In Canada, Victoria Day is the official celebration of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. It takes place on a Monday prior to May 25.
Queen Victoria's birthday is actually on May 24 and Queen Elizabeth's is April 24.
Britain officially celebrates their present Queen's birthday in June when the weather is a bit more reliable for outdoor activities.
Who was Queen Victoria? She was born in 1819 and died in 1901. She began her rule as Queen of Great Britain at the age of 18 after the death of her uncle, William IV and had a long reign until her death.
She lived in many magnificent palaces and castles including Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
Make a castle from construction paper and a shoe box, cardboard box or a cardboard cake box.
If you are lucky enough to have a large cardboard box, then why not turn it into a child sized castle using the same method.
It may not be as large as the 600 room Buckingham Palace but it can still provide hours of fun.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Cardboard box
- Sheets of construction paper to cover box
- Four sheets of construction paper for the towers
- Coloured computer paper for roofs
- Scissors
- Glue
- Felt markers
- String
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Remove the lid from the cardboard box.
- Glue the construction paper to the box and let dry.
- Use markers to sketch in windows.
- Cut teeth or castle turrets along one side of four strips of construction paper.
- Glue the turrets along the top edges of the inside of the box.
- Make the four towers by cutting turrets along one side of the four sheets of construction paper.
- Draw on windows and doors.
- Roll each sheet into a tube and glue or tape it closed.
- Glue the four rolls to the corner of the castle.
- Cut the computer paper into four circles.
- Cut a slit to the centre of the circle to form a cone. Glue the cones to the four towers.
A fun addition to the castle is to add a draw bridge. Draw a door on the castle and cut it out leaving the bottom attached to the box. Poke two small holes in the sides of the drawbridge and on both sides of the wall next to it. Attach a string to the side of the draw bridge and adjoining wall.
[Photographs by Linda Dunbar. Reproduction prohibited]
