Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I am making a North America continent box. I have the US and Mexico pretty covered and represented. I live in the US and have traveled to Mexico. I am clueless about Canada. I do have the flag. I recently read that amethysts are the official stone of one the providences. (Ontario?) and know about the maple leaf. Other than that I am shamefully ignorant. What best represents Canada? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I would include a map puzzle, there is a north american animal toob if you are looking for animals it includes the beaver and moose, both of which are animals that represent Canada. Perhaps postcards from the various provinces, I could send you one from Alberta and Saskatchewan as soon as I unearth them from my desk. I have a Canadian facts sheet and a Canadian myths revealed sheet I could send you via email too. I include these when I do culture swaps in addition to the postcards and such that I send out. I just started making my continent boxes last week and they are not exactly shaping up how I envisioned because I really want to include little folk art type trinkets and coins of each country both of which are not exactly easy to track down in rural alberta lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Terry Fox, Alberta Oil, untamed wilderness, canola oil, 3 oceans, Parilament hill in Ottawa, poutine, RCMP, French Canada, the natural resource bounty (in the sea, underground, forests, etc.), something that shows the population distribution - how close most people are to the border, information about Stephen Harper and how a political system is different when it has 3 main parties instead of 2. There are also free resources you can download from heritage Canada about all sorts of things - or they send print ones, but I don't know that they send those out of country. I should add - a lot about Canada started to make more sense to me when I watched a documentary on Terry Fox - that is why I put him first. I had heard of him, but I just couldn't understand why someone who got cancer and failed to complete his run across the country was so famous and loved/idolized. There's something to how he approached his journey, and to how Canadians rallied around him, that reflects the Canadian ethos quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 I would include a map puzzle, there is a north american animal toob if you are looking for animals it includes the beaver and moose, both of which are animals that represent Canada. Perhaps postcards from the various provinces, I could send you one from Alberta and Saskatchewan as soon as I unearth them from my desk. I have a Canadian facts sheet and a Canadian myths revealed sheet I could send you via email too. I include these when I do culture swaps in addition to the postcards and such that I send out. I just started making my continent boxes last week and they are not exactly shaping up how I envisioned because I really want to include little folk art type trinkets and coins of each country both of which are not exactly easy to track down in rural alberta lol I have included a map puzzle and moose. PM'ing. Terry Fox, Alberta Oil, untamed wilderness, canola oil, 3 oceans, Parilament hill in Ottawa, poutine, RCMP, French Canada, the natural resource bounty (in the sea, underground, forests, etc.), something that shows the population distribution - how close most people are to the border, information about Stephen Harper and how a political system is different when it has 3 main parties instead of 2. There are also free resources you can download from heritage Canada about all sorts of things - or they send print ones, but I don't know that they send those out of country. I should add - a lot about Canada started to make more sense to me when I watched a documentary on Terry Fox - that is why I put him first. I had heard of him, but I just couldn't understand why someone who got cancer and failed to complete his run across the country was so famous and loved/idolized. There's something to how he approached his journey, and to how Canadians rallied around him, that reflects the Canadian ethos quite well. Population distribution. What a great idea! I will research the free downloads and Terry Fox. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 You want an actual maple leaf, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 What kind of age group is the box for? Is it largely sensorial, or more informational? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 You want an actual maple leaf, of course. I have an origami one in at the moment. (I know, I know, origami is not North American, but the kids are familiar with this particular origami leaf and it is all I have on hand.) We will be looking for a real one. What kind of age group is the box for? Is it largely sensorial, or more informational? All ages. I figure the younger children will enjoy looking at the information even if it is over their heads and the older children won't mind the extra fun visuals. Actually, I hadn't thought about this before your reply. Would you suggest making separate ones for older children and younger or just one that includes a variety? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I thought of a few more things - A beaver pelt (probably a pretend one, but :)) - significant historically, beaver is still the national animal Something having to do with the first nations - depending on which part of Canada, there are very different cultural items. The difference between the way the Canadian government and the US government currently handle first nations (indian) issues is quite interesting as well, IMO. The Canadian PM has a minister on his cabinet for Indian and Northern Affairs, and there are still many active communities and treaty negotiations. Perhaps there is more going on along those lines in the US than I knew as a child, but I know it is prominent here. Along the lines of natural resources and first nations, salmon and their life cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'm interested to know what a continent box is. Could you post a picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 I thought of a few more things - A beaver pelt (probably a pretend one, but :)) - significant historically, beaver is still the national animal Something having to do with the first nations - depending on which part of Canada, there are very different cultural items. The difference between the way the Canadian government and the US government currently handle first nations (indian) issues is quite interesting as well, IMO. The Canadian PM has a minister on his cabinet for Indian and Northern Affairs, and there are still many active communities and treaty negotiations. Perhaps there is more going on along those lines in the US than I knew as a child, but I know it is prominent here. Along the lines of natural resources and first nations, salmon and their life cycle. Pelts! Yes. Being a person with Native American ancestry this is a topic very near and dear to my heart. I will look into this, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'm interested to know what a continent box is. Could you post a picture? It's a montessori thing, but if you go on pintrest and type in continent box you will get lots of ideas. Basically each continent has a box that has items, coins, trinkets, books, worksheets etc that introduce the countries in that continent. YOu do not have to cover all countries but enough to give a true representation of what living on that continent would be like. Anyone organizing continent boxes, I can put together another 2-3 more Canadian culture packages for you to include if you want to swap, Particularily people who could do so for countries other than the USA and Canada. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Montessori continent boxes are a really neat way to immerse yourself in a culture. I have just recently learned about them, but I think they are brilliant. This blog gives some good examples for each continent. http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/WorldGeography.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 It's a montessori thing, but if you go on pintrest and type in continent box you will get lots of ideas. Basically each continent has a box that has items, coins, trinkets, books, worksheets etc that introduce the countries in that continent. YOu do not have to cover all countries but enough to give a true representation of what living on that continent would be like. Interesting thanks. I did look on pinterest. I had never heard of these before. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Those are so cool! My older kids went to Montessori for years and I've never heard of the boxes. Edited: sorry for the completely unhelpful post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 some ideas... we also put 3-part cards of regional artists in our boxes- in our Canada box we have modern and traditional art by Native artists and non-native folk artists. Dd has also created recipe cards for regional foods for each box. And just cause it makes our hearts feel squishy we have pictures of mothers and babies or families from the region in each box. Also coins and stamps of course, Some boys like sports cards 3-part or just hockey cards or whatever from Canadian teams we are doing a geology unit this year and came across this poster http://www.mineralogicalassociation.ca/poster/doc/AffMinerals.pdf we have rocks and what not in our boxes- for hard to find rocks you can often find beads at bead or craft stores from certain regions made from local material. plus you need little cowboy and horse set for the Calgary stampede :) Definitely going to include currency or at least photocopies of currency. I hadn't thought about sports. I love the hive! My kids are 4-12 and our shelf is constantly used. Even big kids like little collections..half our rocks and coins came from dh so I don't think age is an issue :) Don't try to make multiple boxes just put in a variety of stuff and have a few resources for older kids to go off on a tangent and learn more independently. I have the boxes low down with younger aged games then , map puzzles and older kid games then on top are books for each region plus general geography books. That was my original thought. I am glad it works so well. Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 If you're interested in a strong representation for the First Nations, then add in something about Lacrosse, the national sport of Canada which is also a traditional Native sport. Don't forget the coast to coast to coast aspect: East coast: Ceilidh (traditional social gathering w/music - fiddle for sure, food, drinks), Lobster trap, Cod fish Far north, Arctic Ocean: Polar bears, Inuit, Kayaks, Inukshuks West coast: Totem poles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 If you're interested in a strong representation for the First Nations, then add in something about Lacrosse, the national sport of Canada which is also a traditional Native sport. Don't forget the coast to coast to coast aspect: East coast: Ceilidh (traditional social gathering w/music - fiddle for sure, food, drinks), Lobster trap, Cod fish Far north, Arctic Ocean: Polar bears, Inuit, Kayaks, Inukshuks West coast: Totem poles Also the name of a very bright young lady :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 A kilt, of course! :D Stompin' Tom Connors music CD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I thought of a few more things - A beaver pelt (probably a pretend one, but :)) - significant historically, beaver is still the national animal Something having to do with the first nations - depending on which part of Canada, there are very different cultural items. The difference between the way the Canadian government and the US government currently handle first nations (indian) issues is quite interesting as well, IMO. The Canadian PM has a minister on his cabinet for Indian and Northern Affairs, and there are still many active communities and treaty negotiations. Perhaps there is more going on along those lines in the US than I knew as a child, but I know it is prominent here. Along the lines of natural resources and first nations, salmon and their life cycle. And on this note many people, including Canadians, don't know that our First Nations have a constitutional right to consultation and accomodation any time the Crown (government owned land) is considering allowing purchase or lease of crown land ....this is significant where I live because there is so much interest in industrial development on crown land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Oh and we have kermode bears where I live. A black bear that's white because of a recessive gene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 We live in the southern tip of Canada. It freaks some Americans out when I tell them I have to drive North to get to the USA. You will want to include a Hudson Bay blanket (or at least a picture of one) to represent the historical impact the Hudson Bay Company had on Canada. You might also want to create a Language map to look at what different languages are represented where across Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 Love the language map idea! I am glad I asked while putting together my first box. There are so many ideas I can use for all of the subsequent boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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