An attentive canine can boost a shy reader’s confidence reports Helen Lewis Since COVID-19 hit British shores, 3.2 million pets have reportedly been purchased. Animals provide a valuable sense of companionship and a wide variety of species, including dogs, cats, fish, birds and horses have helped...

The arrival of two guinea pigs marks the end of Jodie McEwen’s pet procrastination. I’m just not an animal person; love of creatures is not in my nature. My dad tried to pass on his love of animals, so we had rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, birds,...

When a beloved family pet disappears, the hardest thing to cope with is not knowing what happened, explains Gill Canning. It was the first day of the school holidays. “Has anyone seen Ziggy?” I asked my three boys at lunchtime. They shook their heads. No one had...

Not every student needs senior maths, but we can make maths more engaging in the earlier school years, writes John Fischetti. In late 2019, New South Wales announced it would make maths compulsory all through school. Victoria will have an additional, easier, year 12 maths subject...

Australians like their pets, and for most of us by far, the dog remains our best friend, write Associate Professor Luke Smillie and Dr Ferdi Botha For the first time, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey that covers 17,000 Australians annually, has...

We're all ingesting microplastics at home and these might be toxic for our health. Mark Patrick Taylor, Neda Sharifi Soltani and Scott P. Wilson, provide some tips to reduce your risk. Australians are eating and inhaling significant numbers of tiny plastics at home, our new research...

Homeschooling boomed last year, write Rebecca English and Karleen Gribble. But these 4 charts show it was on the rise before COVID Home education, sometimes called homeschooling, is when children are educated outside a formal institution like a school. Parents of home-educated children are wholly responsible for...

Elizabeth Bate is surprised when an unconventional entertainer becomes the hit of the party.  My daughter, Rosie, was desperate to have a fairy party for her fourth birthday. She’s always loved frills, glitter and ribbons; new skirts are assessed on their ability to twirl and everything...

Claire Yezbak Fadden outlines her plan for the perfect party. One month before Set a budget. Determine the number of guests you plan to invite. Choose a location for the event. Decide on a theme. Three weeks before Send out your invitations, be certain to include: –  the...