Ready-made Unit Studies

So tonight found me teaching a group of 25 boys (ages 11-16) all about chess.  This "class" was a family venture that included me, my husband, and my eldest son (who is our resident chess expert) serving as the "teachers" and was part of our Boy Scout troop's weekly Tuesday night meeting.  The Chess Merit Badge is brand new and was just introduced in September 2011.  I am fairly confident that our troop might be one of the first troops to earn it in our locale.

As I was preparing to teach this badge, I was reminded of how the BSA merit badges make for incredible unit studies.  Essentially, they are a homeschooler's delight.  Merit badges take a specific topic and focus in on the basic elements needed to grasp the topic.  For each merit badge, the BSA provides a compact worksheet for recording all your answers and a list of resource links.  In addition, the BSA also sells a booklet for each merit badge, providing everything that you need to know to earn the badge.  If you don't want to purchase these booklets from a local scout shop, most local libraries have copies available to be checked out.

Tonight's Chess Merit Badge is not the first merit badge I have taught.  I have also led, or co-taught, the following merit badges: Coin Collecting, Citizenship in the Nation, and Geocaching.  Currently there are 128 different merit badges - ranging from:  American Business, Communications, Fly Fishing, Nuclear Science, Scuba Diving, to Woodwork.  A quick look through all the subject covers makes you realize that they cover a ton of hobbies, and/or professions.

My eldest son, who is an Eagle Scout, currently has at least 49 merit badges.  Some of the merit badges he's taken has led to new hobbies (ex. Coin Collecting) and others have led to potential careers (ex. Landscape Architecture).  When were in the process of moving from Arizona to Utah, we spent a period of several months living with relatives.  Because of our limited living space, I had to pack away all our school resources and just get "creative" with our homeschooling.  What we ended up doing was doing Boy Scout Merit Badges with my older son and Cub Scout Belt Loops with younger son.  They both had a blast.

Even if you are not in Boy Scouts, you can still take advantage of these ready made unit studies.  All you have to do is download the merit badge requirements and get busy learning.  It is a really fun way to learn about something that you may not ever even thought of covering.  I would suggest that you let your child scour through the list of topics and pick something they find interesting.

What I especially like about merit badges is that many of them require you to get out in the world and interact with others.  This can mean anything from going on a field trip to a state park, museum, business, etc.  Or it could mean having to engage in some community service.  Right now, my youngest son is in the process of completing the Citizenship in the Community merit badge.  For that, he had to attend a city council meeting, meet with someone from the city to discuss a project our city is working on, visit some local historic landmarks, and volunteer for eight hours with a local volunteer organization.  Now, those are some great life skills.

So if you are looking for some awesome and free unit studies... I suggest you check out the 128 merit badges offered by the BSA at: Merit Badges

If you have younger children (i.e. 10 and under) you might want to check out the 40 belt loops offered by the BSA.  These belt loops fall under either Academics or Sports, ranging from: Art, Basketball, Geography, Music, Snow Ski & Board Sports,  Tennis, and Wildlife Conservation.  A complete list of belt loops can be found at:  Belt Loops

Finally, there are several groups on the internet that have blended homeschooling and scouting.  One in particular is:

Homeschool Scouting
We are a homeschool family in the Pacific Northwest who discovered that Boy Scouts added a new and vibrant flavor to our homeschool curriculum. Combining the two endeavors brought to life numerous subjects, as we found ways to incorporate merit badges into field trips, science labs and more. It opened doors for leadership opportunities, volunteer service and presented ways to earn multiple awards for the same activities.



Homeschooled Scouts (Yahoo Group)
Homeschooled Scout list is not an official Boy Scouts of America (BSA) email list, nor is it sanctioned by BSA. This Homeschooled Scout list is a privately managed group and is not owned or managed by any particular Council within the BSA or by the national BSA.

This list is for informational purposes and sharing of ideas among homeschooled scouters. This list has members from all over the country and from many different religious backgrounds. Members also have different homeschooling philosophies. The common ground is homeschooling and a love of scouting.