Special Activities Archives | Page 9 of 16 | Creating Together Parkdale

What’s on in our Neighbourhood for Halloween?

October 16, 2018 by Creating Together

If you’re looking for some fun ways to celebrate Halloween, Parkdale is the place to be! Take a look at these great events next week – all within the hood!

Pumpkin Carving at Creating Together

You can get started by joining us on October 25th at 1:15pm for a Pumpkin Carving extravaganza at Creating Together – we would love to see you there! Read more about where the tradition of carving pumpkins came from HERE.

Friday Night Movie Showing “Hotel Transylvania 3” at the Parkdale Library Auditorium

Come out Friday October 26th for an early Halloween treat for families! “Count Dracula and company participate in a cruise for sea-loving monsters, unaware that their boat is being commandeered by the monster-hating Van Helsing family.”

Halloween Howl at the High Park Nature Centre

Halloween Howl is back October 26th & 27th! Explore the haunting side of nature at the High Park “Halloween Howl” night hike. This walk through the woodlands will lead to lots of creepy nature spots to learn the not-so-scary truth about bats, spiders, toads, gnomes and decomposers. Finish off the night by warming up around a campfire. Fun for all ages! Costumes are recommended but not required. Don’t forget to bring a glass jar to make your own lantern!

Pumpkin Float at the High Park Wading Pool

Come carve a pumpkin ($3) on October 28th and set it afloat with other ghoulish gourds! Meet at the wading pool in the northwest corner of High Park, just west of the main entrance to High Park at Bloor Street West and High Park Avenue. Proceeds will send a class from a high needs school on a field trip to the High Park Nature Centre this fall!!

Pumpkin Parade at Sorauren Park

And you can bring that pumpkin along with other creations to Sorauren Park on November 1st for the annual, world-famous Pumpkin Parade! With more than 1,500 pumpkins on display in recent years, the Parade is a neighbourhood and even regional highlight of the season.

Costume Party at Creating Together

Come on over on October 31st for a Halloween Costume Party. We’ll have Halloween crafts, songs and other activities. Decorate cupcakes and trick or treat!

And More…

For more activities for kids thoughout Toronto and the GTA this holiday season, check it out – and have a wonderful Halloween!

https://www.todocanada.ca/Halloween-Activities-Events-in-Toronto-GTA-for-Kids/

The Health Benefits of Pumpkins

October 8, 2018 by Creating Together

Halloween is around the corner, and the decorations have hit the yards in preparation for the trick-or-treaters. We hope you’ll join us for our pumpkin carving extravaganza on October 25th! But while we all get ready to break out the pumpkin carving tools, did you know that there are MANY ways a pumpkin can be used, from soups and salads to muffins, smoothies and breads…and even better, they are incredibly healthy?!

Here’s some interesting health benefits of pumpkins:

Did you know that 1/2 cup of boiled pumpkin contains the recommended daily intake of Vitamin A for children? Vitamin A plays a vital role in maintaining your body’s natural defenses. This includes the mucous barriers in your eyes, lungs, gut and genitals which help trap bacteria and other infectious agents.
They are one of the best known sources of the anti-oxidant beta-carotene. Several studies have shown that antioxidants through diet help people’s immune systems, protect against free radicals, and lower the risk of developing cancer and heart disease.
Pumpkins are very high in potassium, which is known to help lower blood pressure!

But let’s not stop there – even the seeds are great (also known as pepitas)! For example, 1/4 cups of pumpkin seeds have nearly half of the recommended daily amount of magnesium, which is important for pumping your heart, proper bone and tooth formation, and relaxation of your blood vessels. And did you know that the oil of pumpkin seeds also have an anti-inflammatory effect, helping with arthritis?

So be sure to check out some creative ways to eat pumpkin with your little ones, and we’ll see you on the 25th for our annual pumpkin carving!

Annual Summer Picnic a Great Success!

September 3, 2018 by Creating Together

We were all in wonderful company and the weather was on our side, at this year’s annual Summer Picnic at Fuller Park.

An old African proverb comes to mind: “it takes a village to raise a child“.

Certainly, when so many families and caregivers come together from different backgrounds to interact with the children of Parkdale, it creates an amazing experience for these children, of safety, happiness, and community.

There was a wonderful turnout, as family and friends of Creating Together gathered from all over Parkdale for an afternoon of feasting, games, face painting and splash pad fun!

It was the perfect way to celebrate an eventful summer, and the incredible community that Creating Together has created for all of us.

Thank you everybody for coming out and

making this such a wonderful day!

Learning with Science: Dancing Mothballs

June 22, 2018 by Creating Together

Cognitive learning is all about watching, listening touching and experiencing. Naturally, children are more likely to absorb things they see and hear around them. Learning techniques such as science activities and experiments are as popular as they are with children, because they really do work with how children learn.

The experts point out that science is important in the lives of young people for a number of reasons:

Science involves a lot of communication with other people.
Science develops patience and perseverance in kids.
It can help kids form a healthy dose of skepticism.
Science teaches kids about the world around them.
Science can spark in kids’ minds that they, too, can help solve the world’s big problems.

To learn more about the benefits of science for children, see our “learning science through play” article from February of this year. But don’t take our word for it – come see for yourself by joining us for our next science activity on June 27th from 1:30-2pm. CT staff will be guiding children through a fun, hands-on “dancing mothball” activity. It will surely ignite your child’s curiosity and fascination with the world around us!

See you there!

Making Healthy Eating Fun

May 26, 2018 by Creating Together

Parents and Caregivers work tirelessly to make food fun, nutritious and educational – which is great, because they play a critical role in improving children’s health. Yet with picky eaters, healthy eating can be quite the challenge. Here are a few ways you can get a healthy eating program moving in your home or community:

1. New to Canada? Join the Peer Nutrition program – designed for newcomer women and their children and is hosted by Parkdale CHC, Toronto Public Health, and West Neighbourhood House. It offers an opportunity to cook and share a nutritious meal, engage with peers on settlement challenges for women parenting, and other issues.

2. Visit the Sorauren Farmers’ Market, which runs every Monday from 3-7pm. Farmers are often thrilled to share their food inspiration with children, and you might consider turning it into an adventure with a scavenger hunt. Ps: the market is currently seeking volunteers for the summer!

3. Get involved with Greenest City. In particular, you might find the Great Garden Adventure program fun – it’s a program run by the Toronto Green Community, and is supported by Greenest City. The program is aimed at kids ages 5-10 and runs every Monday from 2pm – 4pm, starting in July and finishing in late August.

4. Turn healthy snacks into a learning experience at Creating Together’s weekly “make your own pizza” day – an opportunity to learn how to make a fresh, wholesome pizza that kids love!

5. Offer healthy alternatives at events, and have your child get involved in it’s creation!

6. Become a hub coordinator for Food Share, and involve your children in understanding what is in season, what is local, and discover some new recipes you can create with new foods together.

7. Make snacks and meals a routine, offering them at scheduled times throughout the day.

8. Make food the focus by turning off the TV and other devices, and putting away toys during mealtime. New research suggests that cooking family meals and avoiding TV while eating them may lower the chances of becoming obese.

9. Attend a Toddler Food Prep workshop at Creating Together. Each month, Marcela from Foodshare offers parents and caregivers a hands-on toddler food preparation workshop. She shares fast, easy and healthy meal ideas and participants will get to help make and sample the food prepared, including recipes to take home!

10. Lead by example. Your children are more likely to try new foods if you eat them too!

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