The Gather ‘Round homeschool curriculum was created by Rebecca Spooner, who saw a need for a family friendly, multi-age unit study curriculum.
Gather Round Homeschool Review
This company is relatively new and offers a topic based, Christian worldview curriculum that spans multiple ages at the same time. Each month a new unit is released.
Unit Study
Unit Studies are a great way to focus on one topic for several weeks or months. This type of curriculum provides a rich learning experience that includes reading, science, history, geography and more.
Gather ‘Round Homeschool is a monthly unit study program that allows families to homeschool as one. It allows Pre-readers through High School students to study the same topics and complete assignments tailored for their grade level.
The units cover a variety of subjects, including world history and North American geography. They are designed to be completed in a 4-5 week time frame, although they can be done over a longer period of time if needed.
The teacher’s guides are a great resource, providing detailed information and suggestions for hands-on activities. They also provide a recommended book list to complement the topics studied. These are available as print editions or digital downloads.
Ready to Read
The Gather Round company is known for its unit study-based homeschool curriculum. But they also have two complete stand alone programs designed specifically for young learners in the form of Letters + Numbers and Ready to Read.
Ready to Read is a complete Kindergarten to grade 1 program that incorporates the latest in phonics teaching methods. Its four thematic units cover all of the basics from sounding out letters to reading sight words and even basic addition and subtraction.
Ready to Read is a lot of fun to learn, especially with the right amount of repetition. It’s an excellent choice for families with multiple children, or one who wants to teach his/her kids some new skills without the need to purchase a bunch of different books. The best part is that Ready to Read is a cinch to use! It has a few tidbits of information to teach in each lesson, but it’s all in a logical sequence, ensuring you don’t get bogged down on the same topic.
Student Notebooks – Gather Round Homeschool
Gather round homeschool is a full-year curriculum that includes a teacher’s guide and student notebooks in a variety of levels. It’s a great choice for families who don’t want to be bogged down by too many different resources or who want their kids to work on the same topics over and over again!
This year’s first unit, North American Birds, is a light-hearted study of birds native to North America. It covers everything you need for a unit study but math and connects people and places to the world of science.
Each student notebook is divided into books and grouped into age categories so you can easily differentiate for small children who need more help or for older students who are ready to explore deeper into the topics. This way the entire family can do a Gather ‘Round unit together. It also makes it easy for parents to keep track of who is doing what and when, without having to do a lot of additional research.
Planner
This planner is quite a bit different from most other homeschool planners on the market. It has a unique layout that is appealing to most types of schooling styles. There is a bit of a bullet journal feel to it, and the bright and colorful paper is nice and thick.
It is fully undated so you can start it in any month, and it has a full year of planning options with plenty of open ended boxes. This is an excellent planner for year round homeschooling because it allows you to create the schedule that works best for you and your family.
The best part about Gather ‘Round units is that they are designed to work with any curriculum you have. They do not shy away from difficult topics in history, but they use Christian world view to help your child understand them. If you’re a new homeschooler, I highly recommend taking a week and trying out a sample unit from Gather ‘Round to see if it’s right for your family.
