I wish to acknowledge that I live, work, and play within the converging ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Syilx, Ktunaxa, and Sinixt Nations.
In addition to our focus on Outdoor Education, we weave Indigenous education throughout our learning. In fact, this year we are participating in the Every Child Matters Year-Long Learning Challenge which encourages learning going beyond just one day on September 30, and provides support, resources and encouragement to make learning about Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, history and culture a deeper part of our lives in order to help to enable real change over time. And we know that without this, we cannot make deeper connections to our local land to ensure stewardship of it for generations to come.
This Ready, Set, Learn! will incorporate a wonderful BC Aboriginal Childcare Society early speech and language resource, Moe the Mouse, that uses Indigenous toys and stories to enhance language development in children ages 3–5. These activities and materials help provide opportunities for children to practice language skills in a natural setting. Doing these activities helps children develop:
Social language use
Comprehension of spoken words
Vocabulary
Discrimination of speech sounds
Ability to pronounce speech sounds
Knowledge of preposition words
Ability to express feelings and ideas
Join me and learn Moe's story here:
Let's meet Moe's animal friends:
Raven and Eagle, as told by Ray Qwulshemut Peter:
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood:
For your activity, as winter is a time for storytelling in many Indigenous cultures, I would recommend taking some time to check out the Sinixt website and listen to/read some of the stories that relate to the beautiful place we are currently living in. I have included a link to the Swarakxn: The Frog Mountain Story, as told by Marilyn James:
I hope you enjoyed this Ready, Set, Learn! and happy storytelling!