Continuing with my series of monthly themed ideas, in this post we’ll highlight all things for homeschooling in February. Homeschooling with unit studies is the perfect method whether you have one child or if you are homeschooling multiple kids who vary in age and grade. You can easily put together resources that cater to each child’s unique learning needs and merge many subjects in the process. This month, we’ll offer links to a few options in unit studies for your family to enjoy in February (or anytime throughout the year).
Homeschooling in February
February is typically known as “burnout month” simply because it’s shortly after the halfway point (for those who start in the fall) and it can seem like a drag trying to make it through the rest of the homeschool year. Hopefully these ideas will help add a bit of spark in your homeschooling journey!
Holidays That Can Be Turned Into Unit Studies
Here’s a list of February holidays that can be used as unit studies:
- Groundhog Day (February 1)
- National Kite Flying Day (February 8) Kite Unit Study
- National Pizza Day (February 9) Pizza Unit Study
- National Inventors Day (February 11) Ben Franklin Unit Study
- Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12) Abraham Lincoln Unit Study
- Valentine’s Day (February 14) Valentine’s Day Unit Study Valentines Day Book Basket
- President’s Day (the 3rd Monday, date varies)
- National Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17)
- George Washington’s Birthday (February 22) George Washington Unit Study
- National Polar Bear Day (February 27) FREE! Polar Bear Unit Study
If you plan to use any of these to create a unit study, consider adding in literature books, educational videos and documentaries, and hands-on activities. Each of the ones listed above also make for some great history lessons!
Fun February National Days
Since February is the push-month, these national holidays can add a spruce of fun and excitement to your homeschool days. While you don’t necessarily need to create full lessons around these days, you can easily incorporate them by having themed days.
There are several things to do on just about every day this month so I’m only going to note the ones I think would be most appealing to homeschoolers:
- Dark Chocolate Day (February 1): consider having a dark chocolate treat sometime during the day. Better yet, have your kids get in the kitchen and work on their cooking skills. Chocolate Unit Study
- Homemade Soup Day (February 4): another opportunity to get into the kitchen. And since most places are still experiencing cold weather, soup would make the perfect cozy meal.
- Wear Red Day (first Friday in February): challenge your kids to see who can wear the most red that day.
- Send a Card to a Friend Day (February 7): give your kiddos handwriting practice by having them send a card to a friend or family member.
- Pancake Day (changes annually but usually held mid-month): this is the day to visit IHOP for breakfast!
- Love Your Pet Day (February 20): have your kiddos do something special for the family pet. Don’t have one? This would be a great time to teach about the responsibilities of having/owning pets. Dogs Unit Study
- Tell a Fairy Tale Day (February 26): If you haven’t studied fairy tales yet, this would be the perfect day to start. There are many valuable lessons to studying this style of writing. Learn more about why you should teach about fairy tales in your homeschool.
There are many other national days to incorporate into your lesson plans. Find a detailed list here.
How to Monthly National Days in Your Homeschool
As I mentioned before, using unit studies is my number one suggestion using monthly themes in your homeschool. They are easy to do and often touch base with multiple subjects while giving your kids fun learning experiences. I have linked several pre-written unit studies above, but if you’d like to create your own, here are some quick tips:
- Step one: Choose a specific theme to highlight for the month.
- Step two: Decide how much time you’d like to dedicate each day (or week) to learning about the observance.
- Step three: Locate reliable resources to use for teaching and learning.
- Step four: Write out lesson plans catered to the theme using the resources you’ve found.
- Step five: Have fun implementing your plans!
If you need more help with creating your own unit studies, take a look at my simple unit study planning tutorial.
State Unit Studies
Another fun idea is to combine the study of U.S. states with your monthly studies. I have created a free unit study for each state, and here I’ll list list each state according to the dates they were admitted to the union with a link to each unit study.
- Massachusetts – February 6, 1788
- Oregon – February 14, 1859
- Arizona – February 14, 1912
Inspiration for Your Journey
While I have your attention, I’d love to offer a bit of encouragement for your journey. Perhaps you’re new to homeschooling or maybe even a veteran. Either way, you may find yourself struggling at times. Something I’ve learned along the way is to always take breaks when necessary. Oftentimes, we can become stressed out because we feel like we need to do, do, do. But at what expense? If you are really struggling, I have a few other ideas for avoiding homeschool burnout.
If you haven’t heard this already, let me be the first to tell you that your homeschooling journey will be just as unique as your family. Don’t hesitate to set the textbooks to the side. Be okay with including little fun days like the ones suggested above. Overall, your children will continue to learn.
