Layers of Learning Unit 1-1 is a complete unit study for history, geography, science, and the arts.
- History: Mesopotamia
- Geography: Maps & Globes
- Science: Planets
- Arts: Cave Painting
Unit 1-1 contains hands-on activities including crafts, games, experiments, writing projects, and more. In this unit, you can build your own ziggurat, make a balloon globe, and experiment with the regressive orbit of Mars. After that take a tour of the largest collection of cave art in the world. Unit 1-1 all of this, plus a printable historical map, and tons of ideas to keep your kids learning with hands-on fun. Your whole family will be studying ancient Mesopotamia, the globe, our solar system, and cave art together. This is family style homeschooling at its best.
In each unit, you’ll find a recommended library list, important background information about each topic, and lots of activities to choose from for kids of all ages. Sidebars include a bunch more ideas including Additional Layers, Fabulous Facts, On The Web, Writer’s Workshop, Famous Folks, and Teaching Tips. Printable maps and worksheets are included at the end of each unit and may be printed as often as needed for your family or class.
Age Range: 6-18
Grade Level: 1-12
Pages: 58
Paula Taylor –
Our Unicorn Curriculum
I’ve searched for 5 years for “the one”. That perfect curriculum that everyone in our family likes, that brings us together for memorable, hands-on learning adventures that are flexible and library based. We spent several weeks just learning about Mesopotamia. With all the fun activities and quality family time, we didn’t want to move on to the next unit. And with Layers of Learning, that’s okay! We can take as long as we like, or keep things short, based on how interested we are. Try the first unit. You won’t regret it.
Lila G. –
We have enjoyed using the Layers of Learning curriculum this past month. I have a five and a seven year old who have had a lot of fun with the experiments and projects in the Year One Unit One unit. The list of suggested books/videos at the beginning of each unit is so helpful! We are mostly using LoL for the science and geography sections. I loved the ideas and tips on how to explain the concept of maps and globes to young children. We enjoyed doing the Where I Live exploration and A Mapmaker’s Troubles experiment. The unit also gave me the idea to draw a huge map of the world with chalk on our driveway. I told the kids to hop from continent to continent and ocean to ocean, and they had so much fun with that! We also made a glittery map of the Milky Way and made coloring books of our Solar System. These units are so full of ideas! I also love having the scope and sequence for the year laid out for me. I downloaded the unit to my iPad using Notability so that I was able to make notes and highlight right on the unit. When I was finished with it, I saved it to my computer so that I have the unit with all of my notes for the next time we cycle through!
Abigail Longo –
Enjoyed the visuals and ideas!
Katie Jones –
Wow! This was amazing!!! Thanks so much!!!
Ashley –
Thank you, this is great!
Kaya Seaton –
We sampled the first unit, and were hooked instantly! I have 3 active boys, who need movement and lots of visuals. This absolutely fits the bill. The units are in color, there are lots of pictures for them to look at, and there activities for everyone! We made cave paintings and “toured” a cave in France, made solar system cookies, made our own clay tablets and seals for them, learned what troubles map makers have, made a balloon globe and have been playing games with it for 2 weeks….plus so much more! There are also YouTube videos and Pinterest activities for the units, which absolutely adds even more fun to the studies. These are put together beautifully, and are easy for the parent to plan and execute.
I also cannot leave out the writers workshop suggestions. My 11 yo son is dyslexic and writing is a huge struggle for us. He and I read the little blurb for the writers workshop, and he has been working on creating his super hero for over a week. He’s never ever wanted to write in any capacity before. He has looked ahead with me at the upcoming writing topics, and is excited to do them.
This curriculum is a great fit for us, and we couldn’t be more pleased.
Kryste Herring –
I have struggled to get my son interested in history. Someone suggested Layers of Learning and I brought it up to my husband. He didn’t want to spend money on yet another curriculum that wouldn’t work for our son. I decided to take a chance-signed up for the newsletter, received Unit 1, and printed it out. It was an immediate win with my son. Within a few days, even my husband realized that we had found the perfect fit for our homeschool. We love how easy it is to use, colorful, and how it has so many choices of activities.
Jodie –
I was using another curriculum for social science and my kids were getting bored and asking not to do it every day. I downloaded the sample of Unit 1-1 and started it last week and we are all loving it! The hands on activities and fun explorations are just what we needed to make learning fun again!
Jennifer –
This curriculum is a huge win for our homeschooling. Our kids actually ask to do school because they love al the hands on projects that go along with the units. We love the information that’s presented in the unit studies, the book suggestions, the YouTube links, website links and the hands on projects. We’ve tried many curriculums but this one is perfect for our learners. Thank you for making homeschooling fun for our family.
Samantha Guidroz –
This curriculum has restored the JOY OF TEACHING ALL OF MY CHILDREN. Three. One in high school. One in middle school. One in elementary. You can go as deep as you want or just break the surface on topics. I am in LOVE. ♥️
Brooke Fominaya –
My two kids (9 & 8) really enjoyed learning about Mesopotamia and doing the explorations. This has been a great new way for us to homeschool!
leeloo66 –
This curriculum has become that elusive ‘unicorn’ we were looking for. Something that combines learning with fun! I love that we can reuse this over the years, or even use each as a stand alone unit study!