilderness Thematic Unit:

Your Guide to Surviving

Another Week Of Home School

Nature, Wildlife, Exploration,

there's so much to appreciate about the wilderness.

But with all that open space, it can be a challenge creating a cohesive thematic unit study and lesson plan.

Don't Lose Your Way Out There!

Trekking through worksheets, activities, and experiments can have you deep in the internet searches where navigating a way out seems far too distant. Valuable time drifting down river, making planning a brilliant and engaging lesson plan that much more difficult.

It's Time To Set Up Camp.

Pitch the tent and start the fire because I've got some helpful tips to help you not only survive another week of home school planning, but thrive in it.

First, Start the Adventure

Be sure to load these books in your pack that will spark the adventure.

"Where The Wild Things Are"by Maurice Sendak.

It's a beloved favorite for most and the great thing is, you most likely have it in your home library already.

"Walk On the Wild Side" by Nicholas Oldland

A great tale of 3 friends in the wilderness who on their adventure learn that friendship trumps being number one.

"U.S. National Parks Yosemite National Park" by Penelope S. Nelson

You don't want to overlook Yosemite National Park while planning a lesson about the wilderness. This informative read walks through Yosemite's climate, conservation, attractions, and more.

"Posie the Pika" by Paige Braddock

A kind story of about looking out for and helping others.

Next, Get Wild!

What would a lesson plan about the wild be without including the outdoors! To incorporate the outdoors, plan a field trip to a nature trail or preserve. Use your own backyard to show the procedures of preparing a tent and campsite. And if you're really adventurous, coordinate the unit study with a camping trip. There are many ways to get some fresh air while teaching during this unit, so definitely take advantage of them.

Then,

Map it out! Choose which subjects' topics you would like to cover. Coordinate the learning games based on the type of things you do in the wild, camping, or outdoors. For example, use graphing and charting as topics to play games like "spot the camper van". Draw up a chart and hide a camper van image somewhere within the chart. Kids can practice charting coordinates in order to locate the camper van image. There's so much inspiration to draw from in this theme that will intrigue young learners, so much so, that they won't even notice they are actually learning!

Last, Remember The Fuel

Don't forget to plan for snacks. Try using the wilderness theme in the week's meals, like together preparing a hearty stew. Or create a new recipe for an energy bar and test it out. You can also thread the wilderness food items into the writing topics, like sequencing how to make a s'more.