A Year of Unit Studies

I've already posted about our proposed weekly schedule for next year. We're going to do workbooks for things like math and reading. (L actually likes workbooks. A lot.)
For the science/social studies aspect of things, we're going to be doing a series of pretty traditional unit studies. That's actually what we did this year, except next year, I'm hoping to guide things a little more, instead of having him just randomly tell me what he wants to do.
I've worked out a general schedule for the year, covering roughly nine months worth of one month long studies. If something drags on a little longer, that's fine too. I'm just trying to come up with a basic skeleton for the year. We don't do well when we wing it.
Some of the themes are based of feedback L has given me about what he wants to learn about. Others are things I think he'll enjoy, or needs to learn about. It occurs to me that I may possibly come up with a month or two worth of alternate plans, just to allow for the possibility that he just isn't into something. It goes without saying that if something just isn't working out for us, we'll move on to something else.
Most of the themes aren't necessarily linked to the calendar, so we can also switch them around a bit, if interest or other circumstances dictate.



So for the most part, in no particular order, we'll be studying

Space
astronauts
sun and moon
planets
stars

Community Helpers
firemen
policemen
mail carriers
doctors and nurses

Fall and Halloween
apples
leaves
pumpkins
bats

Food and Nutrition
Dairy
Fruits and Vegetables
Protein
Grains

Birds
owls
blue jays
chickens
penguins

Transportation
boats and trains
planes and helicopters
bicycles
cars and trucks

Zoo animals
monkeys
snakes
lions and tigers
elephants

My body
staying healthy
major organs
five senses
staying safe

Gardening
seeds
bugs
plants
worms

That's the plan, as of now. Are you planning for next year yet?