The MTA Blog

Our Blog is a bustling hub of ideas, inspiration and support for your classroom and beyond. Join our community of passionate educators as they share their knowledge of everything from organisational hacks to teaching trends and learning techniques. Check in regularly for fresh new content and to join the conversation.

Mother's day Crafted items on pink background

13 Mother’s Day handmade gift ideas

Mother’s Day is right round the corner!  We’ve gathered up our best inspirational list of thoughtful handmade gifts for the maternal figures in our lives – representing the love and gratitude we feel for them and to celebrate all they do for us each ...
Clear resin insect specimens for early years science exploration—featuring preserved bugs like bees, beetles, and spiders for hands-on learning and sensory play in classroom nature studies.

Bringing mini beasts to life in your centre

Everything you need to explore bugs, beetles, butterflies and more… Educators love mini beasts. Moreover, they love our mini beast resources to support them in their exploration. They’re some of our most popular science resources and it’s easy to und...
Illustration of flower pots spelling "WELCOME" with colourful flowers beneath a large blue heart that reads "Creating Welcoming & Calming Learning Spaces" on a purple gradient background.

Creating Welcoming & Calming Learning Spaces

A positive, nourished mindset is so important to keep the energy high all year round. Our goal is to support and nurture educators when the physical and emotional demands of day-to-day tasks and experiences exceed the amount of energy available! (Ove...
Sensory numeracy activity featuring the number 2 traced in a wooden tray filled with colourful rice, with wooden number discs placed nearby on artificial grass.

10 Hands-on Numeracy Ideas For Children

As a teacher of young children, I am aware of the huge benefits of students engaging in hands-on learning. In the early years, it is essential for children to have opportunities to engage in kinaesthetic learning where they can absorb themselves in a...
Father’s Day clay craft keepsakes with ‘Dad’ imprints and painted hand-shaped trinket dishes on a bright blue background

9 Memorable Father’s Day Art & Craft Activities

Fathers, Grandfathers, Great Grandfathers, Stepfathers, Uncles, Brothers and all other loving father figures in the community will love to open a personalised handmade present- representing the love and gratitude we feel for them Fathers, Grandfather...
Close-up of a child's hands holding a bowl of vegetable food scraps, preparing to add them to a compost bin filled with soil, worms, and decomposing organic matter in a garden setting.

Starting a Worm Farm

A worm farm is a great way to recycle organic waste that would ordinarily end up as landfill. This organic waste would include food ‘waste’ (such as food scraps and from school canteens or childcare centre kitchens, lunch box leftovers etc.) and gard...
Grid of educational craft supplies including crayons, paper, paint, and glue for early childhood creativity

Your most wished for resources

What you love & want & need in your life right now We recently ran a competition to win your MTA Wishlist and were overwhelmed with wonderful Wishlists curated by enthusiastic educators everywhere. What were the favourite wished for resources?  Let’s...
Beautifully styled early childhood classroom featuring natural timber furniture, soft cushions, open shelving with baskets, a leafy rug, and a cosy reading nook with pastel curtains.

The top 10 ways educators create a welcoming environment

(as shared by YOU and hundreds of other early childhood educators) Welcome to an MTA blog written by YOU. Yes, you, educators of Australia and New Zealand (AKA today’s glorious brains trust). Recently, we held a competition to win an amazing ‘look’ f...
illustrated rainbow and sunshine graphic with the phrase “how to thrive not just survive all year long” in white handwritten-style text on a yellow sun against a bright blue background

How to thrive not just survive – 14 top tips for a stress-free year

When a new school year gets underway, it’s often with a feeling of excitement – but also a slight feeling of fear or apprehension. It can be daunting, as you know how busy it will get at times, and how you will be asked to dig deep and find superhuma...
Child engaging in a coding activity with three yellow Bee-Bot robots placed on a taped floor grid, used to teach basic programming and directional skills.

5 Mathematics Bee-Bot Lesson Ideas For The Classroom

As a teacher of young children, I am aware of the huge benefits of students engaging in hands-on learning. In the early years, it is essential for children to have opportunities to engage in kinaesthetic learning where they can absorb themselves in a...
A collection of handmade Christmas crafts displayed against a green background, including a paper elf with googly eyes, a painted terracotta bell ornament, a beaded wreath, a popsicle stick gingerbread house, a festive snow globe with a snowman, a plain hanging stocking, and a red and green bauble ornament.

Deck the halls: 7 Christmas craft activities that bring the festive!

From wreaths to snow globes, it’s time to get Christmas crafty with these 7 elf-approved activities! While Santa is busy in the North Pole preparing for his big appearance, that’s the cue for all of us down here to plan our festive season arts and cr...
child-friendly resource station with assorted learning materials in bright colours

Admin powers activate: how to achieve boss-level office organisation in 2025

Being a school admin means being MANY things. Every day, you call, coordinate, communicate, order, organise, file, budget, laminate, print and distribute (that’s for starters). We see you, admins! You need to be ORGANISED! We’ve pulled together some ...
festive classroom craft display with a gingerbread house, elf figure, wreath, christmas tree, and snow globe set against a bright red background

13 Crafting Ideas For The Festive Season

The most magical time of the year is fast approaching, which makes now a perfect time to organise your upcoming holiday season arts & crafts. In this blog, we’ll showcase wonderfully inspiring crafting ideas to get you started. Whether you’re looking...
 sensory tray filled with rainbow-coloured rice and scattered plastic magnetic letters, surrounded by coloured bowls and magnetic fishing rods for a literacy-based fine motor activity.

5 Educational Ways To Use Your Tuff Tray In The Classroom

As an early years teacher, I am always looking for resources that will help my students learn through hands-on experiences. When choosing materials for my classroom, I endeavor to find versatile resources that can be used for multiple purposes. If yo...
Hexagonal sensory trays filled with vibrant, textured materials including coloured rice, pom poms, beads, and miniature toys for tactile exploration.

6 hands-on sensory tray activities you’ll LOVE

Bring on the tray play! Versatile, engaging hex trays give children endless learning possibilities. Also known as a tuff tray or sensory table, the humble hex tray is an open-ended, moulded plastic tray typically comes in natural earth and sand colou...

10 Easter craft activities children will love

Hop into Easter with a Crafty Eggs-Travaganza Easter is a time for family, friends, and of course adorable Easter craft! From super simple pre-cut ‘everything in the box’ activities to egg-citing multi-step projects for older students to have a crack...
Natural wooden discs with lowercase letters of the alphabet written on them, arranged in order on a piece of hessian fabric for a tactile literacy activity, with markers and a bowl of extra discs nearby.

How To Incorporate Natural Resources Into The Classroom – Part 1

For children to gain an appreciation of the natural world, they must engage with nature regularly. Spending time in the outdoors has so many benefits for children and they should be given the opportunity for outdoor learning everyday. Engaging with n...

Ideas To Celebrate Book Week

My favourite time of the year is approaching and I am getting really excited…Book Week will be here soon! Book Week is all about celebrating books as well as authors and illustrators. It’s a fantastic week and great to see young learners getting exci...
STEAM resources

Early STEM Activities: Part Two

In Part One of Early STEM Activities ,  I discussed what STEM is, why STEM is important, listed my favourite STEM materials and shared some of my favourite STEM activities. In Part Two of this Early STEM Activities blog, I am excited to share plenty ...
Microbit wrist watch

Creating Real World Solutions With The Micro:bit

The BBC Micro:bit is a favourite Digital Technologies tool of mine that allows our students to design solutions to problems, create games, make music and respond to the surrounding environment. The small handheld micro-controller can be coded by stud...
everyone belong children holding hands

Everyone Belongs: Celebrating Harmony Day In The Classroom

Australia is an incredibly diverse country that people from many different backgrounds call home. Considering that nearly half of Australians are either born overseas, or have one or more parents that have been born overseas (Australian Bureau of Sta...
STEM maker activity

Early STEM Activities: Part One

STEM! It’s a word we have all been hearing a lot about lately! At the beginning of this year, I started teaching at a new school and quickly learnt that STEM was a focus for teaching and learning. To be honest, I felt quite nervous because I did not ...
Name Recognition Game

10 Name Activities For Early Learners

Most young children are very interested in their name and it is incredibly personal to them. Often, a child’s name is the first word they learn how to read and write, which leads to further interest in reading and writing activities. When a child sta...
Bee-Bot and blue-bot

Introduction to the Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot in the Classroom

I have been using Bee-Bots and Blue-Bots in my classroom for several years to introduce junior primary students to computational thinking and coding. I love how the versatility of these amazing robots enables me to design learning experiences that fo...
Women in STEM

Celebrating women in STEM: Breaking barriers & achieving amazing things

The world is changing before our eyes. Digital technology has become a core part of our everyday lives. It’s predicted that our future workforce will spend more than twice as much time on tasks requiring science, maths and critical thinking than toda...
Cultural blog product showcase

Cultural resources showcase – what’s new and inspiring in 2025

Authentic resources in the cultural space can be so creative! We love hearing how you use them with your students and children to engage, teach and tell stories. With a stronger focus on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in...
Mothers day craft frames

Mother’s Day Craft Ideas For Kids

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and there are lots of teachers and educators searching for the perfect gift idea for the students in their class to make for the special mother figures in their lives. If you’re looking for fun and cute Mother’s...
mothers day craft

6 easy heartfelt, handmade Mother’s Day gifts Mums love and little ones love to make

Every mum is a gift. But on Mother’s Day, it’s their turn to receive some love in the shape of a special gift. Help your little learners say “I love you, Mum” with these super simple craft activities. Key tags in candy colours. Wooden flowers that al...
STEAM activities BEV

7 STEAM-tacular activities to celebrate sports

If you’re looking for ways to make STEAM education as thrilling as a sprint to the finish line, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve crafted seven hands-on activities that will have your students thinking like engineers, creating like designers and ...
Harmony Day Class Tree Project

Hello Harmony Day, 2025!

14 ways to celebrate our cultural diversity in an inspiring way... Harmony Day ( 21 March 2025) is part of Harmony Week, which celebrates Australia’s amazing cultural diversity. During this week, schools celebrate inclusiveness, respect and a sense o...