Mama's Musings

By integrating citizen science into your lives, you'll not only nurture a passion for learning but also contribute to vital research that benefits us all. Happy exploring!

As home educating and unschooling families, we have the unique opportunity to create a rich, diverse learning environment that goes beyond textbooks. One fantastic way to make learning engaging and meaningful is through citizen science. This collaborative approach allows everyday people, including homeschoolers, to contribute to real scientific research. It's a hands-on way to learn about the natural world, develop critical thinking skills, and participate in a community that values curiosity and discovery.

Citizen science involves public participation in scientific research. From collecting data on local wildlife to analyzing climate change trends, citizen scientists help professional researchers gather valuable information. This collaborative effort enhances scientific knowledge and often leads to...

AI - Artificial Intelligence - love it, hate it, or not sure?  I'm still on the fence!  That is a typical writer's response to a perceived threat.

I've been testing it out though, and I think it's a great tool for generating ideas.  For example, today I logged into ChatGPT and asked it to "write a 4 week unit study for children aged 5-7 who are learning about the countries around the world, especially developing nations and less common countries, and include food, stories, and art, as well as academic learning."  

For me to plan this would take maybe an hour or more, and for someone new to homeschooling, it could take a few hours.  In under a minute, ChatGPT gave me this:

Title: Exploring Our World: A 4-Week Unit Study for Children Aged 5-7

Week 1: Africa - A Continent of Rich Cultures
Introduction:
Introduce the concept of continents and explain that we will be starting our journey in Africa, a diverse continent.
Display a world map and locate...

For the past couple of months, Zeah has been trying various Outschool classes.  She's tried escape rooms, maths lessons, and arts & crafts.  She's engaged with teachers from Australia and the US.  She's met other children aged 5-8 years, from all over the world.  And she's loved it!  As soon as a lesson ends, she asks what she's enrolled in next.  She finishes every lesson smiling and proud, encouraged and inspired.  Zeah is getting a lot more out of her Outschool classes than I expected.


_{Zeah uses a phone or tablet to access Outschool most of the time, it feels less restrictive than sitting at the computer.}

Outschool offers classes across every subject area, as well as classes and groups for specific interests, and social groups.  They have something for everyone aged 3 to 18 years.  I'm sure we would have used Outschool a lot with our teens if there were more classes in Australian time zones a few years ago.

Teachers and...

The last theme I shared was when we had a Dinosaur adventure! We've enjoyed a couple of themes since then, which you may have seen on our Instagram or Facebook, but I haven't collated them into a post here ... until now!  Australia is a unit I repeat with my children most years through their childhoods.  We usually start with Aussie animals and move all the way through history, geology, geography, literature and politics as they grow.  This, of course, is because we live here!

We already had a large number of Australian books including a shelf full of Aboriginal Australian stories I've collected for over two decades.  With Zeah my emphasis explored the first nations culture and stories more than I had with my other children because I had just finished studying a fascinating, transformational unit through University of Tasmania called Indigenous Lifeworlds.  I now realise that we need to have these stories, this culture, as the basis...

I'm SUPER excited to be involved with the 2021 Australian Homeschooling Summit!  I really enjoyed presenting the past couple of years, and also watching the other workshops (both live, and later, because everything is recorded with access forever).  In 2021 the Summit will be all online from Monday 15th February.

These Summits are fantastic for increasing your confidence in home based learning no matter what your family's circumstances. With dozens of Aussie presenters doing different workshops, there really is something for everyone! 

Excellent value for money ($29 AUD) with 37 workshops plus bonus sessions - all recorded for your access at any time either as video or audio files. Plus downloads / resources. Plus discounts. Plus giveaways. Plus access to the AMAZING team of homeschool experts from across Australia for the duration of the conference to ask questions specific to your family's journey.

Check the schedule for the 2 weeks & plan to see...

From TODAY the 2020 Ultimate Homeschooling Bundle, which I shared a bit about last year, is having a FLASH sale for 2 days only. It's not normally available (the bundles are only released for a short period). So, this is a rare second chance to access all 51 workshops, downloads, ebooks, summits, courses, printable resources, curriculum products and MORE again for only $29.50.

I've been slowly working through a lot of the bundle contents relevant to me (about two-thirds of what's included) over recent months. I really like that I can take my time with it all!  One of my favourites is a lovely course by Jean from Art of Homeschooling. If you're interested, go here to find out more and SAVE 97%. (afflink)

Because we have a little one of school age now, I thought I'll try to share a series of regular blog posts showing some things we're learning about.  Perhaps some of the resources and activities we do will help inspire other families.

Zeah is very interested in Time at the moment.  She has asked for a watch for her fifth birthday, and is often asking questions relating to the concept of time.

TIP: Place a standard analogue clock in a living/playing area of your home, and refer to it often, eg: "It's nearly 2 o'clock, we need to get ready for swimming now."

This past week, we started doing some activities and we read a book to support her interest.  Here are some of the items we've used...


These rainbow timers from Junior Learning measure 1, 2 and 5 minutes and assisted with estimating and comparison of how long different things take at at our place.  I got them online for about $10 last year. 

This book, Just a Second by Steve Jenkins has beautiful...

I've just completed a workbook I started this time last year!  I sense a theme...  I'm thinking about the overwhelm as our year comes to an end (and oh my - what a year)!

Without proper support it can feel almost impossible to nurture your family relationships and maintain a home based learning journey long-term.  

To access this FREE 20 page printable workbook, click on the cover, below, and enjoy!

The freebie for today is one of the files from my Resources page - a book review template.

Interested in reading more about including book reviews in your home ed journey?  Interested in a TON more homeschool freebies?  Check out this collection by Sarah Shelton on the Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies site!

Have you used Khan Academy?  Our teens have used it so much over the years (and still do), especially for Maths!

I used Khan Academy myself recently as I needed some further explanation on some Maths concepts for one of my university subjects.  The lessons complimented the uni content perfectly and filled in the gaps I had so I could proceed with my assignment.

And something for my readers who aren't Aussies - they have a great section on Personal Finances with US information and links.  So if you were a little let down by the Australian-centric info I shared here on Wednesday, check out Khan Academy!  it's FREE!