March resource round up!
Learning through reading, watching, listening and lots of doing throughout the month of March.
Hello homeschoolers!
Yet another month has slipped through our fingers. March has gone and April’s arrived. I keep saying it but, gosh, these last few months have felt so full and so fast.
Here you’ll find a list of all the resources we enjoyed exploring in the past month!
For context: my children are currently 8, 6 and 3. We are travelling Australia full time in our caravan, learning and exploring as we go.
Listen:
Ladybird Tales of Adventurous Girls (Spotify audiobook)
Wombat Stew (read aloud - Story time with Aussie Dad on Spotify)
Bluey books (read aloud - Phillip & Mommy / Theo & Matt podcasts on Spotify)
What Body Part is That? By Andy Griffiths (Borrowbox)
This is a bit of a silly one but the kids liked it for a laugh.
Ladybird Addition and Subtraction Read By Rachel Lily (Spotify audiobook)
Ladybird Audio Adventures: Playwrights and Authors (Spotify audiobook)
If you haven’t seen any of my earlier resource round ups this series has been a huge hit for my children! I believe we’ve listened to all available on Spotify at the moment. Definitely recommend!
Read:
The Littlest Penguin by Jedda Robaard
So You Think You’ve Got it Bad: A Kid’s Life in Ancient Egypt By Chae Strathie & Marisa Morea
Wouldn’t necessarily recommend this one, it’s very schooly and not super gentle / respectful parenty, we’ll be on the look out for some other Ancient Egypt resources to inform my daughters current curiosity.
Usborne Mathematics for Beginners
What is Racism by Katie Daynes and Jordan Akpojaro
My biggest has been reading Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling aloud with her dad (they alternate reading aloud, page by page) which has cut right into what was our read aloud time. I’m a bit sad about it honestly. I love reading aloud! But I also need to stay open and receptive to my families needs and desires. For now Harry Potter with her dad is her nightly routine.
I am stuck reading Wombat Stew by Marcia K Vaughn and Pamela Lofts every night and listening to the audiobook on repeat. Good thing I’m a fan of Wombat Stew!
We are still very slowly moving through the Narnia series and are about halfway through The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. We have been reading on long drives or as kiddos play quietly with magnet tiles or lego. Hoping for more of these opportunities as we sink further into April.
We’re still working through a lot of the same workbooks as last month. We often leave them for a while and come back to them or save them for quieter van days. As you will read below, we’ve had a busy month so there’s been a lot of outside the home (van) learning going on, prioritising a lot of experiential and hands on learning over bookwork (always, to be honest). I have no doubt this will even out in the months to come and we’ll get back into reading more again.
My 6 year old did finish his maths workbook and has started on the Usborne Workbooks Subtraction Age 5 to 6. No pressure on him to finish it just in his own time as his interests directs.
Watch:
Operation Ouch! (abc iview)
The Magic School Bus rides again (Netflix)
Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory (Disney+)
Activities:
Information centre passports
Did you know that you can get a special Australian passport that you can take to all the information centres and get different stamps? No we didn’t either! But now we have one and it’s a lot of fun. Only 14 months it’s travelling but that’s okay!
Copywork - using favourite toys and interests to encourage writing practice.
Sticker books are a hit here again recently with my younger 2 children.
3 year old is loving doing her sticker books while the older 2 do morning learning workbooks. She’s been working on Bluey and Paddington bear sticker books and calling them her “learning’”. Adorable!
6 year old is obsessed with the Usborne ‘build your own’ sticker books. In a conversation a few weeks ago he mentioned he was really interested in learning more about superhero’s. The next day I found myself in an indie bookstore and the superhero sticker book jumped out to me! He loved it and has since gotten the Build Your Own Car and Build Your Own Spaceship sticker books also.
Adventure:
Bathurst Railway Museum
If you happen to find yourself in the Central West this museum is a great visit. Really engaging for young kids!
Sydney Eye Tower
This is a very touristy attraction. We visited simply because we had a Merlin pass which is an annual pass that covers a variety of attractions such as the Sydney Sealife Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife Zoo etc. The pass was well and truly worth it for us, we bought it on sale early 2023 and used it to go to the Sydney Aquarium & wildlife zoo at least 4 times, we also visited the Sealife Aquarium on the Sunshine Coast in QLD, Madame Tussaud’s a couple of times and the Sydney Eye Tower (just once was enough for us). Definitely recommend the pass if you’re travelling like us and will visit several of these locations throughout the year!
Sydney Zoo
This is the newer zoo in Western Sydney, it was hot and a bit smelly. Overall we much prefer the Sydney Taronga Zoo.
Bushwalk in Lane Cove National Park
Beach
Bookshops
Sydney Sealife Aquarium
Sydney wildlife zoo
Madame Tussaud’s
Newcastle Museum
Great, free, kid-friendly museum in Newcastle. Had several interactive exhibits, a light show and engaging science area. Worth checking out!
Ugg boot factory
Hunter Valley Chocolate factory
Gosford Regional Gallery and Gardens
This is an excellent spot! It’s free. They had a fantastic craft area set up for the kids, there’s a cafe on site, beautiful Japanese gardens and next door is a large playground! Win!
Central Coast Marine Discovery Centre
Another fantastic space for kids to learn and explore. This is a paid small environment centre, the staff were so friendly and accommodating! There are tonnes of crafts and activities set up for children. Lots of friendly people around to answer any questions and there is also an onsite cafe and large playground - it even has a small street library! Wonderful spot, definitely recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area.
The Sydney Royal Easter Show
We have a wonderful, very full, day at the Easter Show! There is SO much for children and families to do. It is expensive, the entry, food and activities are pricey. For us it was worth the splurge as none of the children had ever been before and we went as a special day out with my sister. I think it’s still on for another week or so if you’re in the position to - why not give it a visit!
Okay, writing out this list, no wonder I’m exhausted! We have had a massive month!
In March we started out in Central Western NSW, Spent some time in Sydney, travelled to the Hunter Valley, Central Coast and Newcastle, then back to Sydney for Easter before leaving the state for new adventures further afield. It’s been lovely though. We have had the chance to connect with so many of our family and friends. So many special moments that we’ll hold so dear!
For the parents:
Australian Homeschooling Summit
I’ve been watching through the archives of the summit that happened earlier in March. I believe you can still pick up the entire collection plus past years collections of videos. I’ve always found them really inspiring and encouraging!
Sisters Who Homeschool Podcast
Not only have I really enjoyed consuming this podcast I was also featured on the Sisters Who Homeschool Podcast this month! Such an honour to have chatted with Holly and Gemma. You can listen here!
I think that’s all I’ve got for you for March!
I hope your April is starting out beautifully.
Please let us know if there were any amazing resources you used or adventures you went on with your little homeschoolers in March! We’d love to hear all about it x
Some other posts to check out:
