We enjoyed our recent North America Continent Box and the kids really got into it with the addition of the Continent Box Challenge. I was excited to get another box done quickly and they chose Australia!
{disclaimer~there are affiliate links in this post, also a giveaway!}
I have Australia set up like this…
I pulled out some Australian animals, we had from our collection, and also got a new Safari Toob.
I bought my boxes from Walmart, in 2 different sizes {small 6.7qt, large 12.7qt} knowing I would need bigger ones for continents with more stuff! I made simple labels that color-coordinate with Montessori geography colors {free download here}. This box is the smaller of the 2 sizes I bought. 
In the folder on top of the box, is each child’s Continent Box Challenge paper. You can create your own using our editable pdf file, but here’s a glimpse at ours…
I currently have a few of the extras in these little blue bins from Ikea, hooked to the photo ledge from Ikea also. The one in the middle holds a couple of mini sticker books sent to us by a sweet Aussie blog reader years ago! The one on the right has the Australian Landmarks ~ Rand McNally.
I made a trip to the library to pick up some books for our study. I couldn’t find all that I wanted but love the ones I was able to get. See the books we got and the ones I wish we had gotten here.
Printables
We have a few materials from Montessori Print Shop! Thankfully I was given their bundle to review awhile back. We are focusing on the Australian Animals.
You can see in the very top photo, I hang our 3 part cards up on metal rings and hooks. The shelf they are hanging on is a photo ledge from Ikea. Be sure to read to the end for a giveaway from Montessori Print Shop!
I also created a few printables for the box which you can download for free on my Continent Boxes webpage in the North America section. I also used some printables from other sources. I will list out everything shown below with links.
- Follow Directions to Color Australia
- Australia States & Territories Alphabetically
- Mapping Australia
- Australia Map {to color in}
- Animals of Australia Printables
- Australian Animals Printables
There’s also the Continent Kids Coloring for Australia {free download on the Continent Boxes webpage}…
Here you can see us exploring together, there’s no real plan. The kids can explore the box on their own, and I also am taking time to explore together. It’s amazing what they absorb just from exploring and us talking about what they are doing!
The books and Australian animals have been a BIG hit. Many of the animals are totally new to my kids, as we haven’t studied Australia before! She’s in love with wombats now thanks to some of the great books!
Pac dove right into his challenge and loved the creative options and chose to make Australia out of Play Dough!
You can download printables and see more on our Continent Boxes webpage!
Visit my Pinterest boards for even more ideas!
Enter to Win!
One of you has the chance to win the Australia Printables from Montessori Print Shop! Winner will receive PDF files of all printables listed here, your choice of either the color coded set or the blank set!
Use Rafflecopter below to enter to win! Open worldwide, ends September 24, 2013.