It's important not to compare ourselves with others, and we also need to learn how to cheer on our friends. Based on the Bluey episode "Baby Race," this lesson beings with a classroom conversation about what it means to run your own race. The lesson includes printables for three activities in which kids complete a maze to help Bingo, Bluey, and Mum on their own paths to learn different skills, cheer for each other as they complete different tasks, and make cards for someone who's been working hard.
Baby Race Episode Summary: Mum reminisces about Bluey and Judo as babies. Bluey learned to roll over first, but Judo was the first to crawl, so then it became a race to see who was going to walk first!
Watch the episode here! (Click here to watch in Australia.)
Your phone goes in a pouch the moment you walk in. If it's seen or heard, it's gone — for 4 weeks. That's the policy at Astrea Academy, one of the strictest phone bans in the UK, and yes, those 4 weeks can run straight through school holidays.
Harsh? Maybe. But teachers say it's working. Focus is up, behavior has improved, and students' overall wellbeing has shifted noticeably since the policy took hold.
Student reactions are split. Some think the rules go too far. Others — perhaps surprisingly — admit they don't really need their phones during the school day anyway. Both groups are probably right about something.
Parents are largely on board, and for reasons that go beyond test scores. They're noticing their kids coming home and actually talking — asking questions, making eye contact, and reconnecting in small ways that are easy to dismiss until they're gone. One thing the ban has surfaced that nobody quite expected: parents realizing they have a phone problem too. Several reflected that if they want their kids to put the devices down, they probably need to do the same. Role modeling, it turns out, works both ways.
Phone-free schools aren't going away. The UK is already moving toward national guidelines pushing schools in this direction, alongside measures to encourage more moderate social media use. The experiment at Astrea Academy may be ahead of its time — or just ahead of the curve.
Deserts look empty. They are anything but.
From the sun-scorched dunes of the Sahara to the scrubby plains of Australia, desert animals have cracked one of nature's toughest puzzles: how to survive where water is scarce, temperatures are brutal, and food is hard to find. In this playlist, you'll meet the remarkable species that call these landscapes home — from the iconic camel and the lightning-fast hawk to the bounding kangaroo and the armored pangolin.
Each clip, drawn from landmark BBC series including Seven Worlds, One Planet and Planet Earth II, puts you face-to-face with real desert survival in action. Some animals store water and energy for enormous journeys across open terrain. Others hunt by night, move in short bursts, or use camouflage so good they practically disappear. Every strategy is different. Every one is extraordinary.
As you watch, think bigger: How do animals adapt to temperatures that would stop most creatures in their tracks? What physical traits make desert life not just possible, but thriving? And how do these species — predator and prey, reptile and mammal — depend on each other to keep desert ecosystems in balance?
This playlist won't just teach you about deserts. It will make you see them differently.
Feeling stressed? Try reading this out loud!
Researchers have found that reading together can help strengthen bonds and reduce stress. In a recent study, families were asked to read together while wearing a brain monitoring cap that tracks activity over time. The results suggested that moments of shared reading can sync brain patterns between two people, which then suggest that the experience of reading books together helps parents and children connect.
Furthermore, the importance of stories themselves can’t be ignored. Stories are how people explain the world and their lives to one another — the decisions you make and the person you become are partially influenced by the stories you’ve read or heard. The research is very new, but studies of this sort can help us understand why reading together builds empathy, focus, emotional well-being, and might support children’s development and encourage a lifelong love of reading. And not just because a good story might distract two siblings for long enough to stop flicking each other’s ears!
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon’s surface. During the eclipse, the Moon can appear dark red or copper-colored as sunlight bends through Earth’s atmosphere.
Even though the Moon travels around Earth about every 28 days, total lunar eclipses are rare. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly, so most months, the Moon passes a little above or below Earth’s shadow instead of through it. Only every six months or so are the Sun, Earth, and Moon lined up closely enough for a possible lunar eclipse.
Last September, millions of people around the world watched the rare event during organized watch parties and backyard gatherings. Astronomers encouraged people to bring blankets, snacks, and telescopes to enjoy the nighttime spectacle together. While cloudy skies blocked views in some places, observers across parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia were able to see the eclipse from beginning to end under clear skies.
In Ducklings’ Day Out, host Andy Day follows day-old ducklings who already have to take a leap, literally. As their mother duck encourages them, the ducklings fling themselves from the tree where they were born and waddle to the pond, where they will swim for the first time. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Baby Animals, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
Put this poster up in your classroom to teach correct letter formation with your favorite Alphablocks! Here are some fun teaching ideas:
- Have students stand up and trace each letter in the air with their pointer finger while looking at the poster.
- Pick one letter each day. Examine how it’s formed on the poster (where to start, which direction to move). Have students trace it on a whiteboard or in a sand tray.
- Laminate a smaller version of the poster or display it on a table. Encourage students to trace letters with their fingers while saying the letter name and sound aloud.
Watch full episodes of Alphablocks on their official YouTube channel!
Grab your crayons or markers and add some color to Bluey's school. What are the kids playing? Bluey's school, Glass House Primary, is a Steiner (or Waldorf) school, known for its focus on play-based learning and a connection with nature. Bluey's teacher, Calypso, encourages children to explore their own imaginative scenarios rather than directing them to specific tasks.
“I’ll ask ChatGPT” is probably something you hear (and say) more and more these days. With AI here to stay, schools are thinking about how to handle the situation.
AI tools like ChatGPT may seem like a quick fix to homework you don’t want to do, but it struggles with the kind of higher-level thinking that students need to be demonstrating. It also has giveaways like repeating questions, offering surface-level answers, and even giving fake or inaccurate references!
But, instead of flat-out banning AI, universities are teaching students how to use it properly. You shouldn’t (and probably can’t) get answers straight from ChatGPT, but there’s a way to use it for initial brainstorming, or as a starting point. After that, students still need to go the extra mile. The goal is to encourage students to learn how to use AI to work with, not instead of, their brains.
Explore the inspiring life and global impact of Malala Yousafzai, from her childhood in the Swat Valley to becoming one of the world’s leading advocates for girls’ education. Students will discover how Malala used her voice to speak out for the right to learn and how her courage and persistence inspired people around the world.
This Kahoot examines key moments in Malala’s journey, including her early activism, her advocacy for education in the face of danger, and her rise as an international symbol of hope and determination. Students will explore how education can become a powerful force for change and how one person’s beliefs and actions can influence history on a global scale.
Ideal for lessons on world history, human rights, leadership, and global citizenship, this Kahoot encourages students to think about the importance of education, resilience, and using one’s voice to make a difference.
Discover the mysteries of Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca city hidden high in the Andes Mountains. Students will explore who built this remarkable mountain settlement, why it may have been abandoned, and how it became one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
This Kahoot examines the engineering, architecture, and beliefs of the Inca Empire, including the stone structures, terraces, and pathways that allowed people to live in harmony with the steep mountain environment. Students will also discover what Machu Picchu reveals about Inca culture, religion, and scientific understanding.
Ideal for lessons on history, geography, engineering, and world cultures, this Kahoot encourages students to explore the lasting achievements and ingenuity of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient civilizations.
It's important not to compare ourselves with others, and we also need to learn how to cheer on our friends. Based on the Bluey episode "Baby Race," this lesson beings with a classroom conversation about what it means to run your own race. The lesson includes printables for three activities in which kids complete a maze to help Bingo, Bluey, and Mum on their own paths to learn different skills, cheer for each other as they complete different tasks, and make cards for someone who's been working hard.
Baby Race Episode Summary: Mum reminisces about Bluey and Judo as babies. Bluey learned to roll over first, but Judo was the first to crawl, so then it became a race to see who was going to walk first!
Watch the episode here! (Click here to watch in Australia.)
Your phone goes in a pouch the moment you walk in. If it's seen or heard, it's gone — for 4 weeks. That's the policy at Astrea Academy, one of the strictest phone bans in the UK, and yes, those 4 weeks can run straight through school holidays.
Harsh? Maybe. But teachers say it's working. Focus is up, behavior has improved, and students' overall wellbeing has shifted noticeably since the policy took hold.
Student reactions are split. Some think the rules go too far. Others — perhaps surprisingly — admit they don't really need their phones during the school day anyway. Both groups are probably right about something.
Parents are largely on board, and for reasons that go beyond test scores. They're noticing their kids coming home and actually talking — asking questions, making eye contact, and reconnecting in small ways that are easy to dismiss until they're gone. One thing the ban has surfaced that nobody quite expected: parents realizing they have a phone problem too. Several reflected that if they want their kids to put the devices down, they probably need to do the same. Role modeling, it turns out, works both ways.
Phone-free schools aren't going away. The UK is already moving toward national guidelines pushing schools in this direction, alongside measures to encourage more moderate social media use. The experiment at Astrea Academy may be ahead of its time — or just ahead of the curve.
Deserts look empty. They are anything but.
From the sun-scorched dunes of the Sahara to the scrubby plains of Australia, desert animals have cracked one of nature's toughest puzzles: how to survive where water is scarce, temperatures are brutal, and food is hard to find. In this playlist, you'll meet the remarkable species that call these landscapes home — from the iconic camel and the lightning-fast hawk to the bounding kangaroo and the armored pangolin.
Each clip, drawn from landmark BBC series including Seven Worlds, One Planet and Planet Earth II, puts you face-to-face with real desert survival in action. Some animals store water and energy for enormous journeys across open terrain. Others hunt by night, move in short bursts, or use camouflage so good they practically disappear. Every strategy is different. Every one is extraordinary.
As you watch, think bigger: How do animals adapt to temperatures that would stop most creatures in their tracks? What physical traits make desert life not just possible, but thriving? And how do these species — predator and prey, reptile and mammal — depend on each other to keep desert ecosystems in balance?
This playlist won't just teach you about deserts. It will make you see them differently.
Feeling stressed? Try reading this out loud!
Researchers have found that reading together can help strengthen bonds and reduce stress. In a recent study, families were asked to read together while wearing a brain monitoring cap that tracks activity over time. The results suggested that moments of shared reading can sync brain patterns between two people, which then suggest that the experience of reading books together helps parents and children connect.
Furthermore, the importance of stories themselves can’t be ignored. Stories are how people explain the world and their lives to one another — the decisions you make and the person you become are partially influenced by the stories you’ve read or heard. The research is very new, but studies of this sort can help us understand why reading together builds empathy, focus, emotional well-being, and might support children’s development and encourage a lifelong love of reading. And not just because a good story might distract two siblings for long enough to stop flicking each other’s ears!
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon’s surface. During the eclipse, the Moon can appear dark red or copper-colored as sunlight bends through Earth’s atmosphere.
Even though the Moon travels around Earth about every 28 days, total lunar eclipses are rare. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tilted slightly, so most months, the Moon passes a little above or below Earth’s shadow instead of through it. Only every six months or so are the Sun, Earth, and Moon lined up closely enough for a possible lunar eclipse.
Last September, millions of people around the world watched the rare event during organized watch parties and backyard gatherings. Astronomers encouraged people to bring blankets, snacks, and telescopes to enjoy the nighttime spectacle together. While cloudy skies blocked views in some places, observers across parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia were able to see the eclipse from beginning to end under clear skies.
In Ducklings’ Day Out, host Andy Day follows day-old ducklings who already have to take a leap, literally. As their mother duck encourages them, the ducklings fling themselves from the tree where they were born and waddle to the pond, where they will swim for the first time. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Andy’s Baby Animals, in which Andy Day explores the lives and experiences of baby animals.
Put this poster up in your classroom to teach correct letter formation with your favorite Alphablocks! Here are some fun teaching ideas:
- Have students stand up and trace each letter in the air with their pointer finger while looking at the poster.
- Pick one letter each day. Examine how it’s formed on the poster (where to start, which direction to move). Have students trace it on a whiteboard or in a sand tray.
- Laminate a smaller version of the poster or display it on a table. Encourage students to trace letters with their fingers while saying the letter name and sound aloud.
Watch full episodes of Alphablocks on their official YouTube channel!
Grab your crayons or markers and add some color to Bluey's school. What are the kids playing? Bluey's school, Glass House Primary, is a Steiner (or Waldorf) school, known for its focus on play-based learning and a connection with nature. Bluey's teacher, Calypso, encourages children to explore their own imaginative scenarios rather than directing them to specific tasks.
“I’ll ask ChatGPT” is probably something you hear (and say) more and more these days. With AI here to stay, schools are thinking about how to handle the situation.
AI tools like ChatGPT may seem like a quick fix to homework you don’t want to do, but it struggles with the kind of higher-level thinking that students need to be demonstrating. It also has giveaways like repeating questions, offering surface-level answers, and even giving fake or inaccurate references!
But, instead of flat-out banning AI, universities are teaching students how to use it properly. You shouldn’t (and probably can’t) get answers straight from ChatGPT, but there’s a way to use it for initial brainstorming, or as a starting point. After that, students still need to go the extra mile. The goal is to encourage students to learn how to use AI to work with, not instead of, their brains.
Explore the inspiring life and global impact of Malala Yousafzai, from her childhood in the Swat Valley to becoming one of the world’s leading advocates for girls’ education. Students will discover how Malala used her voice to speak out for the right to learn and how her courage and persistence inspired people around the world.
This Kahoot examines key moments in Malala’s journey, including her early activism, her advocacy for education in the face of danger, and her rise as an international symbol of hope and determination. Students will explore how education can become a powerful force for change and how one person’s beliefs and actions can influence history on a global scale.
Ideal for lessons on world history, human rights, leadership, and global citizenship, this Kahoot encourages students to think about the importance of education, resilience, and using one’s voice to make a difference.
Discover the mysteries of Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca city hidden high in the Andes Mountains. Students will explore who built this remarkable mountain settlement, why it may have been abandoned, and how it became one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
This Kahoot examines the engineering, architecture, and beliefs of the Inca Empire, including the stone structures, terraces, and pathways that allowed people to live in harmony with the steep mountain environment. Students will also discover what Machu Picchu reveals about Inca culture, religion, and scientific understanding.
Ideal for lessons on history, geography, engineering, and world cultures, this Kahoot encourages students to explore the lasting achievements and ingenuity of one of the world’s most fascinating ancient civilizations.