ANZAC Day Printables and Activities

Because I’m American (and we are routinely terrible about learning other peoples’ history), I don’t know a lot about ANZAC Day, though I have shared some ANZAC Day activities before. If you’re also unfamiliar, it’s basically considered the Australia and New Zealand version of Memorial Day in the states, and it commemorates the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I.

ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps, and the Battle of Gallipoli was their first engagement in the war. You can learn some of the basics with this mini unit study printable from Simply Creative Learning, which is aimed at kids ages 5-10. It includes history, the ANZAC ode, the story of Simpson and his donkey and why poppies are often seen on ANZAC Day.

(Simpson refers to John Simpson Kirkpatrick, better known as John Simpson, who used donkeys to help carry the wounded away from the battle.)

Peace Through Grace has a free 20 page printable pack for ANZAC Day, which includes reading, writing, science and craft activities, and it uses immersive storytelling to make the facts more real and relatable for kids. This one is also aimed at kids ages 5-10, but you could adapt it for older kids as well.

The Sydney Teacher has a printable pack that includes a poppy to color, comprehension passage about ANZAC biscuits, and a recipe for making them. (ANZAC biscuits were a food that became popular during the war because of their long shelf life.)

Another great learning pack comes from Laughing Kids Learn. This one includes hands on activities, coloring pages and a word scramble, as well as facts, printable posters, writing exercises, comprehension worksheets and more. You can buy it direct from her Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Little Learner Hub on Teachers Pay Teachers also has an activity for making ANZAC biscuits, which includes the recipe and a worksheet where kids can describe the process.

If you want to dig more into the stories of ANZAC Day in a way that’s appropriate for kids, check out this picture book list from A Few Small Adventures.

Growing Up Ladybug and How to Become a Butterfly are both by Stepanka Sekaninova and illustrated by Linh Dao, and they came out at the same time and are on similar themes, so let’s look at them together.

Growing Up Ladybug is narrated by Mariella, a seven-spot ladybug. She talks about the parts of a ladybug, where they live, different kinds of ladybugs, why humans love them, their defenses against predators and the life cycle of a ladybug.

The drawings are cute if not always scientifically accurate, it’s not in such a way that’s likely to confuse kids (who probably already know that ladybug mamas don’t push their larval babies around in strollers, for instance.

It’s a good general description of the life cycle of a lady bug and why we like having them around.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Albatross Media. Suggested retail price $16.95.

Similarly, How to Become a Butterfly covers the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with caterpillars eating burning nettle leaves. (Here Amanda is the narrator.) The book talks about a few of the more than 18,000 daytime butterflies in the world as well as other creatures that live in the meadow (there’s that ladybug again, along with crickets, bees and other bugs).

It also covers some of the enemies of caterpillars like wasps and spiders, and the defenses that caterpillars use to try to prevent being eaten. It illustrates how caterpillars grow and change as they molt and prepare to pupate, and what a caterpillar looks like before and while it is forming its chrysalis. And while the book uses the word metamorphasis it doesn’t really talk about what happens between the caterpillar forming a chrysalis and the butterfly hatching.

This butterfly is a peacock butterfly, and once it hatches the book covers the parts of a butterfly and the life cycle. It also talks about nocturnal moths (though it says nocturnal butterflies are “usually called moths” when moths are actually a different species) and what butterflies do at night.

I’m maybe a little hard on this book because my daughter is a butterfly expert from way back, but it is still cute and good for the very basic basics of the butterfly life cycle.

Both books would be fun additions to your bookshelf for younger kids starting to learn about different animals or who have an interest in insects.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Albatross Media. Suggested retail price $16.95.

Have you read?

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