Mama's Musings

This is a fantastic, free pdf of a book designed for educators to share gardening with children.  It contains a wealth of info on planning, building, planting, maintaining, harvesting, eating and saving seeds - with relevant activity suggestions and resources.

Click on the book image to access the free download.

Years ago, when searching online for less-common books, I remember using a search engine, and heading to each of my favourite online booksellers to hunt down a specific title, comparing prices, postage and stock availability to save a few dollars here and there in pursuit of some must-have tome.

One day, I stumbled across Booko.  This website made it so quick to compare prices, find second-hand options, and discover new booksellers.  I could find electronic and audio versions, paperback or hardback, new or used, various editions, 

I've never bothered to create an account, or save searches or wish lists - I just head to the site and type in the title when I'm looking for something in particular, especially older or out of print non-fiction.

I hope you find Booko useful too!

I don't normally review or recommend curriculum.  It seems strange to say it, but actual curriculum products have been a tiny part of our homeschooling journey.  There's one resource I did use for all six of my homeschool graduates all the way from Year 1 to Year 10.  It was super-affordable, Australian, took only minutes to complete each day, had Teacher's Guides (Primary and Secondary) with all the answers so I could check answers quickly, and covered all the basic maths skills.

We complimented our studies of Maths with lessons in Khan Academy, other free video Maths lessons online, games, sitting and explaining concepts a few different ways, and developing handwritten worksheets, and manipulatives such as rods, blocks, counters and rulers.  Mostly, though, we simply used these books, and I'll be using these books again, with Zeah from next year, when she is five.

Take a look at the New Wave Mental books here.

The Philosophy of Education

I first heard of John Holt when our eldest child was around 4 years old. There was a bookstore closing down in Sydney, and I bought a few titles at a bargain price and immersed myself in his wisdom. As often occurs when we are trying to absorb new information, it wasn’t the best timing and I made excuses for why Holt’s ideas were not for us.  My background studying primary teaching may have influenced my initial reaction to John Holt's message!

As we trialed different methods of home education, I was more able to grasp Holt’s philiosophy of respect and freedom. Re-reading books such as Learning All the Time and Teach Your Own every few years has allowed me to continue to trust my children’s capacity for learning and creating. 

There is room for John Holt’s philosophies in any home school, it's not just inspiration for unschoolers. We are eclectic learners – using some...

The HEA are offering the Autumn issue of Stepping Stones for FREE to inspire families during the current situation due to Covid-19.  It's available to read here.

I only recently came across Twinkl.  Someone shared a link to a resource on Facebook, and I went to check it out.  I discovered that Twinkl had heaps of fantastic resources suitable for Zeah (4) which I could print and use straight away to compliment our learning about Australian Animals.  

Twinkl are currently offering everything on their site for FREE because of Covid-19.   There are hundreds of thousands of resources, including a Home Learning Hub for use during school closures for children aged 3 to 16!  They always have a whole section especially for homeschoolers here - it includes not only subject areas, but themed resources (one of my favourite homeschool methods).  Twinkl also offer specifically Australian resources, resources in various languages, a wellbeing section, resources for students with special needs, and a cool Twinkl Create tool for making your own resources specific to your family's...

The Philosphy of Education

Learning is Natural.  School is Optional.

Grace Llewellyn is an unschooling advocate, and highly esteemed author. She wrote her book, The Teenage Liberation Handbook, in 1991 at 26 years of age. I first read it before my older children were teenagers.  

Grace Llewellyn taught public school for a year. It was more than long enough to show her that something was wrong with the system. She then took a year off to travel and figure out what it was she wanted to do – since teaching was all she was qualified for. During that year she discovered the work of John Holt. Like so many who read his work, a few pages was all it took to convince her, but she went on to read most of his books.

Refreshed and with hope that she could make a difference Grace spent the next two years teaching at a very small private school, where she had complete control over the curriculum. Of this time she says, “The fact remained: they weren’t that...