Our Blog
Are you looking to further your artistic knowledge or become a better art teacher? Our blog posts are well researched and based on facts for students, teachers, parents or anyone looking to further their artistic knowledge. Put on the kettle and enjoy the reading...
As children start to pick up pencils, crayons and paint brushes they delight in changing colours. Becoming more proficient with their artworks, increasing awareness of what colour is and how to manipulate it to suit their purposes and feelings is something we can help them with.
One of the first...
Culinary Art is food art - preparing and presenting it in creative ways. Many of us enjoy watching MasterChef and other food-related programs on TV, or searching for video clips to learn more about presenting food. Could fun with food presentation, using art, encourage a better understanding and...
The creation of clothes to protect us from the effects of changing weather conditions, harsh elements in the environment and potential injury was born out of necessity but, even from the very earliest records, what was worn reflected gender, body type, age and location.
Understanding the...
Let's talk about different forms of transport and how to kids can draw them!
From the dawn of time people have travelled from one place to another. We may move in centimetres, inches, yards, metres, miles, kilometres or, digitally, in pixels on a screen. Through developments in technology, modes...
During the CoVid-19 pandemic, our homes did at times become our world. Whether by choice or, more likely, restrictions we became more acutely aware of how our place looks and feels, and the facilities it offers us when we can barely go anywhere else. This connection with Place may...
Viewing some of the amazing and beautiful gardens in Japan during the Tokyo Olympics brought to mind the role art and design can play in the way we manipulate and interact with plants. I thought of Bonsai and discovered Niwaki. I wondered about how clipping and shaping plants into artistic...
My childhood was spent in country towns with family and friends living on farms: dairy, potato, wheat, sheep… As a teenager I accompanied my father as he travelled outback Australia in a 4WD visiting the remote cattle stations. Country life, particularly farm life, involves a lot of...
In Australia, Autumn is from March to May. This cooler season between Summer and Winter is referred to as Fall in America and, being in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs from September to November.
Wherever you are, this is a colourful time when the leaves on the deciduous trees turn from green to...
Water! We need it. We use it. We play with it.
We want to live by the sea and holiday by the river. We build bridges to go over it and boats to go on it. We create dams and weirs to collect it. We need it for drinking and cooking, washing and cleaning. Architects, engineers, designers and...
The tooth fairy has been busy recently in the homes of many 6 year olds - one, I know well! Made me think about fairies and how we know what they look like - through artwork, of course, in many classical stories.
Fairies in the garden. The tooth fairy. Tinker bell. Fairy godmother. Fairies can be...
‘Art’ you ready…!?
Art can play such an important role in education but let's start at the beginning!
Five and in Foundation
In Australia, children start school at about the age of 5: maybe not quite, or already 5. This first year of school is nationally...
So this is Christmas and what do we know…
Who was Saint Nick and why Santa in snow?
So many stories, songs, images. Even if you’ve heard these stories before, I like to revisit them at this time of the year and perhaps pick up a new little insight.
From the secret gift-giver in...
Why do we bring a tree inside our house at Christmas time and hang things on it…? Do you use a real fir or spruce tree or a fake one?! Some Christmas trees used in stores, and in homes, are huge! Then there are all the choices for decorations - merchandising gone mad. I start to think...
Floral, fauna, bird, mammal, fish, fossil… The states and territories of Australia have each selected emblems in these various categories. Why did they do this? Why were the symbols they selected, chosen? And what’s the difference between the terms fauna, animal, and mammal?
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Capturing ‘on canvas’ the changes around us as our world warms and cools can help us understand and appreciate the science behind the seasons. Looking around, what elements can we add to an artwork that represent what’s happening in nature because of the changes in weather...
Taking time to remember our dad, spend time with our pop or create something a bit special for the father-figure in our lives can help show we love and appreciate them. Maybe you’re a mum looking for ideas for your kids to do something to celebrate this day, a teacher planning creative...
The fantasy world of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan and Wendy in Neverland; the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh and Paddington Bear; the escapades of Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden and Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toad in The Wind...
Image incorporated above sourced from ABC
"I'd like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today. I would also like to pay my respects to Elders past and present." These are the words often used now when people in Australia hold official meetings. The land I...
Kids art, craft and activities for Mothers' Day
How amazing are mothers!
Leading into Mothers' Day, the last thing mothers want to do is think about planning more activities for kids to do. You want to hope that dads or partners are going to step up and organise something special just for...
Easter eggs, Easter bunny, Easter hunt, Easter buns, Easter pyjamas, Easter stories, Easter Sunday...! It’s nearly upon us. A time that means different things in different cultures, religions, and families. In a time where so much is now different with Coronavirus effecting the world, how...
Having to keep kids at home can happen for many reasons. Homeschooling is not new or extraordinary. For many around the world, educating and engaging children at home has been a choice. Parents choose not to send their children to the local school, for many reasons. Others live in remote areas...
The full curriculum in The Arts can cover Media Arts, Drama, Dance and Music, as well as Visual Arts. The focus here is to consider how Visual Arts can be taught across other curriculum areas as well as a standalone subject. Whether you are a classroom teacher or home educator, trying to fit in...
Art draws on tools and materials. The tools might be our hands and the materials, sand. The artwork might be a hobby, a lesson or a career. Providing our children at home, or our students at school, with diverse opportunities to develop their artistic skills can be expensive, but does not need to...
By Grace Koelma, Editor of Mulberry Magazine
The biggest mistake many parents make when choosing to take their family on the road and ‘worldschool’, is thinking that their kids’ education will occur in a similar way to school, or even like more structured styles of home...