Kindergarten Program

Our Kindergarten Program focuses on the re-telling of historical bushplane stories and the role that bushplanes played in the heritage and development of Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding area. Students will have a chance to climb inside, play, touch and even “fly” with their classmates in an old Saunders passenger aircraft. Students will also discover how bushplanes help fight forest fires and will get a chance to climb a fire tower to put out a forest fire on their own. We will ignite your student’s imaginations and interest. Your class will learn quickly that adventure takes off at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre!

Curriculum Expectations

Big Idea: Children are connected to others and contribute to their world.

Overall Expectation: Demonstrate a beginning understanding of the diversity in individuals, families, schools and the wider community.

Specific Expectation: Talk about events or retell stories that reflect their own heritage and cultural background and the heritage and cultural backgrounds of others.

How: Our experts will guide the students through a memorable experience of the Bushplane Heritage Centre. The students will discover stories about the heritage of the CBHC, bushplanes and Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding area. A portion of the tour involves the story of  Amelia Earhart we connect these discussions on our tour with the showing of a replica of the aircraft which Amelia flew in.

Big Idea: Children have a strong sense of identity and well being.

Overall Expectation: Demonstrate independence, self-regulation and a willingness to take responsibility in learning and other activities.

Specific Expectation: Demonstrate a willingness to try new activities and to adapt to new situations.

How: Our Children’s Flight Centre creates a new learning environment with activities for students to play and interact with. Some include investigative air activities, a simulator aircraft ride and aircraft matching games. Students will also be engaging in various activities throughout the tour guided by our Bushplane Heritage Centre experts. Teachers are freed up to record anecdotal notes, supervise and learn more about how their students play and react to a new educationally stimulating environment.

Big Idea: Children have a strong sense of identity and well being.

Overall Expectation: Demonstrate an awareness of their surroundings.

Specific Expectation: Recognize people in their community and talk about what they do.

How: Lessons are encouraged before the field trip, as many students may not have been to a museum before. Discussions would surround what the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre is, what are appropriate behaviours for a field trip, who works at the CBHC etc. While the tour is being given, discussions on various jobs that relate to aircraft and forest fires will also be discussed through question and answer.

Big Idea: Children are effective communicators.

Overall Expectation: Communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts.

Specific Expectation: Listen and respond to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts.

How: Teachers are freed up to record anecdotal notes, supervise and learn more about how their students play and react to a new educationally stimulating environment.

Big Idea: Children are effective communicators.

Overall Expectation: Communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts.

Specific Expectation: Use language in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know.

How: Guides will be able to run through various question and answer periods throughout the tour, accessing information the students would have received prior to coming to the Heritage Centre. Our guides will also give new information to the students, allowing teachers to ask students to recall this information when they return to their school.

Big Idea: Children are effective communicators.

Overall Expectation: Communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts.

Specific Expectation: Ask questions for a variety of purposes and in different contexts.

How: We create an environment where students experience new terminology and where they see things they have never seen before. Our expert guides allow and encourage questioning while students discover all of this new and exciting information.

Big Idea: Children are effective communicators.

Overall Expectation: Communicate by talking and by listening and speaking to others for a variety of purposes and in a variety of contexts.

Specific Expectation: Describe personal experiences, using vocabulary and details appropriate to the situation.

How: We encourage discussions on past experiences with aircraft, if students have flown or have ever seen an aircraft in real life. We also encourage post-tour lessons where a discussion is held to solidify their learning. Students are able to describe their favourite part of the day and why it was special for them. They are also able to recall appropriate vocabulary used during the tour to help them perform a class activity.

Guided Museum Tour

Brief presentation on the Bushplane Heritage Centre

  • Silver Dart
  • Rules
  • Roberta Bondar Exhibit

Chalk Talk

  • Friendship Fokker
  • Children’s Flight Centre

Hangar Tour

  • Norseman
  • Husky
  • Beaver
  • Fire Camp Exhibit
  • Otter
  • Tracker
  • CL–215 and Engine
  • Saunders
  • Bell 47D-1

Flight Centre & Fire Tower or Wings Over the North

Depart Facility after 2 Hour Tour

Lessons

Associated lessons are encouraged before and after the field trip. Many students may not have been to a museum and it is helpful to establish the rules of a museum as well as get them excited to come and experience all the fun adventures they are about to have. The following activities are all optional; our tours are developed to be stand-alone and pre or post lessons are not required to experience a field trip at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. You can use one lesson or a combination of lessons to aid your students in their experience. All the instructions for the activities are supplied and most of the suggested books may be lent out through our own library for up to one week. Some books are also noted to be in the Public Library for teachers to take out for longer periods of time.

Lesson 1

Students Will Discover:
Facts about aircraft and/or helicopters
The entire lesson along along with support material is included in the Teachers Package

Lesson 2

Students Will Discover:
What is a museum and how do we act in a museum
Create aircraft to be put on display
The entire lesson along along with support material is included in the Teachers Package

Suggested Reading

Franklin’s Class Trip
Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark
Kids Can Press, 1999.

Maisy Goes to the Museum
Lucy Cousins, Candlewick
Press, 2008.

How to take your Grandmother to the Museum
Lois Wyse, Molly Rose Goldman, Marie-Louise Gay
Workman Publishing in Association with the American Museum of Natural History, 1998.

Young Amelia Earhart: A Dream to Fly
Sarah Alcott and James Anton
Troll Communications, 1992.