Canada Day Themed I Spy Game {Free Printable for Kids}

This free I spy printable for kids is a perfect little Canada Day activity!

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When you think of Canada, what are the first things that come to mind? Mounties? Maple leaves? Geese? Hockey? Well, this free printable Canada Day themed I spy game for kids has all of your favourite Canadian icons! 

Free I Spy Game Printable that's Perfect for Canada Day!

Your kids are going to love searching and counting Canadian themed items with this free printable! Unlike my regular I spy printables, this Canada Day themed one comes in three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, making it perfect for kids of all ages!

{Click here to get the free printable from CBC Parents!}

Canadian Flags I Spy Game {Free Printable for Kids}

This free printable Canadian flags I spy game for kids is a perfect way to work on a variety of skills!

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Canada Day is quickly approaching and I thought it would be fun to do some more Canadian inspired activities. 

Sure, we have done a few different Canada Day activities for kids before, but, honestly, not many. 

Yet, I've noticed that there's a serious gap in fun, hands-on Canada Day activities and ideas for kids out there on the internet, which is unfortunate.

My oldest J has been seriously interested in learning about the different provinces in Canada. So I put together this free printable Canadian flags I spy game for him to learn about the different provincial flags. And he had a lot of fun with it!

This I spy game would be great for homeschooling families, Canadian history lesson plans, or anyone who's interested in flags. 

Speaking of flags...did you know a common interest for hyperlexic kids is flags? Yep! So this activity would be great for little flag lovers alike. By the way, you can find more flag and geography activities here.

But let's get back to that I spy game...

I Spy Games are Versatile!

I spy games are tons of fun and great for kids of all ages. You can use them with toddlers or preschoolers or even preteens and teens. I know that lots of people have even used my I spy games with elderly people and those with dementia.

What I love about I spy games is how versatile they are, even beyond appealing to various age groups. There are lots of different ways to use them (there's a section below with some ideas) and they can also be used in different settings.

For example, I spy games are perfect to use as a quick boredom buster activity at home when the kids are saying, "I'm bored!" Or to keep kids busy while you're cooking supper.

They can also be used in the classroom as part of a learning center or included in a specific lesson or unit. You could also use them as filler activities for those kids who finish their classwork quickly.

You could also print off a bunch of the I spy games, package them up into a binder, and create a busy book for road trips or plane rides. You could even laminate them first (here's the laminator I use and love) or put them into sheet protectors and use a dry erase marker so that the book could be reused over and over.

I spy games are also a great activity to use in speech or occupational therapy since they can be used to target a variety of skills, which we'll touch on in the next section.

The Benefits of I Spy Games for Kids

There are lots of benefits to playing I spy games like this Canadian flags themed one.

For instance, they're great for developing visual tracking skills and improving visual discrimination. After all, these printable games require kids to visually scan through the objects, compare and contrast them, and find all the ones that are the same.

Then there's obviously the math benefits. I spy games are a great way to practice and develop math skills such as sorting, counting, comparing, etc.

You can also work on fine motor skills using I spy games. You might cross off items, cover them in play dough, or use tongs to place pom poms to cover the items (see the next section for other ideas for how to use I spy games).

Furthermore, you could work on handwriting skills with I spy games. After all, there is an answer sheet to record your answers and kids can practice writing numbers or drawing tally marks.

Playing I spy games with your kids is also a great way to work on speech and language skills. You could target articulation and vocabulary for instance. All of my I spy games include written words to accompany the images to aid in comprehension, especially for hyperlexic learners.

I spy games can also be a great way to work on executive functioning related skills and working memory.

See, lots of benefits! Now, let's take a look at some different ways to use this I spy game.

How to Use this I Spy Game

The most obvious way to use this I spy game is to simply print and play (you'll be able to download your copy below). Just grab a pencil, start counting, and record the number of items you found on the answer key (write the number or use tally marks, if you'd prefer). 

Maybe you also want to cross off or circle items on the game sheet with a pencil as you find them.

Another option would be to use bingo dabbers or dot markers. You could also use pom poms or counters to cover the items as you count. You could even pair pom poms with tongs or tweezers to target different fine motor skills.

You could also laminate the I spy game first to make them reusable. Simply use dry erase markers to cross off the items as you find them and fill in the answer key. 

You could also use play dough instead of dry erase markers to cover the items on the laminated game sheet. That way you add an additional sensory component.

Finally, you can go digital by playing this I spy game right on the computer or tablet. You can also pull it up during a Zoom meeting, teletherapy session, or similar using the screenshare function. Then use the annotate tool to cross off the items.

Download the Free Printable Canadian Flags I Spy Game

This Canadian flags I spy game has three pages: a game sheet, a page to record the answers, and an answer key. Both the answer sheet and answer key include the image as well as written words to describe the object.

To get a copy of this I spy game, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

Want More I Spy Games?

You'll find even more themes in the I spy games bundle!

Click here to get your copy of the I spy games bundle

Canada Day Science & Sensory Play

Goodness, did June ever go by quickly or what?!  It's almost July which means Canada Day is just a few days away.  So in celebration, I put together this simple baking soda and vinegar science experiment for the boys. It ended up turning into some messy sensory play, but it also worked on fine motor skills.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

First, I created a rough (very rough!) Canada Day flag in a shallow glass dish using baking soda.  To make evenly colored baking soda, I mixed a few drops of red food coloring with a teaspoon or two of water.  I then mixed the baking soda into the colored water.  I then attempted to make a maple leaf in the middle.  If you have a maple leaf cookie cutter, I would highly suggest using that to make it look prettier.  Regardless, my boys both instantly recognized it as the Canadian flag.  

I knew that this activity could get messy quickly, so I used an old shower curtain as a splat mat and set the glass tray on top.  I gave each of my boys a spray bottle filled with white vinegar.  Then it was time for the spraying to commence!

K couldn't resist touching the baking soda as it fizzed.

J, on the other hand, used the spray bottle to "trace" the lines of the Canadian flag.

Soon the flag was beyond recognizable.  Oh dear!

The colors swirled and mixed together as they sprayed more vinegar into the dish.  Using a spray bottle is so good for fine motor development!  Check out K's tattooed arms in action here.

Once all the colored baking soda was thoroughly mixed, things got a little messy.  J also spent some time drawing and writing in the gooey mixture, but both boys preferred to drag and swirl their hands around in it.  Soon it was everywhere...but thankfully I had my splat mat, remember?  It's always best to be prepared!

Looking for more Canada Day activities for kids?  Check out some of our other Canada Day crafts and activities or browse my Canada Day board on Pinterest.

6 Sensory Activities for Canada Day

We have been busy celebrating Canada Day all week.  The boys have made Canadian flag crafts, played with some Canadian peg dolls, and read a bunch of books about Canada.  So, of course, we had to complete our Canada Day celebrations with some sensory activities.  Six different ones, to be exact.

Canada Day Sensory Bin for Kids

Do you remember me mentioning that J and I made some red colored rice?  Well, it was in preparation for this Canada Day sensory bin.  To make this Canada Day bin, I used red rice, white rice, and some fake red maple leaves from Michaels.  I arranged the materials so that it looked like the Canadian flag.  And obviously I did a good job because J recognized it right away, happily exclaiming, "Mom!  It's a Canada flag!"

J has a habit of throwing colored rice around like it's confetti.  He usually shouts "Happy birthday" while doing so.  Not sure why or when this habit started, but I know better than to do rice play inside the house.  We now do it outside.  And as I expected, he did eventually throw all the rice into the air and onto the grass.  So Happy Birthday, Canada!

Canadian Flag Light Table Activity for Kids

The boys have really been enjoying the light box lately, which makes me wish that I had some time to make a much larger light table.  One day I will.  Honestly.  In the meantime, the boys have to share the tiny light box that we do own.  And I have to hope and pray that they can play longer than three minutes before K is either flicking the light box off and on or standing on top of it, which usually upsets J.  Luckily, K had no interest in participating in this activity, so J had it all to himself.

In an empty wipe container, I placed one red maple leaf, some plastic red rubies, some clear glass beads, and a mini flag.  

As I had hoped, J was inspired by the flag to create his very own Canadian flag (more or less) on the light box.

Maple Scented Canada Day Texture Dough

When I think of Canada, I think of maple syrup.  So I made a fresh batch of play dough (I only ever use the Imagination Tree's no-cook playdough recipe).  However, to make it distinctly Canadian, I added a tablespoon or so of maple syrup to the hot water before mixing it together.  You could probably substitute maple extract.  I also added an abundance of red glitter and some red glitter gravel that I found at the dollar store.  Voila!  A wonderful textured play dough with a subtle hint of maple.  Mmmm...Pair it with some maple leaf cookie cutters for some extra Canada Day fun.

Canadian Flag Felt Board Play

If you've been following the blog for awhile, you'll have noticed that I have a bit of a felt obsession, mostly in the form of quiet books.  However, we love our felt board play too.  We've played with monsters, dinosaurs, owls, and flowers, just to name a few.  So I just had to make a Canadian flag for the boys to assemble on the felt board.

The set was pretty simple to make.  It uses one piece of 9" x 12" uncut white felt, two 4" wide pieces of red felt, and a maple leaf cut from red felt.

J started to assemble the flag, but was slightly confused about how to layer the pieces at first.

Canadian Flag Sensory Bottle for Kids

I put together this sensory bottle, but neither of my boys cared for it.  I could see it being better for young toddlers and infants.

In a round plastic tube, I layered some red glitter gravel (red rice would work as a substitute), some white rice, and some more red glitter gravel.  I also made a maple leaf out of a sparkly pipe cleaner.  I tried my best to center it among the white rice while I was layering the materials.  Then I glued the lid down with hot glue.

Maple Syrup Glitter Paint for Kids

I thought it would be fun to try and paint using maple syrup.  However, maple syrup is expensive and I didn't want to be wasteful, so instead I created a very small batch of maple syrup glitter paint.  As is my usual fashion, I didn't measure, so the measurements below are approximate.

Maple Syrup Glitter Paint Recipe

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 1 tsp water (or more if paint is still too thick)

• white glitter (use as much or as little as you want)

Mix all the ingredients together until it's a nice, smooth paint consistency with a shiny, sparkly, sticky texture.  It should also smell amazing!

To try out the paint, I cut out two maple leaves from red construction paper.  Then I gave the boys a cotton swab to use as a paint brush.  They also tried a little finger painting, but didn't really care for the sticky texture.

I was really shocked that K showed way more interest in this activity.  He LOVED it!  He usually doesn't enjoy painting for very long, but he spent a long time on this project.

K was fascinating by the drip painting technique.

You can get a good idea of the paint consistency in this picture.

The paint dries into a puffy and sparkly white paste.  It looked really neat when dry!

Maple syrup painted maple leaves.

Other Ideas You'll Love

Canadian Peg Dolls

Canada Day Science & Sensory Play

12 Books About Canada

DIY Canadian Peg Dolls

I see really cute peg dolls all over Pinterest and have been dying to try my hand at making some for a long time.  My biggest obstacle was deciding what kind of peg dolls to make as I wanted to make something unique.  Well, with Canada Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to turn some Canadian symbols into peg dolls.

I decided to make a Mountie, a beaver, and a moose, but I really wanted to make an Anne of Green Gables peg doll with bright orange-red hair made from yarn.  However, I had no scrap yarn the color of Anne's hair.  Therefore, I only made the moose, beaver, and Mountie peg dolls.

To make your own peg dolls, you will need wood peg dolls, felt, colored permanent markers or acrylic paint, and hot glue.  I bought a bag of 20 wood pegs from Michael's using the 40% coupon.  It cost me just over $3 for the bag.  I decided to use colored permanent markers instead of acrylic paint, mostly because I wanted to do this project quickly and didn't want to wait for the paint to dry.

To make the Mountie, I colored a red coat, brown belt and cross-strap, black pants with a yellow stripe, and brown boats.  For the hat, I simply hot glued some pieces of tan felt together and then hot glued it to the top of the peg doll.

The Mountie

The Mountie

The moose was pretty simple.  I colored him all brown, except for his hooves and facial features.  I used a silver marker for those.  Using tan felt, I cut out some moose antlers.  Then I hot glued the antlers to the back of the moose's head.

The Moose.

I chopped off the legs on one of the peg dolls to make the beaver.  Then I colored the peg doll with brown marker and drew the facial features using silver and black markers.  I cut out the beaver's tail from some brown felt and hot glued it on the back.

The Beaver.

And voila!  Canadian peg dolls ready for imaginative play.

The three peg dolls together.

For some added fun, I made a cardboard horse for the Mountie.  However, J really enjoyed putting the moose AND the Mountie on the horse.

Giddy up!

Yee-haw!

Looking for more Canada Day activities?  Be sure to check out the Three Canadian Flag Crafts, Six Sensory Activities for Canada Day, or 12 books about Canada.

Three Canadian Flag Crafts

We started our Canada Day celebrations early this year by making three different crafts based on the Canadian flag. 

Tape Resist Canadian Flag

J has been obsessed with tape resist art lately (see here and here), so we had to do a Canada flag tape resist style.  I was planning on making one for both boys, but after the amount of time it took me to make the maple leaf with tape, I decided against it.  K hardly finishes a craft project anyway.

To make this craft, tape an outline of a Canadian flag on a large piece of easel paper.  I also taped it to the table so it wouldn't move.

Then choose a medium for decorating the flag.  You could use markers, crayons, paint, etc.  J chose Dot Markers, as usual.  When dry, peel off the tape to reveal this lovely version of the Canadian flag.

Colored Rice Canadian Flag Art

J and I took some time to make some red rice while K was napping one afternoon in preparation for a few different Canada Day activities, one of which was this flag art.  The materials were simple: contact paper, red permanent marker, white rice, red rice, tape, and a miniature Canada flag for inspiration.  On the non-sticky side of the contact paper, I drew the outline of the Canadian flag in permanent red marker.  Then I taped the contact paper to the table with the sticky side up.  I put out two bowls of rice, one filled with white rice and one filled with red rice, as well as a miniature Canadian flag.  J then proceeded to dump rice all over the contact paper, trying to stay inside the lines as best he could.  Once he was done, I placed another piece of contact paper over top to seal in all the rice.  We were left with this beautiful sun catcher type of flag.

Canadian Flag Inspired Red & White Collages

I collected all sorts of random white and red craft bits for this art project, including sparkly red pipe cleaners cut into pieces, red and white pom poms, red and white pipe cleaners cut into pieces, red foam cut into rough squares, and pieces of red and white tissue paper.

I taped a piece of contact paper, with the sticky side up, on the boys' desks in the play room.  I then handed them each a miniature Canada flag, which they happily waved around for a bit, and a basket of the random craft supplies.

Then the boys went to work to create these red and white collages.

K was a lot more methodical, carefully placing individual pieces on the contact paper, whereas J built a "tower" of craft supplies on top of the contact paper.  It was interesting to watch their two different artistic processes in action.

K's collage.

J's collage.

Looking for more Canada Day activities?  Check out our adorable Canadian Peg Dolls, our Six Sensory Activities for Canada Day, and 12 books about Canada.