Family Playtime Archives | Creating Together Parkdale

Get Outside! Outdoor Programming at Creating Together

May 9, 2022 by Melanie

New Outdoor Program has begun!

It’s that time of year! The weather is getting nicer and we are so happy to announce the return of outdoor programming starting May 2nd.

Our new outdoor program will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays, with Drop-in program provided from 9:00am-10:30am at Beaty Avenue Parkette (66 Beaty Avenue, a two minute walk from Creating Together).

Benefits of Nature

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.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get outside!

What should I bring?

It’s always good to come prepared 🙂 Please bring:

water bottles,
sunscreen, and
weather appropriate clothing.

After the outdoor program ends at 10:30 am, the Creating Together staff will stroll back to the centre to continue the program and provide snack at 11:00 am. We welcome families to join us on our stroll back to the centre, and for those who wish to join at the centre, we encourage you to come at 11:00 am or later.

Do I need to wear a Mask?

Masks will not be required for outdoor programs however our staff will remain masked. During Outdoor Programming Creating Together indoor space will be closed for drop-in, however if you need to use the washroom during the outdoor program you can head to the centre.

What if it rains?

If the outdoor program is rained out, we will instead open the indoor drop-in program at the centre.

Outdoor and Indoor Program Schedule

Here’s when we are outside and inside through the week:

Monday & Tuesday

9:00am – 10:30am- Beaty Avenue Parkette (Outdoor Program)
10:30 – 11:00 – Family Transition Time
11:00am – 1:30pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Wednesday – Friday

9:00am – 1:30 pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Two Saturdays a month:

10:00am – 2:00pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

You can view additional program details and special events on our monthly calendar, linked here.

Welcoming May at Creating Together

May 2, 2022 by Melanie

It’s time to welcome May here in Parkdale – and with it, we mark one successful month of drop-in programs! This month we acknowledge CMHA Mental Health Week May 2-8, 2022. We also wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers in our community, and Eid Mubarak to the Muslim Community! We look forward to celebrating and acknowledging these days in the centre this month. The warmer weather brings some exciting changes at Creating Together. Read on below for further programming updates and news.

COVID-19 Protocol

We have returned to mandatory masking in the centre, and encourage the same for children over the age of two, should they be able to comfortably mask. We will no longer be screening upon your arrival, yet we invite you and your family to self-screen using the following tool or our posted notice at the door. We wish to remind families who have travelled outside of Canada, that Ontario Public Health requires that you wear a mask in public spaces for 14 days, monitor symptoms, and track all close contacts.

For the safety and respect of all of our community members, we continue to ask that you remain at home if a member of your household feels unwell. For families who continue to feel well enough to join us at the centre, please ensure you sign yourself in and out of the program on the attendance sheet.

We are thankful for your continued cooperation.

Program Update

Thank you to everyone who has joined in as we re-opened the drop in program for the first time in two years. The gravity of how important this space is for children and families to gather and connect has never been clearer. We are grateful to rebuild our practices together and build new understandings of what we all need to feel safe, welcomed, and represented in this space as we support young children who are growing and learning within a complex world.

Invitation to Collaborate

As staff and families re-acquaint ourselves with the program we would like to invite more collaboration back into the centre.

Would you like to lead circle or story time?
Would you like to plan a special day or celebration?
Do you have feedback or suggestions on how we can better represent and support you and our community?
Do your children have questions or inquiries they would like to explore at Creating Together?
Help us represent your home language at the centre by making labels for items in the centre!

Over the next few weeks Leah will be checking in with families in-person, emails, and phone calls to connect on how we can meet your needs going forward. Please feel free to connect with Leah during drop-in program for an informal chat about ideas or ways you might want to contribute to the program.

Community Guidelines

With drop-in program re-established we would also like to provide some updated community guidelines:

Please ensure food/eating/chewing takes place at the tables and hands are washed before returning to playtime.
Creating Together is a place for caretakers, parents, and guardians to connect and play with children. Play is an essential way young children learn. We discourage cell phone use and encourage you to instead focus on following your child’s joy, curiosity, and interests while joining our programs.
Thank you for participating in cleanup routines and modelling collaboration. We are looking into the future and considering how we can safely return to a more open kitchen policy for families. Thank you for your patience as we continue to limit kitchen use and take gradual steps to ensure we re-open safely.

New Outdoor Program!

Our new Outdoor Program will begin on May 2nd and will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays. Drop-in program will be provided at 9:00am-10:30am at Beaty Avenue Parkette (66 Beaty Avenue, a two minute walk from Creating Together). Following our outdoor program, we will walk back to Creating Together for snack at 11, followed by indoor programming. See below for our schedule.

Program Schedule

We continue to offer a reduced virtual program schedule (including Science with Sal), as well as in-person program Monday to Friday 9:00am-1:30pm and two Saturdays a month 10:00am – 2:00pm (please note the location of programs below). You can also view additional program details and special events on our monthly calendar, linked here.

Monday & Tuesday

9:00am – 10:30am- Beaty Avenue Parkette (Outdoor Program)
10:30 – 11:00 – Family Transition Time
11:00am – 1:30pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Wednesday – Friday

9:00am – 1:30 pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Two Saturdays a month:

10:00am – 2:00pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Special Guests

We are lucky enough to welcome two special guests this May for circle time! Mark your calendar and join us for these exciting guest visits at Creating Together:

Natalija from Parkdale Library, will join us May 4th from 10:00am – 10:30am
Nina from Glitterbug 2SLGBTQ+ EarlyON Program, will join us May 11th from 10:00am – 10:30am
We look forward to being joined this month by an Early Childhood Studies student from Toronto Metropolitan University, and an ECE student from Humber College. Let’s give them a warm-Creating Together-welcome!

Resource Boxes

With the expansion of our in-person services, Resource Boxes will be limited in materials moving forward. Resource Boxes will still be available for families actively using our program, in the first two weeks of May, until May 13th.

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

Let’s Keep Connected

To see some of Creating Together’s daily sunshine, give us a follow on our new Instagram account @creatingtogetherearlyon – catch all of our centre updates, shared activities, and unforgettable program moments!

Welcome May! We’re so glad you’re here.

Earth Day Activities this Month at Creating Together

April 19, 2022 by Melanie

April 22nd is Earth Day – and we have a couple great activities and resources to share with you!

Over the month of April the Drop-in program explored gardening and plants. On Monday, April 11^th we graphed the different plants/seeds that children and families may want to plant followed by planting seeds based on that information on April 20^th.

So join us for Earth Day on April 21^st at the drop-in program to celebrate Earth! We will be providing opportunities for children to play with materials that connect to soil, sky, water, as well as education around plastic waste.

Earth Day will also set off the process of creating a land acknowledgement as a Creating Together community by first learning about the purpose behind land acknowledgements.

Other Resources:

Learn how to say “Happy Earth Day” in 40 other languages HERE!
21 Earth Day Activities for Kids

Egg Decorating an Ancient Tradition

April 4, 2022 by Melanie

The Spring tradition of egg decorating is one of the most ancient decorative arts, with the oldest cache of decorated eggs were found in Africa, dating back 65,000-55,000 years (1).

Around the world and across cultures, eggs are decorated to celebrate their symbolism: life, renewal, rebirth, healing, protection, and the coming of Spring.

*An Iranian altar celebrating Nowruz, the Iranian New Year*

Here are some examples of egg decorating across cultures and traditions:

Iranians decorate eggs to honour Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, which falls on the Spring Equinox. This is now practiced across Eurasia by Persian and Turkish peoples across faiths.
Christians celebrate the egg at Easter, to honour the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In China, red eggs are given as gifts to a bride and groom, or for a new born baby. They symbolize fertility, health, protection and good fortune.

This month, Creating Together will be celebrating this ancient tradition with an egg decorating craft on April 13th, followed by an egg hunt on April 14th – no registration required!

Join us in this ancient tradition on April 13th, followed by an Egg Hunt April 14th!

Texier, Pierre-Jean, et al. “A Howiesons Poort tradition of engraving ostrich eggshell containers dated to 60,000 years ago at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, South Africa.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 107, No. 14 (April 6, 2010), pp. 6180-6185 and Pierre-Jean Texier, et al, “The context, form and significance of the MSA engraved ostrich eggshell collection from Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Western Cape, South Africa,” Journal of Archaeological Science 40(9), September 2013. See also: Michael Balter, “Engraved Eggs Suggest Early Symbolism,” Science Magazine, March 1, 2010, for images of some fragments and a discussion of the importance of the find.

Get Your Art On this April

April 1, 2022 by Melanie

Creating Together has some fun art activities planned this month, to help families get their art on!

Apart from the apparent fun that’s ready to be had when exploring art and culture, there are so many developmental benefits of art for children as well:

Motor Skills: According to the National Institutes of Health, developmental milestones around age three should include drawing a circle and beginning to use safety scissors. Did you know that many preschool programs emphasize the use of scissors because it develops the dexterity children will need for writing?
Language Development: Making art gives children opportunities to learn words for colors, shapes and actions. As they get older, children use more and more descriptive words to discuss their creation or how they feel about them.
Decision Making: Over the process of creating art, children need to carry out a number of decisions and choices, and this skill can help them in other areas of life. The act of exploring, thinking, and experimenting can’t be underestimated!
Visual Learning: Children are very visual, taking in information and cues from pictures or objects and learning from what they see are the building blocks for reading, drawing, and sculpting!

“Parents need to be aware that children learn a lot more from graphic sources now than in the past. Children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it.”
Dr. Kerry Freedman, Head of Art and Design Education at Northern Illinois University.

5. Cultural Awareness: Especially in cities like Toronto and neighbourhoods like Parkdale, we live in a very diverse community. When looking at a piece of art or cultural piece, try to have a conversation with them to help them see the choice or point of view an artist is portraying.

6. Academic Performance: In an article by the Art and Music Centre a student involved in the arts is:

4x more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
4x more likely to participate in a math or science fair.
3x more likely to win an award for school attendance.
3x more likely to be elected to class office.

Did you know that lower income or socioeconomic students experience even greater benefits from the arts? It’s true: Low income students highly engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely to graduate compared to their peers with no arts education, and have a 5x lower dropout rate!

So what are you waiting for? Make a plan to come by for some creative art time this month!