Tuesday, February 15, 2011

National Flag Day Canada

Today in Canada it is National Flag Day - not a day that most would celebrate but I felt it fit right in with Valentines Day, love and the colour red.
So at the craft table were materials to make a Canadian flag but with a twist.  I mixed cherry jello powder with a little water and then blended it into the red paint in hopes that when the flags dry they will still have the fragrance

A few children, instead of making a the flag, were quite happy to put paint anywhere on the paper, so I pulled a poster "Flags of the World"  and pointed out other flags that had red on them.  That started a conversation with families who have moved to Canada and what their birth country flag looks like.
Our flag has only existed since 1965, not very old in comparison to the world.

This craft provoked good conversations between parent and child and between families.  Where do we see flags?  What colours are they?  Why does it smell like cherry? (I hadn't mentioned at the beginning that I had added jello powder).  What do they feel llike?
This little guy wandered over to the light table and found coloured transparent squares and started to look through them - interesting that he chose red.

And of course flags are great for waving.