Systems & Signals | 8-Week Home Education Project
Prices are listed in Australian dollars (AUD). For UK families, that’s about £30 per project. Your card will process the payment in AUD, but your bank will show the equivalent in GBP.
About This Project
Systems & Signals begins with a deceptively simple question:
What makes something a system?
From there, learners start looking underneath the things around them.
They might investigate how a railway network keeps trains moving, how bees communicate, what happens between pressing a button and a lift arriving, why an important warning might be missed, or how changing one small part can affect an entire system.
Across the project, learners explore:
parts, connections and dependencies
inputs and outputs
signals and how information travels
responses and feedback
what happens when communication breaks down
how system design can work differently for different people
patterns shared by very different systems
how models can help us understand and test ideas
Learners can explore lots of different systems or follow one interest in increasing depth.
They might research, talk, draw, observe, experiment, photograph, map, build, model, test or invent. There is no single prescribed way to complete the project or demonstrate what they know.
Who This Project Is For
Systems & Signals is a particularly good fit for kids who love figuring things out.
That might be a learner fascinated by:
machines and mechanisms
trains, roads, traffic or other transport systems
animals and ecosystems
the human body
technology and electronics
games, rules and processes
organisation and how things fit together
troubleshooting when something doesn't work
taking complicated things apart, physically or mentally
A favourite game, animal, machine, sport, place or technology can all become a way into the project.
Flexible ways into complex thinking
The thinking in Systems & Signals can become surprisingly complex.
The way learners access it doesn't have to be.
One learner might explain their ideas aloud. Another might cover a page in arrows. Someone might build with LEGO, photograph examples they notice, research a favourite system in detail or create an elaborate working model.
The project provides questions and concrete examples to get learners started without requiring everyone to follow the same path or produce the same work.
This can make Systems & Signals a good fit for neurodivergent learners who benefit from autonomy, interest-led learning and flexibility around how they engage and communicate their thinking.
Learners who strongly prefer highly structured, step-by-step activities with a predetermined final product may find the open-ended approach less comfortable.
What Your Learner Will Explore
Each week builds on the ideas that came before:
Week 1: Systems Are Everywhere
What makes something a system?
Week 2: Inside a System
What is connected to what, and what happens when one part changes?
Week 3: How Systems Communicate
How do signals carry information through a system?
Week 4: Signal → Response
What does a system do with the information it receives?
Week 5: When Systems Go Wrong
What happens when information is missing, confusing or difficult to detect?
Week 6: Patterns Across Systems
Can completely different systems work in surprisingly similar ways?
Week 7: Model a System
Can a model help us understand, test or redesign a system?
Week 8: Where Could This Go Next?
What question, problem or idea is worth following further?
The project moves from noticing systems to investigating connections, tracing information, predicting change, troubleshooting problems, recognising patterns and using models to explore increasingly complex ideas.
What’s Included
When you purchase Systems & Signals, you'll receive four ready-to-use PDF files.
Parent Guide
Eight weeks of ideas, examples and questions to support the investigation, with guidance for helping without taking over and suggestions for capturing learning along the way.
Student Guide
A learner-facing guide filled with concrete examples, investigations and Systems Detective Challenges, with plenty of room to follow individual interests and questions.
Resource List
A suggested list of resources to support exploration of systems and signals, if you’d like additional inspiration or reference points.
Learning Log
Optional pages for noting observations, reflections, or learning moments if and when you choose to keep a record.
Why Systems & Signals?
Complex thinking, accessible entry points
Big ideas are introduced through familiar, concrete examples.
Interest-led
Learners can investigate the systems that genuinely fascinate them.
Flexible
Talking, drawing, researching, observing, building and modelling can all be part of the learning.
Room to go deep
A single question or special interest can become a much larger investigation.
Neuro-affirming
Choice and flexibility are built around the learning rather than reducing the depth of the ideas.
Low-prep
Use everyday systems, materials and resources you already have.
Start Systems & Signals
For just A$60 (approx £30), you’ll receive a complete, thoughtfully designed project that supports meaningful learning.
Prices are listed in Australian dollars (AUD). For UK families, that’s about £30 per project. Your card will process the payment in AUD, but your bank will show the equivalent in GBP.
About This Project
Systems & Signals begins with a deceptively simple question:
What makes something a system?
From there, learners start looking underneath the things around them.
They might investigate how a railway network keeps trains moving, how bees communicate, what happens between pressing a button and a lift arriving, why an important warning might be missed, or how changing one small part can affect an entire system.
Across the project, learners explore:
parts, connections and dependencies
inputs and outputs
signals and how information travels
responses and feedback
what happens when communication breaks down
how system design can work differently for different people
patterns shared by very different systems
how models can help us understand and test ideas
Learners can explore lots of different systems or follow one interest in increasing depth.
They might research, talk, draw, observe, experiment, photograph, map, build, model, test or invent. There is no single prescribed way to complete the project or demonstrate what they know.
Who This Project Is For
Systems & Signals is a particularly good fit for kids who love figuring things out.
That might be a learner fascinated by:
machines and mechanisms
trains, roads, traffic or other transport systems
animals and ecosystems
the human body
technology and electronics
games, rules and processes
organisation and how things fit together
troubleshooting when something doesn't work
taking complicated things apart, physically or mentally
A favourite game, animal, machine, sport, place or technology can all become a way into the project.
Flexible ways into complex thinking
The thinking in Systems & Signals can become surprisingly complex.
The way learners access it doesn't have to be.
One learner might explain their ideas aloud. Another might cover a page in arrows. Someone might build with LEGO, photograph examples they notice, research a favourite system in detail or create an elaborate working model.
The project provides questions and concrete examples to get learners started without requiring everyone to follow the same path or produce the same work.
This can make Systems & Signals a good fit for neurodivergent learners who benefit from autonomy, interest-led learning and flexibility around how they engage and communicate their thinking.
Learners who strongly prefer highly structured, step-by-step activities with a predetermined final product may find the open-ended approach less comfortable.
What Your Learner Will Explore
Each week builds on the ideas that came before:
Week 1: Systems Are Everywhere
What makes something a system?
Week 2: Inside a System
What is connected to what, and what happens when one part changes?
Week 3: How Systems Communicate
How do signals carry information through a system?
Week 4: Signal → Response
What does a system do with the information it receives?
Week 5: When Systems Go Wrong
What happens when information is missing, confusing or difficult to detect?
Week 6: Patterns Across Systems
Can completely different systems work in surprisingly similar ways?
Week 7: Model a System
Can a model help us understand, test or redesign a system?
Week 8: Where Could This Go Next?
What question, problem or idea is worth following further?
The project moves from noticing systems to investigating connections, tracing information, predicting change, troubleshooting problems, recognising patterns and using models to explore increasingly complex ideas.
What’s Included
When you purchase Systems & Signals, you'll receive four ready-to-use PDF files.
Parent Guide
Eight weeks of ideas, examples and questions to support the investigation, with guidance for helping without taking over and suggestions for capturing learning along the way.
Student Guide
A learner-facing guide filled with concrete examples, investigations and Systems Detective Challenges, with plenty of room to follow individual interests and questions.
Resource List
A suggested list of resources to support exploration of systems and signals, if you’d like additional inspiration or reference points.
Learning Log
Optional pages for noting observations, reflections, or learning moments if and when you choose to keep a record.
Why Systems & Signals?
Complex thinking, accessible entry points
Big ideas are introduced through familiar, concrete examples.
Interest-led
Learners can investigate the systems that genuinely fascinate them.
Flexible
Talking, drawing, researching, observing, building and modelling can all be part of the learning.
Room to go deep
A single question or special interest can become a much larger investigation.
Neuro-affirming
Choice and flexibility are built around the learning rather than reducing the depth of the ideas.
Low-prep
Use everyday systems, materials and resources you already have.
Start Systems & Signals
For just A$60 (approx £30), you’ll receive a complete, thoughtfully designed project that supports meaningful learning.