So here it is: cross curriculum — often called a thematic unit. If you’re not a teacher, don’t be scared. It’s a simple concept for organizing lessons and finding inspiration. Just take your theme and relate each of your activities/lessons back to it.

For example, we recently took a road trip through Western North Dakota to see some historic sights and used the opportunity to cover reading, math, science, history, and art. Our theme was American Indians. Every lesson we did that week related to American Indians and the historical and cultural sites of ND. (More to come about these lessons soon!)

Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, Mandan, ND

Adding a simple structure, like a theme, is a great way to find motivation. It not only introduces an element of fun for the little one, but also helps you figure which direction to take the lesson. It provides a pattern to work on and prevents learning from being fragmented or isolated.

Cross curriculum learning can be especially helpful if you have an unusual opportunity, such as a road trip, or if your little one has a particular interest that week. If they are interested in dinosaurs or princesses, use it to your advantage — make each lesson relate to monsters or maidens.

Talking about landforms before we travel.

Perhaps the best part is when the little one(s) realize that there are opportunities to learn all around them. If you play off a theme that incorporates real life experiences, sooner or later you’ll see their learning shift off the paper. It’s a brilliant thing to witness, and cross curriculum can help. Whether they start counting dinosaur figures or recognize that their princess starts with a “p” sound, it’s a great thing to watch, and a theme can help accomplish that.

I recently made a helpful, simple planner to help myself organize the cross curriculum lessons we did on the road trip. You can download it here. It’s a great tool! Feel free to print it out and share it with friends.

Happy Learning! - RS