Finding good affordable artwork for our spaces can be challenging. We have been enjoying these beautiful images in the Australian Dreaming - 2022 Wall Calendar. I find that children are drawn to images of animals so I like using the Kangaroo and Brogla in our family spaces. But all of these are stunning. Each picture has a description which I've found useful for sharing the story and teaching my children about Indigenous art. There are other good options here. 

The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples was released last week. I knew I'd love it, I had preordered it and drove straight to our book shop when it arrived. It's all about the science and the discoveries made by Australia's First Peoples. It's super interesting and we've already learnt a lot.

We are learning about science and about respect for our First Nations Peoples, our first astronomers, engineers, forensic scientists, chemists, land engineers and ecologists. Why didn't we learn this at school? 

I highly recommend The First Scientists for all Australian children from primary age+.

It's useful for parents too. I love reading about the fish traps and about resin.

Following the First Nations Peoples science theme, Young Dark Emu has lots of information including sketches and photographs about fishing, agriculture, food storage and shelter. This is another must for all Australian homes with young children, I recommend for primary age children+.

"An archaeological team calculated the age of the fish traps to be at least 40,000 years, but considered that to be a minimum. Some archaeologists claim the Brewarrina traps are the oldest human construction on earth. By whatever measure, they rank as some of humankind's earliest constructions." - Young Dark Emu. Just the design of the fish traps alone is worth studying! 

About food storage. 

More about shelter. 

The AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia.

We are learning more about our country and the peoples that were here first. 

We've been painting with Ochre 💛🧡🤎. Besides painting with mud, it feels like the most natural experience. Otto makes the paint by adding water to the dry Ochre powder. The textures and colours are gorgeous!