There are so many wonderful packaged unit studies available for homeschoolers who don’t know where to start. Instead of buying something prepackaged, how about starting with an idea and letting your kids’ interests decide where to go with it? Have you thought about starting a study unit in the kitchen…with a recipe?

You can certainly choose your own recipe to start your unit study, but here is an example of how it might work. The recipe I have in mind is for Beef Stroganoff. His children can decide which way they want to go with this, but here are some suggestions:

1. Research the different stories about the origins of Beef Stroganoff and decide, based on the evidence, which version may be correct.

2. Research the year the dish was invented and explore that time period. What important events were taking place around the world then? Who was the president of the United States and what was the United States like at that time? What did people wear in Russia in the 19th century? What other foods were popular in Russia back then? What was the main mode of transportation during that time period? Dig as deep as you like into any of these.

3. What is a count? Draw and color a nobility tree showing the nobility rankings from highest to lowest. Is it still like that in Russia today?

4. Explore Russia geographically. Find it on the world map. Make your own map of Russia and include topographic elements. Add bodies of water, mountains, cities, industry, and anything else you want. Make demographic data tables. Create math problems involving air or boat travel from Russia to the US, or from one city in Russia to another. Compare the size and circumference of Russia compared to Europe and the US.

5. Learn about Count Stroganov and his family history. Create a play about his life.

6. Make a scrapbook by downloading images from the Internet and then adding captions that explain the images.

7. Compare 5 different Stroganoff recipes and see which ingredients are the same and which are different. Make a bar graph of the ingredients of all the recipes.

8. Create a Russian newspaper with news that could have happened in the 19th century. What kind of ads could they have had then?

9. Make a beef stroganoff! You can have a Russian night and have a full meal of Russian food. Visit some Russian museums online to understand what their dishes and utensils might have looked like and how they would be dressed for a meal.

10. Write a fictional story about a girl or a boy in Russia.

These are ideas on how to go from a single recipe to a unit of study. Other recipes work just as well. Check out her pizza recipe and take a trip to Italy, or explore Tollhouse’s Chocolate Chip Cooking Recipe; there is a good story there. How can you go wrong with pizza or cookies?