Special Activities Archives | Page 8 of 16 | Creating Together Parkdale

Join us for our Annual Holiday Party!

November 25, 2018 by Creating Together

Each year, the staff, students, children, parents and caregivers come together to celebrate the holiday season with an unforgettable community event at the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre in Parkdale (220 Cowan Avenue).

The day includes feasting, games, a visit from Santa, and entertainment for all ages. It’s an event that brings the community together in joy and celebration one more time before our doors close for the holidays until the New Year.

If you’d like to join us, please speak with one of the staff at Creating Together,

as it is a ticketed event and registration is required.

We certainly hope to see you there!

Thank You for Joining Us at the Diwali Celebration This Year!

November 17, 2018 by Creating Together

Diwali was celebrated on November 7th this year, in accordance with the Lunar Calendar, across Toronto. With over 2000 people identifying as Hindu in the Parkdale-High Park area alone, our local Diwali celebrations fostered a sense of home and community for those who observe the holiday, while increasing awareness, understanding, and compassion among children, parents and caregivers who observe other holidays.

At Creating Together, we celebrated with decorating paper diyas, henna painting, and the sharing of food and sweets.

According to Penn State Extension, children begin to notice gender and racial differences at about age 2, gender labels (boy/girl) and colours (including those applied to skin colour) at about 2 ½, and by 4-5 years, they start to display gender appropriate behavior and become fearful of differences.

Diversity activities teach young children to respect and celebrate the differences in all people, while also helping them understand who they are the context of race, ethnic group, culture, religion, geography, language and familial history. It helps them realize that we’re all humans, despite differences in how we look or dress, or what we eat or celebrate. Games and activities offer a fun way for young children to learn about differences and similarities among people and to introduce the concept of diversity. In so doing, we support them in their own identity formation and sense of belonging within the context of a diverse community.

Thank you to all of you who came out to enjoy Diwali with Creating Together this year.

May joy, prosperity, and happiness illuminate your life and your home!

Resources:

Public Broadcasting Sysyem. “Diversity in the Classroom.” Precious Children. www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/

Biles, Barbara. “Activities that promote racial and cultural awareness.” In “Family Child Care Connections” edited by C. M. Todd 4(3): 4. Urbana-Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service, 1994. Retrieved September 2012. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/diversity/read_activities.html

Building Blocks With Your Child

November 9, 2018 by Creating Together

Next time you’re in Creating Together, look up – you’ll see a number of signs designating areas as stations for different kinds of learning.

This month, staff are offering information sessions on one of these stations – Building Blocks. The first session held November 8th was a great success, and if you weren’t able to make it, you can attend the next one on the 12th at 1:30pm.

Did you know that building blocks with your child has a number of benefits?

Benefits of Block Play

Teaches children concept of weight, height, balance, space, shape, size, mass counting, and colours
Enhances language skills, such as labelling
Improves motor skills, such as stability and coordination
Supports their social skill development, by helping them communicate ideas and cooperate with their peers
Encourages problem solving, creativity, and imagination
Fun!

Did you know that there is a guide that Creating Together uses in their programming, to ensure they are meeting guidelines and best practices for child development?

Learning Domains and Skill Indicators for Block Play

The 2007 provincial publication of Early Learning for Every Child Today: A framework for Ontario early childhood settings (2014) describes how young children learn and develop, and offers a guide for curriculum in Ontario’s early childhood settings, such as child care centers, regulated home child care, nursery schools, Ontario Early Years Centres, family resource programs, parenting centres, etc.

When we do Block Play, we tap into a number of learning domains and areas of skill development, according to this guide. Below are some examples of learning domains and consequent indicators of skill development, which Parents and caregivers can use, as the staff of Creating Together do, to support each child’s learning and development.

Problem Solving (4.2): Use blocks to experiment with balance and positions
Classifying (4.10): Move from random classification by one, or more
Cooperating (1.6): Exchange ideas and material during play
Interacting with Adults (1.9): Seeing adults as resources in exploration and problem solving
Vocabulary (3.3): Using new words
Language (3.5): Using descriptive language, such as sentences, to explain, explore, and describe objects

Block Play Tips for Parents and Caregivers

Parents and caregivers can do a number of things to help children get the most of their block play:

Play at the child’s level
Use blocks to experiment with balances and positions
Expand interests with the use of pictures, books, and other aids
Build the world’s tallest / widest tower
Try to blow the tower down
Build small cities, trains, roads, castles, boats, buses
Have building blocks lead to pretend play (e.g., the houses of the 3 little pigs, the wheels on the bus)

For more tips and some hands-on mentorship in Block Play,

please come to our next Information Session on November 12th at 1:30pm!

Celebrate Diwali With Us!

November 2, 2018 by Creating Together

At Creating Together, our crafts and creative projects focus on celebrations and the many diverse cultures of our families – and Diwali is no exception. Come by on November 7th to celebrate and learn more about this festival, so loved by millions around the world!

What is Diwali?

Diwali, Deepavali or Dipavali is the five-day festival of lights, which is celebrated every autumn in the northern hemisphere. Millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world celebrate the festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year. It is a very exciting and colourful holiday. Homes are cleaned to welcome the New Year and windows are opened so that the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, can enter. It is believed that she cannot enter a house which is not lit up, so every household burns special Diwali clay lamps (diyas) to light the way for the goddess, which is why the holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights.

Why is it Important to Teach Diversity and Celebrate Different Cultures?

Teaching children about the importance of celebrating different cultures and diversity will help your children tremendously. Did you know that being culturally aware can have a significant affect on your child’s success, promoting creativity, high-level thinking, and collaboration.

Our Parkdale community represents so many different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicity, language, religion, and physical ability. Being diverse is defined as all the ways we are alike and different. What are some advantages to teaching about and helping your child be more culturally aware?

Promote inclusion: Learning about cultures, languages, religions and holidays other than their own helps kids learn that others may be very different from them, and promotes inclusion.
Appreciating difference: By learning some of the incredible things that come from other cultures and ways of living, we teach children to appreciate differences rather than fear them.
Overcoming stereotypes: Children need to know that it’s ok to be different, and to learn and grow together. This encourages the creative thinking, understanding, and compassion needed to overcome stereotypes.

So, we invite you to join us on November 7th for this year’s Diwali Celebration, with crafts, treats, and amazing company. If you’re curious about Diwali, there will be a display board up with information about this time of year, and some interesting facts!

Hope to see you there!

Bubble Blowing Fun!

October 23, 2018 by Creating Together

Join us for some bubble play on October 26th at 1:15 – and get ready to have some fun!

But did you know that bubble play also an amazing way to work on developmental skills, such as:

Fine motor skills & hand/eye coordination

It takes a lot of fine motor skills to pinch the skinny wand, coordinate two hands to hold the bottle and dip, hold the blower with a pencil-like grasp, and using hands in different ways to pop the bubbles – who knew?

Visual tracking skills

Those little ones work their visual tracking skills when they follow where the bubbles go.

Sensory processing skills

Bubbles have such an interesting texture, your little ones will experience their wetness, sliminess, stickiness. What’s more, the act of blowing can also be a very effective sensory-based way to help kids “organize”, calm, and focus their bodies.

Social and communication skills

When playing in a group like we do at Creating Together, children practice taking turns, keeping personal space. They also establish eye contact and ask or signal to you for “more”.

Gross motor skills

Have you seen kids chase bubbles?! What an fun way to get kids to stretch up, squat to the floor, run, jump, and reach!

Identifying body parts

Pop with your finger, your elbow, your knee, or your nose!

Language and cognitive skills

You can use bubble play as an opportunity to describe what the bubbles are doing, what the children notice.

Come and try it out this Thursday afternoon, and feel free to ask the staff any questions on how to turn Bubble Play into an incredible learning opportunity for you and your little one!

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