“It Looked Like Maple Syrup”

Felt Board Story

Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre 2772 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC. V5M 1Y8

Phone: 604-709-5661 Fax: 604-709-5662 www.wstcoast.org

“It Look Like Maple Syrup” Workshop Outline

Materials: 1 copy of booklet for each participant 12 pre-cut pieces of light brown felt (each roughly 18 cm x 15 cm) for each participant.

1. Welcome Introductions Icebreaker

15 minutes

2. Lecturette Maple syrup as a key element of Canadian Culture (See pages 4 - 6)

10 minutes

3. Felt Board Story Demonstrate how to introduce the felt board story using pictures of Maple leaves and Maple trees in various seasons. (See pages 7 - 11) Present felt board story using finished felt board pieces (Story on page 12) 4. Activity Explore story books related to Maple Syrup.(See list on page 16)

Divide participants into small groups Distribute the books Have groups explore the books and discuss extension ideas related

to maple syrup that come to mind Have each group share their ideas with the large group Review extension ideas suggested on pages 13 - 15

10 minutes

5. Break (if needed)

10 minutes

6. Make felt board story Have participants gather their12 pre-cut rectangle felt pieces and cut out the patterns at the end of this booklet Using the patterns as templates, participants trace or pin each one on a felt piece and cut it out. Optional: Outline each finished felt piece with “Glittering Gold” from Scribbles® 3D paint. Participants can do this at home.

55 minutes

7. Closing Thank everyone Distribute evaluation forms and certificates

5 minutes

TOTAL TIME 2 hours

2

Maple Syrup as a Key Element of Canadian Culture

About Maple Syrup

Canada produces 80% of maple syrup sold in the world, 91% of which is produced in Quebec.

There are 13,500 maple syrup producers in Canada. While Quebec is the primary maple-producing region in the world, other regions in

Canada such as Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia also produce small amounts of syrup.

Production Process

Production is closely tied to culture and history in Canada and Quebec, with many farms passed down for generations.

Syrup is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree and produced in limited capacity only once per year.

The maple harvest season only lasts for a period of about 12 to 20 days, usually in early March to the end of April.

In the springtime, the nights are still cold and the water from the soil is naturally absorbed into the tree. During the day, the warmer temperature creates pressure that pushes the water back down to the bottom of the tree, making sap collection possible.

Forty litres of maple sap make one litre of maple syrup.

Cultural Connection

Maple syrup is a key ingredient in Quebec and international cuisine. Each spring, Canadians go to their local “sugar shack” for a traditional, hearty meal,

featuring maple dishes like split pea soup, maple-smoked ham, baked beans, crêpes and a variety of maple desserts and candy.

Maple taffy, a favourite treat for children, is made by pouring reduced hot maple syrup onto clean snow. Once sufficiently hardened, the soft maple candy can be twirled around a wooden stick and enjoyed.

Nutritional Information

Maple Syrup has about the same 50 cal/tbsp as white cane sugar. However, it also contains significant amounts of potassium (35 mg/tbsp), calcium (21 mg/tbsp), small amounts of iron and phosphorus, and trace amounts of B-vitamins. Its sodium content is a low 2 mg/tbsp. Maple syrup can be declared a good source of 3 essential elements - calcium, iron and thiamin.

http://www.purecanadamaple.com/new-face-of-maple-syrup/about-maple-syrup/

50 millilitre serving

Energy 167 699

calories kilojoules

Proteins 0 grams

Fat 0 grams

Carbohydrates (sugars)

43 grams

Sodium 7 mg

Potassium 117 mg

3

History of Maple Syrup No one is really sure just how long people have been practicing the art and science of making this wonderful product from the sap of a tree. The various Amerindian tribes that lived in Quebec long before the colonists arrived each had a legend to explain the origin of maple syrup. However, there are two basic schools of thought about the origin of maple syrup. The first group identifies with Native American legend that maple syrup and maple sugar was being made before recorded history. Native Americans were the first to discover 'sinzibuckwud', the Algonquin (a Native American tribe) word for maple syrup, meaning literally 'drawn from wood'. The Native Americans were the first to recognize the sap as a source of energy and nutrition. They would use their tomahawks to make V-shaped incisions in the trees. Then, they would insert reeds or concave pieces of bark to run the sap into buckets made from birch bark. Due to the lack of proper equipment, the sap was slightly concentrated either by throwing hot stones in the bucket, or by leaving it overnight and disposing with the layer of ice which had formed on top. It was drunk as a sweet drink or used in cooking. It is possible that maple-cured bacon began with this process. Before the advent of Europeans, the Natives used clay pots to boil maple sap over simple fires protected only by a roof of tree branches. This was the first version of the sugar shack. Over the years, this evolved to the point where the sugar shack is not only a place where maple syrup is produced, but also a gathering place where a traditional meal can be enjoyed. The first white settlers and fur traders introduced wooden buckets to the process, as well as iron and copper kettles. In the early days of colonization, it was the Natives who showed French settlers how to tap the trunk of a tree at the outset of spring, harvest the sap and boil it to evaporate some of the water. This custom quickly became an integral part of colony life and during the 17th and 18th centuries, syrup was a major source of high quality pure sugar. Later, however, they would learn to bore holes in the trees and hang their buckets on home-made spouts. Maple Sugar production was especially important due to the fact that other types of sugar were hard to find and expensive. It was as common on the table as salt is today. Even if production methods have been streamlined since colonial days, they remain basically the same. The sap must first be collected and distilled carefully so that you get the same totally natural, totally pure syrup without any chemical agents or preservatives.

Early maple syrup was made by boiling 40 gallons of sap over an open fire until you had one gallon of syrup. This was both time consuming and labour intensive, especially considering that the sap needed to be hauled to the fire in the first place.

4

The process underwent little change over the first two hundred years of recorded maple syrup making. Later the tin can was invented. Since it was made of sheet metal it was more efficient for boiling than a heavy rounded iron kettle which let much of the heat slide past. Virtually all syrup makers in the past were self sufficient dairy farmers who made syrup and sugar during the off season of the farm for their own use and for extra income. These farmers were, and continue to be, folks who look at a process and say to themselves, 'There has to be a faster, more efficient, easier way to do this.' Then, in approximately 1864, a Canadian borrowed some design ideas from sorghum (what us northerners call molasses) evaporators and put a series of baffles in the flat pans to channel the boiling sap. The ideas continued to flow. In 1872 a Vermonter developed an evaporator with two pans and a metal arch or firebox which greatly decreased boiling time. Seventeen years later, in 1889, another Canadian bent the tin that formed the bottom of a pan into a series of flues which increased the heated surface area of the pan and again decreased boiling time.

http://www.canadianmaplesyrup.com/maplehistory.html

5

How is Maple Syrup Made?

In cold climate areas Maple trees store starch in their stems and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar and rises in the sap in the spring. Maple sugar transforms the starch developed during its growth into sugar. This substance mixes with the water absorbed by the maple tree’s roots and lightly sweetens the maple water. In the spring, under the effect of heat, the water found inside the trunk and the maple tree’s roots expands and causes pressure inside the tree. The alternation between cold nights below freezing and days where the temperature rises above freezing promotes the running of maple water, which is then transported by tubes to the sugar shack. In the middle of the 1970s, technology entered the maple production industry with the installation of networks of tubes in Quebec's maple forests. These blue plastic conduits replaced buckets, barrels, horses, and tractors. Thanks to a vacuum pump system, the maple water went directly from the tree to the maple syrup storage tanks. Each spout was connected to this system, which automatically started once the temperature was high enough for sap flow. The appearance of the technique known as reverse osmosis in the 1980s was another technological revolution. Using a reverse osmosis membrane for the partial concentration of maple water respects the spirit and the regulations regarding maple products, since this technique cannot be assimilated to refining. This technology allows the maple water’s soluble elements to be concentrated and is considered a valid substitute for evaporation. http://siropcool.com/professeurs/en/production.html

6

Children’s Books

1. All of the Seasons [audiotape] / Ken Whitely - 1993 - audiotape – music

2. At Grandpa's Sugar Bush / Margaret Carney; Janet Wilson (ill.) - 1997 – story

3. Maple Moon / Connie Brummel Crook ; Scott Cameron (ill.) - 2000 – story

4. The Maple Syrup Book / Marilyn Linton; Lesley Fairfield (ill.) - 1983 - book for children

5. Maple Syrup Season / Ann Purmell ; Jill Weber (ill.) - 2008 - book for children

6. The Sugaring-Off Party / Jonathan London; Gilles Pelletier (ill.) - 1995 - story

7

Extension Ideas Activities with Maple Syrup

Art: Maple tree art.

Science: Talk about Maple Tree poster: How is Maple

Syrup Made? (page 4). Plan a fieldtrip to a maple tree farm to see how maple syrup is made.

Eating the pancakes with maple syrup involves all the senses or simply bringing maple syrup for children to taste.

Math: Making maple syrup candy, cookies, pancakes, etc. Cooking with children teaches them about measuring, mixing, counting, etc.

Maple Syrup Falling Down Song (sing to the tune of “London Bridge is Falling Down”) Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my pancakes. Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my oatmeal. Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my waffles. Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my French toast. Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my fingers. Maple syrup falling down, falling down, falling down Maple syrup falling down on my…

8

Oh, Maple Syrup Song (sing to the tune of “Oh Christmas Tree”) Written by Kathleen F. Oct. 25, 2007

Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You sweeten all our pancakes! Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You sweeten all our pancakes!

You’re yummy as a morning treat You even make our oatmeal sweet! Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You sweeten all our pancakes!

Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You glisten in the sunlight! Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You glisten in the sunlight!

Like pools of sunshine on our plates We love to eat them with our friends Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You glisten in the sunlight!

Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You’re filled with such good flavor! Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You’re filled with such good flavor!

We sing about your qualities The fact that you were drained from trees! Oh Maple Syrup, Oh Maple Syrup You’re filled with such good flavor!

9

Maple Syrup Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup real maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Grease cookie sheets.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.

4. Add the egg, syrup and vanilla and mix until well blended.

5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.

6. Stir into mixture until well blended.

7. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

8. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and flatten slightly.

9. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

10. Let cool on wire rack for a few minutes.

10

It Looked Like Maple Syrup Story Sometimes it looked like maple syrup. But it wasn’t maple syrup. Sometimes it looked like a hockey stick. But it wasn’t a hockey stick. Sometimes it looked like hot chocolate. But it wasn’t hot chocolate. Sometimes it looked like a boot. But it wasn’t a boot. Sometimes it looked like a coat. But it wasn’t a coat. Sometimes it looked like a snowflake. But it wasn’t a snowflake. Sometimes it looked like a bear. But it wasn’t a bear. Sometimes it looked like a mitten. But it wasn’t a mitten. Sometimes it looked like a skate. But it wasn’t a skate. Sometimes it looked like a shovel. But it wasn’t a shovel. Sometimes it looked like berries. But it wasn’t berries. Sometimes it looked like a pinecone. But it wasn’t a pinecone. Sometimes it looked like maple syrup. But it wasn’t maple syrup. It was just a puddle!

Felt Board Story

Materials:

Light Tan felt

Gold glitter glue

Scissors

Pins

Instructions:

1. Cut the patterns on light tan felt 2. Decorate the edge of each piece with gold glitter glue to resemble small maple syrup

puddles.