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Australia is both a country and a continent, in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The capital is Canberra, and its major cities are Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide. The “land down under” is famous for its Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, and an enormous area of wild desert called the Outback. Australia is also known for its unique animals: most of the 140 species of Australian marsupials are not found in anywhere else in the world!
Here are some wonderful resources for kids to learn about Australia.
Related Post: Australia Travel with Kids
Books to Learn about Australia
Children’s books set in Australia from Kids Travel Books. I love this mixture of non-fiction and fiction books, about people, animals, places, geography, and culture.
Children’s books all about the unique animals of Australia and New Zealand: there are so many creatures that are endemic to this area, and don’t live anywhere else on Earth (except zoos ;)!!!
Luke’s Beach Day, by Giselle Shardlow introduces children to yoga by illustrating how yoga poses can be incorporated into having a fun, exciting, adventurous, and active day. Young readers learn about the East Coast Australian shoreline, while joining Luke as he hops like a kangaroo, perches like a sea gull, and rests like a sea star.
Australian Art, and Crafts for Kids
Learn about contemporary aboriginal artist, David Malangi, of Central Arnheim land. The Art Curator for Kids details the context and characteristics of the art work, plus gives discussion questions to use with kids.
Danya Banya has a wonderful collection of Australian art projects for kids. I love how she pairs learning with the crafts, so the kids can understand the background of what they are creating.
On Kid World Citizen, you’ll find a video and lesson on Aboriginal art, dot painting, and the Papunya Tula art movement of the Western Desert.
You can also make a landscape collage of Ayers Rock, a famous landmark in the Australian outback!
Additional Educational Resources
This video on the adorable Koala is from ProjectExplorer.org: Koala-ty Time (Australia). The Sydney Zoo is the perfect place to visit marsupials like koalas! You will be ooh-ing and aah-ing over the cuddly babies, while learning fascinating facts on koala’s life, food, behavior, and habitat.
Learn about the rules of rugby, and the world’s most famous teams (including the Australian Wallabies!).
Do a country research project about Australia, learning its geography, customs, and cultural information.
Australia is home to flightless birds called “ratites.” Scientists believe they evolved to have tiny wings because they had little reasons to escape flying with few predators.
This Girl Scout Thinking Day project would work well with any group of kids researching Australia! Learn about the different regions of Australia and their emblems, plus explore other resources.
Make some chewy anzac biscuits (called cookies in the US!). Anzac biscuits have a history that dates back to World War I, when the wives and mothers of soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) wanted to send a nutritious snack to their husbands and sons away in the world, that wouldn’t spoil.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these wonderful resources for kids to learn about Australia!
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Great resources! I look forward to using these when we start learning about Australia!!