The Weekly Homeschool Hub - Term 1
My Place in the World
Theme: Explore homes, communities, maps, continents and the places that make us who we are.
BIG QUESTION: Where do I belong in the world?
This week, children will explore their place in the world, starting with their home and community before zooming out to discover Australia, the continents and the wider world. Through mapping, creative activities, discussion and hands-on learning, children will investigate the places they live, the people around them and the connections that make each place special.
The activities are designed to be flexible for children across Foundation to Year 6. Younger children can draw, sort, build and talk about their ideas, while older children can research, label maps, compare places and explain their thinking in greater detail.
Learning goals
By the end of the week, children will have opportunities to:
- Identify and describe places that are important to them.
- Explore how homes and communities can be similar or different.
- Understand that places can be represented using maps and models.
- Locate Australia and explore the seven continents.
- Recognise connections between people, places and communities.
- Communicate information about a place using drawings, maps, descriptions or presentations.
Activity 1: My Place in the World
Our place in the world can be explored by starting with ourselves and gradually looking at bigger places.
Children will create a series of circles or nested shapes to show how they connect to the world.
You will need: Paper, pencils, coloured pencils or craft materials.
How to do it:
- In the smallest circle, draw yourself or write your name.
- In the next circle, draw or write about your home.
- In the next circle, show your street, neighbourhood or local community.
- Add your town, suburb or city.
- Add Australia.
- In the largest circle, represent the world.
Children can decorate each section with pictures, symbols or words that represent each place.
Adapt it for different ages:
- Foundation–Year 2: Draw pictures and talk about each place with a parent.
- Years 3–4: Label each circle and write a sentence describing what makes each place special.
- Years 5–6: Add geographical information and explain how local, national and global communities are connected.
Think and discuss: Which place is most important to you? Can you belong to more than one community?
Activity 2: Where in the World Am I?
Explore how places fit inside larger geographical areas.
You will need: A globe or world map, an atlas or map resource, and paper.
Work together to locate these places, moving from the most familiar to the largest scale.
- Your home or local area
- Your suburb, town or city
- Your state or territory
- Australia
- The continent of Australia
- The seven continents
- The world's oceans
Explain that maps help us represent places and understand where things are located.
Challenge: Can you find where you live on a map and then trace a route from your home to another place you know?
For older children: Investigate the difference between a country and a continent. Australia is a country, and in the commonly taught seven-continent model, it is also the name used for the continent that includes the Australian mainland and nearby islands. Some geographical models use different continent groupings.
Activity 3: Build My Community
What makes a community a place where people can live, learn, work and play?
Children will design and build a model of a community using recycled materials, building blocks, LEGO or a drawing.
You will need: Recycled boxes, paper, pencils, building blocks or craft materials.
Include places such as:
- Homes
- Roads and footpaths
- Parks and playgrounds
- Shops and businesses
- Schools and libraries
- Health services
- Places where people gather
Ask children to think about what people need in a community and how different places help people.
Extend the activity:
- Younger children can build a simple town and name its places.
- Middle primary children can add roads, symbols and a map key.
- Older children can plan a sustainable community, consider accessibility and explain why they placed particular services where they did.
Think and discuss: What would your community be like without parks, roads or places to buy food? What could make a community more welcoming for everyone?
Activity 4: Homes Around the World
Homes look different around the world. They can be influenced by climate, available materials, family needs, culture, local environments and personal preferences.
Explore different types of homes, such as apartments, townhouses, houses on stilts, rural homes and homes designed for very hot or cold environments.
Your investigation:
- Look at pictures of homes from different places.
- Choose two homes to compare.
- Identify similarities and differences.
- Consider how the environment might influence their design.
- Draw or design a home suited to a particular environment.
Age adaptations:
- Foundation–Year 2: Draw your home and identify what makes it a safe and comfortable place.
- Years 3–4: Compare two homes and explain some reasons for their differences.
- Years 5–6: Research how climate, geography, materials and community needs influence housing design.
Emphasise that there is no single type of home that represents a country or culture. People within the same community can live in many different ways.
Activity 5: My Special Places Map
Maps can show more than roads and buildings. They can also represent places that are meaningful to us.
Invite children to create a map showing places that matter to them.
Their map might include:
- Their home
- A favourite park or outdoor space
- A library or local shop
- A place where they learn
- Somewhere they enjoy visiting
- A place where they spend time with people they care about
Children can add symbols, labels, a title and a simple map key.
For older children: Include a compass direction, approximate distances or a route between two locations.
Reflection: Why did you choose these places? How do the people and experiences connected to them make them special?
Privacy note: Children can use an imaginary location or a general neighbourhood rather than including their exact home address.
Activity 6: The Seven Continents Challenge
Learn about the seven continents:
- Asia
- Africa
- North America
- South America
- Antarctica
- Europe
- Australia
Use a world map or printable outline map to locate and label each continent.
Choose a challenge:
- Match continent names to their locations.
- Colour each continent a different colour.
- Choose one continent and discover three interesting facts.
- Research an animal, landmark or landscape found on each continent.
- Create a travel journal imagining a journey across the world.
For younger children: Focus on recognising Australia and becoming familiar with the shapes and names of the continents.
For older children: Compare continents by size, climate, population or geographical features using an atlas or reliable reference source.
Activity 7: What Makes a Place Special?
A place is more than a location on a map. It can hold memories, stories, traditions and connections.
Invite children to choose a place that is meaningful to them. It could be a beach, garden, grandparent's home, favourite walking track or somewhere they have travelled.
They can create one of the following:
- A drawing or painting
- A photo collage
- A short story
- A descriptive paragraph
- A spoken presentation
- A mini poster titled A Place That Matters to Me
Encourage children to describe what the place looks, sounds or feels like, what happens there and why it matters to them.
Extension for Years 5–6: Explore how different people may feel differently about the same place and how people's experiences shape their connection to it.
Activity 8: Our Place, Our Responsibility
Explore how people can care for the places they live and visit.
Discuss simple ways to look after homes, neighbourhoods and the natural environment.
Children could:
- Design a poster encouraging people to care for a local park.
- Create a list of ways to reduce waste at home.
- Identify a small improvement they could make to their learning space.
- Plan a family nature walk and discuss how to leave the area as they found it.
- Draw a picture of what they would like their community to look like in the future.
Big question: What can we do to help the places we belong to stay healthy, safe and welcoming?
Optional family excursion
Take a walk around your local community. Look for homes, parks, shops, public spaces, natural features and places where people gather.
Invite your child to notice what makes the area unique. You could take photos, sketch interesting features or add new places to their My Special Places Map when you return home.
Connecting This Theme to My Workbooks
Would you like to extend this week's learning? You can connect My Place in the World with activities in your At Home Education Support with Emma workbooks.
You don't need to complete every activity. Simply choose the pages that complement what your child is exploring this week.
Foundation
- Maths: Space 1: Positional Language and Play with Maths: Map Maker — useful for describing where places are and creating a simple map.
- English — suggested connection: Read a picture book about homes, families or communities. Draw a favourite place and label it with familiar words.
- Generic workbook pages: Letter formation, beginning sounds, oral language and drawing-to-writing activities.
Year 1
- Maths: Space 1: Follow the Directions — use positional language to describe a familiar place.
- HASS: Worksheet 6: My Family and Community — connect directly to the people and places that make up a child's world.
- English — suggested connection: Write two or three sentences about a favourite place, using describing words and capital letters and full stops.
- Generic workbook pages: Sentence writing, handwriting, spelling, reading comprehension and oral retelling.
Year 2
- English: Use the Term 1 reading goals around characters, settings and discussing texts to explore how a place influences a story.
- Writing: Write a description of a meaningful place, explaining why it is special.
- Generic workbook pages: Reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling patterns, sentence construction and editing.
- Optional extension: Compare two homes or communities from different books.
Year 3
- English — suggested connection: Read a narrative and identify how the setting is described.
- Writing: Create a short descriptive paragraph about the local area, using specific nouns, adjectives and location words.
- Generic workbook pages: Reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, paragraph writing and editing.
- Optional extension: Write directions from home to a familiar landmark. This pairs English with the mapping activity.
Year 4
- HASS: Significance of Place, especially Worksheet 5: Mapping Local Heritage Sites
- English — suggested connection: Write an information report about a local landmark, community place or cultural site.
- Generic workbook pages: Information texts, comprehension, paragraph organisation, vocabulary and proofreading.
- Optional extension: Write a persuasive paragraph explaining why a local place should be protected.
Year 5
- English: Writing 1: Descriptive Writing and Writing 2: Expanded Noun Groups from the Term 1 workbook are good options for describing a place in detail.
- Reading: Use a narrative, memoir or information text about a community or place.
- Generic workbook pages: Reading analysis, vocabulary, spelling, sentence structure and editing.
- Optional extension: Write a short piece titled A Place That Shaped Me.
Year 6
- HASS/identity: What Shapes Our Identity? and My Identity Map are strong thematic connections.
- English: Use the Term 1 reading goals around visual texts, imagery and making connections.
- Writing: Create a reflective piece about how family, community, experiences and places shape identity.
- Generic workbook pages: Comprehension, paragraph writing, complex sentences, vocabulary and editing.
Make It Work for Your Child
Your child doesn't need to complete extra workbook pages just because we're exploring a new theme. If you're already working through your regular workbook, look for natural connections and use them to extend the learning you're doing together.
Remember: The Weekly Homeschool Hub is designed to complement your homeschool, not add pressure to it. Choose what works for your family and enjoy learning together.
Australian Curriculum connections
This theme offers opportunities to explore elements of the Australian Curriculum Version 9, particularly:
- Geography: Places, spaces, maps, location, environments and connections between people and places.
- English: Speaking and listening, descriptive writing, information texts and presentations.
- Mathematics: Spatial reasoning, position, direction, measurement and data representation.
- Civics and Citizenship: Community participation, belonging and shared responsibilities, where appropriate to the year level.
The depth and specific curriculum links will vary by year level, so use the activities as flexible starting points rather than expecting every child to complete every task.
End-of-week reflection
Finish the week by chatting about what your child discovered.
- What did you learn about your place in the world?
- How are your home and community connected to other places?
- What makes a place special to you?
- What would you like to discover about another place?
Optional final project: Create a My Place in the World poster combining a personal drawing, a small map, a picture of Australia and a few sentences about the places that matter most.
The most important message this week is that we all have connections to places, people and communities — and those connections help shape our experiences of the world.
Share Your Child’s Work 🌏
We would love to see how your family explores this week’s theme, My Place in the World!
Whether your child creates a map, draws their favourite place, builds a model, completes a workbook activity or discovers something new about their community, we would love to celebrate their learning with you.
Share your child’s work by sending me a message or posting it in our private Facebook community group. You can share photos, drawings, written work, creations or simply tell us about something interesting your child discovered.
There is no right or wrong way to participate, and you certainly don’t need to complete every activity. We love seeing the different ways families explore each theme and make learning their own!
I can’t wait to see what your little learners get up to this week! 💛