Celebrates Canada 150 - Alberta

Canada Day may be over, but we are celebrating this great country all year long! Alberta is one of three Prairie Provinces, located in western Canada. Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were both districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1, 1905.

Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, is near the centre of the province, it is the most northerly major city in Canada, and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada. South of Edmonton is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta. Almost 75% of the provinces population lives in the Calgary-Edmonton area.

Most of the northern half of the province is boreal forest, while the Rocky Mountains along the southwestern boundary are largely forested. The southern quarter of the province is prairie (grasslands). The central region between the prairies and the forests, from Calgary, north to Edmonton contains the most fertile soil in the province and most of the population. Much of this land is used for grain or dairy farming, with mixed farming more common in the north and centre, while ranching is common in the south.

The Alberta badlands are located in southeastern Alberta, where the Red Deer River crosses the flat prairie and farmland, and features deep canyons and striking landforms. Dinosaur Provincial Park, near Brooks, Alberta, showcases the badlands terrain, desert flora, and remnants from Alberta's past when dinosaurs roamed the then lush landscape.

Click here to view photo gallery of Alberta http://bit.ly/2emcP30  

 

 

Fun Facts – Alberta 1. Date of entry into Confederation: Alberta became a province of Canada in 1905.

2. Capital: Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta, near the geographic center of the

province.

3. Population: 4, 196, 457 (in 2015)

4. Provincial Flower: The Wild Rose is Alberta’s provincial flower.

5. Time Zone: Alberta is part of the Mountain Time zone, which is two hours behind of

us, here in Ontario.

6. Provincial Bird: The great Horned Owl is the provincial bird of

Alberta.

7. Alberta is home to the largest shopping mall in North America, the

West Edmonton Mall, spanning 48 city blocks.

8. Provincial Animal: The provincial animal is the Big Horn Sheep.

9. The phrase “Trick or Treat!” originated in Alberta in 1927.

10. The world’s longest beaver dam is in Wood Buffalo National

Park, measuring 850 metres long.

11. The town of St. Paul features a UFO landing pad…just in case.

12. Wolverine from the X-Men was born in Cold Lake, Alberta.

13. Famous people born in Alberta: Michael J. Fox (actor), K.D.Lang (singer), Mark

Messier (NHL player), Kurt Browning (figure skater), Jan Arden (singer)

14. The warm wind of Calgary, called Chinook, can raise the temperature from a low of

5 degrees Celsius to highs of 15 degrees celsius in a matter of hours.

15. Alberta will always be known for its beef. The province’s cattle industry dates back

to the 1800’s.

 

 

Play & Learn – Alberta The Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta. The purpose of the Calgary Stampede is to preserve and celebrate western heritage, culture, and community spirit. The 10 day event which is known as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” attracts over one million visitors each year and features one of the world’s largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing, and First Nations exhibitions.

What is a rodeo? A rodeo is a competitive sport in which cowboys/cowgirls show their skill and speed at riding broncos, roping calves, wrestling steers etc.

Clothespin Horses

A cowboy/cowgirl needs a horse of course.  

What you need:

• Print out of horse template (next page) • Cardboard or Brown paper • Scissors • Black marker • Clothespins – 2 for each horse • Wool/yarn, any colour you like • Crayons, markers or paint • Paintbrush (if you choose to paint the horse)

What to do:

1. Print and cut out the horse template. 2. You can complete your horse by doing any one of the following:

a) Trace the template onto the cardboard/brown paper and cut it out b) Print the template on brown paper and cut it out. c) Print Template on white paper and paint or colour the horse and cut it out.

3. Using the black marker, draw on eyes and a mouth. 4. Glue on yarn for the horses mane and its tail. 5. Clip on the two clothespins for the horses legs, you can paint or colour them to

match if you like, this will allow him to stand up.

 

 

Horse Template

 

 

 

 

Play & Learn – AlbertaCowboy/Cowgirl Vest

Ready to dress up like a cowboy/cowgirl? Make your own special vests.

What you need:

• Large brown paper bag – one for each vest • Scissors • Crayons

What to do:

1. Turn the bag upside down; cut a line straight up the center.

2. Cut an opening in the bottom of the bag for child’s neck.

3. Cut out openings on either side for their arms. 4. You can even cut some fringe along the bottom if you like. 5. Now children can decorate their vests.

Pretend Play

Children love to pretend; here are some great ideas for pretend play.

1. Be cowboy/cowgirl. Children can dress up as cowboys/cowgirls; wear plaid shirts, cowboy hat, and handkerchiefs, whatever you can think of.

2. Be a horse. Have children pretend to be horses. Ø What sound does a horse make? Ø How does a horse trot? Ø Jump over things like a horse does. Ø Have horse races.

3. Have your own Rodeo. You will need an announcer, cowboy/cowgirl, horses, and an audience to cheer.

4. Corral fun. Use pieces of masking tape to form five “corrals” on the floor. Number the corrals from 1 to 5. Make 15 small poster board cattle cutouts (or select 15 small plastic cows, if available). Invite children to name the numbers on the corrals and place matching numbers of cattle inside them.

 

 

Play & Learn – AlbertaDino Land

If you like dinosaurs then Alberta is the place for you. A famous spot in Alberta is the Dinosaur Provincial Park. Visiting Dinosaur Provincial Park is like stepping into another world. There's a chance for a new discovery around every corner! Explore badlands, camp under the stars or participate in an authentic dinosaur dig. Be amazed by the abundant fossils, unusual wildlife and stunning landscapes.

The Dinosaur Provincial Park is located in the Alberta badlands, which are the largest in Canada. The badlands are a type of dry terrain where sedimentary rocks and clay have been eroded by wind and rain. The Alberta Badlands are one of the most important dinosaur fossil beds in the world, and because it is constantly eroded by wind and rain, it is always exposing new fossil bone beds.

75 million years ago the climate in these badlands was subtropical and home to 35 species of dinosaurs. Some herds were overcome by flooding and their bones were buried in sand and mud.

Try walking in their (dino) shoes:

What you need:

• Empty tissue boxes – 2 for each child • Green and Orange Construction paper • Glue • Scissors

What to do:

1. Cover empty tissue boxes with green paper. 2. Cut out dino claws using the orange paper and glue them on the end of the

box. 3. Children can then put on their “dino” feet and pretend to stomp around the

badlands like they did 75 million years ago.

PROVIDERS don’t forget to take pictures and send them in!

 

 

Digging for Dinosaurs

What you need:

• A large container of sand • Toy dinosaurs • A sifter/strainer

What to do:

1. Burry tiny dinosaurs in the bucket of sand. 2. Have children dig through the sand with their

sifter/strainer and try and find the dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Skeleton

Make your own dinosaur skeletons.

What you need:

• Toilet paper and Paper towel rolls (as many as possible)

• Imagination • Dinosaur books or pictures

What to do:

1. Looking at images of dinosaurs, try and create their skeleton using paper towel and toilet paper rolls. *Note you could do this with macaroni on a smaller scale.

Dinosaur Fossils

A fossil is the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in a mould or a cast in rock. Create your own dino fossils.

What you need:

• Toy dinosaurs • Play dough

What to do:

1. Flatten play dough and then press the dinosaur into the play dough leaving its outline.

 

 

Reading Fun – Alberta

1. C is for Chinook: An Alberta

Alphabet by Dawn Welykochy

2. Why I Love Alberta

by Daniel Howarth

3. Cowboy Small by Lois Lenski

4. Are You A Horse?

By Andy Rash

 

 

Colouring Pages – Alberta The Alberta flag became the official flag of the province on June 1 1968.

The flag consists of:

• The flag has a blue background • The center of the flag is the provincial shield which includes a red cross on a

white background at the top • Below the cross is a blue sky and snow-covered mountains, green hills, yellow

prairie and yellow wheat.

 

 

Colouring Pages – Alberta

 

 

Kids Kitchen – Alberta Every year during the Calgary Stamped, Calgarians serve and consume more than 200, 000 free pancakes!

Celebrate the stampeded and Canada with some fun Maple Leaf shaped pancakes and delicious Canadian Maple Syrup.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour • 3 ½ tsp. baking powder • 1 tsp. salt • 1 tbsp. white sugar • 1 ¼ cups milk • 1 egg • 3 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

3. Heat a lightly greased griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Lightly grease cookie cutters and place them on the griddle or pan, pour or scoop batter into the cookie cutter.

4. Once the pancake is cooked on the one side, remove the cookie cutters and flip them over to cook the other side.

5. Top with Canadian Maple Syrup and enjoy!

 

 

Souvenir Shop – Alberta Howdy Cowboy/Cowgirl

You can’t leave Alberta without a cowboy hat!

What you need:

• A large piece of brown construction paper or foam sheet

• Coloured paper (optional if you ant to put a star with name on the hat and a coloured band)

• Black marker • Scissors

What to do:

1. Draw a hat shape on your piece of paper or foam as seen on this image. 2. In order to get the opening the right size, you can trace around the child’s

baseball cap if they have one. 3. Cut around the edges of the top of the hat. 4. Place on child’s head and they are a cowboy/cowgirl. YEEHAW!

 

 

Postcard – Alberta A postcard is a card with a photo on one side and a space to write on the other side. People sometimes purchase postcards while on vacation; they either collect them or send them to someone back home.

Below outlines what a postcard consists of. Use the template on the following page and have children create their own postcard from Alberta. Cut it out, fold it in half and glue the two sides together so it becomes a two-sided card.

Stamp

Addressee

Message:

Summarize the event, location, etc.

Using:

• Who? • What? • Where? • When?

Front:

Illustrate the event, person, place, or location. This can be hand drawn or use cut outs.