Happy Canada Day!

Wonderful ways to celebrate Canada Day

Love the great outdoors? Head off for a camping weekend in Canada’s great wilderness. If you’re thinking about a provincial park or campground, you’ll likely have to book ahead for the most popular long weekend of the year. But you don’t have to leave town to get away – hike out the back door and set up tent in your own backyard! For families with young kids, it’s an ideal first camping experience.

Enjoy a backyard barbecue! Fire up the grill and serve up foods and treats the family will love that and celebrate the holiday weekend in true Canadian style. Canadian bacon cheeseburgers, grilled skewered veggies, corn on the cob, red and white pasta salad and strawberry shortcake – all dressed up like a Canadian flag!

Organize a family reunion! Expand the celebration to include extended family (and friends) and share what you all love about being Canadian, their favourite Canadian celebrities and stories and how Canada today is different from when you all grew up. At the end of the evening, toast Canada’s birthday with red fruit punch and cap off the festivities with fireworks!

Host a fundraiser! It’s a great opportunity to broaden your social network and gather your friends – and raise funds for a great cause. Have a golf tournament, a beach volleyball contest, a boat race, a games day – and ask people to come with a contribution of food, gently used clothing or money to donate to your favourite cause.

Arrange a street party! Make it a multicultural event – invite the neighbours to embrace the cultures that make up our Canadian mosaic by bringing a dish from their country (or their favourite country) and share their dances, music, games and other ways to have fun.

Free for all! Celebrate without spending lots of money – go online and search for free Canada Day events in and around your city, town or district. Some of the most popular ways to enjoy the day don’t have to cost you anything. Look for fireworks displays, concerts, fairs, farmer’s markets, festivals, parades and other holiday events.

Celebrate with your kids! Cook up some maple leaf-shaped pancakes and Canadian syrup for breakfast. Create some Canada Day crafts – a flag, wreath, centrepiece, kite or cake are all great ideas. Then read your family a book that celebrates Canada’s past, like Anne of Green Gables.

Stay home! You don’t have to go anywhere or do anything to commemorate the day. Go online and ask friends, family and all your social connections to share their visions of Canada in words and pictures. It’s a great way to have fun and celebrate the day without leaving home.

TIPS FOR KINDERGARTEN PARENTS!

Starting kindergarten is a big transition for most children because it is the start of a new experience in a new environment. Children may be very anxious about entering kindergarten because they are fearful of the unknown. It is also a big transition for parents, because you begin to realize how quickly your child is growing up and becoming more independent. It is extremely important for parents to take a proactive role in assisting their children to help them adjust to kindergarten and to enjoy the new journey that they are about to embark on.

Helpful tips for the kindergarten parent:

• Help to prepare your child academically
  
  Find out what skills the teacher expects your child to know and weave these skills into everyday activities
  
  Reading
  Read with your child and connect what you read with real life situations. For example if you are reading a story about a vacation, relate it to your last trip to DisneyWorld. In addition, read your child's favorite book for the 100th time! As you read, pause and ask your child about what is going on in the book.
  
  Letter Recognition
  Play the trace a letter game: Have your child use a finger to trace a letter while saying the letter’s name. Tell him/her the sound of that letter and give a word example. You can trace letters on paper, in sand or even a plate of sugar. Once they get to know their letter try and do it on their back to see if they can figure it out. I did this with my children and we actually got to the point where we would spell out words on each others backs. It makes for great fun while they are learning their letters and how to spell words. Continually, talk about letters and sounds to help your child learn the names of the letters and the sounds that the letters make. Turn it into a game! "I'm thinking of a letter and it makes the sound mmmmmm." Pick a letter of the day and see how many thing you can find that begin with that letter.
  Counting
  Play games that involve counting while you do your everyday errands and chores.
  
• Practice self-help skills
  
  Teachers don't have much time to help each individual child, so make sure your child can zip, button, tie shoes, and tell which shoe goes on which foot. Make sure he/she is independent in using the toilet and washing hands.
  
• Review bus safety
  Make sure you child understands the importance of staying far away from the bus. Never run toward the bus.
  
  Keep all papers, snacks and other belongings in their backpack in order to eliminate them dropping something and then attempting to retrieve it around the bus.
  
  Be sure you child is familiar with your neighborhood so that they can find your house if the bus approaches from a different direction.
  
  Make sure they realize they ONLY get off at their own stop. A bus driver can make a mistake – it is easy to confuse names and faces at the beginning of the year.
  
  If you need your child to get off at another bus stop make sure you give the bus driver a note.
  
  Teach your child his or her name and address so if they need to repeat it to another adult they are capable of doing so.
  
  Arrange a tour of the school bus. Walk through the process of getting on the bus. Bus drivers can help explain this and offer safety tips.
  
  Walk to and from your bus so that your child can see where he/she will be getting on and off the bus.
  
• Visit the school
  Let the child see the inside of the school and visit their classroom so that they feel comfortable being there. Show them where the bathrooms, gym, and library are located.
  
• Involve your child
  Have your child shop and pick out supplies that they will need for school
  Let him/her organize the new backpack with their supplies.
  Be sure to label everything that they will take with them to school: hats, gloves, coats, supplies, backpack, and lunch box.
  
• Establish a routine
  At night have your child to pick an outfit for the next school day, and pack their book bag. This will help eliminate confusion in the morning. Prepare your child for a more structured day, so set a schedule and keep to it. It is important for you to include mealtime, play time, homework time and reading time in the schedule.
  
• Get Involved in your child’s school
  Create a relationship with your child’s teacher and principal to ensure you are up to date with your child’s progress. In addition learn the names of other important people at school, it will make it easier to discuss your child's day with them if you can use names that they are familiar with.
  
  Become familiar with school programs and events. You need to set a good example for your child, if you are positive and encouraging towards school, your child will be too. Teachers appreciate your involvement and assistance in school activities and kids love to have their parents both in the classroom and on field trips. You can do as little or as much as time permits. A great way to get involved, if you have the time, is to become a home room parent. You will then have the opportunity to plan and participate in the classroom activities such as holiday parties. It is also beneficial for you to get involved in school activities because it will give you the opportunity to meet other parents.
  
• Emergency clothes
  
  School will most likely ask you to provide them with a change of clothing, in case of an accident. This is for spills as well as bathroom accidents.
  

The school will normally have an “open house” which will allow you and your child to meet the teacher and see the classroom. Your child can also meet some of the other children. This can sometimes be difficult for your child. My daughter, who has an older brother, was very familiar with our elementary school. Since I was very involved in school activities and I was a homeroom parent she spent many hours with me at the school prior to kindergarten. She knew the teachers, school and classrooms yet when it came to “open house” she cried. I was totally amazed that she would be intimidated in any way. So it happens and you just have to remind the child that he/she will only be gone a short while and that you will be waiting for him to return. It helps if you make them understand that they are going to meet new friends, play and learn some cool things and then return home.

Your child going to elementary doesn't do the homework properly? Here are some tips for a better homework!

Elementary Homework Tips

Homework should not be a battle. Here are some steps you can take to encourage your elementary-age child to take responsibility for his own homework assignments.

Remove distractions - Do homework in a quiet place that does not have distractions. Turn off the TV; don't expect your child to do homework in a room where siblings are playing.

Establish a routine - Set a specific "homework time" such as right after supper. Require that homework be complete before your child can watch TV, use the phone, etc.

Prioritize - Encourage your child to work first on those assignments that are due tomorrow. Then tackle the tasks that are due later. Help your child plan his studying so that projects are not left until the last minute. An assignment book can be a big help with this.

Check understanding - Be sure your child understands new assignments before he or she starts working on them. This one can save lots of late-evening tears!

Guide, but don't correct - If your child needs help, offer ideas that can help her sort out the problem, but don't give her the answers.

Get organized for tomorrow - Remind your child to pack the backpack before going to bed. Even the best homework effort doesn't do much good if it's left on the kitchen table!

Club Z! Reveals Common Mistakes We Make In Spelling Common Words

PRACTISE OR PRACTICE?
What is the correct spelling: practise or practice?

It depends on which version of English you’re using: in British English usage, the noun is practice and the verb is practise. In American English usage, both the noun and the verb are spelled (or spelt, in British English) as practice.

Sample sentences:
Your coach phoned to say there will be a team practice in the gym tomorrow after school.
He practised his presentation for hours to get it perfect.
This book has some practice tests for your exam.

An expression with practice: practise what you preach – it means to do the things that you advise others to do.

When used in connection with lawyers and doctors, practicealso means the work that they do and the place where they work. Sample sentence:

Joe has a very successful legal practice in New York.

BRITISH OR ENGLISH?
What is the difference between England and Britain (or Great Britain)? Three countries make up Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. So England is part of Great Britain, and a Scotsman (a person of Scottish origin) is British, too. A person born in Wales is Welsh, and they are British, too. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, or “the UK”. So the UK is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the last of which is not part of Great Britain. The formal name of the country is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, but in everyday speech Britain is often used to mean the UK, though, as you have seen, this is not perfectly correct. The word “great” was added to “Britain” several hundred years ago, in the Middle Ages, when the English kings had lands in what is now France, and a certain part of it was called Britanny. To avoid confusion, they added the word “great” to the name of the land which was larger.

They're, Their or There?
These three words are often used incorrectly too, just like it’s and its, even by native speakers. Again, it’s not very difficult to remember which is correct when.

They’re is the short form of they are:

My parents have gone on holiday and they’re in France today.
When students like a teacher, they’re more likely to do well in the subject he or she teaches.

Their is a possessive word, just like its or my:

My children always leave their toys all over the place.
The dogs ran towards their master.

There is an adverb of place; it means in that place. Think of it as an answer to the question “where?”. Here are some sample sentences:

We didn’t want to go there, but we had to.
Why did you put my book there?

Here’s a sentence with all three words; note how they’re (!) used:

They’re there, and all their friends are with them.

It's or Its?
These two words are very often confused. A typical mistake is when somebody uses “its” instead of “it’s”, although the opposite often happens, too. Actually, it’s not very difficult to remember which is correct in a given situation:

you can only use it’s if it is the short form of it is or it has (been). Here are some examples:

When you go abroad, it’s a good idea to take a guidebook with you.
(… it is a good idea…)

Don’t worry, it’s been like this for a long time.
(… it has been like this…)

Are you telling me that it’s my fault?
(… it is my fault?)

The box was hidden in an attic during the war and it’s been there until today.
(… it has been there…)

Its is a possessive word, just like my or your; it means that something owns something or something belongs to it. Examples:

The car was badly damaged but its driver escaped unhurt.
The dog went back to its house.
The house and its garden are a popular tourist attraction.

Need Math Tips? Club Z! is here to help you out!

5 Easy Arithmetic Tricks!

Math can be terrifying for many people. This list will hopefully improve your general knowledge of mathematical tricks and your speed when you need to do math in your head.

1. Quick Square
If you need to square a 2 digit number ending in 5, you can do so very easily with this trick. Mulitply the first digit by itself + 1, and put 25 on the end. That is all!
25² = (2x(2+1)) & 25
2 x 3 = 6
625

2. Multiply by 5
Most people memorize the 5 times tables very easily, but when you get in to larger numbers it gets more complex – or does it? This trick is super easy.
Take any number, then divide it by 2 (in other words, halve the number). If the result is whole, add a 0 at the end. If it is not, ignore the remainder and add a 5 at the end. It works everytime:
2682 x 5 = (2682 / 2) & 5 or 0
2682 / 2 = 1341 (whole number so add 0)
13410
Let’s try another:
5887 x 5
2943.5 (fractional number (ignore remainder, add 5)
29435

3. Multiply by 9
This one is simple – to multiple any number between 1 and 9 by 9 hold both hands in front of your face – drop the finger that corresponds to the number you are multiplying (for example 9×3 – drop your third finger) – count the fingers before the dropped finger (in the case of 9×3 it is 2) then count the numbers after (in this case 7) – the answer is 27.

4. Multiply by 4
This is a very simple trick which may appear obvious to some, but to others it is not. The trick is to simply multiply by two, then multiply by two again:
58 x 4 = (58 x 2) + (58 x 2) = (116) + (116) = 232

5. Dividing by 5
Dividing a large number by five is actually very simple. All you do is multiply by 2 and move the decimal point:
195 / 5
Step1: 195 * 2 = 390
Step2: Move the decimal: 39.0 or just 39
2978 / 5
step 1: 2978 * 2 = 5956
Step2: 595.6