Creating Together Blog

Nature Play for Spring!

April 1, 2019 by Melanie

Even though it may seem like Winter is hanging on, Spring is certainly here – and with that, comes some great opportunities to get outside, and enjoy the benefits that nature has to offer.

We wanted to share some great activities coming up, to celebrate the nature of the season with your children in Toronto.

Children’s Garden Revamp at Evergreen Brickworks: This month’s theme at Evergreen is “Earth Month”. Come enjoy play, art and stewardship in celebration of the earth and it’s creatures! Hop on a free shuttle bus from Broadview Station, and get involved with the Children’s Garden Revamp this month! https://www.evergreen.ca/get-involved/evergreen-brick-works/.
Riverdale Farm Field Trip: Explore the trails, visit the barns, and see the farm animals!
Sorauren Farmers Market: Open every Monday from 3-7pm, the Sorauren Farmers Market isn’t an outdoor affair until May – but the park and indoor vendors make for a great outing right here in Parkdale. Its also a great opportunity to teach your children the importance of shopping locally, and creating a healthy relationship with healthy food. It also has an incredible unobstructed view of the night sky for evening star gazers!
Signs of Spring Detective Quest: Spend a day in High Park looking for the signs of Spring. Become nature detectives and find buds, sprouts, mud, robins, while enjoying the trails, castle playground, and zoo!
Create a Nature Table: Bring some items from outside inside, and throw in some symbols of the season: eggs, seeds, flowers…create a tactile learning centre that brings your child’s senses in tune with the season. Take a look at these photos on Pinterest for some inspiration: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/45458277473802237/

More Nature Resources and Activities for Children:

Free “Nature as a Classroom” guide by the David Suzuki Foundation
Free “Nature Explorers Workbook” by the National Recreation and Park Association
“Nature Activities for Children” images on Pinterest

Each month for years now, Marcella from Food Share has come into Creating Together to offer a workshop for families around toddler food prep. This month’s workshop on March 20th was a great hit – cheese and bean tortilla roll-ups (pinwheels). Take a look at the recipe below, and mark your calendars for next month’s workshop: April 24th from 10-11am.

The Benefits of Reading to Your Child

March 19, 2019 by Melanie

Did you know that the Literacy Area at Creating Together holds incredible opportunities for communication, language, literacy, and social skills? Reading aloud here not only improves expressive language and vocabulary, but also social skills such as imitation, turn taking, social interest, and the ability to maintain connection across space.

On March 11 & 15, Creating Together hosted “Benefits of Literacy” information sessions, to share with parents and caregivers why reading to your child is such an important part of childhood development. Read below to learn what reading aloud to your child for 15 minutes per day will bring, while preparing them for success in school.

10 Great Reasons to Read to Your Child (A Message From the Toronto Early Literacy Specialists)

Reading stimulates your child’s imagination.
Children learn lots of new words through reading.
Reading builds a child’s ability to concentrate.
Children learn about the world through books.
Reading builds a child’s listening skills.
children gain awareness of letters and words.
Children learn to appreciate the richness of language.
Reading together brings you and your child closer.
Children thrive on the positive attention at story time.
you will give your child a life long love of books by reading aloud regularly.

Join us each Monday for Literacy Mondays!

Every Monday at 9:30 and 1:30, Creating Together hosts “Literacy Mondays“, and we’d love to see you there. Come read and sing along with parents/caregivers and a staff member. This program is designed for one-on-one or small group storytelling, featuring developmentally appropriate books and CDs. Children also have a choice to listen to a story with headphones on their own.

DIY Home Spa for Mothers and Caregivers

March 12, 2019 by Melanie

According to a U.K. study, women who work full-time and are raising two or more kids are 40 per cent more stressed than working women with no children. Even moms with a job and only one kid are under more pressure, as researchers found they had a 18 per cent higher level of stress.

It’s essential that parents and nannies care for themselves—for their own well-being—but also because any effort they put into self-care has huge payoffs for the children they are caring for. Filling up our own cups helps us have more patience, energy, and passion to spread to others.

This month we celebrated International Woman’s Day (IWD) at Creating Together with food and some fun DIY pampering activities for moms and caregivers. It was a great way for mothers and caregivers to receive some self-care and connect with eachother while the kids played.

Did you know that a homemade face mask of crushed ripe bananas can help keep the wrinkles at bay? And that a beaten egg white with 1/2 teaspoon of lime juice tightens the skin and cleanses pores? Try applying the raw yolk of an egg to your face and neck for 30 minutes and rinse with cool water. Egg yolks are high in vitamin A. This mask is very effective in healing blemishes.

Below are a couple more recipes for home-made masks to help you take a break at home with ingredients from your cupboard. Enjoy!

Recognizing Mazon Canada

March 4, 2019 by Melanie

Creating Together gratefully acknowledges Mazon Canada for their grant of $2,500 in 2018 to help support our food and nutrition programs. This funding was used to purchase food for our daily snack program and for healthy meals provided through community events and potlucks for families. In 2018, this program served 5,831 nutritious snacks to 393 children and approximately 480 meals to families.

Nature Play for Spring!

Toddler Food Prep: Pinwheels

The Benefits of Reading to Your Child

DIY Home Spa for Mothers and Caregivers

Recognizing Mazon Canada

Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

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