Family Resource Centre

Black History Month

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An Overview

Each February, Creating Together celebrates Black History Month along with the families we serve, inviting one another to explore the traditions and culture of African-Canadians. Originally created in 1926 to raise awareness and understanding of the African experience around the world, it became a formal celebration in the 60s and in 1979, Toronto became the first municipality in Canada to proclaim Black History Month through the efforts of many individuals and organizations such as the Ontario Black History Society. Still, it wasn’t until In 1995 that the House of Commons to recognized Black History Month across Canada, thanks to a motion introduced by Toronto Area MP Jean Augustine.

At this time, we take time and care to recognize the past and present contributions that African Canadians make to our lives, through education, medicine, art, culture, public service, economic development, politics and human rights.

Toronto Public Library Offerings and Recommended Books

Toronto Public Library celebrates Black History all year round with a collection of programs and special events that honour Black heritage and culture, and consider the historical significance and contemporary contributions of Black activists and artists from around the world.

Explore this list of recommended books for children, put together by the Toronto Public Library, in honour of Black History Month:

City of Toronto Programs and Offerings

For a list of recommended programs by the City of Toronto, visit: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/black-history-month/

Sending you Love from Creating Together

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Dear families and friends of Creating Together,

With Valentine’s Day only a few weeks away, we hope you find time to celebrate love of all kinds this month. February is Black History Month – the 2022 theme is: “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day”, which focuses on recognizing the daily contributions that Black Canadians make to Canada. We look forward to exploring and celebrating these contributions through our programming in February. We also wish a very happy Lunar New Year to our families who celebrate – we hope the year brings luck and prosperity! Please see some important updates on programming below, and be sure to visit us for virtual or in-person programming soon.

Program Updates

Brrr! It’s cold out there! We’re pleased to continue to offer virtual and in-person programs that keep you toasty warm and engaged through the winter months. We remain open for in-person programming at this time, yet will continue to limit our capacity to two families per session. Your health and safety is of the utmost importance to us — We continue to follow all of the Toronto Public Health safety recommendations and standards, as well as our screening process and temperature checks upon arrival to the centre. We ask that if any member of your household is feeling unwell, that you stay home and call the centre to cancel your registration.

As a reminder, we welcome families for in-person programming:

Monday-Wednesday, and two Saturdays a month.

9:30am – 11:00am

11:30am – 1:00pm

To book your time, please contact Creating Together by phone or email: (416) 537-1004 / creatingtogether@rogers.com. 

We continue to offer exciting Virtual Programming! 

Please see our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale and be sure to join our live circle time Fridays at 10:00am using the following zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5199316471

February Updates

Virtual Circle Time with Parkdale Library

We’re pleased to invite you to a virtual circle time with Parkdale Library on Thursday, February 17th at 10:00 am! You can join using the same zoom link used for live circle: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5199316471

We’ll also be continuing our new science program, “Science with Sal”!

The live virtual science sessions will take place for 3 weeks consecutively on Thursdays from 2:00pm – 2:30pm with the first session starting on February 10th. On the Monday of that program week, a pre-recording of the science experiment which we will be doing together on Thursday will be posted. 

NOTE: Registration is required on or before February 8th. Upon registration, families can inquire about materials for the upcoming sessions. If you require materials for Science with Sal, please arrange a time to pick up materials from the centre. 

*Adult supervision required for all live sessions

We will post any updates to our in-person and virtual programs on our Facebook page, so check back often.

Resource Boxes

Resource Boxes will be ready for pick up in the first two weeks of February, until February 12th.

To book your pickup time, please contact Creating Together by phone or email: (416) 537-1004 / creatingtogether@rogers.com. 

It’s never too late to join our Resource Box list! If you are interested in joining for the next month, please call or e-mail the centre, or let a staff member know.

We Are Here For You

We know that the ever changing landscape of the pandemic has put a huge amount of stress on our families and community. A reminder from all of us here at Creating Together – should you need any assistance at this time, including mental health supports, health resources, child development materials – please don’t hesitate to be in touch. We’re here for you. 

Sending you love,

Creating Together

Help Us Serve You Better

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Have you chosen a new year’s resolution this year?

Our resolution is the same as always: to continue offering a welcoming, warm and inviting learning space for our community! 

You can help us achieve this resolution by reflecting on 2021 in our Creating Together Family Survey. Your feedback is integral to our improvement as we plan for both in-person and virtual program options.

You can find the link here.

We have extended our Program Survey for one final week of responses. So, if you haven’t yet, please fill out the survey now! Your feedback is integral to our improvement as we continue our 2022 programming.

Choosing Gratitude

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Whether it’s Sunday dinners, birthdays, or family game night, having routines that you do as a “family” is important on many levels. Research since the 1950s shows us that no matter which language you speak or where you are from in the world, traditions and rituals in family life are linked to increased happiness, emotional well-being, and a greater sense of identity in children. With so much flux and change in the world right now, it’s so important to do everything we can to increase the sense of identity and happiness in our children’s lives.

So how can we cultivate a tradition of gratitude in our families, so we can give our children the best possible foundation?

Thanksgiving and New Years make great times to get started, so here are some fun suggestions:

  1. Encouraging children to say please and thank you.
  2. Donate to charity (eg. Out of the Cold, Women’s Habitat, Food Bank, Second Hand Store).
  3. Start A Gratitude Journal – A Gratitude Journal is a great way to allow children to express and feel gratitude. 
  4. Write thank-you cards.
  5. Share chores.
  6. Help neighbours.

Enjoy the process!

Read More:

How Gratitude Helps Through Hard Times

9 Gratitude Activities for Children

Setting Intentions for 2022

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With the solar new year just completed and the lunar new year fast approaching (February 1st this year), its a great time to set some intentions and goals for the new year.

Just like adults, children benefit from goal and intention-setting. Creating a clear idea of what you’d like to achieve or experience, making a plan to go after it, and experiencing that sense of accomplishment when you’ve reached your goal – what an important life skill.

Whether it’s learning something new or spending more time with that special someone, talking about their goals and intentions for the year has several benefits:

Create clarity. Getting clear about what we want in life is a life skill that is key to actually attaining what we want in life.

Improve ability to communicate as a family – When we ask and truly listen to each other, it helps us all experience what healthy, supportive communication looks like.

Learn to celebrate resilience. Creating milestones so loved ones can come together to celebrate challenges and successes along the way. When parents and caregivers share their challenges in achieving their goals and children witness you learn from those challenges, celebrate those lessons, and get back to trying again, they learn resilience as well.

Increase trust. Sharing our goals and values and having them truly heard, supported and celebrated helps bring loved ones closer. It takes practice, but when it’s done well the trust that can be created is beautiful.

Teach important lessons. Sharing and working towards individual or shared intentions helps us learn important qualities of collaboration, cooperation, and working towards a common vision.

Have fun! Making it a game helps to take the pressure off, and teaches that goal setting can be fun. Imagine a better year together (sky’s the limit!), try out a worksheet, build a family collage. Enjoy the process!

Ready to give it a try? Here are some examples of worksheets you can create at home, to help guide some conversations with members of your family, about your own goals and one another’s!

Helpful Tip – we are here for you as a hub and a resource. If your child has a goal that you would like some resources on or would like to talk about (eg., reading, behaviour, healthy eating, exercise), let us know! We can also help you with goals related to parenting, healthy eating, and literacy.

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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Now Open for In-Person Program!

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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

Please refer to our Calendar »

Contact Us

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