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Happy Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Year of the Ox

February 10, 2021 by Creating Together

The Lunar New Year, Chinese Chunjie, Vietnamese Tet, Korean Solnal, Tibetan Losar, also called Spring Festival, is celebrated during the second new moon after the winter solstice, usually between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is typically celebrated in Asian countries, beginning with the first new moon of the year and ending on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later.

Lunar New Year, February 12

This year’s Lunar New Year begins February 12th, as we move into the Year of the Metal Ox. This year, the traditional parades and festivals will not be held around the world because of the pandemic, but here are a few rituals that are traditionally done to celebrate, to help you bring in this renowned celebration with fun and positivity.

Lunar New Year Activities

Visit family and friends – This tradition is so crucial that LNY travel is annually heralded as the ‘world’s largest human migration’. In 2019, 3 billion trips were projected to be made during the holiday season. With the pandemic, getting on zoom and arranging virtual family get togethers is where it’s at.

Share wealth with family – Red packets carrying cash gifts are given to friends and family. It is also tradition for children to give a gift to their grandparents / elders. Take a look at the history of the Red Envelope HERE.

Clear out last year’s clutter – In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the last year is washed away: windows, walls and furniture are all cleaned and dusted. However, all cleaning stops on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so good fortune is not swept away.

Hang red decorations – it is said, according to lunar new year mythology, that red is hung to ward off Nian – a lion-like monster that is afraid of the colour red.

Watch a traditional dance – Further to the red decorations, Nian also doesn’t like loud noises, so drums and cymbals accompany a flying lion dance outdoors. This year, enjoy the dance from home through youtube!

Enjoy this Gallery – and discuss with your loved ones what the lunar new year means for you.

Gallery: Lunar New Year celebrations from around the world

Create Origami Oxen!

A very happy Lunar New Year to you all!

Filed Under: Celebrating Diversity, Family Playtime, Special Activities, Traditions Tagged With: Celebrating Community, Culture and Diversity, family traditions, traditions

Tanya’s Farewell Party

September 3, 2020 by Creating Together

Hello families! We hope you are enjoying these last weeks of summer.

We have a staffing announcement to make: our long-time Program Manager, Tanya Jean-Baptiste, is moving on from Creating Together to take on new opportunities. In the 15 years that Tanya has been a staff member at Creating Together, she has led countless circle times, supported hundreds of families and been a positive part of so many children’s early lives.

Please join us on Saturday 5th September between 10-10:30am for a Virtual Farewell Party for Tanya. Drop in via Zoom at any time between 10am and 10:30am to say goodbye to Tanya and wish her well. See our Event page for the link to join.

Please message us if you have trouble joining.

The link to join via Zoom is in our Event page.
Meeting ID: 711 6746 7261
Password: FAREWELL

Filed Under: Announcements, Special Activities

Enjoying the Benefits of the Arts from Home

August 25, 2020 by Creating Together

Toronto is known for being a mecca of art and culture, and many arts and culture buffs (young and old alike) can’t wait for the theatres and museums to open again! That said, you’d be happy to know that the City of Toronto website offers an extensive list of free arts activities for all ages to enjoy in the comfort of your home.

That’s right – even with COVID, you can absolutely get your art on. Check it out for yourself in the link below, for a full table of activities to choose from for ALL ages:

https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-protect-yourself-others/covid-19-reduce-virus-spread/covid-19-stay-play-learn-at-home/

From weekly virtual art classes and theatrical performances to interactive maps of street art from across the city, there are pages and pages to choose from!

Developmental Benefits of Arts and Culture

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.

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.

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!

Arts and Crafts with Creating Together live on Facebook!

Don’t forget to join us on facebook for some great online arts and crafts activities with Creating Together staff!

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/

So what are you waiting for? Get creating!

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Special Activities, Tips and Tools Tagged With: Art, Culture and Diversity

Fun with Sea Animals

August 14, 2020 by Creating Together

Each week, Creating Together has a learning theme, to structure the activities and fun we have with children and their families. This week’s theme is sea animals.

Fun Facts About Oceans

Here are some fun facts from itsybitsyfun.com:

  • Around 97% of all water is in the oceans and they cover around 71% of Earth’s surface.
  • Pacific Ocean is the biggest one.
  • You can find mountains and volcanoes on the bottom of oceans.
  • The deepest point in the ocean is the Mariana Trench.
  • Oceanic evaporation is the source of most rainfall.
  • Ocean temperatures determine climate.
  • Earth is the only known planet that has oceans (as far as we know for now).
  • The biggest animal in the ocean is the blue whale.
  • We have explored less than 5% of the ocean (to date).

Get your free Printable PDF with Ocean Facts here.

Fun Facts About Sea Animals

  • At 188 decibels, the call of a blue whale is the loudest sound made by any animal on the planet.
  • An electric eel produces enough electricity to light up 10 lightbulbs!
  • With more than 270 species, turtles live almost everywhere in the world except the Antarctica.
  • Sharks don’t have any bones in their entire body!
  • The Killer Whale (Orca) is actually a species of dolphin, not a whale.

Sea Animals Activity with Neetu

Neetu would like to invite you to make a shark and a turtle with construction paper! – It’s easy and fun!

Materials:

Shark – 1 blue sheet, half white sheet, 2 googly eyes, scissor, marker, and glue stick.
Turtle – 1 green sheet, half orange and yellow sheet, 2 googly eyes, scissor, marker, and glue stick.

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/357573141915368/

Story Time With Tanya

Enjoy this fun book “Over the Meadow” with Tanya!

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/325311271854120/

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Special Activities

Enjoying Summer in Nature

June 24, 2020 by Creating Together

Happy Summer Solstice everybody! Back in Spring we wrote about the importance of getting out in nature during COVID-19:

Free play in natural environments increases attentions spans, creative thought, and the desire to learn through exploration (1). It helps their motor, sensory, social and cognitive development – and is great for their general health and well-being (2).

(1) https://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=39558
(2) https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/the-benefits-of-outdoor-play

Well, this week we celebrated the longest day of the year on the summer solstice, and it’s a great time to enjoy all that the sunshine has to offer us. Get out and enjoy the beautiful bounty of the season while shaking off those solitude blah’s, with these fun activities.

First we’d like to kick things off with a fun nature walk with Tanya (here’s a hint – make sure you gather some flowers and small bits from your walk for your nature craft coming up next with Neetu!):

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/192916012130648/

And when you return, from your walk, here’s a fun “Flower Painting and Nature Bracelet” craft you can enjoy with Neetu! The materials you will need include:

  • Flowers,
  • Paints,
  • Paper,
  • Double Tape, and
  • Clear Tape.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=553455038660914

Have a very wonderful summer everybody! We’ll see you soon!

Filed Under: Special Activities Tagged With: nature discovery, Nature Play

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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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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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