Canada… the true north, strong and free. Do you want to teach your children about this majestic country? Every month, we’ve been studying different provinces of Canada and this past month we learned all about British Columbia. Check out our fun and educational British Columbia unit study activities!
BRITISH COLUMBIA UNIT STUDY
For social studies this year, we’re studying Canada! I previously shared our month-long studies of various provinces including:
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
- New Brunswick
- Quebec
- Ontario
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Alberta
We’ve learned so much about Canada this year! I’m even amazed at how much I’ve learned in this process! Since this series has been so well received I thought I would share our recent homeschool unit study about the province of British Columbia! It was a fabulous month full of terrific books and wonderful educational experiences!
This family did an amazing British Columbia unit study in their homeschool! Check out all of the fun and educational activities they did to learn about this amazing province! #homeschool #canada #BritishColumbia Click To TweetOUR CURRICULUM
The bulk of our planning came from The Canadian Adventure Online Edition. I added some other elements to the curriculum, such as various read-aloud books and a related artist study.
BRITISH COLUMBIA READ-ALOUD BOOKS
As I’ve mentioned many times before, we start our day with Morning Time. This peaceful way of easing into our day is something I cherish. At this time, I read aloud to my children from a variety of books. Since we were studying British Columbia, I selected interesting books that were related to this province.
Our read aloud book was a pleasant surprise. In my research for children’s books based in British Columbia, I discovered The Whole Truth by Kit Pearson.
This fictional account of a young girl’s traumatic and sudden move to British Columbia tackles themes of grief, bullying, and moral dilemmas. It’s a fabulous book and was a delightful addition to our morning time.
S is for Spirit Bear was another great book. This series has been a fabulous addition to our homeschool social studies curriculum! There’s a poem that runs through every page of the book and relates to some aspect of the province. The rhyming text is fabulous for young children with low attention spans. But there’s also detailed information about the province on each page to engage and enhance the learning of older children. By reading this book, we learned so much about the province of British Columbia! We read about 1-2 letters of the alphabet per day throughout the month.
Canada Close Up: British Columbia was another great non-fiction book. We’ve actually enjoyed all the books in this series. The book is full of photos and it gives us additional information about the province. We read 1-2 chapters per week throughout the month.
VIDEOS
We watched many videos during the month. Most of the videos were provided by links through The Canadian Adventure Online Edition. The videos were beautiful and many times it felt like we were seeing and experiencing the various sights of British Columbia.
ARTIST STUDY
Every month we study an artist who pairs well with the province we’re exploring.
This month we studied the wonderful and amazing Emily Carr.
The Emily Carr paintings that we studied were:
- Indian Church
- Above the Trees
- Cedar
- Skidgate Pole
We discussed Emily Carr’s artwork in detail and my girls memorized the names of each piece of art.
We also read a couple books about Emily Carr too.
ACTIVITIES
We did various activities throughout the month. The girls did map work about the province. They also worked on memorizing and recognizing:
- Victoria – the capital of British Columbia
- The provincial flag
- Provincial flower: The Pacific Dogwood
- The provincial bird: Steller’s Jay
As usual, we wrapped up our study of the province with collages. I had gathered tourist guides and my girls cut out pictures that they felt depicted what they had learned about British Columbia. I love seeing what my children choose as photos that best represent the province. It’s always an enjoyable and educational activity.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
I always like to include a cooking activity with our unit studies. We chose to make homemade Nanaimo Bars! Since my oldest daughter has an anaphylaxis dairy allergy, we chose to make these vegan Nanaimo Bars. They were delicious!
Our month-long British Columbia unit study was fabulous. We learned so much from the experience! I can’t wait to do our final study of Canada. We’re heading up north to study: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut!
Psst – If you’re curious about doing an in-depth study on Canada, I can’t say enough good things about The Canadian Adventure Online Edition. Make sure to check it out!
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