When one Abbotsford elementary school teacher received a batch of tulip bulbs from Agricultural Canada with instructions to plant them for Remembrance Day, the flowers bloomed into a massive learning experience for her Grade 3/4 class, their parents, the community and even herself.
"I knew I had to plant them. But the thing is, I couldn't just plant them," said Debbie Mar of Upper Sumas Elementary. "The best knowledge takes place outside of these walls. That's where the real learning starts."
Every year, the Netherlands sends thousands of tulips across the Atlantic in honour of the Canadian soldiers who died liberating the country near the end of the Second World War. May 5 will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation and Holland will be sending 1.1 million tulips to Ottawa - one for every Canadian soldier who fought in the war.
Mar and her students have spent weeks on a class project learning - and educating - about the special relationship formed between the two countries.
What started out as a simple project has expanded into new friendships, a field trip to a local cemetery, a class-produced short documentary film, a Remembrance Day ceremony which brought one veteran to tears, the class learning to sing in Dutch and a Christmas concert.
For more information
2790 Tims Street
Abbotsford British Columbia
Canada V2T 4M7
www.abbyschools.ca
