Family Resource Centre

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Nurturing Art in Childhood

November 27, 2019 by Melanie

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Albert Einstein

Art is vital to the mental, emotional, and psychological development in children. Children benefit from discovering art by doing and exploring an array of art materials. They are naturally curious and love to experiment with colors, textures and art tools. Using, safe, non-toxic art materials, toddlers can get messy using their hands to feel and apply paint; scribbling with markers and crayons; painting with sponges, brushes and other tools; squeezing safe modeling materials; cutting all types of paper products with safety scissors; gluing materials to create something new; and playing with shapes. These types of activities help toddlers to develop fine motor skills and cognitive abilities while promoting creativity and building fine motor skills.

“Research indicates that a child who is exposed to the arts acquires a special ability to think creatively, be original, discover, innovate, and create intellectual property—key attributes for individual success and social prosperity in the twenty-first century.”

International Child Art Foundation

How Parents and Caregivers Can Encourage Artistic Play

Stencil Art Table at Creating Together

Set Aside Space

Having a specific area in the home that always has a variety of art materials available for children is a great way to interest and encourage children to experiment with art. Don’t put everything out at once, as it can be overwhelming and distracting for a young child. Supply paper plates, recycled paper, old magazines and such to encourage creative clipping and for making pictures and collages.

Practice Non-Judgement

Resist the urge to direct a child’s art creation or judge it. Creative expression and making choices builds independence in young children, as they naturally learn to do more and more by themselves each day. A child may experiment with colors and end up with something that looks muddy – yet this unintended outcome is a great opportunity for a child to learn by doing.

Huge gratitude to our funders for this new art station we were able to bring in
for the children of Creating Together!

Ask Questions

Parents can show interest by asking their child about the story behind the artwork. “How did you make it?” What is it all about?” “What do you really like about it?” Listen up! When a child asks a question, encourage the child to solve it by him/herself. “How do you think that might work?” “What can you try?” What would happen if….” Parents and caregivers can reinforce language by discussing colors, shapes, patterns and all aspects of the creative process.

Displaying Artwork

Art on display at Creating Together

Displaying a child’s artwork is also a great way to encourage a child to create art because it shows how much a parent values the child’s very original creation!

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Tips and Tools Tagged With: Art, child development, Play

November Highlights

November 5, 2019 by Melanie

The November Calendar is now out, and we have a lot of amazing things in store for the parents, caregivers, and children of Parkdale. Read below for some great highlights!

Fun With Nature

Join us on November 11th and November 22nd to enjoy the benefits of nature, at our local parks.

Researchers and natural environmentalists have been studying the effects of exposure to nature on children, and have found some interesting results: Engagement with nature has huge benefits for children physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.

For instance, Adams & Savahl (2017) discovered it has a significant influence on children’s emotional and social well-being, while Pensini, Horn, & Caltabiano, (2016) discovered that early exposure to nature improves one’s mental health as an adult. Would you like to help improve your child’s short-term memory and ability to focus? Another study shows that being in nature for extended periods of time promotes the development of attention skills, while protecting against inattention-hyperactivity symptoms such as (Ulset, Vitaro, et al, 2017). There are also a number of physical benefits, such as improved vision, and reduced risk of obesity.

Keeping Active

Twice a month, we create healthier communities by bringing in the Busy Body Exercise Cards twice per month.

Did you know Adequate levels (60 minutes/day) of physical activity helps children:

  • develop cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and bone density
  • maintain a healthy body weight
  • reduce the risk of chronic disease and health problems
  • lessen the likelihood of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use
  • feel better every day, through improved mental health and well-being

Scarf Dancing is not only fun, but it’s incredibly good for children, and can be practiced at home as well. Here are some benefits:

  1. Sparking imagination as we explore all kinds of ways to play with our scarves
  2. Teaching directional tracking as we visually track our scarves’ movement
  3. Improving eye-hand coordination as we play catch or peekaboo
  4. Increasing vocabulary as we verbally describe what we are doing with our scarves
  5. Sharpening listening skills as we move our scarves based on musical or verbal cues
  6. Practicing inhibitory skills as we start and stop our movements with the scarves

Fun with Food

Join us at 9:30am on November 5th for some family baking, or the 28th at 9:30am to make oatmeal, raisin cookies. And don’t forget our monthly Toddler Food Preparation workshop with Marcella from FoodShare!

Supporting Literacy

Every Monday is Literacy Day at Creating Together. From 9:30am to 10:30am a staff member will read with a small group or one-on-one, and introduce songs and stories on CDs as well as a variety of stories.

Also, storytime takes place every day at 1pm. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to bring a special book from home that can be shared during this time.

Our Family Support Worker can share with you some strategies on how to read to small children. Every two months a professional literacy consultant provides educational workshops for families. In fact, this month we are very happy to have circle with the Parkdale Public Library Librarian on the 29th at 11am.

Did you know? Books with CDs and headphones are available for use with the children and a variety of children’s books can be borrowed for use at home through our Resource Lending Library.

Encouraging Inquiry

Children learn so much through science. So, each month we facilitate a fun learning science activity. This month’s science activities are the “underwater volcano” on November 8th and “the orange experiment” on November 25th. Curious? Come out and enjoy!

Filed Under: Announcements, Family Playtime, Special Activities, What's On in Parkdale

Family Baking: Healthy Muffins

October 14, 2019 by Melanie

This week, parents and caregivers came together at Creating Together to enjoy family-time baking together making “Healthy Muffins”. We shared a great basic muffin mix, that you can change up by adding whatever dried fruit your little ones prefer! Scroll down for the recipe, and mark your calendars for our upcoming Toddler Food Preparation Workshop on October 16th at 10am!

Did you know…

  • You can freeze any muffin! Bake, completely cool and freeze in any air tight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for 3-4 hours or overnight.
  • Have an egg allergy? Want to try a vegan option? Substitute eggs with mashed banana, pumpkin, or applesauce (one-fourth cup of the purée per egg). Another option is ground flax or chia seeds (whisk together 1 tablespoon of ground chia or flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of water until fully absorbed and thickened).

Try it at Home

If you couldn’t make it to family-time baking this week, enjoy the muffin recipe below and try it at home! Feel free to save and print this recipe card and add it to your cookbook 🙂

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Healthy Eating, Recipes

Scarf Dancing

September 30, 2019 by Melanie

The music turns on, the scarves are passed around, and the parents, caregivers, and kids go wild. Toss it. Twirl it. Throw it and catch it. And we kick off every month with it at Creating Together.

Benefits of Scarf Dancing

So what is scarf dancing and what makes it so great?

Most kids love dancing and involving a scarf makes it even more fun. Whether your child is a baby or toddler, there are so many great benefits to scarf play. KinderMusik, an organization committed to empowering young children to learn through music, describes a number of benefits to dancing with scarves (KinderMusik.com):

  1. Sparking imagination as we explore all kinds of ways to play with our scarves
  2. Teaching directional tracking as we visually track our scarves’ movement
  3. Improving eye-hand coordination as we play catch or peekaboo
  4. Increasing vocabulary as we verbally describe what we are doing with our scarves
  5. Sharpening listening skills as we move our scarves based on musical or verbal cues
  6. Practicing inhibitory skills as we start and stop our movements with the scarves

It may not sound like much, but kids love it – and there are so many different games that can be brought into the mix, to keep in changing each month.

Scarf Games and Activities to Try at Home

12 Educational Games to do with scarves at home, from Birth to Age 4 – ParentHub.com

Scarf Play at Home – KinderMusik.com

Scarf Activities for Kids – TheInspiredTreehouse.com

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Tips and Tools

September Calendar

September 5, 2019 by Melanie

Creating Together staff are back n full swing after a wonderful summer break, and excited to bring families a great September program calendar!

If you anything missing on our calendar that you’d like to see in our program, please come in and let us know!

Inter-generational Programming

Every day, children come with parents and caregivers of every day. In addition, wach month, we spend Circle Time with the senior citizens at White Eagle Residence. We sing songs together, read stories and chat with the residents. This month we’ll be doing this on September 5th from 10:45-11:15am. Meet us there, or walk over with us from Creating Together.

Healthy Eating

On September 12th, we invite you all to join us for a cooking activity at 9:30am. Also, our regular monthly guest, Marcella, will be offering a Toddler Food Prep workshop on September 18th at 10am.

Physical Activity

Busy Bodies exercise cards continues Wednesday the 4th and 18th from 10:45-11:00am and 2:15-2:30, using 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.

Rainbow Fun is another activity we will be holding September 16th from 10:45-11:00am, and 2:15-2:30. The Rainbow Fun Physical Activity Program was produced by the City of Toronto & The Grey Bruce Health Unit. We choose different physical activities for each session and adapt them as needed to suit the children’s developmental level. We always start with a warm-up and stretches, and we finish with a cool down.

You also won’t want to miss Scarf Dancing September 6th at 10:45am, and Parachute Play September 20th at 1:15pm.

Public Health and Inclusion

This month, Toronto Public Health Nurse will be returning September 25th so please join us and bring your questions and concerns at 10am.

Also, on September 26th at 12:30, we are welcoming guests from the Glitter Bug Program from the 519 LBTTQ2S EarlyON Mobile Program. They will be joining us for circle and sharing resources with staff and families. Join us and help us create safe, affirming, equitable spaces for everyone!

Literacy

Each Monday from 9:30-10:30am and 1:30-2:30pm is “Literacy Monday”, where children 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.

In addition, every day at 1pm we gather and read a story together as a group for Story Time, to help children become familiar with sounds, words, language and the value of books. Together, we can build your child’s early literacy skills, helping them go on to read successfully later in life.

Music

We’ll be getting into a groove together with Circle Time with Musical Instruments on Tuesdays from 11:00-11:30 and 2:30-3:00pm.

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Healthy Eating, Special Activities, What's On in Parkdale

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About Us

Our Programs

Guidelines

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Upcoming Events

Dec
16
Mon
all day Holiday Party Registration
Holiday Party Registration
Dec 16 – Dec 17 all day
Your are invited to attend out Annual Holiday Party Registration continues
9:00 am Family Play-Time
Family Play-Time
Dec 16 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Join us every day for developmentally appropriate activities: explore our toys and costumes, book corner and storytimes, sand and water tables, and craft stations.
9:30 am Literacy Monday
Literacy Monday
Dec 16 @ 9:30 am – 10:30 am
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[...]
10:45 am Rainbow Fun Physical Activity Pr...
Rainbow Fun Physical Activity Pr...
Dec 16 @ 10:45 am – 11:00 am
The Rainbow Fun Physical Activity Program was produced by the City of Toronto & The Grey Bruce Health Unit. We choose different physical activities for each session and adapt them as needed to suit the[...]
11:00 am Circle Time
Circle Time
Dec 16 @ 11:00 am – 11:30 am
Songs, rhymes and dancing for children and their caregivers to join in. Every Circle Time is slightly different – we feature scarf dancing, musical instruments and more each week.
1:00 pm Story Time
Story Time
Dec 16 @ 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Reading helps children become familiar with sounds, words, language and the value of books. This all builds your child’s early literacy skills, helping her go on to read successfully later in life. We gather and read[...]
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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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Upcoming Events

Dec
16
Mon
all day Holiday Party Registration
Holiday Party Registration
Dec 16 – Dec 17 all day
Your are invited to attend out Annual Holiday Party Registration continues
9:00 am Family Play-Time
Family Play-Time
Dec 16 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Join us every day for developmentally appropriate activities: explore our toys and costumes, book corner and storytimes, sand and water tables, and craft stations.
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MON 9:00am - 5:00pm
TUE 9:00am - 5:00pm
WED 9:00am - 5:00pm
THU 9:00am - 2:30pm
FRI 9:00am - 2:30pm
SAT 10am - 2:00pm (twice monthly)
SUN Closed

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Creating Together
1497 Queen St. West (at Sorauren Ave.) Phone: (416) 537-1004
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12947 6248 RR0001
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