Canada

{FINE ARTS}

The Art Room by Susan Vande Griek
Breaking Free by May Ebbitt Cutler
A First Book of Canadian Art by Richard Rhodes
The Inuksuk Book by Mary Wallace
Mack Made Movies by Dan Brown
Stones, Bones and Stitches by Shelley Falconer

* Set up your own art room and do study the art of Emily Carr.
* Gather some large rocks and make your own Inuksuk.
* Tell a story in the Inuit art style.

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

Amorak by Tim Jessell
The Flying Canoe by Roch Carrier
How Raven Freed the Moon by Anne Cameron
Orca's Song by Anne Cameron
Raven Returns the Water by Anne Cameron
Raven Goes Berrypicking by Anne Cameron
How the Loon Lost Her Voice by Anne Cameron
Lazy Boy by Anne Cameron
How the Robin Got It's Red Breast by The Sechelt Nation
James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends by James A. Houston
Maiden of the Mist by Veronika Martenova Charles
The Market Wedding by Cary Fagan
A Promise is a Promise by Robert N. Munsch
Salmon Boy by Donna Joe
Turtle Island by Jane Louise Curry

* Most of these books can be tied into either your geography or science portions below.
* Read one of the folk tales and have your children illustrate it before showing them the artist's illustrations.
* Add any creation story to a creation story notebook or poster and compare with others that you have read.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
. . . If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
The Kid's Book of Canadian History by Carlotta Hacker
The Last Safe House by Barbara Greenwood
The Kid's Book of Canada by Barbara Greenwood
Loonies and Toonies by Michael Ulmer
The Winter People by Joseph Bruchac

* Create a mini Canadian history time-line.
* Print or sketch a large blank map of Canada and fill it with facts about Canadian history and geography.
* Do a study on the Underground Railroad.
* Do an Anne of Green Gables history / literature study.

{PHYSICAL EDUCATION}

The Drop by Jeff Ross
The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
Lacrosse by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
The Moccasin Goalie by William Roy Brownridge
The Final Game by William Roy Brownridge

* Learn the rules of hockey and either play a game of ice or field hockey together.

{SCIENCE}

Big-Enough Anna by Pam Flowers
Born in the Breezes by Kathryn Lasky
Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
The Inuit Thought of It by Alootook Ipellie
Kazan by James Oliver Kurwood
A Mountain Alphabet by Margriet Ruurs
Polar Bear Alert by Debora Pearson
Rain Tonight by Steve Pitt
The Sea Wolves by Ian McAllister
Secret of the Night Ponies by Joan Hiatt Harlow

* Study the sled dogs of the Iditerod and watch some video footage of the race.
* Study the wild horses of Canada.
* Do a weather study on hurricanes.

{CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD}

Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Kusugak
Christmas at Wapos Bay by Jordan Wheeler
The Flying Canoe by Eric A. Kimmel
The Gift by Joseph Kertes
The Huron Carol by Saint Jean de Brebeuf
The Mummer's Song by Bud Davidge
One Christmas in Lunenburg by Amy Bennet
One Hundred Candles by Janet Lunn

* Adapt one of the native-Canadian Christmas customs to your own traditions this year.
* Eat a Canadian feast for a special pre-Christmas dinner.
* Have your children write their own special Christmas carol explaining the birth of Jesus.
* Be mummers for a night.

Australia

{FINE ARTS}

Aboriginal Art of Australia by Carol Finley
Aboriginal Artists in South Australia by Adele Ping
Aboriginal Artists of the Nineteenth Century by Andrew Sayers
Australia, Hawaii and the Pacific by Deborah Underwood
A Book of Pacific Lullabies by Tessa Duder
How to Draw Australia's Sights and Symbols by Melody S. Mis
Sidney Opera House by Sheelagh Matthews

* Use acrylic paints to decorate your own wooden boomerangs in the style of Aboriginal art.
* Wrap and tape a long strip of brown kraft paper around your kitchen table.  Lay an art sheet or blanket underneath to catch drips as your kids paint Aboriginal cave paintings on the inside with poster paints.

{FOLK AND FAIRY TALES}

Animal Dreaming by Paul Morin
Bangu the Flying Fox by Jillian Taylor
The Biggest Frog in Australia by Susan L. Roth
Bittangabee Tribe by Beryl Cruse
Dreamtime by Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Legend of the Seven Sisters by May O'Brien
Rainbow Bird by Eric Maddern
Stories from the Billabong by James Vance Marshall
Sun Mother Wakes the World by Diane Wolkstein
Whale's Canoe by Joanna Troughton
Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail by Martha Hamilton

* Since most of the Australian folk tales involve animals and plant life of Australia, you could easily tie this part of your unit into the life science part below.
* Try reading one of the stories to your children without showing them the pictures.  Then, have them narrate the tale by illustrating it on their own.
* If you are studying folk tales of different countries, make a "Creation Story" poster or notebook.  After reading a particular country's creation story, have your children re-write the story in their own words and / or draw a picture of the story and label the top with the name of the country.  After you have accumulated a good many different creation stories, compare them with each other and with your own family's belief about creation.  This could tie nicely into the life science portion, as well.

{HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY and CULTURES}

Any good book about Australia that includes good pictures.
Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester
D Is for Down Under by Devin Scillian
Look What Came from Australia by Kevin Davis
Maralinga by Christobel Mattingly
My Place by Nadia Wheatly
The Switherby Pilgrims by Eleanor Spence
Uluru by Caroline Arnold
Uluru by Jennifer Hurtig
Wake Up, World! by Beatrice Hollyer
You Wouldn't Want to Be an 18th-Century British Convict! by Meredith Costain

* Make a very simple timeline of Australian history.
* Draw or print a large, blank map of Australia.  Fill it in, using words and pictures, with events, landmarks, and famous places of Australia.
* Study some Australian lingo and spend a day using it when you talk to eachother.
* Make some Australian fare for dinner.

{LIFE SCIENCE}

An Australian ABC of Animals by Bronwyn Bancroft
W Is for Wombat by Browyn Bancroft
Destination: Australia by Jonathan Grupper
Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
Diary of a BABY Wombat by Jackie French
Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles
The Koala Book by Ann Sharp
Koala Country by Deborah Dennard
Koala Lou by Mem Fox
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
One Woolly Wombat by Rod Trinca
Over in Australia by Marianne Burkes
Wombat Goes Walkabout by Michael Morpurga

*  As you read your books, be sure to use the internet to look up images and videos of the Australian animals (and plant life) that you are learning about.  You and your kids can enjoy searching and discovering together.

*{CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD}*

Christmas in Kangaroo Land by Alda M. Hannon
Snowy's Christmas by Sally Murphy
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox

* Make some Christmas ornaments using the Aboriginal style of painting.
* Don your shorts and t-shirts and eat some Australian food for dinner while you play Christmas music in the background.