This summer, we’re spotlighting all the fun Power Smart for Schools activities which are home-friendly. These are activities we encourage you to try with kids at home, at daycare, on a road trip, or anywhere where they’ll be looking for fun and engaging stuff to do this summer. From now until August 14, we have a special homepage which highlights our most recommended activities to tackle.

We design our activities with classrooms in mind, which is why they each feature a Curriculum fit tab that explains how they connect to broader learning plans. That said, we always prioritize fun and engagement, and there are tons of ways each activity can be adapted to how you want to learn.

Normally our activities require a free account to access, however we have made home-friendly activities available to access without an account so that everyone can try them out! We still encourage everyone—not just teachers—to make a free account to explore everything on our site and stay updated about fun new content.

Don’t forget your passport!

We’ve created the Activity passport for learners to record some of the activities they’ve done and describe what they learned. Download and print the passport, and consider planning an activity every week to fill in each category.

Any time until August 14, submit your completed passport to us and we will send you a swag package which includes a seed pencil, a seed paper notebook, a snap bracelet, and sunglasses. The giveaway will take place while supplies last, see official rules for full terms.

We’d love to see not only which activities you completed but the coolest lesson you learned or the most memorable part of completing each activity.

Why use our activities in the summer

Here’s why we’re encouraging parents and guardians to use Power Smart for Schools activities during the summer when school’s out.

Learning and discovering are fun

The world is more fun when you approach it with curiosity. That’s why learning and discovering new things shouldn’t be reserved for the classroom, although you can leave grading behind for the summer.

Explore our resources to find activities which you can incorporate into a fun summer day. For example, the Pollinator poster activity includes a colourful printable poster and lots of background information on pollinators. Before leaving home, take a look and see how many pollinators you observe while playing outside

Finding opportunities to learn 

We remember lessons best when they’re connected to places we go or things we do. The summer can be full of exciting adventures and it might take you to places where there’s something to learn.

Here are some examples of where you can connect our activities to your summer plans:

• If you’re visiting or passing by a BC Hydro dam, take the opportunity to learn how dams work. Identify the reservoir, the powerhouse, and the river that flows from the dam.
• If you’re planning a road trip in an EV, explore our EV-related activities to think about how electricity powers your trip and to create a charging plan.
• Explore our Conservation and Sustainability activities for inspirations on observing and learning about natural features of B.C. as you spend time outdoors.
• Check out our pollinator and salmon-focused activities so that you can observe them in real life when you come across them.

Reinforcing critical safety lessons

It’s vital that every child in B.C. learns how dangerous electricity can be and the important avoiding hazardous situations. Thousands of teachers use Power Smart for Schools resources to talk about electrical safety, but it’s important that kids are reminded of this outside the classroom too.

Our activities help teach students about:

• Staying safe around electrical infrastructure
• How to respond to a downed power line
• Household electrical safety and hazards
• Power outage preparedness

Explore our home-friendly safety activities to help build learning moments at home and in the community.

Have a great summer of discovery

If you have any questions about the Power Smart for Schools site, please feel free to contact us. We are excited to learn with you this summer!