Welcome to May – that month of mothers, flowers, the promise of spring fulfilled, and the anticipation of summer. Don’t let the warm weather shatter your child’s focus on learning by incorporating educational games into their outdoor fun and using our wonderful Learning Flash Cards to make learning entertaining!
Celebrate all your teachers with National Teacher Appreciation Day on May 3. Our teachers do so much to support our children’s learning, and this day is a great day to show your appreciation for everything they do. Have your child make their teacher a thank you card or send them a thoughtful video message.
Daaaa daaa! Da da da da daaaa daaa! May the Fourth be with us! Harness the Force on National Star Wars Day with our fantastic Star Wars colouring and activity books on our website. Join the Rebels and colour your way through the original trilogy to The Force Awakens. Get your lightsaber (and your crayons) ready!
After you fight for the future of the galaxy, return to Earth to celebrate our real-life star warriors with National Astronaut Day on May 5. Learn something new about your favourite astronaut or one of Canada’s contributions to space research. Check out books like Space in 30 Seconds or for a little hands-on learning, try the Space: The Solar System 205-piece puzzle, both available on our website. Do you know all the planets in our solar system? Make like an astronaut and learn facts that are out of this world.
May 8 is Mother’s Day. Moms do a lot of work, and Mother’s Day is a great day to do something special to show your mother how much you appreciate her. One easy way for kids to do something nice for Mom is to make her breakfast! This yummy French toast recipe is simple to make and will be a great start to the day.
Mother’s Day French Toast
Ingredients
Slices of bread
3 eggs
½ cup of milk
1 tsp of cinnamon
½ tsp of vanilla
Butter
Syrup
Optional: berries, whipped cream
Instructions
1. Beat eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a bowl.
2. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and melt butter in the pan.
3. Soak slices of bread in egg mixture until saturated. Fry in frying pan until golden brown on each side.
4. Top with syrup, berries, whipped cream, or other toppings.
5. Serve!
Don’t forget to make your mom a nice Mother’s Day card and do an activity she would enjoy!
Channel your inner poet on May 12 for National Limerick Day. A limerick is a short, funny poem with a rhyming pattern of AABBA that describes a situation or person. For example, this limerick by Edward Lear:
There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!'
Think of a funny situation and write your own limerick. Be creative with your rhyming words. Use a thesaurus to help you come up with new words to use.
May gets a little bit nutty on National Walnut Day on May 17. Walnuts have been cultivated for thousands of years, and these nutty little nuggets are a yummy addition to many dishes. Walnuts add a delicious crunch to many desserts, including walnut fudge brownies. Make the recipe below, and then top your yummy brownies with some delicious Canadian maple walnut ice cream.
Homemade Walnut Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1/4 tsp of salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup of milk
3/4 cup of butter
3/4 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8” x 8” pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder and salt together. Mix.
3. In a small saucepan on low heat, cook milk and chocolate chips together. Add butter and stir constantly until mixture is completely combined. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Add chocolate mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.
5. Let mixture cool a bit, and then add eggs one at a time and stir to combine.
6. Add half of walnuts and stir to combine.
7. Pour batter into greased pan and top with remaining walnuts.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 min, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes up with moist crumbs.
9. Let cool, then cut and serve!
Cue up your favourite movie and settle in for a family film night on May 20, National Streaming Day. Meant to celebrate streaming media, this day is a great day to get in a little family time and discuss your favourite shows. Think about what kinds of media you consume and maybe choose something new to watch.
Shuffle your cards and get ready to challenge yourself to a game of solitaire on May 22 – National Solitaire Day. Popularized by the computer version on Microsoft Windows, solitaire is played with a full 52-card deck. It is great for improving logical thinking and pattern recognition. Use multiple decks so young children can play with a single suit and add additional suits to increase difficulty.
National Scavenger Hunt Day is May 24, and we’ve got you covered with our great Fun Canadian Search and Find Activity Pads. Your child can hunt through each scene for tons of objects, complete the find the difference puzzles, and explore even more with the fun bonus pages! Can you help Daniel the Beaver find all the things?
You can also plan a real scavenger hunt on the Victoria Day Long Weekend. Make a list of common household items for your child, then hide them in a common space, whether that be your living room or backyard or a nearby park.
End May with National Creativity Day on May 30. Creativity is all around us, and it is important to let your child explore their creativity. On this day, get out the fingerpaints, sculpt from play clay, or pick up a craft kit and make something new. Maybe try a new instrument or discover a new skill.
Try this bubble painting activity to make fun art.
Creative Bubble Painting
Materials
Washable paint in different colours (non-toxic recommended)
Water
Dish soap
Plastic cups
Straws
Paper
Instructions
1. In the plastic cups, mix one cup of water, a squirt of dish soap, and a few squirts of paint. The mixture should be quite liquid.
2. Cover your table with newspapers or a tablecloth you are willing to get paint on. You can also do this activity outside if the weather is nice.
3. Have your kids blow through the straws into the paint mixture to create bubbles. Make sure to watch your children so they don’t accidentally drink the mixture.
4. Once the bubbles reach the top of the cup, press the paper to the bubbles. Repeat with different colours to create a fun pattern.
Show us your bubble paint art on Instagram by tagging @canadiancurriculumpress and using the hashtag #canadianbubbleart.
We are very excited to announce that our revised, updated, and expanded Deluxe Learning Kits will be available at Costco Canada. Written by Canadian teachers for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 2, these educational kits include three 80-page workbooks covering foundational skills in math, reading, and writing, and three packs of educational flash cards. With a new design and new activities, these workbooks will help your child practise their math, reading, and writing skills.
We love hearing from you!
You can connect with us on Instagram at @telegraphroad.entertainment and @canadiancurriculumpress and by visiting our Facebook page @TelegraphRoadEntertainment. Share your learning adventures with us by tagging us on Facebook @canadiancurriculumpress or hashtag us #canadiancurriculumpress #telegraphroadentertainment #danielthebeaver
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