Frequently Asked Questions

Ordering the Honey Ant Readers

How do I Order Online?
Personal shoppers can order online at The Honey Ant Reader’s Online Shop.

If you have a Corporate or Wholesale order or inquiry, please email: margaret@honeyant.com.au with the nature of your inquiry.

What is the Minimum Quantity that I can order?
There is no minimum order requirement, however the cost of freight, particularly for International customers, is more cost-effective when several items are purchased.

Are there discounts for Bulk Orders?
Yes. Please refer to the online shop for details or contact HAR at email: margaret@honeyant.com.au.

What Method of Payment do you accept?
Personal payments will be taken at the time of ordering and no deliveries will be dispatched unless payment is received in full. Wholesale and Institutional orders will be dispatched on receipt of an acceptable and official order number. We accept the following methods of payment for online purchases:

  • Paypal
  • Direct transfer

When will my Order be Sent?
We will process your order within seven days of receipt of payment, and mail it to the address you have provided. You will be contacted if there is any reason for your order to be delayed. When you shop in the HAR Online Store, we invite you to click on the Freight Charges button during the Check-Out process. Where possible this will give you the relevant postage and charges and corresponding delivery times for the items in your Shopping Cart.

Can I order from Anywhere in the World?
Yes, you can order online as long as the customs restrictions in your country allow the entry of our products.

Can I Buy the The Honey Ant Readers in Bookstores?
Yes.

  • The Red Kangaroo Bookshop, Todd Mall, Alice Springs
  • Dymocks Bookshop, Alice Plaza,  Alice Springs

Can I find the HAR in my Local Library?
They are in most NT libraries and some interstate libraries. They are also in several school and university libraries. Please ask your librarian to order a set if you do not have any in your local library.

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Using the Honey Ant Readers

What makes the Readers Work?
That’s a difficult question! What we do know is that they ARE working. Many adults and young people are learning to read when before they were not.

When I ask Indigenous people they say it’s because the books ‘talk’ the way they do and that’s good for their kids. Their kids can’t relate to most books in schools and libraries and lose interest quickly.

They also often tell me that it makes them feel proud to read their stories and their language – and for once they are the ones explaining the books to their teachers and class mates, not the other way round.

Where are the HAR being used?
In all the states of Australia! In schools, libraries, women’s shelters, child care centres, youth centres and private homes.

Are these Readers just for kids? What Age Group are the HAR Suitable for?
The HAR are written to assist beginner readers of all ages with their print literacy. Young children, primary school age children, teenagers, young adults and mature age leaners are using the HAR with success beyond all expectations.

The HAR reading levels are not linked to age but to individual progress. Themes in the books cover traditional Indigenous activities and stories passed down through the generations.  Older readers are therefore comfortable reading books  without being made to feel ‘childlike’.

Can young Indigenous men use the HAR as an early reading program?
Yes. They are being used very successfully in South Australia and the Northern Terrritory.

Are the HAR only suitable for Indigenous learners?
No. Students from all ethnic and geographical backgrounds are enjoying learning to read from the HAR. Indigenous learners are the primary audience, though, as the first series is written  in language sympathetic to Aboriginal English (AE), which is spoken across Australia between Indigenous people

The HAR are written this way to help speakers of AE across Australia to learn to read, and also to give them confidence  and pride in the way they speak by recognising it and bringing it into the classroom in a written form.

Are you introducing these readers to mainstream students?
Yes. They help to open the discussion about AE, which so many Australians speak, and to introduce mainstream Australian students to Central Australian Indigenous culture. Becoming aware of ‘Indigenous Australia’ at a young age is a great way to prevent prejudice and promote better understanding between young people.

We have developed our own Resources to go with the HAR and would like to share them with other HAR users. Can we send you our Ideas to Help other Teachers?
Yes, thank you. That would be wonderful. We would then put those on the webpage for other teachers to use, acknowledging where they came from. Every new idea that helps students learn to read is a good one! Every good ready-made resource is a great help to teachers!

Are more Activities being Developed?

Yes. The scope for this project is enormous and is moving in exciting directions as interest and enthusiasm increase from those using the books and from government and non-government organisations involved in Indigenous education.

Members of the Yipirinya School community recently translated the books into their languages, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara and Yankuntjatjara and Central Arrernte.  Other communities in NT and WA have expressed interest in having the books translated into their languages.

In time the books will also be adapted for a coastal audience.

Activity books, a learners writing book, a significant song and rhyme book teaching every sound in English at the beginning middle and end of words, board games, a recipe book and SAE versions of the books are all in the making.

Can Nanas be shown how to Teach the Kids using these Books?
Yes. Thank you for this question. I love it! In many Children’s Services across Central Australia nanas are currently using these books with very little children.

In some cases the nanas themselves haven’t had much experience of reading, so they find the books accessible as well. They read the books to the children but in doing so are also teaching them to read. A few 3 year olds are reading the first HAR independently and not by memorizing the words!

What Ideas do you have for Activities with the Cards? My students are in Year 1.
The game I love to watch being played between a teacher and child is ‘memory’. The teacher turns the cards upside down and spreads them out – using  only the cards that the students can read or speak about.  They take turns to flip a card over, and to find a match for it. If they find the correct pair they keep the cards. The one with the most cards  at the end of the game is the winner. In most cases the student ‘beats’ the teacher as they have such fantastic visual memories! The success makes them want to play again of course! Matching, snap, ‘Simon Says’, flash card games are all suitable. I recommend you have 2 sets as this way you have a matching pair of each of the 180 cards. There are many ideas for the way you can use the cards in the HAR Teacher’s Handbook, which will be on sale early in 2011.

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Professional Development for those teaching Indigenous students

Can  Margaret Visit our School?
Yes, professional development is available and Margaret would be delighted to visit your school.

Will Margaret be available as a Guest Lecturer to our B.Ed students?
Yes please contact her directly to discuss availability and topics.

Can I call Margaret for Help or Guidance?
Margaret is happy to talk to customers about the books and reading program and to offer support via email or phone.

Can Margaret help our Community to Develop our own Early Readers?
Margaret is available to assist with similar projects in other regions of Australia.
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Becoming involved with the Honey Ant Reading Program and its Development

Can I Donate to this Project?
Donations supporting the development and publication of early readers for Indigenous leaners, as well as individual reading tuition for the students can be made to:  Honey Ant Readers Project,  c/o The Principal,  Yipirinya School, Lovegrove Drive Alice Springs. Telephone the Principal on +61 8 89525 633.

Donors may nominate a particular HAR project they wish to support, for example:  Sponsor a Honey Ant Reader, Sponsor a supporting book (for example, a song book), Professional Development, costs of printing, research, translation of the HAR into an Indigenous language, or sponsor printing and development of teachers’ resources.

How can I Help or Volunteer?
There are opportunities to become involved in the HAR project. Please email Margaret at margaret@honeyant.com.au with any enquiries.

I am a postgraduate student studying Linguistics/Education.  Can I spend time with you?
Yes, please contact me directly so that we can discuss your needs and how I may be able to help you.
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