Where learning feels like play.
National Simultaneous Storytime is an annual event that promotes literacy and storytelling across Australia. Each year, a new children’s book is chosen to be read aloud in classrooms and libraries across the country. For National Simultaneous Storytime 2023, the book “The Speedy Sloth” by Rebecca Young and Heath McKenzie has been selected. This delightful story […]
With Spring just around the corner, there are plenty of topics that can inspire your student’s writing. From planting seeds to catching leprechauns, here are five fun writing activities to try this March. 2. How to Catch a Leprechaun Writing for St. Patrick’s Day – St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday that kids love. […]
Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes the perfect opportunity for lower elementary teachers to engage their young students in a fun and educational activity: growing beans! One way to make this activity more exciting and relatable for children is to tie it in with the classic fairy tale, “Jack and the […]
Random Acts of Kindness Day is a special occasion celebrated annually on February 17th. The day provides an opportunity for individuals to come together and spread kindness and positivity. In the classroom, this special day can be used as an opportunity to teach children the importance of kindness and encourage them to perform small acts […]
1. Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan This classic Australian picture book is my absolute favourite when it comes to teaching procedure writing. The story follows a hungry dingo intent on cooking up a delicious wombat stew for tea. Lucky for the wombat, the other bush animals make a number of cooking suggestions designed to […]
That first day or week back at school can be an anxious time for our littlest learners… that’s why it’s so important for us as educators to let them know that it’s ok to have those feelings and then give them strategies to work through them. Young children often won’t be able to identify these […]
Iceberg written by Claire Saxby and illustrated by Jess Racklyeft may just be the triumph of 2022 picture books. A must-have, keep forever type book for your classroom library… Books+Publishing says: ‘Richly informative and brimming with detailed facts presented in lyrical, sophisticated, evocative language … Text and image balance each other perfectly in their delicate […]
Just One Bee written by Margrete Lamond & Anthony Bertini and illustrated by Christopher Nielsen is a standout for this year’s CBCA Shortlist Picture Book. Not only are the illustrations exceptional but the story offers young audiences an opportunity to make real world connections to their role in climate change and how working together in […]
Stellarphant is an absolute must for every classroom library. This wonderful picture book offers a multitude of teaching moments and opportunities for discussion. Perfect to explore opinion writing, persuasive writing, space travel, courage, determination, perseverance, discrimination, diversity, equality, equity and feminism with your students. The blurb: Stella the elephant is fighting interstellar discrimination one pachyderm […]
The picture book Walk of the Whales is another exceptional delivery from Nick Bland. The Blurb: When all of the whales in the ocean leave their home to walk around on land, people don’t quite know what to think. But soon shopkeepers go out of business, farms are flooded with water and salt, and people […]
