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Summer Outdoor Art Activity #2: DIY Nature Paintbrushes

July 27, 2018 by Melanie

Here’s a craft to get you outside, go on a hike, collect some beautiful and interesting textures from nature and start painting!

These DIY nature paintbrushes are great for toddlers, preschoolers and also for older kids.

You will need:

Sticks (1 for each paint brush)
Lots of interesting pieces of nature
Elastic bands (or string)
Poster paint
Large roll of paper

Collecting your nature for this activity is half the fun: find different textures and patterns, talking about what will make good prints.

How to make your paint brushes:

Attach a piece of nature to each stick using an elastic band or a piece of string. Start by attaching the string or band (not too tight), and then slide your nature selections in.

Time to Paint!

Lay out a roll of paper and 2-3 pots of paint with different colours in them. Experiment and play with the different patterns and textures each of the paintbrushes can create – dab, sweep, poke…and have FUN!

Summer Outdoor Art Activity #1: Cotton Ball Splat-Art!

July 20, 2018 by Melanie

Here’s a MESSY outdoor art project to try out with washable kids paint – and don’t forget a paint shirt!

Try it on canvas & add a pop of colour to your home!

You Need

Washable Kids Paint
Rubber Mallet
Butchers Paper
Cotton Rounds

To Make

Step 1. Lay out a large sheet of butchers paper, ensuring to cover a large area! (Things are about to get real messy!)

Step 2. Place blobs of paint (about half the size of the cotton round) over the paper and cover each blob with a cotton round.

Step 3. Now comes the fun part! Swing your mallet and smack it into the cotton round!

Step 4. Once you’re finished, remove the cotton rounds and allow to dry. Now you’re ready to hang your splatter masterpiece!

Improve Your Child’s Health with 60 Minutes / Day

June 30, 2018 by Melanie

Canadian children are lacking the exercise needed for brain health, according to the latest finding of the ParticipACTION report, released last month. The report gives Canadian kids a D+ grade for their overall level of physical activity.

Interestingly, the numbers drop from 62% of children between 3-4 years of age getting the recommended physical activity levels, to only 35 per cent of children from the ages of 5 to 17. Both groups are also getting more screen time than is recommended.

It’s hard to believe, but just 60 minutes/day of physical activity helps children:

develop cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, and bone density
maintain a healthy body weight
increased creativity
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

And even harder to believe is that children who aren’t active enough are at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiovascular illnesses.

5 years ago, a study across Canada showed us that only 1 in 10 children in Canada met the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Knowing what this meant for their health, across the country people have been working to make physical activity a regular part of daily Canadian living.

Let’s Make a Difference

Here are a few tips to help teach children the importance of daily physical activity:

Let us Help! At Creating Together, we apply the City of Toronto’s Rainbow Fun Guide in our programming – a physical activity and healthy eating program for children 3-6 years old. Through this program, children build on skills like listening, singing, movement and participation, while developing their fine and gross motor skills. Keep your eye out in our calendar for the busy body exercise cards, parachute play, play in the park, and scarf dancing.
Encourage – gently encourage them to walk or ride their bikes
Schedule – be sure there is active time scheduled each day
Mix it up – intersperse periods of moderate activity (e.g., walking or biking) with periods of more vigorous activity (e.g., running or or tag)
Register – check with the Fun Guide, local schools and community centres for affordable programs (e.g., swimming, soccer, gymnastics)
Unstructured Activity – For children who shy away from competition, build in physical activities that are informal and unstructured (e.g., tag)
Mimicry – children under the age of six are constantly learning by copying what they see and hear, so set a positive example by being physically active as a family.
Praise – remember to praise your children for being active. Confidence is the key to success!
Share – reinforce positive health messages with other parents and caregivers, with information about physical activity, healthy eating and self-esteem.

Other Resources:

Towards a Healthier Canada – 2017 Progress report on advancing the federal / provincial / territorial framework on healthy weights.

Understanding Childhood Fears

May 31, 2018 by Melanie

No matter how much some children are told not to worry, they continue to do so. And these worries, along with overwhelming feelings that seem to put a damper on everything, rob them of much pleasure and fun. As we age, we release many of these fears – but as a parent or guardian, you might want to understand how can you best understand your child’s fears, and how can you help ease your child’s worries and anxieties.

Understanding Fear and Anxiety

Simply put, fear is:

an agitated feeling associated by actual or threatening danger, pain, or harm. It is a normal and sensible response to something that could reasilistically cause harm.” (http://www.sickkidscmh.ca/ABC/Parent-Resource/The-Worried-Child/Specific-Fears.aspx)

Young children have less experience with the world, they encounter things for the first time and don’t understand what is either reasonable in terms of danger, pain, or harm. As a result, children tend to have many more fears than adults.

Anxiety on the other hand, brings out the same physical responses associated with fear, but to events or things that are not dangerous, or much less dangerous than the person imagines them to be. For example, some children are anxious about being left with a stranger, when, as the adult knows, there is absolutely no threat from Aunt Mary. The child’s perceptions result in powerful feelings that harm is likely to come their way.

“Without fear, we’d jump headlong into things we shouldn’t,” says Tamar E. Chansky, PhD, author of Freeing Your Child from Anxiety. The first response to fear and anxiety is to try to avoid the feared object or situation – and for many young children, this solution seems to be adequate. From their perspective there is no need to do anything else. Most adults, however, see that this is not the best solution, and if you avoid the things you fear, then the fear increases and you may lose out on positive experiences like play dates and sleepovers.

Common Fears

Children and parents share many of the same fears (e.g., getting lost, unexpected noises, silence in a new environment), but also fear things that come from their own imagination (e.g., monsters). According to Amy Stuart of WebMD, Some of the most common things young children under the age of 5 are often afraid of are:

Fears of an Infant / Toddler

Loud noises or sudden movements
Large looming objects
Strangers
Separation
Changes in the house

Fears During Preschool Years

The dark
Noises at night
Masks
Monsters and ghosts
Animals such as dogs

[https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/childhood-fears-anxieties#1]

What to Do: Tips for Parents and Caregivers

Each month, Creating Together holds information sessions for parents and caregivers on different topics of interest to the community, and May’s topics of conversation were “Childhood Fears”. The information sessions were focused largely on 2 of the most common childhood fears:

Fear of being away from parents: Even if the parent / caregiver leaves the room for a few minutes, the child may get upset.
Fear of strangers: Up to about 6 months, babies usually smile and “go to” almost anyone – but by about 7 months, many will show a fear of strangers, especially if the stranger gets very friendly too quickly.

Below are some tips for helping your child feel better while you’re away, and helping them feel better with “new” people. For more information, please come to Creating Together and ask for the Toronto Public Health handout that was given at the information session, and check out the “Additional Resources for Use with Children” below.

Tips: Helping your child feel better while you’re away:

Tell your child when you are leaving and when you’ll be back
When you are in another room, talk so that they can hear you
Take them with you if you are going to be away more than a few minutes
Let your child get to know the babysitter before leaving them alone together
Have the babysitter come before your child goes to bed
Always say goodbye (never sneak out_
Try not to show your guilt if you are feeling guilty about leaving them
Never get mad or tease your child for being afraid

Tips: Helping your child feel better with “new” people:

Give your baby time to get to know the stranger – let them set the pace
Have the person give the baby something to play with – when they smile and take the toy, they are showing a readiness to make new friends
Never make the baby to to the person
Stay where the baby can see you
Never get mad or tease your child for being afraid

Tips: Helping your child feel comfortable in new places:

Tell the child about the new place and what they can do there
Stay with them for as long as they want
Take them on trips to the zoo, park, shopping or visiting
Never get mad or tease your child for being afraid

Additional Resources for Use with Children:

Self Calming Cards. A set of 24 cards suitable for use with children that provide verbal, visual, playful and self-nurturing strategies for calming yourself down. By E. Crary. (2004). Seattle, WA: Parenting Press.

Starbright: Meditations for children. This is one of several books that Maureen Garth has written that have simple meditation and visualisation exercises that help children to relax. By M. Garth. (1991). New York: Harper Collins.

When I feel afraid. This is a picture book to use with younger children who feel afraid. By C. J. Meiners. (2003). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

When I’m feeling scared. Written by an Australian Psychologist, this book is ideal for use with younger primary aged children. By T. Moroney. (2005). Rowville, VIC: Five Mile Press.

Cool karma – Relaxation for children and adolescents. Written by an Australian Occupational Therapist, this article provides examples of simple relaxation techniques such as breathing awareness and visualisation strategies for young people. Available from: http://www.e-bility.com/articles/relax.php

Summer Outdoor Art Activity #2: DIY Nature Paintbrushes

Summer Outdoor Art Activity #1: Cotton Ball Splat-Art!

Improve Your Child’s Health with 60 Minutes / Day

Understanding Childhood Fears

Understanding Fear and Anxiety

Common Fears

What to Do: Tips for Parents and Caregivers

Tips: Helping your child feel better while you’re away:

Tips: Helping your child feel better with “new” people:

Tips: Helping your child feel comfortable in new places:

Additional Resources for Use with Children:

Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

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