Exploring Canada

I am doing this post for the Virtual Curriculum Fair hosted by Homeschooling Hearts and Minds.   Today's topic is Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science. This theme can include history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc.

I asked the lad last year what country he would like to learn about this year and he said "Canada".  Being that we live in Canada that makes sense.  It's a good place to start our explorations.

We are using a number of books to helps us along the way.      And I'll do my best to put up pictures and links to them all.   :)   BUT i won't be able to do it for all of them since we go to the library, pick out lots of books on Canada and read them.   Right now we are reading through a book on immigration.    We're have read so many books it's amazing the materials out there.   As we study immigration and it's changes in Canada we've been learning about WHY people come to Canada, and what changes are happening in Canada because of it.  What Canada has to offer people of other cultures and so forth.   This causes lots of questions in a boy child who lives in a very safe neighbourhood and hasn't had to think about poverty, war, disease, over-crowding and such like.

One of the most recent books we read that captured the lad's imagination is one called Cryptic Canada. 

This is a book filled with mysteries about Canada.  Like...the Great Lakes Triangle (much like the more famous Bermuda Triangle).  Mummies in the Artic, Canada's Stonehenge and five other fascinating things about Canada.   We often read as he plays and with this book he'd stop his play, come over look at pictures and ask tons of questions.  Within three days the stories in the book would be added to his play time.  It's so neat to see my seven year old lad learning and incorporating new ideas.

How I've laid our course of study out

When I started out learning about Canada I thought it would be a good idea for the lad to have a bit of grounding on the world first.  To that end we have learned the layers of the earth, learned about the continents and oceans, learned landforms,  taken side paths to study mold, used paper mache to make an earth and a moon, and just so much more.

Then we read a lot of books about the "first nations" people.   I need to do a bit more work in this area.  I've plans to make a chart of the different people and show the lad that where the natives lived in Canada changed how they lived (as in some were farmers cause the land supported that whereas others were more hunters as the lad better suited that lifestyle).   This coming week I hope to build an Indian loghouse with him.  This past fall we went to the bush and collected a bunch of wood (we really needed birch but couldn't find a lot of that).  

Next week he'll be visiting his grandparents and asking them questions about where they came from so we can start building a map of where immigrants come from.  

One of my cousins is into genealogy and he sent us a  big PDF file on the history of my side of the family and it was quite interesting to read.  

Once we are done immigration we'll be looking into the different provinces.  I've captured the lads interest in this by using his favourite "angry birds" as part of our explorations.  He'll be painting rocks, and making collage out of things that the angry birds might like to do and see. 

Resources

Tourism Canada is a wonderful resource.  Finding the tourism boards of all the provinces is helpful.  You email them, they send you nice packets of information.  Full of pics to clip and paste.  :)

Books from the library.   Story books, factual books, just books all about different aspects of Canada and the world.   Read copiously! 

Books purchased that you can write on (I photocopy sheets) and use to make lapbook type pages and what not.   If you get a variety different authors have different ways of approaching the same subject matter.  Variety is good.

Read what other talented bloggers have to say on this topic. :)

Exploring Eastern Cultures with Sonlight by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Cell Unit Study - Mitochondria and Energy by Julie @ Highhill Education

Our Blended Social Studies by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool

2013 Virtual Curriculum Fair-Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science by Leah C @ As We Walk Along the Road

Exploring Canada by Annette @ A Net In Time

Project Passport: The Middle Ages by Missouri Mama @ Ozark Ramblings

Virtual Curriculum Fair- Exploring Our World by Karyn @ Teach Beside Me

Our Absolutely Positively Favorite History Curriculum Ever by Wendy @ Homeschooling Blessings

Science: learning to use what you are given by Piwi Mama @ Learning & Growing the Piwi Way

Historical Significance by Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy

How We Are Exploring Our World as Homechoolers by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

VCF:  Week 3 The Social Sciences by Lisa @ Golden Grasses

A Trip Around the World:  Homeschool-Style by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Virtual Curriculum Fair ~ Exploring Our World: Biology by Dawn @ Guiding Light Homeschool

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Learning about our World  by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory