what does your business stand for?We want to provide beautiful, accurate science, geography and history resources to children around the world and we hope our work can be used to better the global community.
You can read our full mission statement and statement of beliefs by clicking here. how do you create your art?All the art used in my resources in hand-painted the old fashioned way with pencil and watercolour paints. I've used and tried out lots of different media over the years (both traditional and digital) and always come back to watercolours, I fell in love with the process as well as the finished result. The paintings are then scanned into photoshop to create the final products.
What Age ranges are your printables for?I provide a range of different products and resources, most of my products are designed to be used in multiple ways and can be tailored to fit your child's age/stage and can grow with them, as I feel this provides you with the best long term value for money, however the following is a general guide:
Playful Education : ages 2-6 Living Education: ages 5-12 Immersive Education : ages 10+ Nature, Literature, History ResourcePacks : ages 5-12 Map Drill : ages 5-15 Language Arts Programme : ages 6-12 Games : ages 2-adult (check individual games) Curious Kids Club : ages 4-15 What if I want to buy a new pack but I already have some of the items?Sometimes I do release new units and packs that include some of the resources I already have, or are included in different sets because they add something useful to the study. I always want to make sure that you get the best value for money. So if you find you have the same activity in two different sets you've purchased (or you bought a single item and later decided to purchase a larger bundle) I ALWAYS offer a free swap service. Simply message me on Etsy and I will exchange like for like, i.e. if you have a double of flashcards choose any of my other flashcard sets to receive for free, same applies to activities, nature packs etc.
If you've purchased a few packs (e.g. living education or playful education units) and later decide you want to upgrade to a full membership bundle, message me on Etsy before you purchase and I'll create a custom discount code for you to remove the amount you've already spent. I'm also always willing to split up packs in case you only want one or two items from a pack, I cannot list every item individually in my Etsy but feel free to message me there if you just want a part of one of my bundles and I'll create you a custom listing. How do you print your items?I print all my own items at home on a HP Deskjet Printer 2620 on an instant ink subscription (which I highly recommend if you want to print a lot of full colour items).
I print onto watercolour paper - specifically 200gsm cold pressed paper made by gold line (I do have to trim this paper down to fit my printer). On my instagram account, in the story highlights, you can see the full process of how I prep flashcards. Where Do I Find My ETSY Downloads?If you have purchased digital products from my Etsy shop, you can access your files as soon as payment has been made, and at any time in the future. Simply click on the 'Me' heading in the top right of your Etsy page then select 'purchases and reviews' beside your order you will find a button to download your files.
On some devices, in the Etsy app this option does not appear, to solve this problem simply use your devices browser to go to Etsy.com and log in there. If you ordered without having an Etsy account and can no longer find your files, simply message me on Etsy with your order number and I'll be able to help. The File is Too Large to Download, or the Wrong File Format!If you have a slower internet connection or are using a mobil device, some of my files may be too large to download (I like to supply my work in high resolution so that files can always be printed larger if necessary), if you have a problem with these large file formats, simply drop me a message from your Etsy account and I can supply a compressed version of all my larger files.
Likewise if the download you received in is the wrong format (most of my files are supplied in .pdf but some older ones may still be in .png format), just message me and I can convert the file to a more convent format for you.
My Printer is cutting off Part of the Page!All my files are sized to A4 (international standard sized paper), however if you are in the US you are likely using letter sized paper instead (which is slightly different proportions). If your prints are clipping the edges off, simply look for a setting within your print dialogue menu that says 'fit to page' or 'scale to fit' - this is usually a simple check box, that will ensure your print will feature the whole page.
Are your freebies really free What's the Catch?There isn't any, I provide a wide range of free activities and resources in my freebie sections, as well my curious kids club, the book based curriculums and ebooks. These items are free for your own use and to enhance your homeschool. They are entirely free you are not required to checkout, provide me with details, email address or to sign up to anything. It's a passion of mine to make sure that I can provide resources that everyone can use no matter their situation in life. All I ask is that if you enjoy my resources and have the means to do so, consider supporting me by purchasing something from my Etsy shop.
What style of homeschool or curriculum do you follow?We homeschool with a Charlotte Mason method, slightly adjusted to fit our own lifestyle and values. I do not follow any curriculum as I could not find one that fitted fully with what I wanted to teach my daughter, so instead I pull together my own book lists to use with Miss Mason's methods. I use the UK National Curriculum as a base for topics of study in Maths, Science, Geography and History.
As an early years educator, providing a home nursery setting for children aged 1-5, I used an activity shelf system and outdoor focused education drawing on principals from Montessori and forest school, so you will find influences from these educational methods in my resources too. What does Your homeschool day look like?I'm not very good with sticking to detailed plans and often begin to panic if we get off track, this can cause problems when we want to take an inspiration trail and delve deeper into a particular topic. For this reason I break my day loosely into sections:
MORNING TIME (usually over breakfast and around 1.5 hours mins): Literature, History & Science Read Aloud Books Regular Loop Subjects, 2 per day including: History Spine, Spanish, British Sign Language, Science Spine X2, map drill Other Loop Subjects (1-3 per day time depending): PHSE, art apprechiation, music theory, documentaries, religious studies, music lessons We normally finish with maths and copyworb AFTERNOON ACTIVITIES (most afternoons we choose one of the following activities to do together): Nature Walk, Nature Journalling, Book of Centuries, Handicrafts, Baking, Gardening, Coding, Music Lessons (Harp OR Piano), Science Experiment GAME SCHOOLING We regularly strive to play a small selection of games several times a week, I believe that children can learn so many different skills and concepts through the playing of games, as well as providing important family time for us to end the day. LITERATURE BASKET (30-60 mins at bedtime), we will read aloud from our curriculum books each evening . Usually focusing on modern literature and geography read aloud. Why do you not provide fact cards and worksheets in your packs?I am a firm believer in Charlotte Mason's principles in that children should be provided with living ideas not dry facts. Fact cards cannot possibly provide a full living educational experience and therefore I choose not to supply them with my resources, instead I recommend you to take a look at my book recommendations and free curriculum resources to find quality living books to read to your children, use the resources to explore the ideas. Then allow children to freely record what they have learnt by using my journal pages to narrate onto (written, dictated or drawn), children will own their learning and develop valuable skills that cannot be gained from filling in worksheets.
My new info cards combine art work with short narrative details, and my curriculum topics include a book to base your learning off. Are all your products Charlotte mason?In short no! The majority of my items can be used in conjunction with a Charlotte Mason education and are heavily inspired by her words and methods, especially for nature study, journaling, and for displays. Some of my items provide a blended approach (such as my book lists and activities), that are intended to be used alongside living books and Miss Mason's methods but also provide you as the parent finished work that you can present in portfolios or education checks if required.
Many of my phonics activities draw on my own extended learning on children's reading and development. My early year's pack draw from Montessori principals for early education and are not very compatible with Charlotte Mason's methods |
