International Day

How does one share the best of Canada with children ages 3-11 in 30 minutes? It's impossible really. I don't believe one can truly experience all that Canada has to offer without a roadtrip through the rockies, or a drive through the Prairies, or a day in the bustling cities of Toronto or Montreal, or through an adventure in the Maritimes. Canada has so much to offer. How does one choose a single part of it to teach a group of children from a variety of backgrounds about? The answer: nearly impossible.

My answer, considering the time constraints, the ages being dealt with, and my lack of desire to delve too far into something I wouldn't be able to get out of, was simple. With my younger children, ages 7 and under, we learned how to say Bonjour (language: Canadian) and we made hats (thanks Dawn) with the maple leaf as the outstanding feature. Most kids calld it the Canada leaf. That was good enough for me. I wore red and white.... and the classroom was decorated in red and white. This is a picture of the Reception Class (age 4-5) with a mixture of Thai, Norwegian, Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Laotian, and Sri Lankan. Clearly we are not in our normal school uniforms on this day, as children were allowed to dress in costumes from their individual cultures if they so desired.

With Key Stage Two, years 3 through 6, we played some rousing games of ball hockey. Minor injuries occured, but there was no "Bertuzzi" incident... and any injury seemed to be settled with an offer of an ice pack and the promise of a yummy maple candy at the end. (thanks Marg). Really, I had nothing to do with the injuries. I played full on - but was sure to stay clear of injuring any childrenn in the process. They took care of that aspect of the game themselves. This class is a mix of Thai, Japanese, Korean, Swiss, Austrailian and Philipino... many of whom were in traditional dress. It was quite the thing to play hockey, especially with the girls, but they enjoyed it.

Anyway, it was all in good fun. We sang (well, I sang) the national anthem to begin the hockey game and we were off. And I left a messy classroom which is always a sign of good fun. And I had children asking me for more maple candies today. (again - thanks Marg).

The children had a wonderful day of visiting, Australian, the Netherlands, New Zealand, England, Japan, France, Canada, and Thailand.... with passports to go with it. The

Canadian passport stamp was the beaver. How appropriate!