Mama's Musings

We love fungi!  Eating fungi, growing fungi, photographing fungi and learning about it!

This great little pack of ten resources (above) from Twinkl is just one of many resources they offer for learning about Fungi.  What a great starting point for a journey into mycology - thanks Twinkl!

Last month I was a guest at The Sweet Society to talk with Kylie about Powerful Planning.  We discussed the big picture, what worked and what didn't, how I made a commitment to my kids and got them to make a commitment to me - in learning, large families vs one child, collaborating with other families, and SO much more!  You can check out the replay here.

Wondering how you'll afford to homeschool? I have a simple worksheet you might like - something to start conversations and get you thinking about the real costs of homeschooling, and the alternatives. Head here! 

Using Instagram to record homeschooling can be a creative and effective way to document your homeschooling journey and share it with others. Here are some steps and tips for using Instagram for homeschooling.  Some of them are only relevant if you want to build a following.  It's also fine to have a private Instagram account and just use it for your personal record-keeping and/or share it with family members.

Create a Homeschooling Instagram Account: If you don't already have an Instagram account, create one specifically for your homeschooling content. Choose a username that reflects your homeschooling focus.  Ours is instagram.com/homeschoolconfidently.

Set Up Your Profile: Write a brief bio that explains your homeschooling approach, goals, and any other relevant information. Add a profile picture, and if comfortable, use a family photo or an image that represents your homeschool. You could make a little logo for your homeschool, if you like!  Canva is a great...

The 2023 round of the Australian Homeschool Grants is now ready to take your application!  I'm one of the many sponsors again this year.

Zeah got a couple of craft kits for Christmas from My Creative Box. The boxes contain several activities each, and everything needed to do each one. The packaging is all compostable/recyclable and there seems to be minimal waste in the one we've started (Oceans).

Some activities I need to help her with, others she can do alone once I set it up (she's 4). Overall, this is a great Aussie business encouraging learning and creativity!  The Oceans box has inspired informal themed learning for Zeah over the past couple of weeks.

If you want to try these, here's a $10 off voucher.

We were lucky to visit the Cairns Aquarium and the beach over our Summer Holiday, so Zeah has been doing the Ocean-themed Creative Box activities, watching Octonauts and Nemo, and generally immersing herself in all things marine!

I've been listening to The Brave Learner on audible for a few weeks now, and I'm really enjoying it!  As I listen to each chapter, I'm thinking "Yes!"  Julie Bogart succinctly describes the learning adventure our family have lived for the past last 25+ years.  To hear her describe how she learned to create a rich learning environment (and lifestyle) for her children, and trusted their choices and abilities is a beautiful reminder of how our own home education journey was also heart-centred and adventure-driven.  Would I make the same choices again?  Absolutely!  I am, with Zeah who is 4 and will have a different experience to her siblings aged 16-26, but hopefully it will be as full of fun and love and help her to grow to be independent and brave adults like her siblings (she's already quite brave!)

Want to hear more?  The Brave Learner is on Audible (your first title is free).  It's also available as a paperback for around AUD$25 -...

I loved themed learning at any age!  From reading Teddy Bear's Picnic and eating outdoors with babies, right through to teens writing essays inspired by concepts in a sci-fi movie they watched or novel they read...  

Last week I read The Rainbow Fish to Zeah and the little ones I babysit, then we did some simple related activities.

The Rainbow Fish, with his shimmering scales, is the most beautiful fish in the ocean but he is proud and vain and none of the other fish want to be his friend—until he learns to give away some of his most prized possessions.

Sometimes the activity is so simple it's completed by the end of the story, and other times, we can spend a week or more immersed in the theme of a much-loved book.

When I looked online for activities related to The Rainbow Fish, there were hundreds of free ideas including arts & crafts, colouring pages, worksheets, games, loose parts play, snack ideas, and more!  Learning like this is a little like a...

We've had this set for about a year and I play it with Zeah, she plays with it alone, and we take it when I babysit some other homeschooled children.  It's been really popular with 3-8 year olds.  We have the version pictured, with activity cards.  

Zeah uses the pebbles for sorting (size, colour, shape), stacking, counting, and making patterns.  The pebbles are ideal for loose parts play, as maths manipulatives and the activity cards prompt plenty of variations of learning and play.  There are several sets available.

Are you as intrigued as I was about the Ultimate Homeschooling Bundle, a collection of resources created by experienced homeschoolers?

I had early access to this bundle and have previewed a lot of the resources over the past two weeks.  I downloaded, unzipped, saved, filed and printed like it was Christmas!  I kept unpacking more and more goodies and I was AMAZED at the quality!  I figured that if there were at least TWO resources of great value, it'd be more than worth the purchase price of just under US$30...  Out of 51 resources, I presumed there'd be value there...  And I was right!  And so I'm sharing this bargain (which is available for THIS WEEK ONLY), with you.

From what I've seen so far, there are at least three courses I want to do ASAP, two planning tools I will try out (always, always tweaking systems here!), some learning resources I will use with Zeah (4) today, and some stuff I'll save for later on - I've downloaded and...