We’re ‘Traveling Around Australia’
Today we started our ‘travels’ around Australia with the aid of Downunder’s Australian Book Traveler. An easy picture book tour of our nation.
The first core Travel book is The Australia Book by Eve Pownall. This is a meaty book chock full of Australian history, we used it earlier in the year for our history studies. It contains so much information we never finished. To be totally honest I thought it too long for our travel needs. So instead we substituted with Possum Magic by Mem Fox.
Possum Magic tells the story of Hush and Grandma Poss. The travel Australia in search of the magic to make Hush visible again. “They ate Anzac biscuits in Adelaide, mornay and minties in Melbourne, steak and salad in Sydney and pumpkin scones in Brisbane.”
Using the map from Downunder we traced their travels. Also I googled coloring images for an outline of a possum and an Australian map. The children enjoyed coloring the possum and tracing the journey from capital city to capital city.
Michelangelo was so enthused he took the idea further. Using the larger map he photocopied each state and cut them out to make a puzzle map. I love it when the children become enthusiastic:)
5 Comments
Cindy
Sounds wonderful. It's good when the kids really enjoy something too.
When I went to Australia in 1984, I was 23 and went from Brisbane to Sydney to Canberra,to Melbourne, to Adelaide, to Ayers Rock and to Alice Springs. Then I thought how blessed I was and how some Australians may never get to see what I saw.
God is good.
Cindy
Sybille
Great!! I will remember this when we'll learn about Australia 🙂
Marilyn
We loved Possum Magic. Another really good book is Are we there Yet by Alison Lester – where the family takes a trip around Australia – we read this as an introduction to Australia.
olivia
hi Erin,
I don't know if this site will be of much use to you but I'm sure someone will benefit from it :). It has lists of websites all stored together so you can get craft ideas, activity sheets etc. easily. We were looking at it in college today and I thought of you and all homeschoolers
http://www.ict.mic.ul.ie/
Great blog also. Your family is an inspiration! God bless
Holiday Accommodation UK
Thanks for the post. I will surely refer it during my trip to australia.