Canadian craft project

The kids and I are studying Canada this month and are completing the Amanda Bennett's Canada unit.  We are learning lots about our neighbors to the North and one day hope to cross the border to visit in person.  My husband and I have both travelled to Canada but not with the children so it is on our must do list.

While browsing around looking up craft activities, which were mostly of the Maple leaf or of animals of Canada we read about the Inukshuk stone statues and thought that would be a perfect craft for our studies.  I have since looked on the web and there are tons of pictures of these unique art forms.   We got to work to learn more about them and how to create some for our school room.

Inukshuk,  traditional meanings means "Someone was here" or "you are on the right path."  The arrangement of the stones determines the meaning or purpose of the marker.  A stone work with arms or legs could mean the direction for navigation, or a passageway.  An Inukshuk without arms or with antlers can mean a cache of food is nearby for wary travelers. Still others can represent places of power or higher spiritual beings.

We took an hour one afternoon to go hunting for  rocks.  Actually we were able to get some science in here as well as the kids were very interested in the type of rocks we were finding.  After dinner that night the kids excitedly showed Daddy their finds and tried to identify whether they were igneous, metaphoric or sedimentary rocks.

We thoroughly washed our stones and set them out to dry.

It was a bit difficult to stack them without the stones falling so I got out my trusty glue gun and we glued the rocks in place.

MarioFan's creation which he said represented a place for  a cache of food in the arctic.

Firedrake's turn

She said hers represents a higher being or spiritual omen

Mine attempt which is a human form called a inunnguaq.  I had trouble keeping it upright so I  put a couple of little stones behind it to prop it out. 

I found an old tile in our basement that I thought had a slate look to it and glue all three statues to it and it is now in a place of honor in our classroom.

While making these the kids remember the Vancouver winter Olympics 2010 mascot was a Inukshuk.  Both announced they want to see a real one someday.  I thought this was a great craft for older children to make:)