Classes, Resources, Lessons

If you’ve ever stood at the edge of a field with your children, meaning to “do some nature study,” and realised you have absolutely no idea where to begin – you are in very good company. Nature study is one of those things that sounds simple and turns out to be quietly overwhelming. What are we actually looking at? What should we notice this week? Which book helps? Most of us end up wandering about, losing momentum by October. Exploring Nature with Children by Lynn Seddon is the curriculum that solves exactly that problem. It hands you a gentle, open-and-go plan for an entire calendar year, so that every week you know precisely what to explore, where to look, and how to draw it all together – without spending your evenings hunting through websites. A nature curriculum made in Britain, for British seasons This is the part that makes it such a natural fit for home educating families here. Lynn Seddon is a home educator herself, living with her family in Lancashire, and she wrote the book she wished she’d had when she started out. Because of that, the whole curriculum follows the Northern Hemisphere’s four seasons – the conkers and bare branches and first snowdrops that your children are actually seeing out of the window. Most of the well-known nature study resources come from the United States, which means a fair bit of mental translation: their seasons, their wildlife, their timings. Exploring Nature with Children needs none of that. When the curriculum says it’s time to study the harvest moon, gather autumn seeds, or watch for the first signs of spring, those weeks line up with the world right outside your door. How Exploring Nature with Children works The structure is beautifully simple. The year is divided into the four seasons, then into the twelve months, then into weeks – giving you 48 weeks of themed, guided nature study, four for every month. Each week has one clear theme: cloud shapes one week, minibeasts the next, the night sky, seeds, birds, frost, and so on. You don’t have to start in January. You can begin in whichever month you happen to be in and simply work through the year from there, which is one of the reasons it suits real family life so well. You can also dip in and out, follow it loosely, or go deep on the weeks that capture your children’s imagination. If your child becomes obsessed with butterflies, there is nothing stopping you from spending a whole month on them. What you get in each week This is where the curriculum really earns its keep. Every single week gives you a complete, self-contained plan, so there’s no extra prep required. Each themed week includes: The Charlotte Mason connection Exploring Nature with Children is rooted in the Charlotte Mason approach, which placed enormous value on children spending real, unhurried time outdoors – observing, noticing, and recording what they see. You absolutely do not need to follow a Charlotte Mason philosophy to use it, though. Plenty of families with completely different approaches use it simply as a ready-made nature spine for the year. The method sits quietly underneath; it never demands anything of you. What ages is it for? The curriculum is pitched primarily at the early years and primary stage, but in practice it stretches much further than that. The weekly themes work as a launchpad: you can keep things light and playful for little ones, or use the same theme as the starting point for more in-depth study with an older child – proper science, more detailed journaling, independent research. Families with children spread across several ages tend to love it for exactly this reason. Everyone studies the same theme together, each at their own level. Do you need the Handbook of Nature Study too? You’ll see Exploring Nature with Children paired with the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, a classic reference that the curriculum cross-references each week. It’s worth being clear: this is entirely optional. Exploring Nature with Children is self-contained and gives you everything you need on its own. The Handbook is there for families who want to delve deeper into a topic – a lovely thing to have on the shelf, but in no way a requirement to get started. Format, price and how to buy Exploring Nature with Children is a digital download – a 236-page PDF priced at $19 (roughly £15, depending on the exchange rate), bought directly from Lynn Seddon’s site. There’s a free sample available too, so you can see a complete week’s lessons and the full list of themes before you commit, which is well worth doing. Because it arrives as a PDF, you can read it on a screen, print only the weeks you need, or have the whole thing printed and bound. Many UK home educators get theirs spiral-bound through a print service so it lives in the bag and goes out on walks with them. Buy Exploring Nature with Children here → Free resources to go alongside it One of the nicer surprises is how much free support exists around this curriculum. Lynn offers free seasonal title pages and a free sample on her website, and Twinkl has an entire curated collection of free, downloadable resources designed specifically to accompany Exploring Nature with Children, organised by season and month. Between those, you can build a really rich year without spending much beyond the curriculum itself. Exploring Nature With Children Calendar A free calendar to guide you as you plan your year. Included are all the dates and themes in one handy place, and the occasional week that needs to be changed, (such as Harvest Moon Week) is already switched around & planned for you. Download your free calender here → A quick, honest note on content The curriculum gently weaves in some seasonal festivals and the occasional reference rooted in a Christian calendar, simply because it follows the traditional turning

Turning composer study into something children actually ask for again. If you’ve ever wanted to introduce your children to classical music but weren’t sure where to start beyond “let’s listen to some Mozart,” the Story Orchestra series might be exactly what your home education library is missing. These interactive picture books pair gorgeous illustrations with real sound clips from famous orchestral scores, turning composer study from a worksheet exercise into something children genuinely want to pick up again and again. Written by Katy Flint and illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, the series retells classic ballets, operas and orchestral works as picture-book stories. Press a button on the page, and you hear a 10-second clip of a real orchestra playing the music that inspired that scene. It’s a simple idea, but it does something a lot of music appreciation resources struggle with: it lets children connect a piece of music to a feeling, a character, or a moment in a story, rather than just a composer’s name and a date. The Story Orchestra: Four Seasons in One Day The book that started the series is built around Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. We follow a little girl called Isabelle and her dog, Pickle, as they travel through all four seasons in a single day, carrying a small apple tree that buds, blossoms, and loses its leaves as the story moves from spring through to winter. Children press the buttons to hear ten excerpts from the violin concerti as each season unfolds in the illustrations. At the back of the book is where this series really earns its place in a home education setting: a short biography of Vivaldi and the story behind his composition, alongside a replay function for each musical excerpt with notes on the instruments, rhythms and techniques being used. There’s also a glossary of musical terms, genuinely useful for building vocabulary around music in an age-appropriate way. View on Amazon → Worth knowing: reviewers consistently mention that the sound buttons need a firm, accurate push to work, and that there’s a white tab inside the back cover that needs removing before the sound board will activate — worth checking before assuming a button is faulty. The Rest of the Series Once Four Seasons in One Day found its audience, the series grew steadily and now covers twelve main titles in total, spanning ballet, opera, fairy tale, Shakespeare and orchestral suites. The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky — Clara’s Christmas Eve adventure with her nutcracker doll. View on Amazon → The Sleeping Beauty Tchaikovsky — the familiar fairy tale paired with the ballet’s score. View on Amazon → Swan Lake Tchaikovsky — Prince Siegfried follows an enchanted flock of swans to a lake. View on Amazon → Carnival of the Animals Saint-Saëns — two brothers discover a magical animal kingdom behind their bookcase. View on Amazon → The Magic Flute Mozart — a picture-book retelling of the opera. View on Amazon → In the Hall of the Mountain King Grieg — a boy’s adventure through the valleys and mountains of Norway, retelling Peer Gynt. View on Amazon → The Planets Holst — siblings blast off in a space rocket bunk bed to explore the solar system. Winner, Good Housekeeping Best Kids Book Award 2023. View on Amazon → Peter and the Wolf Prokofiev — Peter defies his grandfather’s warnings to save his animal friends from a wolf in the woods. View on Amazon → Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Mendelssohn — mischievous fairies, lively actors and young lovers get caught up in pranks in the woods near Athens. View on Amazon → Hansel and Gretel Humperdinck — the Grimms’ classic tale of two children, a gingerbread cottage and an evil witch in the woods. View on Amazon → I Can Play A spin-off with a built-in keyboard so children can play eight easy pieces themselves. View on Amazon → PRE-ORDER Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Joby Talbot — tumble down the rabbit hole into Lewis Carroll’s world of magic and music. Releasing 8 October 2026. Pre-order on Amazon → My First Story Orchestra (Board Books) A sturdier board book range aimed at babies and toddlers, with six sound clips per book. The set includes Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Four Seasons in One Day, and Carnival of the Animals – a good starting point if your little ones are still at the chewing-the-corners stage of book ownership. View on Amazon → Why This Works Well for Home Educators You don’t need a structured “music lesson” to get real value out of these books. A few ways families tend to use them: Composer study made concrete. Rather than reading a biography of Vivaldi or Tchaikovsky in isolation, children hear the actual music while learning about the person who wrote it and the story behind the piece. Seasonal and topic-based learning. Four Seasons in One Day slots naturally into a seasons topic, The Planets pairs with a space unit, and Carnival of the Animals works well with an animals or habitats theme. Building musical vocabulary early. The glossary and instrument discussions introduce terms like tempo, pizzicato or crescendo in context, which tends to stick far better than a flashcard. Independent reading and replay value. Because children can keep pressing the buttons to replay clips, these books get returned to long after a single “lesson” would normally end — more exposure to the music over time, with no extra effort from you. A gentle bridge to live music. Many families find that once a child recognises a piece of music from one of these books, they’re far more engaged if they later hear it performed live, on the radio, or in a film soundtrack. They also make a thoughtful addition to a home education resource shelf if you’re building out a broader music appreciation routine alongside things like composer-of-the-term studies, or simply want something to bring out on a rainy afternoon that doesn’t feel like “work” to your children, even though it absolutely is. As an Amazon Associate,

One of the greatest joys of home education is being able to choose resources that genuinely suit your child – not what fits a classroom of thirty. Whether you’re looking for hands-on science kits, educational games that don’t feel like work, or reference books your children will actually pick up and browse, this guide has you covered. We’ve pulled together our favourite home education resources across every subject area, all suitable for ages 6 and up. Every product here is available on Amazon, making it easy to build your home ed shelf without the hunt. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — this helps us keep Home Education Circle running. Science and Nature Science is one of the subjects where home education really shines – you’re not limited to a whiteboard and a textbook. These resources bring science to life through models, experiments and exploration. Thames & Kosmos Human Body Anatomy Model Construct a realistic 37-piece human body model with an included stand and guidebook, providing hands-on learning about anatomy. Perfect for children ages 8+, this kit fosters curiosity about biology, health, and science through interactive play. View on Amazon Galt Toys Horrible Science Kits Tied in with the popular Horrible Science book series, these experiment kits cover everything from slime and germs to explosions and electricity. Genuinely engaging, with results children can see and feel. Suitable from age 8. View Building Box of Experiments on Amazon | View the whole Galt Horrible Science Box Range National Geographic Science Magic Kit Part magic, part chemistry – this kit introduces scientific concepts through experiments that look like tricks. Great for curious minds who need a hook before they’ll engage. From age 8. View on Amazon Thames and Kosmos Kids First Chemistry Set A well-designed starter chemistry set with safe experiments and a proper activity guide. Introduces concepts like acids, bases, reactions and states of matter in a structured way. From age 8. View on Amazon Snap Circuits Electronics Exploration Kit Build working circuits using snap-together components – no soldering, no mess, no frustration. Excellent for introducing electricity, logic and engineering thinking. From age 8. View on Amazon 4M Crystal Growing Kit Grow your own crystals and observe the process over several days. Simple, satisfying and genuinely educational. Works well as a patience-and-observation lesson as much as a science one. From age 10. View on Amazon Usborne Science Encyclopaedia A comprehensive reference book covering physics, chemistry, biology and earth science in Usborne’s accessible, illustration-rich style. One of those books that lives on the shelf and gets consulted regularly. From age 5. View on Amazon Maths and Logic Maths resources work best when they move away from the page. These picks build number sense, logic and problem-solving through play and physical manipulation. Cuisenaire Rods A classic manipulative used by educators worldwide. Colour-coded rods of different lengths help children understand number relationships, fractions, multiplication and more – without abstract symbols getting in the way. From age 5. View on Amazon Fraction Tower Cubes Interlocking cubes that visually demonstrate fractions, equivalence and percentages. Particularly useful for children who struggle to understand fractions abstractly. From age 6. View on Amazon ThinkFun Rush Hour Logic Game A sliding puzzle game with 40 challenges ranging from beginner to expert. Builds spatial reasoning and logical thinking without feeling like maths at all. A home ed staple. From age 8. View on Amazon Maths War Card Game A fast-paced card game that builds mental maths fluency through competitive play. Great for drilling number facts in a way children actually enjoy. From age 6. View on Amazon Sum Swamp Maths Game A board game that practises addition and subtraction through play. Particularly good for younger children in the 6–8 range who need to build confidence with basic operations. From age 5. View on Amazon ThinkFun Zingo Sight Words / Number Bingo A bingo-style game that reinforces number recognition, counting and early arithmetic. Quick to play, easy to set up and genuinely engaging for younger children. From age 6. View on Amazon Mathepotamia Maths Game A times tables and mental arithmetic game with multiple levels and modes, including a flashcard mode for quick practice on the go. Designed so children and parents can play together at their own level, making it easy to fit into family game nights as well as lesson time. From age 6. View on Amazon Literacy and Language These resources support reading, writing, vocabulary and storytelling – and most of them work across a wide age range. Bananagrams A fast-paced word tile game where players race to build their own crossword grids. Builds spelling, vocabulary and quick thinking. One of those games the whole family can play together. From age 7. View on Amazon Rory’s Story Cubes Nine dice covered in images – roll them and use the pictures to build a story. Brilliant for reluctant writers and creative children alike. Works across a huge age range and sparks imagination every time. From age 6. View on Amazon Boggle The classic word-finding game that’s been a favourite for decades. Competitive, fast and genuinely effective at building vocabulary and spelling awareness. From age 8. View on Amazon Usborne See Inside series Lift-the-flap non-fiction books covering an enormous range of topics – science, history, the human body, space and more. Excellent for building reading habit and general knowledge simultaneously. From age 6. View on Amazon Oxford Children’s Dictionary A reliable reference tool that earns its place on every home ed shelf. Encouraging children to reach for a dictionary rather than a screen builds both vocabulary and independence. From age 7. View on Amazon The Great Storytelling Game A Story in Every Round – Stretch those storytelling muscles! Players use picture cards to inspire fun, imaginative tales that build with every turn. From age 6. View on Amazon History and Geography Home education gives you the freedom to dive deep into history and geography