Books, bugs, and art supplies.
Out My Backdoor 🐝
We had a reprieve from the summer heatwave this week and have really enjoyed being outside most mornings. It’s amazing what a difference stepping outside can make to my mental health, stress levels, and scope of what really matters.
I had to pull out my SLR to capture this little guy who was absolutely covered in pollen.
And I managed to photograph the rabbit that’s taken up residence under my studio!
This was a beautiful way to start our home education adventure.
Each morning I carry out a cup of tea and a stack of books that cover the table on our patio. Nature guides, children’s dictionary, and handwriting workbook.
Davy’s like a little pollinator of knowledge buzzing around observing things and coming back to find their names. His attention to detail has made me realize there’s much more nature in our backyard than I ever imagined.
Over the last week we’ve seen a goldfinch, bumble bees, wasp nest (boo hiss!), black swallowtail butterfly, brown rabbit, grasshopper, preying mantis, dragonfly, cabbage white butterflies, and a hummingbird!
Yesterday we spotted a yellow butterfly out the backdoor and David remembered it’s proper name (Western Tiger Swallowtail) better than I did. He loves flipping through these field guides to recognize “creatures” and learn about new ones.
I’m finding an ease here where I used to feel stress.
We’ve found our way from Montessori to something more home brew.1
This isn’t unschooling. It’s not Montessori. It’s not Waldorf.
It’s just us.
Finding our way.
Kindling curiosity.
Creating a rhythm of learning that is specific to our family.
It will shift over time, but I’m trusting myself now.
Since I’ve been in home ed curation mode this week I decided to share some of our favorite books and resources this week.
I believe these books are good for all ages, but if you’re not interested in learning things (why are you here!? 😂) you can scroll down to the Digital Foraging section if you must.
A note on Affiliate Links
All of the links you’ll find here point to Bookshop.org. This is a cool bookshop where online orders can support your local bookstore. (Yes, yours!)
My intention is to give you all the information you need to buy the book wherever you wish. (Including secondhand! We often buy books secondhand.2
Science 🐞
Insects of North America Pocket Guide (pictured above!)
Not comprehensive, but it holds a LOT considering it’s size. Gorgeous photos. Easy navigation.
This little guy (a milkweed beetle) is NOT in our insect guide, but we identified with iPhone’s visual look up feature. I like starting off with a real book, but it’s also cool our phones are now a real life Pokedex if we find something uncommon or rare.
Small and beautifully printed. Birds of Arkansas is color coded by the predominant color of the bird.
I loved having an option that only included birds local to us. There is whole series of these for each state.
Cloudspotting for Beginners and The Cloud Collectors Handbook were both recommended recently by .
David’s at a language stage where he wants to know the names for everything. He’s been asking a lot of questions about clouds so this was perfect timing. The smaller one has photographs and the larger one has colored pencil style illustrations (like the cover.)
And of course the Magic School Bus books.
(And these out of print unit study books.)
Language Arts 📖
Every kid needs their own dictionary. Webster’s Children’s Dictionary has gorgeous full color photographs. (I guess Merriam-Webster has teamed up with DK.) Letters are color coded in rainbow order which makes it really easy to use.
As I mentioned earlier this summer, buying David’s first dictionary inspired me to buy my own childhood dictionary, because it’s so nostalgic. This 80’s dictionary has fewer images, and they are all illustrations, but I love it. This book represents the beginning of my love affair with learning new words.
We love these handwriting fonts to make our own printables with David’s name and the names of characters he loves.
There are also free printables.
If you’re curious about handwriting resources (like pencil grips) more are linked here.
Art 🖍️
I’ve taught art on and off since 2004. So I thought I’d share my favorite art supplies for kids. None of these are affiliate links.
Prang Watercolors have the most pigment of any student watercolors.
Crayola Crayons are worth paying extra for (for the same reason – there is nothing worse than a crayon that barely colors.)
Crayola Slick Sticks glide almost like oil pastels.
Stabilo Woody Pencils are similar with no plastic. I find they hold up better and are less apt to break. They’re expensive, but long lasting. I like drawing with them myself. You can also add water and use them like watercolor pencils. Or use them on wipe off booklets or windows.
Kitpas Block Crayons are also creamy and delightful. I got lost of questions about them when I made my post coming out as nonbinary and queer.
Music 🎹
Prodigies Music Curriculum is the biggest financial investment we’ve made in home ed so far. We signed up for this before David was talking and singing “Do Do Do” and “Re Re Re” were some of his first voiced sounds. It’s an investment, but the quality is excellent and I believe is a great fit for neurodivergent brains.
You can start out with their free resources to try it out. If you don’t want the video lessons you could also buy a songbook and a set of bells from Amazon (that’s where we got ours – we painted them to match.) Or try their free app!
And De Colores a beautiful board book with lyrics to this song.
Geography 🌎
Barefoot Books Atlas App David loves the flag matching game. He knows African countries better than I do now. (There’s also a book version I just found and ordered used for $5.)
Math 🧮
Khan Academy Kids (Free! This one is brand new to us and includes math and reading. You choose the grade level Pre K – 2nd grade.)
Numberblocks (Based on the UK show. A paid app and worth every penny. David has used this app to teach himself multiplication and other advanced math concepts in self directed play. There are games as well as clips from the show.)
(Le, gasp!) TV 📺
I’ll spare you the soapbox on why TV is great for gestalt language processing (i.e. autistic language development) and just tell you our favorite shows.
Magic School Bus (Netflix)
Old and new versions – we love them all.
Puffin Rock (Netflix)
A very gentle show that teaches both social skills and nature. It’s by the BBC so it has a gentle musical score and narration.
Sesame Street
Davy watches this mostly on the Sesame Street App because even when we did subscribe to HBO it doesn’t have all the archives.
Daniel Tiger
Before Davy could talk he would hum songs from Daniel Tiger as communication. I also find they are very useful to play before we do something new (go to the doctor, gymnastics class, etc.) For those who haven’t heard of Daniel Tiger – it’s an animated series inspired by Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.
My Neighbor Totoro
This is the first film Davy watched all the way through so it has a special place in my heart. Sometimes we watch in Japanese with English subtitles turned on. Watching favorite shows (the ones you’ve seen a million times and have memorized) can be a great tool for language immersion.
That’s just the highlights. Click here if you want to see more. I’ll try to keep this page updated when we find new books and resources that we love.
Digital Foraging 🍁
Free Bookbinding Tutorial from at
This chat with that sparked a new tool for finding rhythm in our day.
Books 📖
I was completely delighted to take off the dust jacket to Moonbound by Robin Sloan and find this!
Also, apparently the dust jacket GLOWS IN THE DARK?! Aspiring authors should note this publisher (MCD) because they clearly put a lot of effort into making the book a beautiful artifact. I’m totally going to browse as a reader now and see what else they’ve published.
Also that little symbol at the bottom is a wizard glyph (in world design from the Moonbound universe) and is not the publisher’s normal colophon. 🤯
This time last year
I published The Value of Creative Joy waxing poetical about the Wheel of Time fandom. Just last night I was up past midnight celebrating 5 years of The Dusty Wheel with my nerdy friends.
I was recently asked the best place for new readers to join the fandom (in a low spoiler way) and I shared my tips here.
They also work for show only fans. We love y’all too!
The Compost Heap is free to all. Thanks for exchanging your time and energy. If you’re feeling particularly generous here are other ways you can lend your support.
Leave a comment (it’s free!)
Restack or recommend on Substack.
Buy my book.
Forward this email to a friend.
Pledge $3+ on Patreon (or upgrade to paid) for a letter from me each month.3
The Internet is like a tin can telephone. It’s magic when someone talks back. I’d love to hear from you.
What’s in your creative compost this week?
I appreciate you.
From the Compost Heap illustrations by Gracie Klumpp of Leave the Fingerprints. 🌱
I’m referencing DIY Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and not beer making. The idea is we’re making up the rules from scratch.
Our favorite used bookshops and tips for finding books on a budget are at Free and Secondhand Books.
Heads up Apple is going to charge a RIDICULOUS upcharge if you sign up through the Patreon app so this is worth using a web browser. I need to update my Patreon page about the change, but it just rolled out.
