Canada Day

With Canada Day just around the corner, it is a great time to teach children about Canada and the symbols we use to represent our country.
With young children you can start by teaching them to identify a maple leaf. Build on that and teach them what the Canadian flag looks like. With our daughter it has turned into a game when we are driving in the car or walking around in town or even in a store, a bit of a patriotic version of I-spy. It’s also a great idea to teach your child the national anthem, they’ll quickly come to know it and be able to join in when they hear it at events or school.
For older children you can start asking them questions. Ask them why they think the maple leaf was chosen to be on our flag? Why is the Canada flag red and white? You can even ask them to create their own version of the Canada flag; it is neat to see what children associate with our country. It’s also important for school age children to know what provinces, territories and cities are in Canada. We hear a lot of American news here in Canada; it’s important to distinguish between Canada and the United States.
There are many puzzles out there that help teach people about Canada, but a simple way to make one at home is to cut up an old map and have children piece it back together. You could also print out a map of Canada to use as a puzzle if you don’t have an extra map lying around. For beginners, start with a map showing the provinces and as children get older or more experienced you can make it more difficult by using a map illustrating different regions such as climate or topography. To make your puzzles a little sturdier you can glue them onto light cardboard and then cover them in packing tape before cutting the pieces out.
If you are traveling this Canada Day, another great way to teach your family more about the wonderful country we live in is through trivia. To find questions and answers there are endless options, but another great resource is the BrainQuest question and answer packs. These packs are compact and convenient for traveling and cover a wide range in topics. You never know you may even learn something new yourself about the country we call home.
To learn more about the great country that we live in you can also visit the Heritage Canada website at www.pch.gc.ca/ .
There are many exciting activities locally to take part in with our families. It is a wonderful time to come together with our community and celebrate our country.
If you are outside enjoying the day with your friends and families, please put on your hat, sun screen, and drink lots of water. And don’t forget to be proud, I can’t think of a place I would rather raise my family.