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.

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

8 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 and to celebrate all...
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...
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...
A colourful classroom reading nook featuring a wooden bookshelf filled with children’s picture books such as The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Above the shelf hangs a decorative banner that spells “READ” in large black letters on green, blue, and pink triangular flags. The cosy space is framed by a blue and natural wood arch and includes bright cushions in red, green, blue, and pink, inviting students to sit and enjoy a story.

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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Handmade fabric play mat depicting an Australian billabong scene, featuring plush frogs, lizards, yabbies, trees, and native plants in vibrant colours and embroidered detail - designed for storytelling and cultural exploration in early childhood settings.

Fair trade in the classroom: Teaching kindness beyond the playground

Explore how Fair Trade resources can inspire meaningful conversations in your classroom. Discover real artisan stories, thoughtful product ideas and ways to teach kindness, culture and global awareness, from early learning to high school.