Download the Play Academy’s ready-made Winter Solstice thematic unit and you’ll be ready to lead a fun and creative celebration of the new season with your children.
Ready-made Winter Solstice thematic unit lesson plans
Save time and enjoy teaching with this ready-made Winter Solstice thematic unit. These Winter Solstice lesson plans give you everything you need to learn about the solstice and celebrate the new season with your children in class, at home, or in your community group.
Ready-made thematic units are such a time-saver, and the Play Academy units are based on the proven educational philosophy of learning through hands-on activities and cross-curricular teaching, so they are highly effective and children love them.
Read on to find out what’s in the Winter Solstice unit and how you can download it and be ready to teach.
The benefits of teaching through thematic units
A thematic unit is a programme of learning that includes a wide range of skills and activities, all linked to one central topic. There are many benefits to teaching with thematic units.
:: thematic units teach skills and concepts so well because they match the way we live and work in real life. Everything is integrated.
:: our children get an education that is much more relevant, realistic, and suitable for life in the real world
:: integrating traditional subjects (math, literacy science) in one whole programme of learning based on themes (dinosaurs, space, forest school) lets children see links and make connections
:: the Play Academy’s thematic units offer children a wide range of hands-on learning activities, so there are things that appeal to all learners. This keeps lessons engaging and encourages our children to try new things, and develop many skills.
:: the thematic units are also an excellent way to teach mixed-age/ability children together, which makes teaching a class of children or a homeschool family group so much easier
:: and our children also benefit from the depth and breadth of a thematic unit. They can learn much more about a topic if they consider it from a scientific, artistic, literary, mathematical, geographical and playful point of view. Their learning will be so much more practical and robust.
The benefits of using the Play Academy units – for you!
The Play Academy units are also great for you, whether you are a school teacher, child-care professional or homeschool parent.
The Play Academy gives you over 50 grab-and-go thematic units which are all ready-made for you, saving you so much time. No more dread on a Sunday and no more overwhelm: you’ll always have a unit you can use, every week of the year.
The Play Academy units integrate perfectly with your timetable: you can use as many as you like, however often you want. Our curriculum is completely customisable: you can start with any unit, at any time of the year.
The Units are carefully planned to introduce each topic and give children a range of hands-on lesson plans that really engage them in learning and developing cross-curricular skills and ideas, so you get enthusiastic learners who love taking part in the lessons. The Play Academy puts the joy back into teaching.
Each unit is clearly laid out, showing you how to introduce and lead each lesson, so you can pick up your chosen unit and be ready to teach.
Each unit also comes with bonus printables included, so you don’t have to hunt around and find them.
You can use individual units and you can also group units together to build a year-round pathway of cross-curricular leaning based around extended themes including Festivals, Science and Math, Literacy and Storytelling, Art, and Nature.
This saves you so much planning time and gives you a year-round curriculum you can rely on whenever you need it. And with so many themes to choose from, you’re not stuck with one curriculum for the whole year if your needs and interests change – you can simply pick another unit from our library of over 50 options.
I also guide you through the year – by email and in our private online community group – suggesting which unit is perfect for each week, so you can easily find a great unit to use, even last minute.
Your teaching is about to get a whole lot better and easier! Join the Play Academy and choose your first unit here.
What’s in this Winter Solstice Thematic Unit?
For a nature-based celebration in December, use our Winter Solstice Unit.
In this solstice unit your children can:
:: learn about the Solstice: what it is and how it is celebrated
:: make winter lanterns to light up the longest night of the year
:: go on a ‘signs of winter’ nature walk to explore the science and senses of the new season
:: learn about the Northern Lights and make skyline art
:: fill your windows with suncatchers or math stars
:: make a winter play-land for storytelling and imaginative play
Bonus Winter Solstice thematic unit printables
The Play Academy’s thematic units come with practical printables that make the lessons more engaging for your children and easier for you to teach.
No need to go searching for printables to accompany your lessons, they’re all included when you download your chosen unit.
In this Winter Solstice Unit you’ll receive these bonus printables:
:: Sun Template to aid the art activity
:: a Hawthorn Journal Page to accompany the winter nature walk activity
How to download this Winter Solstice thematic unit
You can download this unit along with over 50 more from NurtureStore’s Play Academy.
If you are already of the Play Academy, you can download this unit straight away from our Library here.
If you are not yet a member, find out more and choose your first unit here. Your teaching is about to get a whole lot easier!
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