I walk with my head down a lot. Watching where I am going is a comfortable habbit. When I walk along my local main street, Queen Street East, I am always amazed at how my perspective changes when I look up. When you look above the storefront windows you see the history of our city...the beauty of our city. If you look just above the shiny signage you see the brickwork that has stood the test of time.
This week is Heritage Week. Who knew? My sister, who works for Ontario Heritage Trust knew...and she told me. Ontario Heritage Trust is the organization that maintains old buildings, designates and protects old buildings and puts up those fancy blue plaques that commemorate people, places and events. This week they are celebrating by hosting a number of workshops and events in the town of Peterborough. So, what to do to celebrate Heritage Week? Sounds like an excuse to do a craft with the kids!
Heritage building art
What you need
- photographs of old buildings - can be found online or in your community
Sarah Ashbridge Estate, Queen/Connaught
Image from Wikipedia
Lion on the Beach restaurant Queen/Kenilworth
Coles Bookstore, Queen/Lee Ave
- paper
- pencil crayons, pencils, markers, etc
- scissors
- glue
What to do
Present your child with pictures of old buildings and ask them to interpret those pictures and draw what they see. If they are buildings they are familiar with they might want to explain to you what is significant to them about the building. This gives you a chance to talk about heritage and the value of conserving our past for future generations.
The result
In our case, my 5 year old and I had an amazing conversation about the buildings.
She placed emphasis on the gardens at the Asbridges Estate.
She made sure to include "tubes" on the menu at the Lion on the Beach.
She was sure to emphasize the archway over the entrance at the Coles building.
These are all buildings we are familiar with and she has experienced. This was a fun activity that gave us a chance to talk about heritage in our community. The next time you are out take a look up, and change your perspective.
Personal Shopping for Discerning People says
Great post, Jen! I can see your little one enjoyed doing the work, you've got great results! I bet she'll be noticing lots of new things around your neighbourhood. I will be sure to point out some details to our kids, there's lots of history in our hood too! 🙂 Thanks for reminding me.