![WA children have taken to the game with gusto.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/c/1/g/o/image.related.landscape.380x253.gwc1jq.png/1495609044314.jpg)
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![Christian Bucks with his 'buddy bench'.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/z/8/v/0/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.2z8uv.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
Second-grader stamps out loneliness in the playground with a 'buddy bench'
Christian Bucks, a second-grader from York in America, came up with a heart-warming idea to ensure children in his schoolyard need never feel lonely again.
![index](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/1/q/o/p/9/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.1qoo3.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
What is your child’s learning style?
Just like personalities, people have different learning styles. By understanding how your child learns you can help them get the most out of their schooling.
![naplan](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/1/y/e/q/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.1yhcc.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
![ethics](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/f/k/7/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.2fk5p.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
![engaged school child](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/o/m/0/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.2olw5.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
![Overworked Kids](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/2/o/f/8/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.2orcg.gjzq9j.png/1444092976992.jpg)
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Your parent-teacher interview survival guide
How are your parent-teacher interview skills?
![A parliamentary inquiry has been told of bullying in schools.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/g/s/i/m/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw505l.png/1494976913559.jpg)
'Having their nipples pinched': harrowing accounts of school bullying
Parents pay a high price for home educating children with a disability whose needs are not met by schools.
![MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 14: Young boy Sidney practices the trumpet and piano at home in Fitzroy on May 14, 2017 in ...](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/4/p/j/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw4eec.png/1494902757206.jpg)
New study demonstrates link between music and statistical learning
Children exposed to at least a year and a half of private music lessons have an edge when it comes to detecting patterns in the world around us, with musical instrument training making their brains better at statistical learning.
![Jamie Oliver is in Melbourne to promote his Learn Your Fruit and Veg program for primary school students](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/h/z/6/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw3rwn.png/1494803331618.jpg)
Jamie Oliver wants to 'edit out massive ignorance' in our schools
Jamie Oliver is on a mission to spread propaganda through Australian schools.
![<i></i>](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/9/e/g/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw39qk.png/1494949772653.jpg)
'It's like boot camp': students ordered to walk with hands behind backs
Some school rules make more sense than others, but this new edict is has angered parents.
![Norway's Queen Sonja and King Harald with their family. Prince Sverre Magnus is second from right.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/5/f/5/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw354p.png/1494558997191.jpg)
Prince of Norway playfully 'dabs' during royal ceremony
The Prince of Norway has achieved internet virality after "dabbing" at an official ceremony earlier this week.
![It's important to teach children that "boredom" is a normal state of human emotions.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/2/a/0/e/image.related.landscape.300x200.gw2a3c.png/1494549098189.jpg)
Fidget spinners detract from the value of children experiencing boredom
Children's brains, especially those in 'fidgety' ones, have been rewired to expect instant gratification.
![Only a quarter of students surveyed at Allambie Heights Public School said they liked doing homework, which partly led ...](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/u/p/9/q/image.related.landscape.300x200.gvub8q.png/1493638400099.jpg)
How a Sydney school solved the homework problem
Teachers have gotten hours back in the classroom and students are more engaged since Allambie Heights Public School stopped giving homework.
![Students with disabilities were given hours to apply for laptop access during NAPLAN, after the Victorian curriculum ...](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/d/i/9/u/image.related.landscape.300x200.gvunuv.png/1494961654366.jpg)
Why only some boys are better at maths
Girls are better at literacy from the age of 4 but boys aren't any better at maths until the age of 8, according to a new study of NAPLAN data that has major implications for parents and teachers.
![<i></i>](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/u/q/h/t/image.related.landscape.300x200.gvuqud.png/1493737515031.jpg)
The note every kid wishes their mum would write
Bunmi Laditan, the woman behind the hugely successful The Honest Toddler, wrote a letter to her 10-year-old daughter Maya's teachers saying she was "drastically reducing the amount of homework she does this year".
![WA teachers are at odds with parents.](/web/20170528105807im_/http://www.essentialkids.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/0/0/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.gvtw49.png/1493341817015.jpg)
Parents behaving badly: WA teachers hit out at poor treatment
Parents are increasingly siding with their children despite poor grades and bad behaviour, and WA teachers are paying the price.
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