The Koori Curriculum

Bookish Play is any play-based experience centred around a specific book.

We all know that children learn best through story and play, bookish play is the perfect combination of both vehicles of learning.
Play experiences based upon children books is a strategy to keep up engagement and interaction during or after storytime. Bookish play enhances children’s imagination and brings some of their most beloved stories to life.

First Nations Bookish play is a way for us to continue exploring concepts shared within books that embed cultural perspectives. This is one practical play-based way that we can easily and meaningfully include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, values, histories and cultures in our play at home with children or classroom curriculums.

Check out our First Nations Bookish play collection via the link in the comments

Pull up a chair, we need to talk about that big, beautiful tree outside your fence. Our August Koori Curriculum Club fact sheet, 8 Ways of Aboriginal Learning: Land Links, unpacks one of the eight interconnected pedagogies created by Aboriginal educators from western New South Wales, and it will change the way you see your own backyard.

Land Links teaches us that Country is our first teacher, and that the best learning grows from the very ground your children stand on. This one is a warm, practical guide to letting Country lead.

Now, here's a little myth I want to bust for you. Land Links is not just taking the kids outside for a wander. Bush walks with no purpose, collecting leaves for craft, chatting vaguely about Australian animals, that's not it. This fact sheet shows you the real depth underneath.

Here's what you and your team will walk away knowing:

• Country means so much more than dirt and grass. It holds waterways, skies, weather, animals, ancestors, language, stories and relationships, all woven together.
• You let Country lead the learning instead of dragging learning to the children. The little ones become observers, researchers, storytellers and caretakers of the places they already love.
• Place belongs in every corner of your program. You'll get concrete swaps for literacy, science, mathematics, art and dramatic play, like following ant trails instead of talking about insects in the abstract, or writing stories about the birds that visit your yard each morning.
• Start local, then go global. Get to know the tree outside the fence, the nearby creek and your local birds before you ever reach for polar bears and rainforests.
• Slow looking is a superpower. Return to the same spots again and again, notice which flowers open first, watch how the creek shifts, and over time your children become genuine experts on their own place.
• Knowledge lives in people, not just places. Build ongoing relationships with local Aboriginal Elders and community, always respecting cultural protocols, because not all knowledge is public.
• Real project inspiration is ready to go. Playground bird studies, frog monitoring, weather diaries, the story of one special tree, all mapped out for you.

There's a gorgeous example inside too. An educator spots the children watching magpies gather nesting materials, and rather than herding everyone back to the planned activity, she follows their curiosity for weeks. That's Land Links in action. As the fact sheet reminds us, our job is not simply to take children outside, but to help them listen to the stories Country is already telling.

Not in the Club yet?

Come join us. A Koori Curriculum Club membership unlocks this fact sheet plus brand new content every month to help you embed Aboriginal perspectives with genuine confidence.

Grab your membership via the link in the comments

Kakadu is Australia's largest terrestrial national park, spanning nearly 20,000 square kilometres in the Northern Territory. A dual UNESCO World Heritage site, it features wetlands, waterfalls, escarpments, and extraordinary biodiversity, including saltwater crocodiles and thousands of plant and animal species.

Aboriginal/First Nations Perspective:

• Traditional Country of the Bininj/Mungguy peoples, who have lived here for over 60,000 years. "Bininj" refers to people of the north; "Mungguy" to people of the south of Kakadu.
• The local word for rock art is "kunbim," an expression of cultural identity and connection to Country.
• Home to over 5,000 rock art sites, some up to 20,000 years old—one of Earth's longest historical records.
• Rock art includes x-ray style animals, ancestral beings, and records of early European contact.
• Some sacred sites and paintings could only be created by people with the right cultural knowledge.

Early Learning Activity:

1. Create x-ray style animal artwork, showing the "inside" of animals as Bininj/Mungguy artists do.
2. Learn the word "kunbim" for rock art.
3. Discuss how art shares knowledge and keeps culture strong.
4. Explore wetland ecosystems and discuss the many creatures living in Kakadu.
5. Talk about how Aboriginal people have recorded their stories on rock for thousands of years, connecting past and present.

Looking for some Country resources? Check out what’s available in store via the link in the comments

Our First Nation dolls are hand-painted by Jade McDonald, a Wiradjuri artist living on the NSW Central Coast. Jade carefully sources ethical Aboriginal textiles to craft the doll clothes, ensuring each piece is made with respect and integrity.

Meet our First nations dolls:

• Shirley Pearl
• Mulbirrang
• Murriyang

Please note that the outfits the dolls are wearing may vary from those shown in the image, as each doll is uniquely crafted with different fabric selections.

Check out our First Nations Girl dolls via the link in the comments

We are planning our events in New South Wales and are happy to share our bookings are open for in-services in New South Wales. We know each team and educator enters this space having had unique relationships, experiences and opportunities which shape their confidence and capacity to connect with community and develop respectful programs with Aboriginal perspectives embedded.

Holding a professional development session for your team allows for collective pedagogical discussion, debate and critical reflection in a culturally safe space. Koori Curriculum offers training on a range of topics:

• Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives
• Programming, Planning & Pedagogy
• Aboriginal Art & Storytelling
• Reconciliation Action Plans
• Aboriginal Perspectives and Sustainability
• Working with Aboriginal Families and Community
• Caring and Walking with Country
• Australia Has a Blak History
• Building Community Connections
• Caring for Country
• Anti Bias Practices
• Exploring and Understanding Aboriginal Pedagogies
• Understanding EYLF Principle Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives

We also develop tailor-made workshops suited to your team's needs and interests. This specialised service has been designed to guide your team in their learning journey and through challenges they encounter in relation to Aboriginal programs.

We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with early learning services to deliver tailored professional learning packages. Programs can be adapted to regional priorities and developed in partnership with local Aboriginal communities to reflect each service’s unique Country, culture and context. Team training can be delivered both in person or online and sessions range in duration from two hours to a whole day.

To learn more and receive a quote, click the link in the comments

In celebration of Early Childhood Educators Day, we want to celebrate those educators in our community who are trailblazing a path to support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives in their practise.

Nominations are open to Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Early Childhood Educators, please make sure to check the category you are nominating educators in.

All nominated educators will be given the opportunity to highlight their practise via a social media takeover of the Koori Curriculum social media accounts.

You will have to submit your entry by no later than the 2nd September 2026, enter the awards via the link in the comments.

Entries must include a photograph of the nominated Early Childhood Educator along with a 300-word or more blurb describing why they are nominating that Early Childhood Educator and must include their contributions to embedding Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives in their practise.

There are 5 award categories:

• First Nations Early Learning Educator of The Year
• Early Learning Educator of The Year
• Family Daycare Educator of The Year
• Ally of the Year
• Ally of the Year (Jess' Choice)

Voting will close on the 13th of September 2025. The 5 entries with the highest number of votes in each category will be shortlisted and reviewed by the Director of the Koori Curriculum, Jessica Staines who will select the winners.

The chosen winner will be announced on the 14th of September 2025. All submissions are displayed in a virtual gallery.

The winners will each receive a $200 store voucher to the Koori Curriculum, an awards pack, digital assets for websites and social media, featured in an article in the Koori Curriculum Blog and the option to be featured as a masterclass presenter for the Koori Curriculum Club.

Please note: submissions must be on behalf of a nominee, self-submissions will not be accepted, duplicate submissions will be removed.

Enter the awards via the link in the comments.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into your early years programme shouldn't mean hours of research and second-guessing.

So, we've done the groundwork for you.

"Let's Yarn About Places, Animals & Plants – Volume One" is a FREE downloadable eBook packed with 18 of Australia's most-loved animals, plants and places — from K'gari to the Quokka, the Wollemi Pine to the Moreton Bay Fig.

For every single one, you get:

🌱 The key facts, in plain language
🌱 A culturally respectful First Nations perspective
🌱 A simple, play-based activity ready to go

Perfect for NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week — or any ordinary, extraordinary day.

No hours of prep. Just open it up and go.

Grab your free copy now via the link in the comments

Did you know?

Aboriginal Australians only killed emus out of necessity, and frowned on anyone who hunted them for any other reason. Every part of the carcass had some use; the fat was harvested for its valuable, multiple-use oil, the bones were shaped into knives and tools, the feathers were used for body adornment and the tendons substituted for string.

Shirley is our vibrant four-year-old Wiradjuri kid from the serene Darkinjung Country on the NSW Central Coast. Through her engage letter or email subscription program, she takes children on a remarkable adventure as she learns about Country and culture.

The Shirley Pearl Letter Subscription spans across 12-months and is an exciting and educational way to introduce children to the rich culture of Aboriginal peoples.

Subscribe to Shirley Pearl & Her Bush Friends via the link in the comments

Tea Trees (Melaleuca and Leptospermum species) produce masses of small white, pink, or cream flowers. These plants thrive in wet areas, and their papery bark and aromatic leaves have made them famous worldwide for medicinal properties Aboriginal people knew for millennia.

First Nations Perspective:

• Tea tree leaves were crushed and inhaled or used in steam treatments for respiratory ailments. The papery bark provided material for shelters, food wrapping, bandages, and baby cradles.
• Flowers were used in traditional cleansing and healing ceremonies with their fragrant smoke.
• As totems, tea trees represent protection, purification, and renewal.
• Tea tree flowering indicated wet season timing and specific water-dependent resources becoming available.
• The trees growing near water made them markers for finding freshwater sources across Country.
Ideas to Embed Aboriginal Perspectives in Early Learning:

1. Explore tea tree bark's papery layers, discussing Aboriginal uses for warpping and shelter.
2. Smell the aromatic leaves (crushed gently).
3. Observe the masses of small flowers and visiting insects.
4. Create bark rubbings or collages.
5. Discuss how Aboriginal knowledge about tea tree's healing properties is now recognised worldwide.
6. Plant tea trees near water features and observe which animals use them.

Looking for some plant & bush tukka resources? Check out what’s available in store via the link in the comments

On Saturday I delivered a session on Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives to Harmony Education in Everton Park. Such a lovely service and welcoming team. I can’t wait to continue our journey together.