Announcements Archives | Creating Together Parkdale

May is Vision, Speech, and Hearing Month

May 5, 2021 by Melanie

Each year, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC) dedicates the month of May to raising public awareness about communication health. We work to highlight the importance of early detection and intervention in the treatment of communication disorders, and the role that our members and associates play in helping people overcome and/or manage them.

Their Speech & Hearing Month website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to celebrate Speech & Hearing Month! Be sure to visit the site regularly throughout May as they’ll be posting ongoing events and sharing information to raise awareness about various issues related to communication health and the professions.

Special Guest at Creating Together

Families, mark your calendars and share with community members – we will have a special guest leading Circle Time on Friday, May 14th at Noon on our Zoom account.

Sheila from The Bob Rumball Foundation for the Deaf EarlyON will be providing us a Circle on Small Animals in English and American Sign Language (ASL). Rumball EarlyON Centre provides Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing parents and caregivers opportunities to connect through their drop-in program. During the pandemic they are welcoming families to join their virtual drop-in program on Thursdays at 11:00 am. See their poster attached!

All families are welcome!

We are so excited to have Sheila join us on May 14th for Circle Time to share a program in multiple languages: English and ASL! Come sing, learn, and share!

Welcoming Spring’s Rebirth

March 23, 2021 by Melanie

March 21st marks the first day of spring! And with this, families are starting to prepare for the traditional celebration of Easter. However, normally it is a time of opening our doors, reuniting with family members, enjoying community egg hunts, decorating eggs, and for many, a time of sacred prayer and family reflection. With COVID-19 still a very present reality, many of us are looking for creative ways to celebrate the holiday amidst social distancing protocols. Here at Creating Together, we cannot emphasize enough the value and role of traditions in increasing happiness, emotional wellness, and positive self-identity in children.

So – regardless of COVID-19, the themes of renewal, rebirth, and resilience remain. And it becomes more important than ever to uphold the family traditions you hold most dear. From one point of view, we could see this holiday as perfectly timed, to remind us all of the importance of these values and themes in our homes, our families, and our communities. Consider the values that are important to your family at this time of year, and try to find some ways to weave these into teachings for your family. Traditions of Gratitude, for example, fit in beautifully with this time of year.

And don’t forget to have some fun together! According to FamilyEducation.com the top 10 Easter activities for families include:

Egg and Spoon Race.
Jelly Bean Guessing Games.
Read Easter and Spring Children’s Books.
Plant Flowers.
Decorate an Easter Egg Tree.
Make Chocolate Fondue.
Create Easter Crafts.
Give a Gift Basket.

Described in further detail here, you could try a variation of many of these activities in the comfort of your home or yard. Women’s Day also describes some fun Easter activities you can enjoy while practicing social distancing.

At Creating Together, we are getting ready to set you up with some really great crafts, stories, and songs to help you and your little ones celebrate. Check out our virtual program schedule, and join us the week of March 29th-April 2nd!

Certainly during this time of unprecedented unrest and upheaval to the daily routine, holding true to traditions becomes a lifeline that all of our children need now more than ever. Never underestimate the power of tradition. We hope you’ll join us!

Happy International Women’s Day 2021!

March 8, 2021 by Melanie

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a global day of recognition celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls, and raising awareness of the work left to be done.

Celebrating at Creating Together

At Creating Together, we will be celebrating throughout the week of March 8-12 through our online and remote programming, to honour the women of our communities. Whether it’s crafts, circle time, story time, or the parent info sessions, we have a great line-up for you. Check out the calendar, invite your friends, and join us!

National Theme: Feminist Recovery

Each year, the Government of Canada promotes a new theme for International Women’s Day, to increase awareness around important issues affecting women across the country. This International Women’s Day, the Government of Canada invites all of us to take a pledge to advance gender equality and support an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by using #FeministRecovery on your social media accounts.

What is an Inclusive Recovery?

An inclusive recovery offers the opportunity to advance gender equality and provide economic and social stability for all Canadians.

It has identified fundamental gaps in our society and disproportionately impacted those who were already marginalized, vulnerable or struggling. On every front, the COVID-19 pandemic has eroded hard-fought gains to gender equality. From layoffs to lack of child care to increased unpaid work to the rise of domestic violence, women have been most deeply impacted by the health and economic crisis.

The Government of Canada is working to create an Action Plan for Women in the Economy to help women get back into the workforce and ensure a feminist, intersectional response to this pandemic and recovery. This Plan will be led by a diverse task force of experts and guide a whole-of-government approach.

How to Get Involved in Canada’s Response

Learn more about Canada’s Response and Recovery Summit taking place on March 8 and 9, 2021
Pledge to advance gender equality and support an inclusive recovery from COVID-19 in your community using the hashtag #FeministRecovery
Visit the Women of Impact in Canada Gallery to learn about the inspiring achievements of the former inductees

Learn more about how to get involved by clicking the image below:

Creating Together Offerings

Link to craft video to make a card for a special woman in your life: https://fb.watch/42eU9iinQi/

Watch our Circle Time with Leah that is all about loving your body: https://fb.watch/40REt0ARs0/

Also – Join Leah for Women’s Day parent and caregiver discussion and resource share on raising feminist children on March 8th at 2:30 pm (Zoom Link – zoom.us/j/7391226799)

See our virtual program poster below for more information about our virtual programming to support you in being the best you can be for your children).

Welcome Leah!

February 1, 2021 by Melanie

Join us in welcoming Leah, our newest addition to the team at Creating Together! Leah begins today, and we are so thrilled to have her. Below is a letter from Leah, introducing herself and sharing her background, interests, and passion for community.

Hello Creating Together Community!

This is Leah Shoemaker, my pronouns are she/her and I am writing you from my home in Parkdale, Tkaronto/Toronto. I am so excited to be joining the Creating Together community although I admit it is one of the strangest times to start a new job. Not being able to physically introduce myself and get to know you all is going to be a challenge, but it is not impossible. I will be making an introduction video for the Facebook page and would love it if you left a hello comment for me to read! I would love to hear from you on what kind of support I can provide for your family as we move through the pandemic.

I moved to Toronto just over two years ago to continue my education in the field of early childhood studies. In my studies I focused my own research on children’s relationship with nature and continue to think about the ways that children build relationships with more-than-humans such as plants, sky, rocks, animals, etc. and how these aspects of the world are important and valuable.

As I get to know you all over virtual programming, I hope to share with you the different aspects of nature in Parkdale that have helped me heal from the trauma and difficulty that has come with living through a global pandemic. My work with children and families prioritizes joy and healing and I know that it is important to recognize the difficulty that we are all collectively going through currently. We don’t have to pretend everything is okay when we get together online – but we can think about how important it is to come together to build community in new and different ways.

Before living in Toronto I worked in childcare centres and as a librarian in the small, rural town of Invermere B.C. situated in Ktunaxa Nation nestled between the Purcell and Rocky mountain ranges. I will tell you more about my home town during virtual programming and introduce you to my cat, Tara, as well as some of my houseplants! I am also a big Toronto Raptors fan – Go Raps, Go! I can’t wait to read stories, sing songs, play games, and share moments with you over the coming weeks.

Outside of my time working with the Creating Together team I am also an advocate for national universal childcare, children’s rights, and anti-racist, anti-oppressive education in the early years! Families and children are such important parts of community and contribute so much to society. I look forward to spending time with and learning from you!

I hope to see you online!

Get Outside with Parkdale FitPlay!

January 27, 2021 by Melanie

Getting children outside to enjoy time for free play in natural environments increases attentions spans, creative thought, and the desire to learn through exploration (https://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=39558). It also helps their motor, sensory, social and cognitive development – and is great for their general health and well-being (https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/the-benefits-of-outdoor-play).

Finding ways to be active in colder winter months can be challenging, and even more so with physical and social distancing measures in place. The Parkdale Village BIA is proud to support a local community initiative; Parkdale FitPlay! The Parkdale FitPlay Campaign provides a fun affordable way for Parkdalians to be active outdoors safely throughout the winter months. Kicking-off on Wednesday, January 27 for 4 weeks, and with the support of local fitness leaders and personalities from Parkdale’s diverse Black / BIPOC communities, you’re invited to get outside, get fit and have fun!!

Challenge yourself and you could win a prize!

The FitPlay

Community members are encouraged to visit designated public park locations and participate in self-led physical exercise and play, inspired by the FitPlay letter key.

How it works

Each letter of the alphabet, A to Z, is associated with a simple exercise most can perform some variation of safely. E.g. A = 10 high knees on the spot.
Participants self-select a word or phrase and perform the exercises associated with each letter. E.g. P A R K D A L E = 10 squats, 10 high knees on the spot, etc.

Mix up your FitPlay by choosing a new word, a new park or a new challenge each time and invite your Parkdale friends and neighbours to do the same!

Here is What You Need To Do

Video tape yourself, children or family doing some physical activity in a park near you
Upload your video on the dedicated Parkdale FitPlay Facebook event page and Instagram page
Personalize your post! (eg., “Hey Parkdale Friends! I’m so excited to be part of the Parkdale FitPlay – a fun way to be active outdoors safely through the winter! I just FitPlayed at (name of park) and am challenging you to do the same! Take a break, get outside, get outside, get moving then tag a friend! Follow @parkdalefitplay for the exercise key, demo videos, chances to win and more!

FitPlayed on Facebook

FitPlayed on Instagram

Full Details

ParkdaleFitPlay-Poster Download

FitPlay Contest Details (Article by Anna Bartula)

Hashtags: #parkdalefitplay
Instagram/Facebook Tags: @parkdafitplay @supafitmama