I started Wildflowers to share our home education journey with other nature loving families. I have always enjoyed creating & designing custom studies for my girls, now (7) and (4) based on their interest and I am so touched that these materials are loved and appreciated by families on every continent.

I started my first year homeschooling in November of 2018 clueless and making so many mistakes. I have researched so deeply into every kind of homeschool style and curriculum imaginable.

***Ladybug spotted on our nature walk***

Because of our love of nature, art and music we were easily drawn to certain aspects of a style of learning. We love the natural elements and musical aspects of Waldorf education, the nature study, poetry and composer study from Charlotte Mason and the hands-on approach in Montessori teachings. There are of course things that I didn’t like and so…

I ended up - you guessed it! - creating my own curriculum. It was an amazing start to our home education journey. Everything we did was interest-led, we did plenty of hands-on learning activities, went out on nature walks, made so much ART, and travelled around the world.

The most rewarding thing (for me at least) was that I taught my daughter to READ! 10~15 mins a day and lots of quality time spent together! She is now learning independently, reading every morning and during her free time. She started reading her very first chapter book when she turned 6! She can finish them in a matter of days and she writes the most beautiful poetry! To me, that is just IMPRESSIVE!

We’ve built quite a library of living books. Now whenever she wants to learn something, she’ll read about it first before she begs me to make a unit study on it. I realised that once I’ve laid down the foundation, the rest will fall into place - beautifully and almost magically. We have made them discover wonders, encouraged creativity and created a lifelong love of learning!

Sadly this sea of knowledge, creativity, fun activities, recipes and science projects were not written down, all I have are photos . . . until now . . . My little one, who is turning 5 next month will be starting Kindergarten/Year 1. Since we are unable to travel and do all the other things we love, like ballet classes, piano lessons etc. I want to write down my plans so that I can share them with all of you.

With the world we live in now, I want to be able to give value to parents a provide a more a structured format so that they can easily nurture young children’s hearts and minds. They deserve only the best and only you can give them that quality time!

I have only just started writing and several weeks into the parent guide, I realised one thing that I need to share with you today - THE DANGERS OF WORKSHEETS! I know, don’t hate me for it yet.

Side note: The printables from my unit studies are not worksheets! They are extremely fun, intentional and open-ended hands-on activities that have so much freedom and room for exploration!

I do not ever expect my children to ‘complete’ a coloring page. They only do it if they really enjoy it.

By definition: a worksheet is a piece of paper listing questions to answer or tasks to complete! Yes, worksheets are easy, the reason why most parents are so drawn to them is because they require almost no prep and usually have the term “open-and-go” tied to them. Sure, they can be beautifully made and you believe it saves time but really it’s doing the exact opposite - at best it is a waste of time!

If anything they deprive children of the freedom to think beyond and outside the box. What happens when my ideas and thoughts exceed the lines on the page? Do I limit my points to the space you provide me? What if I wanted to use a different color? Does that make me wrong?

I’m sure we all grew up with worksheets at some point or another in our lives. Sometimes we justify it because it gives us a sense of accomplishment, as if filling in all the blanks means I’ve learned this skill when in reality you have not left the boundaries of that one piece of paper.

Dramatic and open-ended play encourage children to engage in an imaginative way! I find so much so much joy when my girls can create something out of nothing. This kind of creativity cannot be found within the pages of any worksheet, no matter how beautiful!

We know for a fact that children learn best through play and when they use their senses! Natural wooden toys are growing in popularity, these past few years they seem to be on everyone’s instagram feed, there’s a good reason for this! Aside from it’s aesthetic qualities it provides so many benefits. I too, am guilty of owning quite a collection lot of these gorgeous, overpriced toys.

But surprise, surprise all of these open-ended toys and manipulatives can easily be found in nature and it’s free! So, I’m currently writing an art + nature-based curriculum that is going to be engaging and easily adaptable!

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***Process Art made by Zara when she was 2***

It’s the same way I feel about crafts, when they are completed, everyone’s work will look the same! If you know me for any amount of time, or have purchased any of my art unit studies, you would know that I’m all about process art which is the experience children have while creating and not the end result.

So i’m giving myself the opportunity to provide my little one with a beautiful, magical beginning full of discovery, creativity, wonder and treasured moments. I can’t wait to see what she can do!

Wildflowers Beginnings

The World Is Their Classroom Home Ed. Q+A blogpost

Wildflowers Unit Study