5 Quick and easy Mother's Day activities for your early years classroom

It's often difficult to squeeze in Mother's Day activities into an already crowded curriculum but there is real value in making time to recognise seasonal celebrations.

Listed below are 5 of my favourite ways to bring Mother's Day into my classroom.

1. Mother's Day is a cultural celebration - what is a celebration and how have mothers' roles changed over the years?

The study of celebrations are the basis for most History, Geography or Civics studies as an understanding of cultural celebrations, their purpose and their impact on the lives of people around them has deep meaning for countries and cultures. If you want your students to understand the difference between a celebration and a commemoration click here. 

In Foundation Year HASS, students explore the purpose of Celebrations and sequence these events.

In Year 1 HASS, students explore family structures and roles. It is especially interesting to look at the mother's role in the family and how this may have changed over the years.

In Year 2 HASS, students explore changes in technology and think about Then and Now of items such a clothing (shown below). What technology around the house does your mother use now compared to the past? Has it changed your mother's life? How does your mother's dress compare to mothers in the past?

And in Year 3 HASS, students examine ways in which a celebration is different to a commemoration. What makes Mother's Day a celebration? How is it symbolised in society?

2. Read a Mother's Day picture book and explore some of the key vocabulary connected with mothers. What do mothers do? How do other people celebrate Mother's Day?

Nothing beats a good picture book for Mother's Day and here are a few of my favourites! Picture books are a great way help students understand key vocabulary terms so make sure you double up on that story time by integrating the book with your social studies (HASS) lessons.  

3. Mother's Day craft - there is never a more perfect time in the school calendar than Mother's Day to get funky with some fun hands on craft ideas.

This Mother's Day Flower Card is so easy to make - download the template here.

4. Create some Mother's Day Gift Coupons/Vouchers

While making connections to chores that are done around the house (see Year 1 HASS: History) it is a great way to discuss what chores they could offer to do for their mother on Mother's Day. View them here.

5. Whip up a super fast poster

If you're are super time poor, why not try a quick poster print out. No prep. No fuss. Download this freebie here. 

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Win a HASS History and Geography Mega Bundle!

As an author of educational resources, I strive to provide the best quality teaching materials to meet your needs. 

All of TechTeacherPto3's products are aligned to the Australian Curriculum. HASS (History and Geography) products for Foundation Year to Year 3 are already available from TechTeacherPto3 store. 

However, I want to know what you would like next?

I've had requests for Year 4 History and Year 6 Geography... what do YOU need in YOUR classroom to help YOU teach your subjects in line with the curriculum?

I'm giving away 1 x copy of the HASS Mega Bundle which contains over 450 pages of materials for teaching Foundation, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 Geography and History and is valued at $40.

To enter all you have to do is:

1. Click this link to the Survey here.
2. Tell me what you think in the survey.
3. Give your email address at the end so you can enter the draw (entries are subscribed to the Foundation into First mailing list if you are not already subscribed).
4. Check back on the TechTeacherPto3 Facebook Page, Instagram Account or back here on the blog to see the winner announced on the 1st May.

One entry per person,

Competition runs from 1st April until 30th April 2017.

Winner will be announced on all of TechTeacherPto3's social platforms 1st May 2017 and the winner will be notified by email with their downloadable product attached.

UPDATE 1st MAY 2017

and the winner is...

Exploring ANZAC Day in Early Primary

Discussing ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps Day) can be difficult with young students due to its possibly distressing content of war and death. However, it's essential that young students understand the importance of this commemoration on the 25th April every year for both Australia and New Zealand. In this blog post you will find some suggestions for introducing the big concepts around ANZAC Day into your early years classroom in a sensitive and appropriate manner. As I am an Australian teacher I have only covered the ANZAC Day concepts from the Australian perspective. However, feel free to leave some links to resources for New Zealand teachers in the comments section below.

Gallipoli was a long way to travel.

This is a difficult concepts for very young students to grasp but it is an important one to cover. Young men were sent a long way away from their families to a place they had never been to. Some never came home - this is why we remember them. 

The example below is from the ANZAC Day Activity Pack where students can locate Gallipoli on the map and consider its distance from Australia. 

What does ANZAC Day mean to you?

A good writing activity after your lesson on the ANZACs, is to have students write a response about what ANZAC Day means to them. Try this craft (pictured below) from the ANZAC Day Activity Pack where students can place their writing for a wall display in the classroom.

ANZAC Day is a commemoration not a celebration.

Do your students understand the difference between a commemoration and a celebration? This is a big concept to cover when discussing ANZAC Day but another important one. How we behave during a celebration is different to a commemoration, however, there are some similarities. This is a great activity to use when discussing the ways in which ANZAC Day is commemorated and is covered in detail in the HASS Year 3 History Unit (seen below). 

Bake some ANZAC Day biscuits.

Discussing life in the trenches is hard but this book by Phil Cummings and Owen Swan called ANZAC Biscuits is a lovely tale of a little girl and her father's life in the trenches. She bakes some cookies for him and her life in the warmth of the home is compared to the life her father is having at the same time in the trenches. 

You can also bring in or bake some ANZAC biscuits and this can form the basis of your study of method or sequencing. A method recount and recipe can be found in the ANZAC Day Activity Pack.

Discuss the concept of bravery.

What does it mean to be brave? What does bravery look like? Explore the concept of bravery with this lovely book by Jane Barclay called Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion. It is a very touching book where animals display the qualities service men display either in battle or after war. It's also a great book for exploring what it means to be proud, both key concepts when discussing ANZAC Day.

Another great idea for early years students is to use these fantastic colouring pages to explore the difficult concepts of ANZAC Day such as how brave the ANZAC men were to live in the trenches under gun fire or how women also went to Gallipoli. 

Read a book with an ANZAC theme

Listed below are some of my students' favourite books on ANZAC Day and World War 1.

4 Easy way to celebrate Harmony Day in the classroom

“Everyone belongs” is a great message of inclusivity in the classroom. It’s also the message for Harmony Day, a fantastic celebration for the whole community recognising diversity as a positive aspect of children’s lives. In fact, with the current state of the world, Harmony Day is a very powerful message to send to students young and old that all races, colours and beliefs can live in harmony. 

What is Harmony Day?

Harmony Day is a nationally recognised day for acknowledging the diversity in our society and celebrating it. 

When is Harmony Day held?

21st March each year.

What is the aim of Harmony Day?

To celebrate diversity and promote inclusion in society. Everyone belongs – is the message used to promote Harmony Day.

When did Harmony Day begin?

The very first Harmony Day began in 1999 and coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

How is Harmony Day celebrated?

Schools often hold a whole school assembly with significant people from the community as representatives. Other community organisations hold morning teas or lunches to celebrate. The colour orange is used with Harmony Day to show support for the day through the wearing of orange t-shirts, ribbons or other decorations. 

How can I bring this celebration into my classroom?

1. The Harmony Day Activity Pack is full of colour posters, map activities, worksheets and display materials to help you discuss this special day in your classroom.

2. You might like to create some art work that shows the diversity within your classroom.

Click here to see this pin or repin

Click here to see this pin or repin

3. You could read a book about diversity.

4. Finally, it’s always fun to bring some lovely treats into the classroom (it is a celebration after all) – don’t forget the orange theme!

Click here to see pin or repin

However you choose to celebrate – have a great Harmony Day!

What is HASS? 7 Questions and Answers about the changes to the Australian Curriculum

What is HASS? 

I've heard people ask this question a lot lately, so I thought I would create a blog post about it.

In the Australian curriculum version 7.5 the subjects of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business were individual subjects. 

However, in the newly updated Australian curriculum version 8.3 these subjects have been combined into one learning area called Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). 

1. What does this mean for teachers?

A significant reduction in the amount of content descriptors we need to wade through when trying to teaching these subjects.

2. Is the content different for History or Geography in Foundation - Year 3?

No. The concepts covered are the same but the level of detail the Australian Curriculum provides on these has been reduced to make it easy to combine these subjects into HASS.

3. What is humanities?

In the past, History was the study of past events and Geography was a the study of maps. However, this has changed over the last 10 years and History and Geography is more a humanities subject in primary school with an exploration of cultural, social and economic forces that shape people and areas. 

4. Is HASS still inquiry based?

Yes. Critical thinking is the bedrock of all subjects as is problem solving. Thinking and responding to inquiry questions helps students to explore key historic and geographic skills required when responding. 

5. What are some of the key ideas covered by HASS in Foundation to Year 6?

The subject sub-strands explore the knowledge and understanding students need to have when studying HASS. The key ideas are:

• Who we are, who came before us, and traditions and values that have shaped societies. 
• How societies and economies operate and how they are changing over time.
• The ways people, places, ideas and events are perceived and connected.
• How people exercise their responsibilities, participate in society and make informed decisions

To find out more click here to go to the Australian Curriculum website.

6. Will I have to teach Civics and Citizenship in early primary?

No. All years need to teach History and Geography. Civics does not start until Year 3 and Economics and Business does not begin until Year 5. However, these curricula are still being rolled out so if you have any doubts talk to your Head of Curriculum within your school.

7. Where can I find resources that are aligned to the Australian curriculum?

TechTeacherPto3 provides History and Geography resources that are aligned to the Australian curriculum and neatly address each of the Knowledge and Understanding required for Foundation to Year 3 (see image below). 

To view TechTeacherPto3's full range of Australian aligned History and Geography resources

click here