There’s no doubt about it, Australia has some amazing animals. In the lead up to Australia Day this year, I thought I’d do a little tribute and share some of our favourite Aussie animal crafts, activities and learning resources. I’ve made this collection alphabetical, just to make it easy to pop straight to the animal you’re looking for. And I’ll keep adding to this list as we find more activities (or as we come up with more of our own!). …

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Cute Australian craft for kids, make an echidna with sticks and clay. contains affiliate links This craft is actually the by-product of my youngest daughter Bee (almost 4 years old) wanting to make a paper plate echidna and my eldest daughter JJ (6 years old) wanting to make something with clay. They decided that we could make clay echidnas instead! We love Australian animals and have been fascinated with short-beaked echidnas in particular for a while now. They are not …

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Chinese Lunar New Year is a Spring festival, occurring around January to February each year (which is actually the middle of summer for us!). It always feels like a week long party of dumplings, red lanterns, lion dances, firecrackers and LOTS of noise. So, of course, my kids are fascinated! They love dumplings! They love learning about the symbols and traditions. They can retell (most of) the Chinese New Year story, and are super excited to learn the new animal …

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Cute hong bao (red envelope or red packet) craft idea that kids can make for Chinese New Year. My kids are fascinated with Chinese culture. One of the things that intrigues them is the giving of red envelopes, called hong bao, every Chinese New Year. I’m sure many Chinese kids are excited about the money gifts inside, but my kids are more fascinated with the red envelopes themselves. Whilst they are primarily red in colour (symbolizing good luck, and to …

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Happy new year! Every year at around this time, I like to look back on how Danya Banya went for the year prior, and see which posts were the most popular. It’s always interesting, for me anyway, to see which posts top this list – they are not always the ones that I would have predicted…   Best Kids and Parenting Posts from 2016 How to Play: Gross Motor Games for Five Year Olds – Wow, I’m surprised this made …

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These Christmas tree and Santa hat pencil toppers make really cute little class gifts for kids to give out at Christmas.   Eek, I’ve been knee deep in the pre-Christmas rush these past few weeks. There’s been so many end-of-year Christmas parties for this, that, and everything else.  It’s been so fun! (And also so hectic, but I’m focusing on the fun part!) Every Christmas, the girls and I like to make little hand-made gifts to give out to family, …

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This is just a quick post today, as I really want to get this one out before November ends and Jacaranda season finishes in Sydney for another year. Jacaranda trees aren’t native to Australia, but Australian’s have certainly planted a lot over the years! If you’ve ever been to Sydney in November, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. Suddenly, alarmingly, the suburbs become dotted with purple. Trees that were barren only a few days earlier take on a bright …

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Field of red poppies art idea to help kids commemorate Anzac Day and Remembrance Day. War is a tricky subject to broach with little kids, but teaching kids about the symbols of remembrance is a good starting point. The red poppy flower, or a field of red poppies, is one of those symbols. In Australia we observe Anzac Day on 25th April and Remembrance Day on 11th November (which is Veteran’s Day in the US). Last Anzac Day we made …

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DIY holly & mistletoe! Or should I say mistletoes? Here’s a DIY Christmas craft with baby and toddler footprints that will make your ovaries sing. Contains affiliate links. First published on 6th December 2013, and has been since updated. I made these DIY holly and mistletoe decorations when JJ was a two and a half year old toddler and Bee was a wee little two month old newborn baby. I’m so glad that I did, because pulling these ornaments out …

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How to make play snow from just three ingredients. Great for winter sensory play – for Christmas, or any time of year. Contains affiliate links. This post was originally published 4th December 2013, and has been since updated.   Have you made play snow yet? No? Oh you have you try this – you’re going to love it, and it’s so easy to make… Mix 500g of cornflour (or you might call it corn starch*) with 250ml of baby oil …

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