What is International Day of Yoga?

Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.

The International Day of Yoga aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice which originated in India. 

When is International Day of Yoga?

Wednesday, 21 June

Activities:

TO SET UP YOUR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA EXPERIENCE FOR SUCCESS:

• Focus on having fun with movement, not on practicing perfectly aligned yoga poses.
• Learning different types of yoga excercises; Restorative Yoga, Ujjayi Breathing
• Cater to their energy levels and different learning styles.
• Come to school wearing comfortable clothing and practice barefoot.
• Encourage the children to share their International Day of Yoga experiences with their families and friends.

To obtain further information, please visit: https://www.kidsyogastories.com/kids-yoga-poses

What is World Refugee Day?

World Refugee Day is a day that is recognised to honour and celebrate the bravery and courage of refugees who have has to make the choice to leave their homes to protect themselves and their families from war, danger and bodily harm. There are many refugees across the world who are still facing these trategies each day and making these life changings decisons to protect their families and provide a better lifestyle and safer lifestyle. 

When is World Refugee Day?

Tuesday, 20 June

Activities: 

• Group discussion with the children to allow them to express their interpretation of a refugee - (How to talk to kids about refugees - https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/how-to-talk-kids-about-refugees)
• Learning What does ‘refugee’ mean? How is being a refugee different from being a migrant?
• Provide a morning tea or an event to honour refugees around the world and donate to relevant foundations to help the people who are most in need. 
• What it’s Like to be Newly Settled in a new country - discuss how they would of felt and adjusted to their new living in different country and community and what they did to contribute to their community.

What is world World Ocean Day?

World Oceans day celebrates the ocean and how it connects all of us.

You can participate in a World Oceans Day by holding an event or activity this year and help protect the ocean for the future.

World Ocean Day 2023 theme: 
"Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing."

When is World Ocean Day?

Thursday, 8 June

World Oceans Day allows us to:

• Change perspective – encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.
• Learn – discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.
• Change our ways – we are all linked to, and through, the ocean! By taking care of your backyard and helping in your community, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will make a difference, and involving your family, friends, and community will benefit our blue planet even more!
• Celebrate – whether you live inland or on the coast, we are all connected to the ocean. Take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our ocean.
• Visit the World Oceans Day website and view the ebook The Ocean Project. You can read this in your centre and find an entire library on environmental books about the ocean! Or sign your centre up to host an event and raise awareness about the ocean!
• Maybe you would like to look at water as an experiment? What objects do you have around your centre that would sink or float? Maybe you can talk to the children about the importance of disposing of rubbish eg. Plastic appropriately to prevent it from floating and causing havoc in the ocean?

For further information click on the following links:

• World Ocean Day Website: https://www.worldoceansday.org/
• Global Ocean and Aquatic Library: https://www.worldoceansday.org/book
• Submit your event: https://www.worldoceansday.org/events/community/add

 "On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use. Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world." — United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres

What is World Environment Day? 

World Environment Day is aimed to be the biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action, promoting awareness. It is celebrated on the 5th of June every year. There are many possible activities to coordinate with this day.

When is World Environment Day? 

Monday, 5 June

World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, activities such as clean up campaigns are popular and will be prominent this year, also concerts, conventions and parades, tree planting, and lectures. Promotional materials for the day tend to be created using natural environmental colours.

Activity ideas for Early Childhood:

• Implementing a Worm Farm (compost) into your service to encourage and teach recycling your food waste into ideal natural fertilisers to improve the health of your garden i.e. vegetable garden.
  - Click here to find out further information regarding worm farms.
  - Click here to find out where to purchase worm farms and worms.
• Learning and putting into practice saving energy; turning off lights when room not in use
• Learning about recycling - this can be turned into a project, getting families to bring in recycling materials etc

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 19th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

By facilitating NSS we aim to:

• promote the value of reading and literacy,
• promote the value and fun of books,
• promote an Australian writer and publisher,
• promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country,
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.

NSS receives positive media coverage, generates a great deal of community interest and is held annually as part of Library and Information Week. 2018 was our biggest and most successful NSS to date with over 1,062,230 participants at over 8,255 locations.

What do we look for in the National Simultaneous Storytime book?

Each year, interested publishers send in possible titles. From a practical perspective, the publisher has to be able and willing to provide copyright release for use of the illustrations, book projection, translation into other languages and performance. The publisher also needs to commit to a special print run of several thousand copies. This narrows down the options. The criteria for choosing from the remaining books include: a positive storyline; appeal to a modern and diverse audience; suitability for read-aloud (language and length); how well the book lends itself to craft and other activities.

Visit Scholastic Australia's website to purchase your copy of the book.

To obtain further information, please visit: https://www.alia.org.au/nss