Family Resource Centre

Black History Month at Creating Together

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Across the country, February is the month that Canadians honour and celebrate the lagacy of Black Canadians, with Black History Month.

With a different theme selected each year. For 2019, the theme of the Government of Canada’s Black History Month campaign is “Black Canadian Youth: Boundless, Rooted and Proud.”

Source: 2011 Census / National Household Survey Copyright 2014 City of Toronto.

At Creating Together, we have seen many of the children of Parkdale become the youth we see in our neighborhood today. Did you know that in Toronto and our own community, black-identified individuals represent our second highest visible minority group? (City of Toronto, 2011

Rita Cox Collection, Parkdale Public Library

Also, here in our own community, the Parkdale branch of the Toronto Public Library holds the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, recognized as one of the most significant Black and Caribbean heritage collections in Canada. The collection features over 16,000 print and audiovisual materials for adults, children, and teens about the Black and Caribbean historical and cultural experience.

At Creating Together, we celebrate the month with a Black History Snack.  Children come together with their parents and caregivers to prepare, cook and enjoy the snack, and a wonderful time is had by all! We hope you can join us this year!

See you there!

Breaking Through with Dramatic Play

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The world of pretend can take on many forms for a child, and is certainly something to be encouraged.

Research have shown a number of clear benefits of children’s engagement in pretend games, from two and one half to six or seven years of age (Jenkins & Astington, 2000; Leslie, 1987; Singer & Singer, 1990; Singer & Singer, 2005).

If you missed the Information Session on January 10th on “The Benefits of Play” with Creating Together staff, then you won’t want to miss the one coming up at the end of the month, on January 30th from 1:30-2pm. These sessions will not only review the benefits of Dramatic Play, but also show parents and caregivers the positive indicators to look for and encourage, and some tips and tools to do that. Our Dramatic Play station will never be the same!

Here are a few of the benefits which you’ll learn more about:

  • Relief from emotional tension
  • Children feel powerful
  • Use of social interaction skills
  • Language development
  • Use of symbols
  • Sort out fantasy and reality

For example, did you know that “when children re-enact frightening experiences, they tend to put themselves in a position of power? They may choose to play the mommy or daddy, the most powerful people in their lives. In dramatic play, the child can control the events, and wishes come true.” (taken from one of the handouts for participants of the information session).

Would you like to learn more?

See you on January 30th at 1:30!

 

References

Jenkins, J.M., & Astington, J.W. (2000). Theory of mind and social behavior: Casual models tested in a longitudinal study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 46, 203-220.

Leslie, A.M. (1987). Pretense and representation: The origins of “theory of mind.” Psychological Review, 94, 412-426.

Singer, D. G. & Singer, J. L. (1990).  The house of make believe:  Children’s play and the developing imagination.  Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press.

Singer, D.G.& Singer, J.L. (2005). Imagination and play in the electronic age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

January Calendar Announcements

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Staff are looking forward to bringing a fresh year of programming and support for Parkdale families. January promises an action-packed calendar for children and parents / caregivers alike. In addition to a great calendar of activities we are also happy to announce earlier opening hours (9am instead of 9:30).

Coming up this month, below is a visual calendar to accompany the link provided above, along with a small sampling of activities you won’t want to miss:

Science Activities

We will be continuing our monthly Science Activities, with this month’s creation featuring jars. On the 9th, we’ll be creating a rainstorm in a jar, and on the 31st, we’ll be creating musical jars.

Literacy Mondays

While every day involves opportunities to develop children’s literacy skills, at Creating Together we have a particular focus on literacy each Monday. Children can read and sing along with parents/caregivers and a staff member. The 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. For more information on literacy, you may enjoy “For the Love of Reading” – a blog written last May providing some great tips on supporting your child in reading!

Information Sessions: Benefits of Dramatic Play

The benefits of dramatic play for children are incredible. It’s one of the reasons why Creating Together has such a large amount of space dedicated to its dramatic play area. On the 10th and 30th, come and learn more about our dramatic play station and how to support children in getting the most out of this station.

Busy Bodies Exercise Cards

Did you know that children who aren’t active enough are at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiovascular illnesses? Busy Bodies Create Healthier Communities – and “Busy Bodies exercise cards” use pictures to prompt kids to get moving! The exercises help to promote gross motor movements, improve posture, and promote concentration while enhancing language and vocabulary. Join us on the 16th and see for yourself!

Circle Time with Musical Instruments

Music ignites all areas of child development. It helps the body and mind work together, helps children learn the sounds and meaning of words, allows for self expression, helps memory skills, and improves mathematical learning. While circle time happens every day, we have feature circle time with musical instruments on Tuesdays from 11-11:30 and 2:30-3pm. For more information, check out this article on The Benefits of Music for Children

Happy Solstice from Creating Together!

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Our Holiday Party this year was only a couple of days before the Winter Solstice (Friday December 21st), also celebrated as the first day of Winter. It is the longest night of the year, and days following get longer and longer until the Summer Solstice in June.

For the families, children, and caregivers of Creating Together, we were celebrating at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre in Parkdale, with our annual party featuring a feast, santa, and entertainment! Dozens came out to enjoy this magical time of year together, and we were all so grateful to come together before closing our doors for the winter break.

Closed between December 20th-January 6th, our doors will open again on Monday January 7th. The upcoming calendar will be posted shortly!

On behalf of all of the staff at Creating Together,
we wish you all a very wonderful holiday season and a
Happy New Year!

 

Benefits of Sand Play: Information Session Summary

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Over the last couple of months, Creating Together has been leading information sessions at different play stations, with a different play station featured each month.

To continue our last article regarding this months theme around Sand Play, we wanted to offer a summary of what was covered in the information session, so parents and caregivers can continue to use the blog as a helpful resource when playing with their children and encouraging their learning and development.

If you’d like further information about Sand Play, please visit us at Creating Together and let us know – we’d be happy to share some tips with you in person!

Summary

Sand Play is a great opportunity for Social, Emotional and Language development. While playing in the sand, children use communication skills as they talk about what they are doing and how to do things. They share equipment and learn to get along with each other. As they role play and work together this also provides an opportunity for story telling in the sand.

As you likely already are aware, toddlers love the sand and will spend hours digging, building, scooping, carrying, molding, and scraping. There are dozens of great sand pit toys you can introduce, all of which help your child develop gross and fine motor skills. Playing in the sand provides opportunities for the children to develop their muscles when they dig, shovel, lift, carry, tunnel and rake. These activities help develop the large muscles – gross motor. Pouring, sifting, moulding, drawing, patting, and decorating all help exercise the smaller muscles – fine motor.

Sand play develops an understanding of basic science and math concepts such as exploring, classifying, estimating, experimenting, comparing, counting, measuring and constructing. Before long, they will take their sandpit skills into the garden!

Sand Toys Include…

  • Buckets of different shapes and sizes
  • Small spades for scooping
  • Large spades for digging
  • Rakes
  • Watering cans
  • Plastic pipes which can be used for tunnels
  • Diggers and dump trucks
  • Old kitchen utensils such as potatoe mashers, spoons, sifters, strainers, scales, funnels
  • Different sized containers like drink bottles, containers, flower pots, natural materials like rocks, large shells, and water.

Child Can…

  • Learn basic concepts related to science, measurement, space and math
  • Enhance motor skills
  • Develop eye-hand coordination
  • Experience various textures
  • Enhance thinking skills
  • Develop concentration
  • Have fun!

Adults Can…

  • Build hills and mountains
  • Pretend to be at a construction site
  • Pretend to cook (measure, mix, etc)

For more information about our upcoming Information Sessions,

please visit our calendar!

Hope to see you at the next one!

Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

Our mission is to support the healthy social, cognitive, emotional and physical development of children 0 to 6 years and their families. We welcome children aged 0 to 6 years and their families/ caregivers to relax and connect with each other and with the greater communities through our many programs.
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Hours

MON 9:00am - 2:30pm
TUE 9:00am - 2:30pm
WED 9:00am - 2:30pm
THU 9:00am - 2:30pm
FRI 9:00am - 1:30pm
SAT 10am - 2:00pm (twice monthly)
SUN Closed

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Creating Together
1342 Queen Street West
Phone: (416) 537-1004
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Charitable Registration Number:
12947 6248 RR0001
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