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.
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...