February Resource Round Up

What we did, read, watched, explored and enjoyed in February.

Welcome to my monthly newsletter where I share our full homeschool/unschooling resource list!

For context: I have 3 wonderful children aged 8, 6 and newly 3! We live full time in our 21 ft caravan and are travelling Australia, learning as we go.

What we’ve been reading:

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

I read this aloud to my eldest 2 children (8 & 6). I was expecting it to be quirky and fun like the movie but oh, it’s actually quite different. Book Mary Poppins is so gruff and rude! The stories are still somewhat engaging. My 8 year old mostly liked it. My 6 year old hated it. And to be completely honest it didn’t hit for me. The way children were spoken about in this book. Eek! There are a lot of great classic children’s books that I’d recommend but this isn’t one of them.

Explore Under the Earth by Carly Madden

This picture book is great! We picked it up from the National Dinosaur Museum gift shop as a present for my littlest (only 8 and 6 year olds came along for this excursion). It’s a cute board book that adventures through the layers of the earth.

Curious Questions and Answers about Astronauts by Scholastic

In January I took my three children on an outing to Big W where we used our 10% off (thanks everyday rewards) and picked up a few new books and resources to work through. My middle kiddo was interested in all things outer space so we picked this one up. It’s very simple, easy and quick read about astronauts and space.

Democracy by Phillip Bunting

What better to do while exploring the nations capital than to buy books about democracy? Picked up from the National Library of Australia this book is actually quite a fabulous overview of what democracy is (and what it isn’t) and how we can keep things fair and equitable through our democratic society.

The Swifts by Beth Lincoln

Read aloud by me to my oldest 2 children. The Swifts follows a young girl named Shenanigan Swift. The Swifts are an eclectic group who each receive their names by a somewhat magical dictionary. It’s a middle grade mystery novel with treasures to be found and there’s murder. This was honestly, probably just a little old for my 2, there are some gruesome moments and some more mature content (there are non-binary and trans characters and some discussion around gender and sexuality). However it’s a very compelling story and had us hooked early on so we had to finish it and ended up really enjoying it.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

We have been continuing the Narnia series and are currently reading The Silver Chair together. This is such a nostalgic series for me! I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter as a child but was very much encouraged to read and watch the Narnia series as an alternative. I have a much loved Chronicles of Narnia book somewhere in storage and my brothers and sister and I have very fond memories of binge watching the BBC Narnia series over and over again. It’s such a joy sharing these much loved stories with my own children.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling

As mentioned above I was not allowed to read (or watch) Harry Potter as a child. Witchcraft yadda yadda. I actually tried to read Harry Potter a couple of times as an adult and it wasn’t for me, probably missed the boat there but I’m fine with it. My eldest however, has been begging to read Harry Potter for a while now so she and her dad are reading the first book page for page. She gets to read Harry Potter, she practices reading skills and I don’t have to read a book that I’m not particularly interested in. Win, win!

Other readings this month:

• Scooby Doo Phonics Reading 12 Pack

• Great Outdoors Activity Book

• Wildlife Compendium of the World by Tania McCartney

Workbooks:

We have only recently started using workbooks regularly in our homeschooling. We tend much more toward the unschool / free school side of things so these workbooks aren’t forced but are options that my children are currently enjoying exploring.

• Growing Up Powerful Journal by Nona Willis Aronowitz

• Learning to Write by School Zone ($4 Big W)

• Handwriting by School Zone ($4 Big W)

• Multiplication & Division by School Zone ($4 Big W)

• Maths Basics 1 by School Zone ($4 Big W)

• Usborne Write Your Own: Sci-fi and Fantasy Stories

• Usborne Measurement Workbook

• Sudoku Puzzles on the Go

Listening to:

Audiobooks:

Ladybird Audio Adventures

• Lakes, Lochs and Rivers

• Outer Space

• Birds of Prey

• Musical Instruments

• The Animal Kingdom

These audiobooks are fantastic for young(ish) learners. There are so many of them (we have been working through the series for a couple of months now), covering a huge variety of topics. They are very engaging, funny and factual. Each around an hour long. Perfect for car trips or for something to listen to while we play Lego or make cubby houses (my children’s favourites currently).

We also listened to: Odder by Katherine Applegate

Podcasts:

Who Smarted?

Nature & Science 4 Kids

Watching:

Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Disney+)

Hack My Home (Netflix)

Mary Poppins (Disney+)

Exploring Alternatives (YouTube)

Big Living, Tiny House (YouTube)

What’s Your Problem (abc iview)

Lily’s Driftwood Bay (YouTube)

Let’s Go See (YouTube)

Play School Science Time (abc iview)

What we’ve been doing:

Earlier this month we spent 2 weeks exploring in Canberra. I have been to Canberra a few times but it had honestly never occurred to me just how much there would be to do in our Nation’s capital. Of course this was very naive of me but we ended up having a wonderful time. There was more than we could manage to explore in our 2 weeks and we even happened to make some lovely homeschooling friends on our trip. We’ll definitely be back! If you happen to be planning a Canberra trip as a homeschooler I would definitely recommend applying for a Canberra Teachers pass. We saved a few hundred dollars at attractions and gift shops using this pass. The PACER program also looks great for slightly older kids and slightly more organised parents than I!

This month we explored these attractions:

Questacon

National Dinosaur Museum

Cockington Green

National Museum of Australia

Taronga Zoo Sydney

Environment Centre

Lifeline book fair

Games:

We love using games to supplement our learning. They teach so much from maths to strategy and so much more. We actually stumbled across a gaming convention while we were in Canberra and collected a huge handful of brand new board and card games for only $40. We did have to drop some off to our storage unit, because van life means extreme space (and weight) limitations but a score nonetheless.

• No Vacancies

• Spot it

• Roll & Say (speech therapy)

• Rat-a-tat Cat

• Matilda Times Tables Game

Other activities:

• Foil Art Kit

• Just Dance videos on YouTube

Another full month! Every time I sit down and really look through what we did each month I’m honestly amazed. Some months it feels like we really didn’t learn that much but we truly are always learning!

In fact, this might be an unpopular opinion but I actually think the academic side of things is the easiest part of homeschooling. Learning just happens! Especially when you have the resources easily available, like we do - thanks to my research and dedication to making them available. But even without that I’m sure my children would continue to find things to explore and be curious about - because that’s the nature of childhood!

What have you been using in your homeschooling lives this past month?