Homeschooling doesn’t have to be complicated. At the Learn + Live Letter, we believe the best learning happens organically in the life you already love – and we strive to create and share simple, fun, and educational lesson ideas and activities you’ll enjoy doing as much as your child. Below is a sample of what a unit study includes. Have questions? Contact us at help@learnandliveletter.com. Ready to subscribe? (Yay!) Click here to learn more about our subscription options.
Your child is incredibly special. (But you already knew that, right?) In our Me! The Body unit, you’ll help your child explore diversity, math, science, health, art, and music as they develop a stronger sense of self. Want to track your progress? Download this printable worksheet to track the books you read, skills learned, and keep track of your progress. We suggest you prepare for your week ahead of time by reviewing the lessons, purchasing or borrowing the books, and printing, cutting, and laminating the printouts.
Note: Occasionally we include project upgrades (for kids ready for more) and modifications (which can be useful for including younger siblings). We’ll mark those with the plus (+) or minus (-) symbols.
What you need:
Books (find at your local library or order below on Amazon):
- Shades of People by Shelley Rotner (or listen to this read aloud here)
- I Am Me by Tristan Towns (or read aloud here)
- Remarkably You by Pat Zietlow Miller (or listen to this read aloud here)
- The Busy Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness by Lizzy Rockwell (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to to this read aloud)
- Why Do I Sneeze? by Madeline Tyler
- Why Do I Bleed? by Kirsty Holmes
- Why Do I Poo? by Kirsty Holmes (*highly recommend for reluctant potty trainers!) or
- (+)What Happens to a Hamburger? by Paul Showers (or you can read an older version here on OpenLibrary)
- Why Do I Need to Brush My Teeth? by Caressa Simmons
Supplies (use what you have, but here are links to shop if you need anything):
- paper + access to a printer (don’t have one? we like this model)
- construction paper
- cardstock
- 3 different colored markers
Name Writing:
- Montessori alphabet (optional, but we reference it throughout our curriculum!)
“Me” Collage:
- finger paint
- Paper
“All About Me” Playdough Portrait:
- ingredients for this playdough recipe or buy already made playdough.
- Any crafting supplies you have on hand like: string, beads, googly eyes, plastic toys, tooth picks, crafting sticks, doll accessories.
Exercise Counting Game:
Stethoscope Activity:
- a funnel (any small size will work)
- paper towel tube
- masking tape
See Your Pulse:
Paper Bag Lungs:
- straws ( or we love these stainless steel versions!)
- paper bags
- tape
Blood Sensory Bin:
- sensory bin or deep baking dish
- red water beads
- ping pong balls
- red craft foam
Why Do We Bleed:
- small jar (or you can use a short glass)
- a balloon
- tape
- red food coloring (optional)
- straws ( or we love these stainless steel versions!)
Body Measurement Activities:
How Long Are Your Intestines – Outdoor:
- Garden hose
- Measuring tape
- Ruler
Digestive System Science Activity:
- Bread
- Soda
Make a Spine Skeleton:
- cardboard egg carton
- yellow felt
- pipe cleaners
Simple Snack Plate:
Self Portrait:
What to do:
We recommend doing the below lessons in this order to build on each skill your child will develop, but don’t feel that you *need* to do them in this order. Do what works for you and your child. If they love an activity, feel free to repeat! Not a winner? Skip and try the next thing. Have fun!
Letter of the Week:
New to the letter of the week? Start here! Each unit will introduce a new letter and its sound(s) or a phonetic rule. We encourage you to reinforce the sounds with our Letter of the Week Song. Next, you will download a Letter of the Week Guide. (This is the Letter Guide from Apples Unit Study as a sample.)
Remember, the guide isn’t a worksheet! The first page is for you, the grown-up. Use it to introduce the letter name, the sounds it makes, and to demonstrate how to draw each letter. Display the Letter Guide in your school area along with the completed coloring sheet to reinforce the lesson throughout the week.
Next, use the second sheet to create a page for your child’s phonics book (we explain the phonics book here). Review the book a few times each week until your child has mastered these phonics.
Lesson 1:
Begin by reading Shades of People (or listen to this read aloud here) to introduce and reinforce diversity, sense of self, and acceptance for your little student. Next, read the book Remarkably You (or listen to this read aloud here) to continue this theme and help your child to identify what makes them special.
***Click here for more tips on how to turn a book into a lesson.
Activity 1: Practice name writing. Prepare this lesson by writing your child’s name on drawing paper. Have them fill in the blank spaces.
(-) Not ready to write their name yet? Try using a movable alphabet, letter magnets, or other letter manipulatives to learn how to spell their name.
Activity 2: Read the book, I Am Me (or listen to the author read it here.) Create a “Me Collage.” Have your child write their name (if they know how) or write it for them on a large piece of paper. Say each letter sound as you say and write it. Make a hand print of your child’s hand using paint (or trace their hand with a colorful marker), then interview your child and write their answers on the same paper next to their hand print. Here are some suggestions for interview questions:
- What is your favorite color?
- Animal?
- Food?
- Thing to do?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
Next, have them “write” (scribble) and color or draw on their collage to decorate it until they think it’s done.
Activity 3: Prepare an “All About Me” playdough activity. This activity will not only get their imaginations working but also their fingers, helping them develop fine motor skills—an important precursor to writing. Provide them with playdough, beads, yarn, doll accessories, crafting sticks or whatever supplies you have on hand to help them personalize their creations. Ask them to make a portrait of themselves using the supplies.
Lesson 2:
Read The Busy Book: A Kid’s Guide to Fitness. Discuss some of your child’s favorite ways to move. Then watch the first four minutes of this video to learn more about the three body systems that help the body move. (You can stop the video when it gets to the vision test.)
Activity 1: The Exercise Counting Game. Numbers and movement go hand in hand! Reinforce counting skills with this fun activity. Did your child sweat after this activity? Watch this video to learn why we sweat.
Activity 2: When we move our bodies, our heart starts working harder, pumping blood and oxygen to all the muscles in the body. Listen to each other’s heart beat with this homemade stethoscope.
(+) Try this idea to actually see your pulse.
Activity 3: Human body printable. Use this activity to introduce the different body parts and organs. Once you’ve reviewed the organs and where they are in the body, you can reinforce by helping your child to place the separate organs on the body (pages 3 + 4). (We recommend you cut and laminate page 4 ahead of time to make the body parts easier to handle.)
(+)Activity 4: As we saw in the video, the brain is an important part of body that controls movement. This brain hat by Ellen McHenry will be a fun way to introduce the different brain parts to your child. Download the brain hat pattern and look for the picture called “small child hat.” For younger children, we recommend cutting and taping ahead of time since it takes about 10 minutes to put together.
(+) Older kids might enjoy coloring the pieces and putting it together with you. When introducing the hat to your child, simply name the parts and use the pictures to briefly explain that part’s job. Your child might also enjoy the song that is linked in the page!
Lesson 3:
Our growing bodies are pretty amazing. Today we will learn about several body parts and functions including our lungs, our blood, and our digestive system.
Activity 1: String body measurements activity.
Activity 2: Read the book, Why Do I Sneeze and then do this lung activity.
Activity 3: What is blood? There are four main parts to blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. This hands-on activity will help you introduce the four components of blood and their function to your little one.
(+) Ready for more? Read the book Why Do I Bleed and do this activity.
Activity 4: How long are our intestines, anyway? Find out by doing this outdoor activity.
(+) Read the book What Happens to a Hamburger and do this digestion activity to learn what happens after they eat their favorite meal.
Lesson 4:
It’s art + music day! Start by showing your child this self-portrait by Pablo Picasso. Tell them the name of the piece and the artist, and explain what a self portrait is. Talk about the colors they see and the mood of the person in the image. Talk about the shapes they see. Here are some suggested questions to discuss the art:
- Are they happy?
- Are they sad?
- What do they look like they are thinking about?
- How does this picture make you feel?
You can even let them come up with a story about the person in the picture if that’s what they want to do. Show them how Picasso’s self portraits changed through the years here. (Note: This can be especially helpful if your child is a perfectionist—it helps them to see that anything they paint/draw in their self portrait is exactly right even if it doesn’t look like an exact replica.)
***Click here for more tips on how to teach your child about art.
Activity 1: Set up a mirror for your child to create their own self portrait.
(-) For younger children, sit with them and draw your own portrait, too.
Activity 2: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes Song (Tip: Get up and sing and dance along with the video to reinforce the lesson + work out any wiggles.)
Activity 3: This gross motor skill game will not only reinforce body part names but also get the wiggles out. Don’t feel like another printable? Play “Simon Says” instead! Here are a few directions to get you started:
- “Simon Says: Twist your foot.”
- “Simon Says: Wiggle your elbow.”
- “Simon Says: Tap you foot.”
- “Simon Says: Point your toe.”
Lesson 5:
Bones are an important part of our body! Today, let’s learn more about the bones in our body and what important job they play in keeping us healthy and strong.
Activity 1: Watch this video to learn more about the skeletal system. Next, build your own skeleton using this printable. Print on cardstock, cut, and use brads to connect the bones together to make your own movable skeleton.
Activity 2: Let’s take a closer look at the spine or backbone. Scroll down to the backbone image on this website and make your own spine using a cardboard egg carton, yellow felt circles, and two orange pipe cleaners.
Activity 3: Having good dental hygiene is very important to a healthy mouth and body. Read the book Why do I Need to Brush My Teeth? to reinforce this lesson. Alternatively, you could also watch this SciShow Kids video. For today’s activity, encourage math skills with this printable worksheet that lets your child practice counting teeth. Start by having them count each tooth. You can ask your child to color them in or use counters such as dried beans or cereal to keep track of their counting. Place one counter on each number as they count. If your child is ready for more, try skip counting by twos.
(+) Learn more about teeth in this SciShow Kids video about the various ways teeth work.
Activity 4: Make a senses snack plate. Stimulate all the senses using this simple guide for a kid-friendly tasting plate. Try to include something colorful (sight), sweet or sour (taste), crunchy (hearing), textured (taste), and fragrant (smell). As you taste, ask your child to describe each food using all their senses.
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