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How To Use Unit Studies with Multiple Ages

Many of us have a broad age range to consider when teaching our children, so here is how to use unit studies with multiple ages in your homeschool.

Many of us have a broad age range to consider when teaching our children, and my unit studies work well with all ages. I know what it’s like to be teaching kids across a broad age range – our children covered a ten year span! Keeping this in mind, I design these studies so that the whole family can work on a unit study together, studying the same topic but varying the assignments based on each child’s abilities. While the youngest child might draw pictures of the story, the oldest child might be writing a brief summary of the book and its author.

Many of us have a broad age range to consider when teaching our children, so here is how to use unit studies with multiple ages in your homeschool.

How To Use Unit Studies with Multiple Ages

When everyone in the home is pursuing a common topic, dinner conversation is never dull, and the ideas the kids come up with are priceless. I will never forget some of the daily stories the children shared with Dad at the dinner table . . . like the time they told him about their lesson on how metals could melt when they watched me melt a pot through. an electric burner when I forgot I was boiling water for tea. Learning together as a family can provide a wonderful experience for everyone, and memories that last a lifetime.

For multiple ages of students, consider the following suggestions:


Unit Study Adventures™


These studies are divided into four weeks of study. Designed for all ages, from early elementary through adult, each day has a basic structured learning plan for Elementary Grades (Lower Level) and one for Jr./Sr. High Grades (Upper Level). Depending on the ages and needs of your children, you can choose to use all or just a few of the daily assignments.

For example, a six-year-old student might be assigned only one or two spelling words and perhaps just one of the Read and Discover questions, while a ten-year-old student might do most of the Lower Level assignments for each day.

The same holds true for Jr./Sr. High school students. While most high school juniors or seniors should be able to complete all of the daily assignments on the Upper Level, a fourteen year old might not be ready to handle that much work in a day. Use these lessons as a tool, and customize them to fit your family and your children’s needs. What doesn’t get completed this year can be left for further study next year.

Many of us have a broad age range to consider when teaching our children, so here is how to use unit studies with multiple ages in your homeschool.

Download N Go™ Unit Studies for Homeschooling Multiple Ages


These studies are written primarily for grades K-4, which makes is a great resource if you are teaching multiple ages in that range. Keep in mind that the resources provided in the Download N Go™ studies are carefully researched and include book titles as the main ‘spine’ of the study and additional Ask AI Prompts and Internet Resource links that can be adapted for use with older students.

For example, where the K –4 students might be asked to draw a picture or answer a simple question about what they’ve learned, you could ask an older student to write a paragraph or two about what they’ve learned. Remember, my studies are designed to be a tool for you to use in the way that best suits your family. Feel free to have fun and improvise!

Passport Geography™


Take an in-depth look at world geography with the Passport Geography™ series Passport Covers by Amanda Bennett! These 1 to 2 week studies use a cross-curricular approach (covering geography, history, science, etc.) to take students on virtual journeys around the globe. Each study is interactive, available in two different levels, Scout Level for grades K-6 and Explorer Level for Grades 7-12. The Passport Geography unit studies include interactive daily lessons and are ready for use – no prep required.

Many of us have a broad age range to consider when teaching our children, so here is how to use unit studies with multiple ages in your homeschool.

Titles for Unit Studies for multiple ages are being updated and released every week! In addition, we also offer hands on unit study bundles that include art lessons and nature study!

Don’t forget that these are digital studies. You will be sent an email with a secure link to download your studies (pdf file) immediately.

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Keeping the Hands-On Part of Unit Studies Simple

Practical tips for keeping the hands-on part of unit studies simple. These activities help children learn and retain information even better!

Practical tips for keeping the hands-on part of unit studies simple. These activities help children learn and retain information even better!

Activities and field trips have played a key role in our use of unit studies. The more hands-on that the study is, the better they seem to retain the information. Now, I’m not talking about extravagant or complex activities or field trips. Here are a few that we have enjoyed over the years for many of our studies.

Keeping the Hands-On Part of Unit Studies Simple

Surrounding the child with the theme of the study is always a helpful way to stay focused on the current topic, but even at bedtime? Oh yes, wait until you try this – it’s one of the best projects that we began as we worked on unit studies.

Practical tips for keeping the hands-on part of unit studies simple. These activities help children learn and retain information even better!

Simple Examples of Hands-On Activities: Pillowcases and Tablecloths for Homeschool Learning

I would watch for inexpensive fabric at a local discount store that went along with the theme of an upcoming unit study (planets, whales, sharks, etc). Using the fabric, I made a pillowcase for each child to use during the study. For example, we had cowboy pillowcases when we studied the West, autumn pillowcases when we studied Thanksgiving, fruit and flower pillowcases for Gardens, and so on.

My linen closet shelves are quite colorful! There are pillowcases with bugs, whales, stars, sharks that glow in the dark, planets, dogs, horses, maps and many more. We still use these to this day, and have fun remembering all that we did and learned during the studies.

I also purchased inexpensive flat twin sheets to use for tablecloths that we made while working on a unit study. After placing cardboard between the sheet and the table, the children would develop a collective tablecloth that contained their:

  • spelling words
  • maps
  • sketches
  • handprints, and who knows what else!

By letting them use fabric paint and indelible markers, I could wash these tablecloths in the washing machine, and enjoy them for years to come.

Experiments and Field Trips

After volcano experiments, developing a litmus test from purple cabbage, carving bars of soap into famous ships, watching meteor showers in the middle of the night and shuttle launches from the swing set, I can honestly say that the hands-on activities and field trips were the icing on cake of learning.

When studying oceans, we explored a tidal basin with manatee. When volunteering for a local vet, one of the children turned her attention to animals and this eventually developed into a career in veterinary medicine.

Practical tips for keeping the hands-on part of unit studies simple. These activities help children learn and retain information even better!


You never know when your unit studies will uncover a gift or talent in a child. When studying nature and leaves, one child became fascinated with the different ways of propagating plants, which eventually turned into a fascination with botany and all things of the outdoors. He went on to college and has established a thriving tree business with his father, loving every moment of doing something he truly loves.


As a parent, I can say that this is one of the best rewards that you will experience as you homeschool – watching your child discover and pursue the gifts and talents that God has given them. This is an indescribable blessing – and one that I hope you all get to experience.

Get ready for a wonderful time of learning and exploration, and a shower of blessings!

Enjoy the journey,