Children's Week is coming up in October

Children's Week is an annual event celebrated in Australia during October.
This year it will be held from the 19 to the 27th of October.

Children's Week celebrates the right of children to enjoy childhood. It is celebrated right around Australia and you can join in.
                             
Activities and events are organized by schools, playgroups, childcare centres, kindergartens, cultural groups, libraries and community groups.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Children's Week Council of Australia Inc
Links to what is happening in each state and territory around Australia

Spring Seed Fun at Centro Box Hill this Spring School Holidays

 

Spring is the perfect time to get the kids out into the garden and start germinating and planting for the fruitful warmer months. To get their little green thumbs started why not take a trip to Centro Box Hill this school holidays for a free and fun school holiday program that will teach them the basics of planting from seeds and have them potting their own fresh produce to take home.

 

Running from September 30 – October 4, Vegecation Spring will show children the fun side of growing vegetables and herbs. Kids will be able to attend interactive workshops, plant a seed in their own pot to take home, and enter the spring blooms colouring and decorating competition to win a $200 Big W voucher.

 

Natalie McKinnon, children’s garden educator from Spit the Pip, will be running twice daily workshops where the children will discover the origins of different seeds, how they grow and how best to nurture them. Through a hands-on activity of seed sorting, the kids will not only learn fun ways to spruce up their gardens at home, but also inspire environmentally friendly habits.

 

“For kids, growing herbs and vegetables from seed is such an organic, educational experience,” says Natalie from Spit the Pip. “In addition to the practical skills they learn, it also teaches them to be more aware of the origins of everyday food items and encourages an environmentally friendly mindset, especially in children at a young age.”

 

With so much indoor fun for the kids at Vegecation Spring, this program is not to be missed.  It’s all about rolling up the sleeves and getting those hands dirty, in a good way, something that parents can feel happy about this school holidays.

 

For more information, please visit the Centro Box Hill website: www.centroboxhill.com.au  03 9843 3900

 

EVENT INFORMATION

What: Vegecation Spring - a fun and engaging community school holiday activity

Where: Centro Box Hill North Precinct (opposite the food court)

When:  30 September – 4 October

What time: 11am to 2pm each day, with 30 minute seed planting workshops: 11.30am and 1pm

Who: Children aged six - 15 and their families

Price: FREE to attend. Every child receives a goodie bag to take home

 

 

 

Showcase: The Second Annual Festival of Australian Children’s Literature

The Festival celebrates writers, illustrators and publishers connected with Canberra and the ACT who create children’s books.

When?

1 October – 15 November 2013

Where?

Various Canberra venues, including the University of Canberra, ACT Writers Centre, Libraries ACT, ALIA House and the National Library of Australia.

Who?

Just a sample, from many: Garth Nix, Morris Gleitzman, Jackie French, Nina Rycroft, Nick Bland and Emma Allen.

Funded by the ACT Government's Festival Fund.

Find out more

Join in this week with these link ups and give aways

The Weekly Kids Co-Op featured the best kids' activities of the week from the best blogs on the 'net! Link up your kid-friendly posts to have them featured on over 15 awesome blogs.

WIN: A $50 voucher to spend at Story Mama- online children’s bookstore

 

Book give away: Ready for Kindergarten by Deborah Stewart

 

 

Link up your play ideas at Learn with Play at home

 

 

 

Indigenous Literacy Day: September 4th

One school excited about Indigenous Literacy Day is travelling over 3,000km from the Spinifex Country to Sydney to be part of the national celebration. A small group of students and teachers from Tjuntjuntjara Remote Community School have a lengthy journey ahead of them on Sunday, a 700km drive through the desert to Uluru before boarding a plane and then a 3-hour flight to Sydney.  The Indigenous children from Tjuntjuntjara are eagerly anticipating their week long stay in Sydney. For many of them, this will be their first experience of a big city.
The highlight of the trip will be on 4 September when the students take part in the Indigenous Literacy Day event at the Opera House. They will be performing a song they wrote about the book How Does Your Garden Grow? which was published by our Foundation at the start of this year. With the support of our ambassadors, the children will also share stories of their experiences, knowledge, interest and love of their community garden. Please visit the site to see more: Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Image and article from Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Bookoola Ink resources for early childhood

Thank you everyone for entering the competition for the 5 fabulous EYLF posters.
Congratulation to our winner:
Kristy (who has been contacted by email)

Thankyou to www.bookoola.com.au who make and sell these great resources. They have offered a $5 discount to everyone who entered! Just use the code 5OFFER, to receive $5 off any Bookoola Ink order. This discount code will be valid until the end of September. You can purchase any of their great resources.

 

Another of the great posters sets from Bookoola

 

Affordable Baby Shower Gifts

One of the most exciting events for any mother to be is seeing her child born. Of course, next to this would be the baby shower that she will be having. If you are planning to attend one and do not have any idea on what to give, then here are some great ideas for you to choose from.

Affordable Gifts Under $50 For Baby Showers

My first five years baby record book

Some mums register for their shower with select stores where you can shop and see exactly what she wants, if, however, the mum is not registered, then you will need to consider other sensible options to give as presents. These are very affordable ideas that can be purchased at various stores and will not break your budget. For less than fifty dollars, you can get some really useful items that all mums can use.

Book Week 2013

The theme this year is Read across the universe.

The dates for book week are August 17 - August 23, 2013.
What have you all been doing for book week? Visited any special events at the library?
Would you like to join in a book giveaway then visit My Little Bookcase each day this week.
Did you see who won the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards this year?
We have a great Literacy page here on EARLY PLAY AUSTRALIA with literacy resources including free downloads and reading tips. Why not have a look?

Children's Book Council of Australia winners for 2013 announced

 

Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators in this years categories.
Early Childhood Book of the Year 2013 is The Terrible Suitcase by Emma Allen and Freya Blackwood.
Picture Book of the Year 2013 is The Coat by Ron Brooks and Julie Hunt.
See all the winning books in all the categories.
We can't wait to read all these great books.

You might also like to visit our Literacy Resources page.

NAIDOC WEEK Celebrations: 7th to 14th July

Images from Ballina's NAIDOC March Western Star

Each year, communities from around Australia come together to celebrate NAIDOC Week which is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples history, culture and achievements. NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee.
 A wide variety of activities are held from sharing bush tucker to music, dance and crafts. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. To find out what is on in your area go to the calendar.

World Environment Day: Think.Eat.Save.

World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event that aims to be the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. WED activities take place all year round but focus on 5 June every year. Do you celebrate this day with any special activities? You can register them here at the UN site.
Maybe you could write a post about food waste or other ways you are environmentally friendly at your work or in your home or about teaching children about food choices and the environment.

Here are some interesting enviro friendly posts already written by the bloggers here at EARLY PLAY AUSTRALIA:
Waste free lunches : Suggestions for a small carbon footprint at work or at school.
Carrot Love and Eating A Rainbow: about eating home grown food 
Bee Grateful: how bees keep us and the planet healthy
foraging friday: how to forage, prepare, and cook a particular foraged food.
The Garden Post: growing your own veges
 
“Although individual decisions may seem small in the face of global threats and trends, when billions of people join forces in common purpose, we can make a tremendous difference.”  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

All about Mothers

These posts are all about the mothering journey and Mother's Day which is in Australia on the second Sunday in May. I hope you can find ideas here but more importantly interest and comfort in reading other mother's thoughts and experiences.
I will be adding more over the next few days.

Our mothering styles at Happy Whimsical Hearts
A Mother’s Meditation at lavendilly
coming around, slowly (no longer breast feeding) at Mother Who
Safe Mother & Baby at Aspiring Mum
A mother's love....is it enough? at Mummy Musings and Mayhem
Don't set yourself up for guilt! at aunt annie's childcare
Mother’s Day. 10 gifts isn’t too much to ask for is it? at Caro & Co
Mothers’ Day for kindergarten mums at Irresistible Ideas for play based learning
Mum's Night at Kinder at Tales from the Sandpit
Celebrating Mothers Day: 20 Fun Activities for Children
10 Kid-Made Mother's Day Gift Ideas at Learn with Play at home
Cookie treat and card to make at Learning for Kids
Mothers Day quotes, rhymes and cards
Mother's Day Crafts

What did you do for your Easter Break?

It is often the case in Australia that parents with young children go camping at easter time - a long weekend away communing with nature. What did you do at Easter we would love to know?

Have a wonderful easter celebration

Easter Family Festivals 2013

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2013 - 21st March to 3rd April - held at Olympic Park Showground

Bendigo Easter Festival in Bendigo, Victoria - 29th March to 1st April. Easter Sunday Parade and other activities throughout Bendigo.

Tilba Easter Festival - Easter Saturday 30th March 2013 Central Tilba

Ulladulla Blessing of the Fleet  Easter Sunday Parade and other activities

Do you know any other family friendly festivals around Easter?

Celebrating Summer with kids

• At our beach, at our magic beach... at SunSpirits Steiner Inspired Playgroup
• Nature as Teacher – building resilience and memories about an Australian summer holiday at Caro & Co
• Water Play Safety at Today at Play
• Photos of a beaut Aussie day at the beach, complete with Kangaroos at Happy Whimsical Hearts
• How to set up a water play activity at early play
• Simple Homemade Lemonade Recipe at Learning 4 Kids
• DIY Scoop-ball Game at Aspiring Mum
• Toddler Tongs and Water Play at Mummy Musings and Mayhem
• Summer Days at Mother Who
• All this … and more! about summer and the cyclone at lavendilly

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day in Australia?

Some of the fabulous bloggers here at EARLY PLAY AUSTRALIA have ideas and activities and books for you if you do celebrate Valentine's Day in your house or centre.

• Valentines Creation Station: Arty Hearty at Learn with Play at Home
• 5 great Valentine activities for kids at Learning 4 kids
• Heart Mosaics at Tales from the Sandpit
• 10 Valentine Books at My Little Bookcase
• A prejudice-busting story for Valentine's Day written by aunt annie's childcare
• Paper flowers for Valentine's Day tutorial at Lessons Learnt Journal
• Heart templates  at early play

celebrate everything that is you and then let go and start again with the new year

Happy Holidays to you

This is from the story of the little fir tree who wanted to be a Christmas tree by Hans Christian Anderson

Christmas ideas for preschoolers

Christmas is coming and here are some suggestions for family traditions, crafts, songs and cooking that preschoolers can be a part of:

Lots of lovely Christmas templates : dove, angel, santa, tree, stocking, heart, wisemen, holly wreath, reindeer, candy cane, star, bauble, bell, heart...

Christmas craft and cooking ideas: gift ideas, wrapping and decorations that kids can help make.

Christmas books and activities at My Little Bookcase

Large list of Christmas activities including cookies, handmade wrap and Christmas playdough and sensory table.

Christmas traditions at Caro & Co

A family's traditions at motherwho

Christmas tree hunt and bush BBQ at Happy whimsical hearts

Food for thought at Aunt Annie's childcare with 'Tis the season to be... a little more thoughtful about Christmas

Gift bauble creations at Males in Early Childhood

Santa song and lyrics at the end of year concert at irresistible ideas for play based learning

Advent stories, carols and activities at lavendilly

Lanterns to create: simple and colourful at Learn with Play at home