The KidStudy Blog
Practical ideas for learning at home
Short, friendly guides for parents and carers across Australia, from Prep to high school: how to help with handwriting, reading, phonics and spelling, everyday maths and science, starting school, selective schools and the school holidays, and how to keep screen time calm and useful. Written in Australian English, with ideas you can try tonight.
- Handwriting
- Reading, phonics and spelling
- Maths
- Science and the world around us
- Schools and tests
- For families
Handwriting
Victorian Modern Cursive and the styles of other states, joined writing, numbers, pencil grip, fine motor play, left-handed writers and a first name.
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Writing
Helping your child with Victorian Modern Cursive at home
Grip, posture, letter families and exit strokes: a calm, five-minute way to support the handwriting your child learns at school.
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Writing
How to teach a left-handed child to write
Paper tilted the other way, a grip a little further up the pencil, and the hand below the line: simple changes that help left-handers write comfortably.
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Writing
Teaching your child to write their name, the Victorian Modern Cursive way
When children usually learn to write their name, why it’s a capital then lower case, and six playful steps from spotting it to writing it.
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Writing
Pencil grip by age: what’s normal from 3 to 7
From chunky crayons to a tripod grip: what’s typical at each age, when to step in, and everyday play that builds strong hands for writing.
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Writing
Why does my child write letters backwards? Help with b and d
Turning b into d is a normal stage of learning to write. Why it happens, a simple fix using where each letter starts, and when to talk to someone.
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Writing
Fine motor activities for 4-year-olds: 12 ideas before school
Twelve playful fine motor activities using things you already have, what 3- to 5-year-olds usually manage, and when to ask a nurse, GP or OT.
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Writing
Handwriting styles in Australia, state by state
NSW Foundation Style, Victorian Modern Cursive and the other state styles: who teaches what, what they share, and what to do if you move interstate.
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Writing
Number formation for kids: rhymes and tips for writing 0 to 9
A short rhyme and a starting point for each number from 0 to 9, why numbers get turned around, and a calm way to practise at home.
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Writing
When do kids learn cursive in Australia? Joined writing, year by year
Joined writing starts in Year 3 across Australia. What children learn each year from Prep to Year 5, and calm ways to help with joins at home.
Reading, phonics and spelling
Sounds, decodable and levelled books, heart words, spelling, Book Week and the Year 1 Phonics Check in every state.
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Reading
Reading levels explained, and how to read with your Prep child
What the letters on home readers mean, why levels are a guide and not a race, and how to share a book so your child does the reading.
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Phonics
Phonics at home in 10 minutes a day
Pure sounds, blending, segmenting and digraphs: a short daily routine that supports what your child learns at school.
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Phonics
Alien words: why children read made-up words in phonics
What alien (made-up) words are, why phonics uses them, and a list sorted by sound so you only practise sounds your child knows.
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Reading
Free decodable books in Phonics Plus order, Sets 1 to 20
What makes a book decodable, how Victoria’s Phonics Plus sets work, and 20 free books to read online, one for each set.
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Phonics
Heart words: how to teach tricky words to your Prep child
What heart words are, why they beat memorising sight words, how many a Prep child needs, and a starter list set by set.
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Phonics
My child can’t blend sounds yet: what to try at home
Your child knows the letter sounds but can’t put them together yet? Try oral blending games, stretchy sounds and short words, one small step at a time.
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Phonics
The Year 1 Phonics Check in Victoria: a guide for parents
What the check is, when it happens, what a score of 28 out of 40 means, and calm ways to help at home without drilling.
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Reading
Decodable vs levelled readers: what parents need to know
Why your child brings home decodable books, how they differ from levelled readers, when children move on, and what to do with each kind at home.
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Spelling
Spelling at home: Year 1 and Year 2 spelling words, and how to practise them
Spelling words in phonics order for Prep, Year 1 and Year 2, an honest look at look-cover-write-check, and a 10-minute routine for home.
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Phonics
The Year 1 Phonics Check around Australia: a state-by-state guide
Which states run a Year 1 phonics check, in which schools, when it happens, and where an expected score is published, all in one table.
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Reading
Book Week 2027: the theme, the dates and easy costume ideas
The 2027 Book Week theme and dates, what the CBCA and its Book of the Year Awards are, the new Middle Readers category, and simple, cheap costume ideas.
Maths
Subitising, number bonds, money, time, daylight saving, times tables and the Year 1 Numeracy Check, the Australian way.
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Maths
Everyday maths talk for Prep to Year 3
Counting, quick looks, number bonds, money and time: easy ways to bring maths into the kitchen, the car and the shops.
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Maths
Teaching kids to tell the time: what to expect from Prep to Year 3
What Victorian children learn about time each year, from morning and night in Prep to reading the clock to the minute in Year 3.
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Maths
When do kids learn times tables in Australia? A year-by-year guide
What the Victorian Curriculum expects each year, from skip counting in Year 1 to every fact up to 10 × 10 in Year 4, plus games for home.
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Maths
Australian money for kids: coins, notes and counting
A coin-by-coin guide to Australian money for kids: the animals, the sizes, why the $2 is so small, and a ten-minute pretend shop for home.
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Maths
Number bonds to 10: eight games for home (friends of 10)
Number bonds, friends of 10 and rainbow facts are the same idea. What they are, why they matter, and eight no-prep games with cards, pegs and fingers.
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Maths
What is subitising? Six quick games for Prep at home
Subitising means seeing how many at a glance, without counting. Here’s why it matters in Prep, and six quick games with dice, fingers and egg cartons.
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Maths
The Year 1 Numeracy Check in Victoria: what parents need to know
What we know about Victoria’s new Year 1 Numeracy Check, what isn’t announced yet, and five-minute number games that build the same skills at home.
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Maths
Daylight saving explained for kids: why the clocks change
Which states move their clocks, when daylight saving starts and ends, the official reasons for it, and how to help your child sleep through the change.
Science and the world around us
Experiments, seasons, compass directions, coding without a screen, music, Australia’s states, Anzac Day and Harmony Week.
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Science
Five safe kitchen science experiments for curious kids
Sink or float, melting, magnets, shadows and mixing colours, with everyday things from your cupboard and clear safety notes.
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History
Anzac Day and Remembrance Day for kids: how to explain them
Gentle words for explaining Anzac Day and Remembrance Day to young children, what the poppies, rosemary and silence mean, and things to do together.
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Geography
Australia’s states and territories for kids, with capitals
The six states and two territories and their capitals, whether Canberra is a state, the biggest and smallest, state emblems, and map games to play at home.
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Coding
Unplugged coding activities for kids: 8 screen-free games
What unplugged coding is, what Australian kids learn about algorithms at school, and eight screen-free games that teach steps, loops, decisions and bugs.
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Geography
Compass directions for kids: north, south, east, west and Never Eat Soggy Weet-Bix
How to remember north, east, south and west, when children learn compass directions at school, and easy games to play at home and outdoors.
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Music
Beat vs rhythm for kids: what’s the difference, with ta and ti-ti
The difference between beat and rhythm in plain words, what ta, ti-ti and sa mean, what children learn in music at school, and six easy games to play at home.
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History
Harmony Week for kids: what it is and how to celebrate
What Harmony Week celebrates, why orange is its colour, how it links to 21 March, and simple ways to celebrate cultural diversity at home with young children.
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Geography
Seasons in Australia for kids: the months, and why ours are opposite
When each season starts in Australia, why Christmas comes in summer here, the wet and dry seasons of the north, and First Nations seasonal calendars.
Schools and tests
Selective schools in each state, NAPLAN, PAT tests, school reports, homework, parent–teacher interviews and starting high school.
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Schools
Selective schools in Australia: a calm guide for parents, state by state
What selective schools, selective classes and opportunity classes are in each state, how children get in, and how to decide calmly whether to apply.
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Schools
How to prepare for a selective school test, calmly
What the education departments themselves say about coaching, the free official practice tests, test day, illness and adjustments, and keeping your child’s wellbeing first.
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Schools
The Ignite program in South Australia: a parent’s guide
South Australia’s Ignite program for gifted students: the three schools, the assessment for Year 7 in 2028, what it tests and how to register.
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Schools
NAPLAN explained for parents: the tests, the dates and the four proficiency levels
Who sits NAPLAN, what’s in it, the 2027 test window, what Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support mean, and how to keep it calm.
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Schools
The NSW selective school test: a calm guide for parents
Who sits the NSW Selective High School Placement Test, what’s in its four sections, how places are offered and where to find the free official practice tests.
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Schools
The NSW OC test: a parent’s guide to the Opportunity Class Placement Test
What NSW opportunity classes are, what’s in the Year 4 OC test, how places are offered, and the Department’s free practice tests.
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Schools
Perth Modern and the ASET: WA’s selective entrance test explained
Perth Modern School, WA’s Gifted and Talented programs, and the Year 6 ASET: the 2028 intake dates, the four paper tests and how offers are made.
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Schools
The Queensland Academies and QASMT: a calm guide to entry
Queensland’s three academic selective entry schools: QASMT from Year 7, Year 10 entry, the three-hour test, the fee and what else counts.
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Schools
Selective schools in Victoria: the Year 8 exam, offers and SEAL
Victoria’s four selective entry high schools, the Year 8 exam, how the 85/10/5 offers work, and what SEAL programs are.
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Schools
Starting high school: how to help your child get ready for Year 7
What changes when children start high school, official transition tips from Australian education departments, and a calm checklist from Year 6 to the first weeks of Year 7.
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Schools
How much homework in primary school? What Victorian and NSW schools say
Who decides how much homework your child gets, why there’s no official number of minutes, and the calm habits that help most at home.
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Schools
How to read a Victorian school report: levels, ratings and “at expected level”
What the level scores, the five-point rating and the effort ratings on a Victorian government school report mean, and what to do once you’ve read it.
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Schools
Parent–teacher interview questions to ask, and how to make the 15 minutes count
Twelve good questions to ask your child’s teacher, a before-during-after checklist, and what Victorian government schools must offer families.
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Schools
PAT tests explained: what your child’s PAT Reading and PAT Maths results mean
What PAT tests are, how to read a scale score, achievement band, percentile and stanine, and why the scale score is the number that shows growth.
For families
Starting school in each state, what to know by the end of each year, term dates, holidays, sun safety, lunchboxes, online safety and calming down.
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For families
Screen time that helps: making learning apps a calm, short, shared habit
Sit together, keep it short, stop on a win, and choose apps with no ads, no accounts and no tricks to keep children hooked.
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For families
Is my child ready for Prep? A calm checklist for Victorian families
What Victorian schools really ask for, a four-part readiness checklist, the TLDS, and a gentle summer holiday plan before Prep starts.
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Families
Summer school holidays: a gentle 10-minute learning plan at home
When the Victorian summer holidays start and end, a calm 10-minutes-a-day plan for reading, writing and maths, and free things to do over summer.
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Health
Sun safety for kids: Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide
What UV level needs sun protection, the five SunSmart steps, sunscreen and hats for school, vitamin D, and a free sun safety lesson for kids.
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Health
Calm-down strategies for kids: what to do and say in the moment
How to help a child through big feelings: five steps for the moment, breathing and grounding games to practise when calm, a calm corner, and when to get help.
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Health
Lunchbox ideas for Prep: what to pack, and how much
What to pack in a Prep lunchbox, how much young children need, the best drink, nuts and allergy-aware schools, and five days of simple lunchbox ideas.
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Families
How to talk to your child about online safety
Simple online safety rules for young children, the exact words to use, what Australia’s under-16 social media rules mean, and where to get help.
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Families
School starting age in Australia: every state’s cut-off date
When your child can start school in each state and territory, what the first year is called, when school becomes compulsory, and why “Kindergarten” means different things.
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Families
Victorian school term dates 2027, and the school holidays in between
The four 2027 terms for Victorian government schools, the holidays in between, the 2028 dates to plan ahead, and what usually happens in each term.
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Families
What is a TLDS? Victoria’s kinder-to-school statement, explained
The Transition Learning and Development Statement your kinder writes before Prep: what’s in it, when it’s done, and ideas for the family section.
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Families
What should a child know by the end of Prep? A plain-English guide for parents
What the curriculum expects by the end of Prep in reading, writing, numbers and shapes, in plain words, and simple ways to help at home.
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Families
What should a Year 1 child know? Reading, writing and maths by the end of the year
What the curriculum expects by the end of Year 1, from reading two-syllable words to counting to 120, in plain words, with ideas to try at home.
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Families
What should a Year 2 child know? Reading, writing and maths by the end of Year 2
What the curriculum expects by the end of Year 2, from numbers to 1000 and the twos to telling the time, in plain words, with ideas for home.
About this blog
The KidStudy Blog is written by the team behind KidStudy, a free, non-commercial learning site for Australian families made by Examcert Pty Ltd. There are no ads and nothing to buy. Our posts are general ideas for learning at home; your child’s teacher knows your child best, so follow the school’s lead where it differs.
Spotted a mistake or have an idea for a post? Get in touch.