Calling All Canadians!

[mimisgirl]

I really need your help!

My kiddos and I have been back at homeschooling regularly the last two months (hence the reason I have less time to play here with you all)
but it has been really good.

Unfortunately I am totally disgusted with my curriculum's attempt at a Canada Unit. It only briefly skimmed the Canadian Native Americans had us do some map exercises and then some ridiculous little crafts that I found really stupid.

There was nothing really to it and I feel that we have not learned anything about Canada. We have been doing some research online and I know some things from past friendships and online conversations, but I feel that they would enjoy learning about Canada so much more from people who actually live there, but just by me telling them what I know and find out.

SOOO, I was wondering, would anyone who is ACTUALLY a Canadian (or lived there in the past) be willing to share what they think is the BEST - MOST IMPORTANT - Or MOST INTERESTING thing about their country?!

My kids actually like to learn real facts about countries - maybe because they have grown up overseas in about 4 countries, I dunno - but they really want to learn about the REAL Canada, not just do cutesy crafts and call it a day. We are open to personal experiences, photographs, blog articles, whatever you think foreigners SHOULD KNOW about Canada, or whatever you just want to share.

I also had them compile a list of things they wanted to learn about just in case anyone wants to help but has no idea where to start.

My Kiddos (ages 7 & 11) are interested in learning about the following topics regarding Canada

1. National Monuments, Memorials, Parks, Favorite in-country Vacation spots
2. Natural Wonders, Geographical Formations
3. Weather Patterns in different parts of the country (our book said it was "cold in the winter and warm in the summer" - umm, WHAT?)
4. Wildlife - what is your favorite, where does it live, do they bother the people?
5. Government - Yes, my kids are interested in this, we currently live under a monarchy, have been in a communist country and lived under a military junta for 8 years so they (particularity the oldest) find government and politics interesting (a little scary as a mother sometimes)
6. Languages spoken (our book said nothing about French - argh!)
7. Major Industries
8. Past-time, entertainment
9. Best things about various cities (they want to know where they should ask me to take them )
10. people facts - where did people come from, where do most live, etc.

Anyway, thanks so much in advance to anyone willing to be a quick tutor - we REALLY appreciate it!

 

[Lynne-Marie]

Wow! I'm shocked that your book didn't mention anything about French! We live in Quebec City where people are stubbornly French and many resist learning English (kind of a challenge as an English teacher). I think it would be great to talk about the whole French-English history and the present-day battle for separation. A trip to Quebec City would be an amazing way to discover more about Canada, seeing that it is the cradle of the country. It is the oldest city in the country... a great place to study both history and politics.

 

[jaye]

I live in southwestern Ontario, we do get snow but not like places a few hours north of me (except last year, it was crazy). Our summers are hot and humid.

We have two official languages, French and English. Students in school are required to take French all through elementary and one credit in secondary school. Where I am is mostly English speaking, however they do play the anthem in a mix of both languages.

Politically is it a democracy here with a Prime Minister and though we are part of the monarchy the Queen is basically just a figurehead with the Governor General representing her in parliament. There are three major political parties--Conservative, Liberal and New Democrat. There are Federal representatives and Provincial representatives, those would be like the US state senators.

Past times--why hockey of course

getting ready for work now but I will gladly chime in with more later if you like

 

[AnneofAlamo]

I am not Canadian, but a homeschooler, and love your determination! Go mom!

 

[Lindzee]

Absolutely agree with Lynne-Marie. You need one whole section just on the province of Quebec. As an expat American - I arrived in Canada thinking it was all Mounties and polar bears. Let the students, research the Battle on the Plains of Abraham - this was a very decisive battle in determining the future of a lot of North America. Then look up the battle of Platsburgh - which is in the States, but the war was with Canada...

Quebec is one of the most interesting places in North America. The culture is French and very European - totally unlike the rest of NA. Google Bill 101 and study the language laws and how they are applied in Quebec vs the rest of Canada. There is a whole period of history in the late 60's when Quebec's wish to separate became violent and that is a good study of personal rights vs government.

And I think I would call Canada a Social Democracy - its not quite the same as the states. Social health care is interesting also - compare with what Obama care is doing in the states...

 

[jaye]

Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Its common border with the United States forms the world's longest land border. Our population is 34,207,000 with an area of 9,976,140.00 sq. km and to put that in perspective Thailand has a population of 65,525,062 with an area of 514,000.00 sq. km. We are big but much of the country is uninhabitable due to weather and access.

As for places to see Niagara Falls is an amazing wonder and if you like wine, Niagara on the Lake is perfect. Quebec City is beautiful and Montreal is full of hustle and bustle. I am ashamed to say that I have seen more of the US than I have of my own country...size is a big factor. I can be in Orlando Florida in 18 hours but it would take me 21 hours to drive to Nova Scotia.

1. National Monuments, Memorials, Parks, Favorite in-country Vacation spots
Niagara Falls, lots of old Forts, Parliament Hill in Ottawa

2. Natural Wonders, Geographical Formations
we have some amazing Mountain formations--the Rockies, the Appalacians

3. Weather Patterns in different parts of the country (our book said it was "cold in the winter and warm in the summer" - umm, WHAT?)
this varies depending on what part of the country you live in, where I am is hot and humid in summer, cold in winter and snow it depends, last year's snowfall was one we haven't seen in 30 years

4. Wildlife - what is your favorite, where does it live, do they bother the people?
I live in an urban area but we do have quite a lot of deer, other than that your usual rabbits, squirrels, ducks and of course Canada geese.

5. Government - Yes, my kids are interested in this, we currently live under a monarchy, have been in a communist country and lived under a military junta for 8 years so they (particularity the oldest) find government and politics interesting (a little scary as a mother sometimes)
think I answered most of that in my first post.

6. Languages spoken (our book said nothing about French - argh!)
we are a bilingual country, French is taught in all schools here in Ontario and everything is labelled with both languages.

7. Major Industries
Agriculture--wheat and grains, Energy--oil and natural gas, Services--retail, business, health and education and Manufacturing--auto industry, tool and die

8. Past-time, entertainment
hockey is huge here. Other than that I would say the same as the US

9. Best things about various cities (they want to know where they should ask me to take them )
I would say my little town We are a small historical town on the banks of Lake Erie and Detroit River. We were part of the Underground Railway and the Rum Runners. Toronto is full of hustle and bustle with theaters, the CN tower, Hockey Hall of Fame. Niagara Falls I have already mentioned.

10. people facts - where did people come from, where do most live, etc
originally Canada was inhabited by the Aboriginal People or collectively referred to as First Nations, this includes the Metis, Inuit and Indians. We are a diverse country with many different cultures. There is a large British influence here as well. I am a first generation Canadian with my parents immigrating here back in the 60's.
Ontario is the most populated province in Canada with Quebec coming in second and British Columbia third, although Alberta is really booming due to the oil fields etc.

hope that helps a bit

 

[bcgal00]

I'm working right now but when I take a break later I'll answer a few of your questions. I'm in Vancouver, BC.

 

[MelanieB]

Geography
Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world & spans across 6 time zones! The southernmost point of Canada is Middle Island in Lake Eerie ... and it is just south of California's northern border! Canada is made up of 10 provinces & 3 territories. Almost 90% of the population lives within 160 km (roughtly 1 1/2-2 hours) of the U.S. border. We now have "Black Friday" sales in Canada not because of Thanksgiving (we celebrate Thanksgiving in October), but because Canadian retailers want to keep Canadians from travelling across the border to spend their money! Almost 60% of the population lives in a small area between the cities of Windsor & Quebec City.

The capital city is Ottawa, but the largest city is Toronto.

The tallest mountain is Mt. Logan in the Yukon, and the largest lake is Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories (two Great Lakes are larger, but they are partially in the U.S.). Another fun fact: according to Wikipedia, the Great Lakes water system (5 lakes on the border between Ontario & the US) is the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth and "contains 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume" and the combined surface area "is roughly equal to the size of the U.K." Thank you, Wikipedia!

Government
The CIA World Factbook describes Canada as a parlimentary democracy, a federation, & a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of England is Canada's Head of State (we are still part of the British Commonwealth). She is represented in Canada by the Governor General in a largely ceremonial & constitutional role. The Governor General is technically the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces. Again, this is largely ceremonial and most of the federal power lies with the Head of Government, which is the Prime Minister.

We don't vote directly for the Prime Minister. Canada is a parliamentary democracy & a representative democracy. The entire country is divided into geographical electoral districts called ridings. Everyone who lives in a riding votes for their local Member of Parliament (MP). The party that has the most MPs forms the government. The leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.

Canada is a relatively young country. Although there were European settlements as far back as the late 16th century (and it is now believed that the Vikings were actually the first Europeans to arrive on the east coast in the early 1000s), the British colonies in Canada didn't become a unified country until 1867 (and the last colony didn't join Confederation until 1949). During the American Civil War the colonies of Upper & Lower Canada (Ontario & Quebec) were worried that Britain wouldn't defend them if the Americans tried to invade (again), and they thought they would be a stronger country if all the colonies joined together (that was the basic premise of a documentary on the CBC anyway). The Americans did invade Canada once before as part of the larger War of 1812 against the British. Many people living in Upper Canada (Ontario) at that time were actually Americans loyal to the British who fled north during the American Revolution. (They were given the name "United Empire Loyalists" in Canada!) The Americans thought capturing Upper Canada would be easy since most people were Americans, but they were wrong!

Culture
Our National Day is Canada Day on July 1. It's the anniversary of the day the Canadian constitution came into effect in 1867.

We spell like the British: theatre, favourite, colour, etc.

We use the metric system, and we drive on the right-hand side of the road.

The French spoken in Quebec is very different from the French spoken in France. The basic grammatical structure is the same, but a lot of words are different, as is the accent. I studied French in Paris for a few weeks. My teacher told me that there was once a documentary about Celine Dion & her family on TV in France. Her family needed subtitles when they spoke because nobody in France could understand their accent. I read somewhere that the French spoken in Quebec is closer to the French spoken by the early French settlers in Canada, and that it was mainly a peasant dialect. I asked a girl from Quebec about this once, and she got so angry she knocked her drink over!

Most people who live outside of Quebec don't really need to speak French. We all have to learn it in school, and it's one of the things that makes us different from Americans (this is very important!), but unless you want to work for the federal government or the military, you don't really need French in daily life.

The two "official" sports in Canada are hockey & lacrosse. Lacrosse is a badass sport invented by the Native Americans. Hockey is the most popular, but basketball is becoming more popular in Toronto since that's the only Canadian city with an NBA franchise & it's a Toronto team that actually wins.

Have you ever seen the movie Robin Hood with Russell Crowe? Robin Hood's band of merry men is actually a collection of Crowe's best mates. In the movie, the musician Alan-a-Dale is played by a Canadian musician named Alan Doyle. Doyle is the lead singer of the band Great Big Sea from Newfoundland. Eastern Canada ("the Maritimes") has a very strong, unique Celtic culture. Look for the Great Big Sea songs "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down" or "Mari-Mac" on YouTube.

That's all I can think of for now! Hope that helps a bit!

 

[mimisgirl]

Wow y'all thanks so much! I typed my thread then went about cooking dinner and getting kids in bed, just now checking in and already SOOO much more than our puny book hit on. You guys rock! We will definitely be looking up some of this in the morning. This is one of those times where I really miss libraries, but you all are awesome!

Thank you!

 

[lorryfach]

I'm not Canadian but my best friend is and she hooks me up with maple syrup. It's waaaay more expensive here than there. I can't believe no one mentioned maple syrup yet.

 

[renee82]

Looks like you girls did a good job helping out! I'm horrible with Canadian history... I once had someone from the states ask me if it was cold living in an Igloo when I told her I lived in Northern Ontario... yeesh!

 

[jaye]

Renee, I got that once before when in Florida and I had to explain I was in southwestern Ontario, across from the state of Michigan.

 

[renee82]

Renee, I got that once before when in Florida and I had to explain I was in southwestern Ontario, across from the state of Michigan.

lol! Funny how were are perceived. She also thought that in the summer I had wild animals living in my "shack"....

 

[mimisgirl]

lol! Funny how were are perceived. She also thought that in the summer I had wild animals living in my "shack"....

OMG, are you serious!?!

Well, I guess I can see it. I grew up in Texas and whenever I travel and tell people where I am from they ask me if I rode to school on my horse and wonder why I "downt tawlk liiike thiiis".

**sigh**

 

[sarahbhb]

Have you ever seen the movie Robin Hood with Russell Crowe? Robin Hood's band of merry men is actually a collection of Crowe's best mates. In the movie, the musician Alan-a-Dale is played by a Canadian musician named Alan Doyle. Doyle is the lead singer of the band Great Big Sea from Newfoundland. Eastern Canada ("the Maritimes") has a very strong, unique Celtic culture. Look for the Great Big Sea songs "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down" or "Mari-Mac" on YouTube.

That's all I can think of for now! Hope that helps a bit!

My husband loves Great Big Sea. He introduced me to them before we got married and there's a heap load of talent there.

He's also a huge fan of The Tragically Hip (which I think only enjoyed moderate success in the states). My favorite Canadian band is Moxy Fruvous (which enjoyed almost no success in the states..lol), I was so sad when they split up. I was lucky enough to get to see them live a couple of times in Philadelphia though.

One of my husband's favorite stories was about the Expo in Vancouver. He met a family that came up from Seattle and had to go buy a whole new wardrobe because they packed all winter clothes for the trip (it was in May).

 

[HeatherB]

People constantly underestimate the size of Canada. I had a girlfriend whose family moved to Edmonton. They flew in to Toronto (Ontario) from England on a Saturday and thought they could take in the sights there and then drive to Edmonton (Alberta) for Monday morning for school. Unfortunately, it is a 3500 km (2100 miles) drive give or take, and that's only if you shortcut through the US. My husband drove the trip from Edmonton to Toronto a couple times, and the best he could do was driving (with another driver taking turns) straight for 44 hours.

 

[bcnatty]

I live in Northern BC - Prince George, to be exact... and we have snow here for almost 6 months of the year. Although, it is +9 Celsius here today, winters are usually between -10 and -20 Celsius (with lows getting down to -35 at times!! And that doesn't include wind chill factor - yes, it's a real thing!!) If you love outdoor winter activities, this is the place to live. We have amazing mountains and lakes all around us...so awesome skiing, snowboarding and sledding in the winter, and beautiful swimming, fishing, water sports in the summer. Our summers get up to highs of +35 Celsius, but usually are around the 20's.
As for animals, we get a lot of bears, deer and moose that frequent our homes - they are pretty bothersome - we have to lock up our garbage from the bears. We also have a lot of fox and coyotes around the area.
Major industries in PG are pulp and lumber...and mining is making a huge impact right now. We are surrounded by beautiful forests, so forestry is our main driving industry.
Places you need to see in BC are probably Vancouver and Victoria - but the Okanagan is a beautiful place to visit in the summer - lots of lakes and beaches.
I think that most of the other subjects were talked about before me.

 

[mimisgirl]

Awesome Y'all! We spent our afternoon listening to some music and reading about politics and governement (my 5th grader is really into this right now.) and looking at animals while discussing what problematic issues they might cause or be affected by. I have a few more weeks of ideas lined up. You all are fantastic, now I feel like we are learning real stuff!

And to top it all off my husband announced today that he is applying for a job in Mass. - which means, if he gets it, we might actually be able to visit some time! YAY.
For those who don't know we have been in Thailand for several years now and before that were in Burma and Texas (hence the plea for help)

Lorrie - totally agree on the Maple Syrup.

Heather - I can't imagine driving that far or that long. Canada looks huge to me!

Wow, snow for 6 months - my kids are saying "that would be awesome!" but seeing as they have only seen snow in Texas (ahem, if you can call it that) I am not so sure they would find it awesome to experience! :wink

Thanks again everyone - you have made all four of us VERY happy!

 

[Lynne-Marie]

Erin, I posted this on FB the first day of spring last year, joking that it was a picture of my three boys on our front lawn.... lol! This is actually how much snow we still had here in Quebec on March 20th! The snow was easily 4 - 5 feet deep in places!