Recognition that is easy to give
A certificate takes a minute to make here, so it can mark small wins as well as the end of the year: a first chapter book, a week of kindness, a tricky times table.Provincial curriculum links
- ON Grade 1–6Report cards assess six learning skills and work habits, among them responsibility, collaboration, initiative and self-regulation.
- ON MathThe 2020 math curriculum includes social-emotional learning skills, starting with positive motivation in Grade 1.
- BC K–7The Core Competencies (communication, thinking, and personal and social) run through every subject.
Certificates aren’t a curriculum topic, but they line up with what Canadian schools already look for. An award for kindness or hard work names the kind of behaviour Ontario teachers comment on under learning skills, and BC students often reflect on their own Core Competencies. Naming one specific thing, such as helping a new classmate find the library, makes that link clear to the child and the family.
End-of-year awards usually go home in June, since the school year runs from early September to late June in most provinces.
Summarized in our own words from Ontario’s Growing Success policy, Ontario’s overview of the Grades 1–8 math curriculum (2020) and BC’s Core Competencies.
