We have a special treat for you this week for Friday Fun! Not only are we releasing Friday Fun early, but we have done a Mash Up!
We've chosen two of the stand-out special days and events happening this week to showcase for Friday Fun (knowing full well that we can't just keep all the fun to just one day a week!).
We hope you enjoy this Mash Up and get inspired to learn, play and grow in new and exciting ways!
International Women's Day
"International Women's Day provides an important opportunity for teachers, parents and caregivers to educate and inspire children and students about gender equality.
From celebrating women's achievements to challenging gender stereotypes and bias, educating future generations about gender equality is one of the most grassroots differences anyone can make."
This special day is a fantastic opportunity to explore all of the amazing things that women have done throughout history, that inspiring women are achieving today, and to support our girls (and ourselves) to continue to be inspired and inspiring throughout our lives!
How Can You Get Involved?
LEARN...
Grab yourself some awesome International Women's Day Resources! You can get some awesome stuff from the International Women's Day website; with activities suitable from primary through to high school! Some of the resources we particularly liked were: International Women's Day Classroom Activity Cards These have loads of fun and engaging activity suggestions for IWD like, create a cartoon strip featuring a girl or woman as the hero; make a gift for a girl or woman who is special to you, and make a word cloud of jobs that women do across the world! The International Women's Day Book Study Puffin Schools has given young readers access to new feminist icons and ideas: female authors and artists to be inspired by, women-centered stories to learn from, and fantastic heroines to befriend. The classroom resources supplied for IWD explore story lines, analyze characters, challenge stereotypes, examine language use and establish a lifelong love of reading. The International Women's Day Video & Resources This is a powerful discussion starter to help teenagers better understand and explore gender equality. This set of resources explores "What if genders switched for a day?". There are loads more resources on the IWD website! Grab yours here!
PLAY...
National Geographic Kids IWD
If you're looking to dive a little deeper into International Women's Day and need some more kid-friendly resources then National Geographic Kids has you covered.
Check out their info here!
The Ultimate List of IWD Activities Or check out The Ultimate List of International Women's Day Activities here! There are craft ideas, games, food ideas, books to explore, TV & movie suggestions, and a whole bunch of online resources for raising strong, empowered girls! The Most Important Things About IWD The most important part of International Women's Day is to celebrate women - so getting out and connecting with women in your family, friendship circle, and community is key! Build each other up, celebrate each others' successes, collaborate and inspire each other! Show young girls and women how to become empowered, driven and succeed in whatever area they choose. And most importantly of all, build a community of women who want other women to succeed; and take action to make that happen - whether that be locally or internationally!
GROW...
A special note to mums (this includes step-mums, aunts, sisters, grandmas or any other woman raising children) - spend some time nurturing yourselves... Whether you are taking some time out because you are a busy mum, or you are treating a special woman you know to some much needed nurturing - know that you are making a difference. We talk a lot about self-care but many women worldwide don't actually practice it effectively (or even know what it truly means). Acts of self-care don't have to be huge swathes of time, cost loads of money, or make you feel like a popstar - they are meaningful moments where you can do things that you enjoy; refresh your mind, body or soul; take a break; or further a goal or ambition you might have - all of these things are self-care and nurture the person you are! By taking opportunities to focus on things that are important to us, we are sending messages about self worth, time management, success and equality to our children - International Women's Day is a fabulous opportunity to introduce (or remind) your children about these important things. All people can lead happier, healthier, more engaged and responsive lives if they focus on the wellbeing of themselves and those around them. The ethos of International Women's Day is broad and it is not just solely about women and their rights - it has strong echoes of equity, equality, responsibility, empowerment, health and creativity - for all! Let's show our kids how it's done!
SPECIAL OFFERS!
As a special treat for International Women's Day, we're offering 10% off a selection of beautiful products, just for you!
FREEBIE!
If you're planning on nurturing yourself or you'd like to give a little reminder to someone else then this gorgeous freebie might be for you! Download a copy of our International Women's Day Self Care Journal , print out and use the pages as you please - there are templates for a monthly planner, a weekly check in page & a free journaling!
If you're looking for some inspiration or you want to give the gift of empowerment to your friends, your kids, or someone else special in your life then this stunning freebie might be for you! Download a copy of our International Women's Day Poster there are two colours available!
This one links up nicely with another even happening this week too, Australian Reading Hour (scroll down to find out more!). If you're looking for another beautiful bookmark to add to your collection then go no further than this lovely freebie! Download a copy of our International Women's Day Bookmark and print as many copies as you like!
Australian Reading Hour
Australian Reading Hour has a short and sweet message: read, share, and enjoy books!
Now, that's a message we can definitely get on board with here at The Hub (you know how much we love and value reading and books!).
Australian's across the nation will spend an hour on the day (9th March) reading and sharing the stories they love with others. Essentially, it is a whole day, where the entire country enjoys and talks about books together!
There is a program of live and online events happening all around the country (details available on the Australian Reading Hour Website), you could organise your own book club or reading party, or simply snuggle up on the couch for some quiet reading time!
There are also lots of opportunities to connect with other book lovers and Australian authors and illustrators on social media - so join in the conversation!
Read something new, or revisit an old favourite!
Q. Wondering what to read?
A. You can read and share any book you like! (Be sure to recommend a favourite to others)!
Let your local booksellers or librarians know about your interests and they'll be sure to have some fabulous recommendations for you too!
REMEMBER:
Any way you choose to read is awesome! Try traditional fiction and non-fiction, comics, audiobooks, graphic novels or zines.
Reading or listening in other languages counts too! There are more than 400 languages spoken in Australia and a rich history of storytelling in First Nations cultures; not to mention that we are a superbly multicultural nation with languages from all over the world in every community.
Recommendations from others are great ways to find new stories! Asking others what their favourite books are and seeking out recommendations based on: genre (romance, sci-fi, horror, crime, fantasy), emotions (stories for rainy days, breakups, first dates), activities (books for commuting, for road trips, for sitting by the pool), or time (first chapters, excerpts, flash fiction, poetry, short stories, essays) are great ways to get recommendations that suit your current lifestyle and needs!
Share the experience of the book with others!
Shared reading experiences have to be one of the true joys in life; whether it is with your children, your friends at book club, a community group; or as a family in the evening - some of the most rewarding and magical experiences with reading are had when we share it with others!
Other ways that you might like to share the experience of reading with others are:
Chat about what you’re reading in your community - ever been stuck for a topic of conversation? Well steer it to books or even topics of interest, it is a sure fire way to connect!
Join a book club, either online or in person, and connect with people who love books (there are so many of these out there that it would be impossible not to find one that fits your needs)!
Share books with your children and talk about the stories, the characters, everyone's thoughts about where the story will go next or how it might have been better!
Attend a read aloud at the library, or even online.
Connect with authors and illustrators at Australian Reading Hour Events to discuss all things books!
Visit a bookshop or the library with family or friends and take some time to sit and share your finds!
Head on over to social media and share your favourite read, your reading wish list, ask for recommendations, or even talk about a book you're currently reading (use or search the hashtag #ARH23 to connect with other Australian Reading Hour participants more easily).
Enjoy the wellbeing benefits that come with reading!
Reading has got to be one of THE most important things you can do with and foster a love of in your children! Not only does reading open doorways for learning about all sorts of things but it provides important stimuli for imaginative writing, play and thinking - that are fundamental to develop the critical and creative thinking skills needed to problem solve and innovate. If this isn't enough for you to want to get reading then did you know that reading brings with it many benefits...
Reading improves concentration and the ability to focus.
Reading is entertainment and can be found FREE in loads of places online, in the library or borrowed from friends.
Reading improves sleep and helps signal to the brain that it is time to wind down.
Reading teaches empathy by allowing us to experience realities outside of our everyday lives.
Reading reduces stress and lowers your heart rate.
Avid reading has supported some of the most successful people on the planet to achieve above and beyond (e.g., Bill Gates reads over 50 books per year, and Elon Musk attributes a lot of his success and innovative thinking to reading books).
Reading improves your memory and increases your vocabulary.
Reading regularly improves your ability to write as well! The world's best authors recommend reading lots and lots of books if you want to be a writer or improve your craft!
There's a strong connection between reading more and living longer!
Reading is 'contagious', if you are a reader or spend time with readers, your children will become readers...and there is so much quality reading material out there waiting to be discovered and enjoyed!
Did you know? There are just shy of 130 million books in the world, there are books on every topic you can possibly imagine and new books are being written and published all the time - how many can you read in a month? A year? Your lifetime? Challenge yourself...and most importantly, have fun!
Australian Reading Hour: How To Guide!
READ
Need some help choosing books? Then try one of these:
Check out our Blog Articles on Reading (of course we have quite a few to choose from that have loads of recommendations for books & activities)!
The Australian Reading Hour website
The Book People 2022/23 Reading Guide
Want to listen to some of our favourite read alouds (for younger kids)?
Then head on over to our YouTube Playlist!
Still stuck?
Then check out our To Be Read pile (and be sure to let us know if you come across any winners!) - you can find it here!
Or you might like to join up to Little Sprouts Book Club here!
Or check out our Little Library Subscriptions here!
SHARE
Join a Book Club! There are loads of options to choose from:
Try an Online Book Club like the ones found here!
Head over to Facebook and find your local book club, or a genre-specific group (there are tonnes of these, for every interest and age-group imaginable!) - literally just search 'Book Club' and tonnes pop up, scroll through until you find one that's a good fit!
Stay over on social media and check out book-loving groups like this or this!
Or if you're looking for something for little ones, consider our Little Sprouts Book Club; find out more here!
Join us over at The Forge Library to:
Share Books You Love
Find Books To Read
Develop Writing Skills
Have Your Reviews Seen
Read, Write & Grow!
The Forge Library's Review Crew is open to all ages and welcomes reviews of different genres and books in different mediums (think: graphic novels, classics, non-fiction, audiobooks and ebooks)! By filling out the Expression of Interest form you'll become a member of The Forge Library Review Crew and we'll send you out a Welcome Pack! Your Welcome Pack will have everything you need to get started reviewing your favourite books and getting them seen, right here, at The Forge! Find out more about The Review Crew here!
Connect with us at The Hub by joining us over on social media! You can share what you're reading, what you think about what you're reading, what you plan on reading next, or even to connect with other readers! You can find us at:
Little Sprouts Homeschooling
SproutEd Learning Hub Facebook page
Instagram
ENJOY
You might like to take your reading outdoors! Why? You ask, well...
Better lighting
Get your dose of vitamin D
Boost your immune system & your mood
Promote better sleep
Enjoy your beautiful surroundings
To find out more about the benefits of reading outdoors check this out! And if you're really into the science of reading outdoors, you can find out some more about that here! And if you're looking for some tips on how to get reading outdoors, then head on over to The Scottish Book Trust site, here!
Start a 'commonplace' book or reading journal! You can extend the enjoyment that reading gives you in your reading journal by:
Reflecting on your reads,
Noting down things that stood out to you,
Drawing your version of the key characters or settings,
Or even writing your own adaptations.
You could also use this to review titles and reference for recommendations to others. Or you might like to use it like a scrapbook and pop in pictures of your favourite places to read, your book clubs meets, books on your wishlist...basically, the only limit is your imagination!
Do the voices!
Yep, really get into those picture books and make it super fun for your kids by doing the voices, the faces, even the actions in the books!
Books don't have to be a 'quiet time' activity, they can be loud!
They can be engaging and promote movement and interaction, conversation and critique!
Let your kids be passionate about reading and living the stories by diving into them yourselves...stories, afterall, are not just words on a page!
We hope that this has given you lots of fun ways to celebrate this week and get you exploring your world! Friday Fun at The Hub is all about connecting homeschoolers with fun learning experiences that enrich every homeschool; and providing families with fabulous freebies to support learning, playing and growing at home!
If you've got some suggestions for other great ideas or would like to share your adventures, please visit our private group on Facebook - Little Sprouts Homeschooling and join a community of homeschoolers just like you!
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