Preschool Theme Australia Day

Australia Day

Australia Day, January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in the country and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories. Australia Day celebrates what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what has been achieved and what this great nation can be proud of.

Captain James Cook was commissioned by King George III of England to search for a land called Terra Australis, believed to be somewhere in the vast ocean to the south of the equator. In 1770 he sailed into Botany Bay aboard the Endeavour and declared Australia suitable for a settlement, so the British government decided to set up a penal colony in - at that stage they didn't know about the droughts & flooding rains!

Under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip the British Government sent 750 convicts out on 11 ships, from Portsmouth in England, arriving in Australia in January, 1788. On January 26, 1788 Captain Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor.

	Some of these pages aren't quite ready yet so please come back later.

Gross Motor:	Kangaroo Hops & Crocodile Walks - see the Get Ready For School program
Fine Motor:	Make a flag Koala cut out
Visual Perception:	Find your flag
Language:	Kookaburra song + talk about kookaburras. Sunburnt Country
Suggested reading:	Koala Lou by Mem Fox	Possum Magic by Mem Fox	Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? by Eric Carle

	Waltzing Matilda
Swagman = a drifter, a tramp, a hobo	Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a coolibah tree And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a waltzing matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee And he sang as he stuffed that jumbuck in his tucker-bag You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a waltzing matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred Up rode the troopers, one, two, three "Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?" You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a waltzing matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Up jumped the swagman and sprang into that billabong "You'll never take me alive!", said he And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me
Billabong = still water
Coolibah tree = a gum tree
Billy = tin can for cooking
Jumpbuck = sheep
Tucker bag = backpack
Squatter = farmer

When using the Australia Day worksheets make sure your child uses the correct:

Scissor Control

Did he or she manage the Visual Perception task?

To learn how to teach these skills correctly, improve your child's abilities and help prepare your child for school use the Get Ready For School program.

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