Step beneath the forest floor and discover the strange, essential kingdom connecting roots, recycling life and sending spores into the world.
£6.99
Digital download · a printable Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal for your child
Digital downloadFungi are neither plants nor animals. Some appear as familiar mushrooms, while much of the organism remains hidden underground as a network of fine threads called mycelium.
This printable Wonder Lesson introduces the different roles fungi play as decomposers, partners and recyclers. With adult supervision, children can learn mushroom anatomy, observe mould in a sealed bag, make a spore print and record what they discover over several days.
Use the lesson to guide a woodland walk, a careful observation or a simple home investigation. The Parent Guide supports the science and safety while the Companion Journal gives children room to label, compare, record and wonder.
Choose the activities that suit your family and return to an observation over several days. There is no need to complete everything at once; a mushroom’s shape, a pattern of spores or a new question can be enough to begin exploring together.
The free companion resources offer three videos introducing fungi and mushrooms, a read-aloud of We Are Fungi by Christine Nishiyama, an article about a vast honey fungus, a supervised spore-print activity and a family Kahoot.
Follow the rabbit holes into mushroom-based fabrics, fairy rings and penicillin, then wonder what a forest would be like without fungi. These resources are free to explore with or without purchasing the printable lesson.
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There is no fixed age recommendation. Choose the questions and activities that suit your child, offering help with reading, writing and recording observations where useful. An adult should supervise all mould and mushroom activities.
Two printable PDFs: a three-page Parent Guide and a four-page Wonder Companion Journal, seven pages in total. This is a digital download, not a physical book or journal.
The journal is designed for printing, with spaces to match mushroom parts, draw, record observations and keep a spore print. You can read the guide on a screen and use your own paper or notebook for drawings and written observations if you prefer.
There is no fixed completion time. The journal includes a three-day observation record, while the other reading, drawing and discussion activities can be explored at your own pace.
Use pencils and the printed journal or your own paper. The optional bread-mould observation uses bread and a resealable food bag, kept sealed throughout. A spore print needs an adult-selected mushroom, paper and a bowl or cover. Follow the guide’s instructions, supervise children and wash hands afterwards.
Yes. The videos, read-aloud, quiz, linked activities and further exploration are free to access with or without purchasing the lesson. The Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal are the paid download.
An adult should supervise all mould and mushroom activities. Keep mould sealed: do not touch or smell it, and let an adult dispose of the sealed bag. Observe wild mushrooms without eating them, and never eat one unless a qualified expert has identified it as safe. A spore-print activity is for observation, not tasting.
Fabulous Fungi is one of the wonder-led adventures in The Wonder Curriculum Volume One. The complete family set travels through science, nature, history, art and the wider world, with every adventure designed to be used in any order.
Download the Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal and explore the remarkable kingdom of fungi together.
£6.99
Digital download · a printable Parent Guide and Wonder Companion Journal for your child
