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February Newsletter: Extracurricular ideas, Canva Contest, WWII Unit Study Special, and More!
Published about 1 month ago • 7 min read
It may be cold outside, but we have some warm deals for you this month: a unit study special and an offer from Literary Adventures. We also found some help from other homeschoolers for those of you who have been asking us about extracurricular activities that involve socialization. Of course, we have new offerings in our regular features. And, last but not least, we have our winners from the January Vocabulary Contest, and details on a new Canva Creation Contest for February. So, grab a warm beverage and take a look!
Disclosure: This newsletter may feature affiliate links, which means we will earn a small commission if you purchase through the links provided.
Teacher Spotlight
Holly with her daughter in Central Park.
Holly Egan
Holly Egan is FundaFunda's Art History teacher. She loves the beach, reading, being in a book club, watching movies, playing board and card games, spending time with her kids and friends, as well as going to concerts, theater shows, and museums. Holly first learned about FundaFunda when she was homeschooling her two children (both of whom are now young adults). In addition to teaching online with FundaFunda, she also teaches art/art history classes in person to 3rd-12th grade students at a local homeschool co-op. Holly also has 5 cats, her fur babies, who she treats like her other children.
Holly and her daughter traveled to NYC for a few days last May. They saw a Broadway show, visited some museums, toured some sights, and walked nearly 64,000 steps in less than 3 days. They had just left the Guggenheim Museum when it started pouring rain. Holly had eyed the gorgeous umbrella in the picture while in the Guggenheim gift shop. It's a print from one of her absolute favorite artists, Beatriz Milhazes, a modern Brazilian painter and collagist. She decided the unexpected downpour was her sign to go back and buy the stunning umbrella. Now she's glad to have the loveliest umbrella ever for any time it rains!
"I liked researching all the different art movements and learning about the artists. It was fun learning about artists whose works I have seen in museums. The textbook was a good starting point for the research required to complete the assignments, and any time I had questions about assignments Ms. Egan responded quickly. The assignments were very time consuming but I learned a lot."
~Cate
JUST FOR YOU:
February Special
We have a special offer for you this month: Choose either or both of our World War II unit studies for only $7 each (normally $20 each).
Who's Who In World War II: In this unit study, students explore the major players in World War II. Some topics include: leaders of the main countries involved in the war; various heroes, villains, and spies; the different branches of the military involved in the war; and individuals who helped on the home front.
World War II Year-by-Year: In this unit study, students experience the events of World War II as it unfolds in chronological order. Each module covers 2 years of the war, beginning in 1938 when tensions between nations were mounting.
Use code HISTORYFUN to receive either or both of the unit studies for just $7 each.
You can find bundles and also individual book clubs on specific books so you can put together your own course, if you want to. Courses cover students from elementary level through high school level. Everything is worldview neutral, self-paced and parent-graded. You can also find free courses at Literary Adventures for Kids.
Read a student review of the high school class "Poetry and a Movie" on the FundaFunda website.
If you find something you like, use coupon code ENGLISHFUN to take 20% off now through December 31, 2026.
March Poll: Do you homeschool year round or do you take a break?
Sttark is offering a $3,000 scholarship to a U.S. high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student who is willing to open up and unbox their life in a creative 5-minute video.
This year's prompt is "This Is Who I Am: Unboxing My Life". Applicants should create an unboxing video of their life showcasing their unique personality. Submissions will be judged for creativity.
The contest opened January 1st and runs through April 30, 2026. A winner will be announced May 18, 2026.
AI Tip of the Month
If your children have a test to study for, or they are struggling with a concept, click 'More' on the ChatGPT menu to access the "Study and Learn" option, which acts as a tutor.
Upcoming FundaFunda Events
Congratulations to our Vocabulary Challenge winners!
1st place ($20 Amazon gift card): Milo R
2nd place ($10 Amazon gift card): Brextyn P
Freepik
Students ages 13-18 can enter our FREE February event: A Winter Getaway Canva Travel Poster Design Contest.
The theme of the contest is "Winter Getaway in the United States", and students may participate by submitting one entry by February 28, 2026.
Amazon gift cards in denominations of $15, $10, and $5 will be awarded to the top three finishers.
Winners will be announced in our March newsletter.
In March, we'll be hosting a March Madness-style geography contest using Fanschool. Students will select a "team" of countries they believe will be mentioned most frequently in the news during the month of March.
Registration for the contest will be $10 and includes our South America unit study (a $20 value!). Gift cards will be awarded to team members on the winning team. More details will be available in March's newsletter.
Image by free-pik
Self-paced classes and unit studies can be started at any time during the year
You have lifetime access to self-paced classes and unit studies
Self-paced classes and unit studies can be re-used by all of your children
This month, we've gathered information from other homeschoolers through blog posts, articles, Substack, and podcasts about extracurricular activities that include social interaction. Check out the links below to explore some ideas for a new activity for your family!
Civil Air Patrol--Jennifer Lambert shares tips on how to use Civil Air Patrol as a high school elective and Magda Pride wrote an article in Homeschool World about her experience in Civil Air Patrol.
Math Clubs--FundaFunda has a podcast on math clubs: Making Math Fun: Building a Thriving Homeschool Math Club where guest Haley Story shares her experience of starting a homeschool math club and Denise Gaskin shares ideas for different types of math clubs homeschoolers can start in their area (if there isn't one to join).
Science Olympiad--Read about Adriana Zoder and her family's experience with Science Olympiad in her Homeschool Ways blog post and Fox Homeschoolers summarize the basics about Science Olympiad.
4-H--Tim Held lists some benefits for participating in 4-H as a homeschooler in a blog post for FundaFunda and Lee Binz wrote a post in the Home Scholar titled Homeschool with 4-H.
ACT has published a Four-Year High School Checklist to help students get on track--or stay on track, depending on where they are in their college journey. There is a lot of helpful information packed into this free, downloadable PDF file.
In our Homeschooling with Technology podcast, we explore new and different ways of using technology in homeschooling. There is an episode released every week!
You can start listening at any time. Just click on a link to listen in a browser, or find the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Email me if you need help! We have a tab on our website to browse through all our past podcast episodes easily. Check it out!
Presentations are a skill students will use again and again—in middle school, high school, college, and eventually the workplace. In this episode, learn about tech tools --Google Slides, Prezi, Canva, and Gamma App-- that can help homeschoolers (and parents!) create attractive, effective presentations without needing advanced design skills.
Melissa is a longtime homeschool mom of four, a licensed teacher, and the founder of Curio. She shares five free homeschool resources her family still uses regularly today—resources that have stood the test of time and continue to work well for real homeschool families.
These aren’t just quick links. Melissa explains how her family actually uses each tool, from self-paced science lessons to gap-filling math, audiobooks for reluctant readers, gamified learning for younger kids, and leveled current events for middle and high schoolers.
In this episode you'll hear about Nearpod, Khan Academy, Libby, Freckle, and ENGOO Daily News.
The Winter Olympics are here, and if your family will be watching, why not turn that excitement into meaningful learning? In this episode, I share a collection of fun, engaging, and mostly free Winter Olympics resources you can use with elementary through high school students—before and during the Games.
These resources cover history, geography, science, music, critical thinking, and more, with very little prep required.
In this episode, we learn about Pixar in a Box, a free, self-paced course created by Pixar in partnership with Khan Academy.
Pixar in a Box gives students a behind-the-scenes look at how Pixar films are made. Lessons are taught by Pixar professionals and connect animation to math, science, art, and computer science.
Vibe coding is a brand-new term, coined in early 2025 by former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy, that describes a radically different way of creating software—by describing what you want instead of writing traditional code.
In this episode, you will learn what vibe coding is, why it’s possible now thanks to large language models, and how homeschoolers can use it creatively and practically with their teens.
You’ll hear real examples, student-created projects, and two free tools you can try immediately.
The goal of this episode is to encourage you to choose one tech tool from the list of 10 featured tools to explore intentionally in 2026. The 10 tools featured are as follows: ChatGPT/Gemini, PhET Interactive Simulations, Concord Consortium, Canva, NotebookLM, Brisk Teaching, Edpuzzle, Google Arts & Culture, Google Applied Digital Skills, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF). You'll find details about each tool in the episode.
Free Resource Library for Subscribers
Access the Free Resources Library HERE. Password: edufun
Spring is here and we have some fresh deals for you this month: a self-paced sale, fun games and links for learning history, and a free magazine with 100 pages of free and affordable homeschool resources . Of course, we have new offerings in our regular features as well. And, last but not least, we have our winners from the Canva Poster Contest, and details on our April contest. Disclosure: This newsletter may feature affiliate links, which means we will earn a small commission if you...
Spring semester has started - but it's not too late to register for our classes! We have reminders about spring classes and a special on a critical thinking self-paced class. We also have a new teacher spotlight, AI hints, and ACT tips for you. Plus, we have some cool Winter Olympics links and new podcast episodes. Finally, we included information on contest opportunities for writers and those who enjoy (or need to work on) vocabulary. We think you'll find something in this month's...
Spring semester starts this month! We have reminders about spring classes and a special on a critical thinking self-paced class. We also have a new teacher spotlight, AI hints, and ACT tips for you. Plus, we have some cool Winter Olympics links and new podcast episodes. Finally, we included information on contest opportunities for writers and those who enjoy (or need to work on) vocabulary. We think you'll find something in this month's newsletter especially for you! Disclosure: This...
