Children came together with their families and caregivers to decorate our tree, an annual celebration we always look forward to at Creating Together.

Have you ever wondered what the tree decorating tradition has come from?

It so happens that in many traditions, filling one’s home with the greenery of life has been a symbol to bring strength and health at a time when the sun was returning.

“The idea of bringing the evergreen into the house represents fertility and new life in the darkness of winter, which was much more of the pagan themes.” (Dr. Wilson, University of Sydney).

For example, in the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice (shortest day and longest night of the year) falls on December 21 or December 22. Many ancient people brought evergreen boughs into their homes, as a  reminder of the return of all the green plants and the return of the strength of the sun god in summer after his wintry illness. In Northern Europe, the Celts decorated their druid temples with evergreen boughs which signified everlasting life. Further up north, the Vikings thought evergreens were the plants of Balder, the god of light and peace. The ancient Egyptians had a similar tradition, but with the god Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death. Early Romans also marked the solstice with Saturnalia, a feast in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. With the coming sun came the growth of food, so to mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.

However, bringing branches and boughs is quite different that bringing in a full tree and decorating it – a tradition that we can thank 16th century Germany for, when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. German settlers migrated to Canada from the United States in the 1700s, and brought with them which we celebrate today, such as gingerbread houses and advent calendars. However, it became an official tradition throughout England, the US, and Canada, when Queen Victoria’s German husband Prince Albert erected a Christmas tree at the Windsor Castle in 1848.

Whatever your tradition at this time of year, most of us can certainly agree that the return of brighter days is certainly worth celebrating – so enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones, however you choose to celebrate!

For more information on tree decorating history:

• https://www.zmescience.com/science/history-science/origin-christmas-tree-pagan/
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree/8106078

Helena Vogt, a second year Ryerson student completing her eleven-week placement with us, celebrated her last day at Creating Together on December 1st.

Helena came with a lot of experience working with children of many ages, and plans to attend teachers college so that she can work as a kindergarten teacher, however she came into this placement believing that she would one day have her own childcare centre.

Helena, we certainly wish you all the best as you move forward in your journey, and are so grateful for the time and positive energy that you brought to your placement with us!

 

Parents are constantly being told to limit how much screen time their children spend – but their own technology habits could be equally as damaging. Did you know that the average person checks their cell phone over 100 times a day, and one addicted to their phone would check an average of 900 times per day? 

Being the first generation of parents and caregivers who can access calls, emails, texts and internet, with a reach to our phone, we face a unique and new challenge around how to balance our digital universe and bonding with the children we are caring for.

With smartphone addiction on the rise around the world (about half of the adult population in North America), more studies are exposing the hidden dangers and consequence of increased phone use, and it warrants our attention. We already know from previous studies that limiting this face-to-face contact via extensive phone use could cause problems with development and reduce the level of bond between a parent and a child. A more recent study shows us that parents who spend more time with their phones have a greater tendency to shout at their children, while children also feel an increase in frustration, moodiness, and attention-seeking. Another study by AVG Technologies surveyed more than 6,000 children, ages 8 to 13, from Brazil, Australia, Canada, France, The United Kingdom, Germany, The Czech Republic and the United States. The survery discovered that 32 percent of children felt unimportant when their parents used their phones during meal times, conversations, when watching television, and playing outside. Now, we all know how important they really are, so let’s make sure they know it.

More kids between know how to use a mobile device before they can tie their shoe laces it’s even more important that we set good habits with them, early on. They take their cues from us, so it’s time to lead by example and consider how our phone use might be making them feel.

So what can we do?

If you find you’re on your phone a bit too often, try these tips from Sandee LaMotte, in an article on Smartphone addiction written earlier this month for CNN. Even if you wouldn’t consider yourself a smartphone addict, they offer some helpful boundaries for healthy phone use:

1. Turn off your phone at certain times of the day, such as in meetings, having dinner, playing with your kids, and of course, driving.
2. Remove social media apps, like Facebook and Twitter from your phone, and only check-in from your laptop.
3. Try to wean yourself to 15 minute intervals at set times of the day when it won’t affect work or family life.
4. Don’t bring your cell phone and it’s harmful blue light to bed; use an old fashioned alarm to wake you.
5. Try to replace your smart device time with healthier activities such as meditating or actually interacting with real people.

 

 

Who doesn’t enjoy watching children play? What is interesting though, is aside from it being adorable, play has a number of really important benefits:

1. Play builds confidence and imagination.
2. Play develops key motor and athletic skills.
3. Play with others teaches teamwork and good sportsmanship.
4. Play can build strong bonds between parents and children.
5. Play makes kids happy.

Many of us have forgotten how to play, so here are some quick tips for engaging your child in play from the Women and Children’s Health Network. At Creating Together, we have our students come in from various schools across the city to support programming and engage the kids. In fact, for those of you who missed her departure, our placement student Mary has just finished her 3-month placement with us.

In addition to play, physical activity is another important aspect of healthy child development, with effects on sleep, heart health, muscle and bone strength, happiness, and more (PartcipACTION 2016). For some help in this department, Creating Together offers an exercise and movement program in alignment with the City of Toronto’s Rainbow Fun Guide – 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.  If you’d like to get more involved, keep your eye out in our calendar for the busy body exercise cards, parachute play, and scarf dancing.

On days when the weather keeps you inside at home, there are a number of great indoor games to choose from. However, with the weather getting nicer, there are a number of benefits around connecting children with nature. For instance:

1. Children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are better able to concentrate after contact with nature (Taylor et al. 2001).
2. Children who play regularly in natural environments show more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility, and they are sick less often (Grahn, et al. 1997, Fjortoft & Sageie 2001).
3. Nature buffers the impact of life’s stresses on children and helps them deal with adversity. The greater the amount of nature exposure, the greater the benefits (Wells & Evans 2003).
4. Nature helps children develop powers of observation and creativity and instills a sense of peace and being at one with the world (Crain 2001).
5. Children who play in nature have more positive feelings about each other (Moore 1996).

Come in and ask our staff about upcoming day trips organized by Creating Together, giving everybody the opportunity to connect with eachother, expand horizons, and create great memories. Some examples of annual outings include:

• Ontario Science Centre
• Bronte Creek Conservation Park (Oakville)
• Strawberry picking at Downey’s Farm (Caledon)
• Apple picking at Chudleigh’s Farm (Milton)
• Metro Toronto Zoo

See you there!