Mama's Musings

We're finishing a human body unit study that has lasted many months and included lots of STEM activities from both My Creative Box and Kiwico, the 1998 BBC documentary series The Human Body, Magic School Bus episodes, lots of books, puzzles, games, and of course imaginative play as various health professionals who mostly use bandages and a stethoscope!  Mum gets a few minutes to lay on the couch as a patient of course! 

These activities were complimented by some Twinkl resources such as their My Body Activity Pack for Kids.  There are so many printable resources online to teach most themes, and we choose those which appeal to Zeah.  Mazes used to be the favourite, but wordsearches are becoming her most frequently requested activity sheets.

Zeah enjoyed some anatomy classes through Outschool where they built body parts such as the inner ear with playdough while learning facts about that body system.  Including hands-on activities...

Our almost-7 year old doesn't need any special reason or day to express love to her family and friends, so she's always excited when I suggest some crafts and activities for Valentine's Day.

Here are some we'll try this year:

Clay Nature Weaving Hearts by Mud and Bloom

Valentine's Day Pudding by Twinkl Parents on TikTok

Valentine's Heart Paper Garland on Twinkl

Yarn Wrapped Hearts by Design Your Life
(or another heart weaving/wrapping activity)

These simple heart cards by Messy Little Monster
(because... tie-dye!)

Love Bugs - I mean Lady Bugs by Housing a Forest

ALL the things on this page because nature craft is our favourite!  Thanks mothernatured.com.

Happy Lovers Day to you all, and those you love, and those who love you.

In 2022 Zeah enjoyed some themed learning activities about Space!  We got loads of great ideas from a purchased lesson plan booklet from Preschool Unit Lesson Plans. Their thematic units are literature-based, easy to prepare, and fun to implement.  This saved me some time searching the internet for activity ideas! 

I also found so many activities on Twinkl, as usual, and Zeah chose several to download and print.  She  had fun with My Creative Box space-themed crafts and activities, especially the box that became a jet pack to zoom around the house!

We gathered, borrowed and purchased a number of games, puzzles, and books, and watched our old favourite Magic School Bus DVDs several times!  Zeah joined an Outschool Space-themed escape room class, in which both the teacher and students shared their knowledge of space to solve problems and reach a goal.  Escape rooms are Zeah's favourite style of Outschool class!

We intended to...

I'm a little behind with this series of posts sharing unit studies we've done.  Early last year Zeah's learning theme was Insects.  It followed Australia, which was a very broad theme to study.  Insects was a fun unit with an abundance of resources available for a six year old, and despite studying insects with the kids for over two decades, I still learned a lot too!

Twinkl was our go-to for printables again - with a variety of activities for Zeah to choose from.  My Creative Box provided our craft items, most of which Zeah did with her Nanny while I was at work.  

We collected books from our own shelves and the library, and the most popular were those with close-up photographs of various minibeasts.  We also gathered some toys and games - some we already had, and a few new items.

When preparing resources for themed learning, first I gather what we already own, then I search online for ideas.  We use the library, borrowed items,...

When we had a bunch of children close in age, the school holidays were a welcome chance to drop everything and just play!  If we weren't going away anywhere, fun was had at home with friends or family visiting, and we avoided going out as a welcome relief from our daily driving commitments.  As a large, rural-living family, there was something on almost every day during school terms!

Now I have only one young child at home, so when we're not going away during the holidays I often look for opportunities to keep her entertained.  Sometimes we have playdates with local friends, but other ideas I use include:

the library - our local libraries offer a wide variety of activities during each school holidays.  We have six libraries within 30 minutes of our home, so there are different days and times to choose from.  The activities are free, and booking online is simple.  Of course the library is great for books, story CDs, DVDs and other...

Most would presume that after 25+ years of teaching kids to read, I'd have the perfect system to recommend!  I must admit that for each of my seven children, I used many different methods...  Here are some of the ways my children finally cracked the code of reading and spelling:

Flashcards of sight words (handmade, and DK and Reading Eggs brands)
Phonics books (handmade, and various brands including Blake, Reading Eggs)
Early readers (various brands including vintage op shop finds)
Alphabet and spelling charts (SPELD worked for a later reader)
Games on PC (Learning Ladder in the early 2000s, and Jolly Phonics)
Card and Board Games (specifically Early World of Learning resources in the 90s)
Reading Eggs app
Reading aloud together daily from picture books, chapter books, and non-fiction
Reading along to audiobooks
Writing (we learn to read by writing, and write by reading - to me, they are symbiotic activitites)
Outschool (this is new for us, so only with reader #7 and in a...

We've recently had a cold that was bad enough that we couldn't go out to work and play, but not so bad that we felt like resting all day, every day.  While the symptoms were fairly mild, it did drag on for a couple of weeks, and of course I caught it a week after Zeah, so we were housebound for three weeks!  In our family, when a child is sick we watch relevant Magic School Bus episodes that explain what's going on with our bodies when we're unwell.  You know you're a homeschooler when catching a cold is a learning opportunity!

Staying home gave us time to read more stories, watch movies together, do craft, play board games, and generally spread toys and busy-ness all over the house!  Zeah also attended a couple of Outschool classes, which were a great social connection for her, without infecting anyone!  What a relief!  She usually loves to go to gymnasics, sport, homeschool group, and swimming each week, as well as seeing friends...

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'd like to share about seed and plant experiments and projects which can be done indoors.  For so many families right now, it's hard to connect with nature due to limitations on being out and about.  Why not try a couple of the ideas below?

Cress Egg Heads

Cress seeds germinate within 48 hours and the cress will be ready to eat within 10 days - so as far as gardening goes, this is as close to instant as it gets!

You will need:
egg shells, rinsed
egg carton or egg cups
potting mix or cotton wool
*cress seeds (supermarket, hardware or garden store)
water
pens to decorate

Try to crack your eggs removing only the top third of the shell.  Wash and dry well.  Once dry, decorate with faces using a permanent pen.  You can also paint the shells, or glue on features such as a nose.

Pop your shells into a cut-down carton or egg cups from the kitchen.  Fill with potting mix or cotton wool.  Dampen and sprinkle cress seeds.  If using soil, don't bury...

Spring brings us longer days and an awakening world outdoors.
The arrival of colour and new life fills our spirits with a sense of hope.

Acknowledging seasonal changes is one way for humans to experience the rhythm of life. As our children witness the unfolding of each season, they grow a little and appreciate the wonders of nature. To know each season through walks, observation, activities, and games helps our children to develop a more intense relationship with planet earth. In most of Australia, the seasons are not as marked as in other climes… There may not be snow-capped rooftops or dazzling autumn leaves, but there are many less obvious signs that we are a part of the cycle of nature known as the seasons.

A seasonal table or shelf is one way to reflect the changes we witness through displaying items from nature, art and craft and dioramas. The table can also reflect festivals and other events that mark the cycle of our year. For ideas on creating a seasonal table...