Your Personal Milestones: Celebrate How You Grow!

A milestone is an important event that marks a special change in your life. It shows how much you have grown and changed! You can think of milestones as big, exciting firsts like your very first steps or your first day of school.

Every person has their own milestones. You can learn about Personal Uniqueness to see how your milestones are special to you.

There are many kinds of milestones you can have as you grow up. Here are some big ones:

• Being born this is your very first milestone!
• Taking your first steps as a baby
• Saying your first word
• Losing your first tooth
• Learning to ride a bike
• Starting Kindergarten for the very first time
• Learning to read simple words
• Learning to write your own name
• Having a birthday party each year
• Getting a new baby brother or sister
• Moving to a new home

These are all special moments that show how you are growing! You can explore Physical Characteristics and Growth to learn more about how your body grows and changes too.

Milestones help you see how much you have changed over time. They show your growth and all the new things you can do! Families love to celebrate milestones together with parties, photos, and stories.

Families take photos at special events like birthdays and first days of school to remember those happy moments. You can look back at old photos to see your milestones from the past. This connects to Family Stories the stories your family tells about special moments in your life.

Different families celebrate milestones in different ways. Some families have big birthday parties with cake and presents. Some families plant a tree or take special photos. First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families may use traditional ceremonies, songs, and community gatherings to honour important life events.

You can learn more about how families celebrate in Family Celebrations and Cultural Festivals.

Milestone: A milestone is an important event that marks a special change in your life. For example, your first birthday is a milestone!

Personal Milestone: A personal milestone is a special first or big moment that happens to you as you grow up. Riding a bike for the first time is a personal milestone.

Life Event: A life event is something big and important that happens in your life, like starting school or getting a new sibling.

Birthday: A birthday is a special day each year when you celebrate the day you were born. It is a milestone you celebrate every year!

Graduation: A graduation is when you are celebrated for finishing a level of school. One day you will graduate from high school!

Family Tree: A family tree is a picture that shows how all the people in your family are connected to each other over time.

Timeline: A timeline shows life events in the order that they happened. It helps you see how you have grown and changed over time.

You can draw pictures of your favourite milestones! Think about your first day of school or your last birthday party. You can also make a "My Milestones" booklet to share your special moments with your class.

Sharing your milestones helps your classmates learn about your life and story. This connects to Expressing Ideas you can use words and pictures to share what matters to you. You can also practice Making Observations by looking at old photos and noticing how you have changed.

Learning about personal milestones helps you get ready for bigger ideas. You will soon learn about Personal Timelines putting your milestones in order from first to last. You will also explore Sequencing Events to practice putting things in the right order.

Milestones also connect to Family Changes big events that change your family, like a new baby or moving to a new home. You can think about Then and Now Comparisons to see how things were different when you were a baby compared to now. Later, you will learn about How Roles Change Over Time and Family and Community History.

You can also connect milestones to Family Roles and Responsibilities, Family Artifacts, Generational Changes, Asking Questions, and Gathering Information as you keep learning and growing!

Personal milestones connect to many other topics you will explore. Here is how they all fit together:

• Family Changes Big changes in your family, like a new sibling, are milestones too!
• Personal Timelines You will put your milestones in order on a timeline.
• Personal Uniqueness Your milestones are special and unique to you.
• Physical Characteristics and Growth Your body grows and changes as you reach new milestones.
• Family Celebrations Your family celebrates your milestones in special ways.
• Family Stories Your family tells stories about your important milestones.
• Generational Changes You can see how milestones have changed across generations.
• Then and Now Comparisons You can compare what you could do as a baby to what you can do now.
• Family Artifacts Old photos and objects help you remember your milestones.
• Expressing Ideas You can share your milestones using words and pictures.
• Family Roles and Responsibilities Milestones can change your role in your family.
• Cultural Festivals Different cultures celebrate milestones in unique and special ways.
• Asking Questions You can ask questions to learn about milestones in your family.
• Gathering Information You can gather information about your milestones from photos and stories.
• Making Observations You can observe old photos to notice how you have grown.
• Family and Community History Your milestones are part of your family's history.
• Sequencing Events You will learn to put milestones in the order they happened.
• How Roles Change Over Time Your milestones show how your role grows and changes.