Search Results for: glitterbug

Pride Book Recommendations from Glitterbug’s Niña!

June 7, 2022 by Eliza Martin

Niña shares a story at Creating Together (May 2022).

As we welcome June in Toronto, we look forward to supporting and celebrating the 2SLGBTQ+ community through Pride month (and beyond)! To kick off these celebrations and important conversations at Creating Together, we’ve asked Niña Cabaguio (she/her), RECE and Coordinator of Glitterbug: 2SLGBTQ+ EarlyON Mobile Program at the 519, to offer some children’s book recommendations!

Niña’s Book Recommendations for Pride Month

#1) Love Makes a Family (Ages 0-3)

Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer is a wonderful board book for our 0-3 years of age that talks about the various structures of family and types of love. There are beautiful illustrators of cultural diversity and family diversity that enriches a welcoming and inclusive space!

#2) Neither by Airlie Anderson (ages 4-8)

Neither by Airlie Anderson is one of my go-to books when it comes to explaining the spectrum of gender (and outside of the gender spectrum) that exists! Neither showcases the nonbinary terms in a child-friendly and fun way. Did you know the “+” in our 2SLGBTQ+ acronym is to showcase all the types of gender identities?

#3) Sparkle Boy (ages 4 to 8)

Sparkle Boy by Leslie Newman is a great story for our 4 to 8 years old. It talks about acceptance within the family and having that inclusive space within the environment and supporting our gender-diverse children.

#4) Our Rainbow by Little Bee Books (0 to 3 years)

Our Rainbow by Little Bee Books is a beautiful, illustrated children book that talks about the meaning behind each color of the rainbow. I truly love this book, as it is a great conversation starter about the brown and black on the rainbow too!

#5) Call me Tree (ages 4 to 8)

Call me Tree by Maya Christina Gonzalez is a beautiful multi-language book (Spanish and English) that talks about belonging. We may all identify differently, but we all belong together as a community. Did you know some folks uses “tree” as a pronoun?

Happy Reading!

Thank you so much Niña for these recommendations! Some of Niña’s suggested reads will be available for families to enjoy in the centre, and we encourage you to take advantage of book selections through the Parkdale Library as well. You can enjoy stories and songs with Niña on June 8th, when she joins us for guest circle time at 10:00am. Keep your eyes on our calendar for other exciting events going on this month.

HAPPY PRIDE!

-Creating Together

Welcoming the Glitterbug Program

May 25, 2021 by Melanie

June is Pride Month! Join live circle time with the 519 Glitterbug on Wed. June 2nd at 10 am! And, at Creating Together we welcome Glitterbug to our circle EVERY first Wednesday of EVERY month – so we do hope you can make it to June and also to the upcoming circles!

Who / What is Glitterbug?

Glitterbug “is a unique mobile program that works with EarlyON Centres across Toronto to promote inclusion and affirmation of gender and sexual diversity among children and families.” Glitterbug combines the understanding of LGBTQ2S inclusion with a play-based learning approach for children and families to develop a broader understanding of inclusion at EarlyON Centres across the city and in the early learning years sector.

Glitterbug Programs and Services

LGBTQ2S-affirming Interactive workshops for parents, caregivers, and guardians.
LGBTQ2S-affirming drop-in programming to support queer, trans, and 2Spirit inclusion.
Designated program for LGBTQ2S families
Special events and pop-up visits
Resources

Current Glitterbug Programs for Queer and Trans Families and Gender-creative Children

Virtual Circle Time:
- Tuesday, 3:00 to 3:30pm
- Wednesday, 10:00 to 10:30am
- Thursday, 4:30 to 5:00pm
- Friday, 1:30 to 2:15pm
Interactive Parent/Caregiver Virtual LGBTQ2S Workshops:
- Last Tuesday of each month, starting July 27.
  Workshops are currently being held virtually. We will resume in-person workshops based on Toronto Public Health guidelines.

Have questions or need more information, get in touch with the Glitterbug Program at Glitterbug@The519.org.

For more information about their EarlyON programs and events, visit their EarlyON Program page.

Get your free tickets to their programs on our Eventbrite page.

Glitterbug for Circle Time

April 20, 2021 by Melanie

We are so excited that Glitterbug from the 519 will continue their program with us throughout the Spring and into Summer this year!

What is Glitterbug?

For those of you who don’t yet know about this offering, it is a circle time that celebrates diversity of sexual orientations, family configurations, and gender identities that exist among families, with special guests from the 519 EarlyON.

When and How do I Join?

Take a look at the poster below, and click into our zoom channel at 10am on each of the dates listed below!

https://www.the519.org/programs/early-on-child-and-family-centre

See you there!

Links to the 519 Early ON

If you’d like to keep in touch with this program and others offered by the 519 Early ON, take a look at their Website, Facebook Group, or YouTube Channel, and you won’t want to miss signing up to their Mailing List!

Welcoming May at Creating Together

May 2, 2022 by Melanie

It’s time to welcome May here in Parkdale – and with it, we mark one successful month of drop-in programs! This month we acknowledge CMHA Mental Health Week May 2-8, 2022. We also wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers in our community, and Eid Mubarak to the Muslim Community! We look forward to celebrating and acknowledging these days in the centre this month. The warmer weather brings some exciting changes at Creating Together. Read on below for further programming updates and news.

COVID-19 Protocol

We have returned to mandatory masking in the centre, and encourage the same for children over the age of two, should they be able to comfortably mask. We will no longer be screening upon your arrival, yet we invite you and your family to self-screen using the following tool or our posted notice at the door. We wish to remind families who have travelled outside of Canada, that Ontario Public Health requires that you wear a mask in public spaces for 14 days, monitor symptoms, and track all close contacts.

For the safety and respect of all of our community members, we continue to ask that you remain at home if a member of your household feels unwell. For families who continue to feel well enough to join us at the centre, please ensure you sign yourself in and out of the program on the attendance sheet.

We are thankful for your continued cooperation.

Program Update

Thank you to everyone who has joined in as we re-opened the drop in program for the first time in two years. The gravity of how important this space is for children and families to gather and connect has never been clearer. We are grateful to rebuild our practices together and build new understandings of what we all need to feel safe, welcomed, and represented in this space as we support young children who are growing and learning within a complex world.

Invitation to Collaborate

As staff and families re-acquaint ourselves with the program we would like to invite more collaboration back into the centre.

Would you like to lead circle or story time?
Would you like to plan a special day or celebration?
Do you have feedback or suggestions on how we can better represent and support you and our community?
Do your children have questions or inquiries they would like to explore at Creating Together?
Help us represent your home language at the centre by making labels for items in the centre!

Over the next few weeks Leah will be checking in with families in-person, emails, and phone calls to connect on how we can meet your needs going forward. Please feel free to connect with Leah during drop-in program for an informal chat about ideas or ways you might want to contribute to the program.

Community Guidelines

With drop-in program re-established we would also like to provide some updated community guidelines:

Please ensure food/eating/chewing takes place at the tables and hands are washed before returning to playtime.
Creating Together is a place for caretakers, parents, and guardians to connect and play with children. Play is an essential way young children learn. We discourage cell phone use and encourage you to instead focus on following your child’s joy, curiosity, and interests while joining our programs.
Thank you for participating in cleanup routines and modelling collaboration. We are looking into the future and considering how we can safely return to a more open kitchen policy for families. Thank you for your patience as we continue to limit kitchen use and take gradual steps to ensure we re-open safely.

New Outdoor Program!

Our new Outdoor Program will begin on May 2nd and will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays. Drop-in program will be provided at 9:00am-10:30am at Beaty Avenue Parkette (66 Beaty Avenue, a two minute walk from Creating Together). Following our outdoor program, we will walk back to Creating Together for snack at 11, followed by indoor programming. See below for our schedule.

Program Schedule

We continue to offer a reduced virtual program schedule (including Science with Sal), as well as in-person program Monday to Friday 9:00am-1:30pm and two Saturdays a month 10:00am – 2:00pm (please note the location of programs below). You can also view additional program details and special events on our monthly calendar, linked here.

Monday & Tuesday

9:00am – 10:30am- Beaty Avenue Parkette (Outdoor Program)
10:30 – 11:00 – Family Transition Time
11:00am – 1:30pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Wednesday – Friday

9:00am – 1:30 pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Two Saturdays a month:

10:00am – 2:00pm – Creating Together (Indoor Program)

Special Guests

We are lucky enough to welcome two special guests this May for circle time! Mark your calendar and join us for these exciting guest visits at Creating Together:

Natalija from Parkdale Library, will join us May 4th from 10:00am – 10:30am
Nina from Glitterbug 2SLGBTQ+ EarlyON Program, will join us May 11th from 10:00am – 10:30am
We look forward to being joined this month by an Early Childhood Studies student from Toronto Metropolitan University, and an ECE student from Humber College. Let’s give them a warm-Creating Together-welcome!

Resource Boxes

With the expansion of our in-person services, Resource Boxes will be limited in materials moving forward. Resource Boxes will still be available for families actively using our program, in the first two weeks of May, until May 13th.

To book your pickup time, please contact Creating Together by phone or email: (416) 537-1004 / creatingtogether@rogers.com.

Let’s Keep Connected

To see some of Creating Together’s daily sunshine, give us a follow on our new Instagram account @creatingtogetherearlyon – catch all of our centre updates, shared activities, and unforgettable program moments!

Welcome May! We’re so glad you’re here.

Springing into March at Creating Together

March 2, 2022 by Melanie

Dear Families and Friends of Creating Together,

The month of March brings days that are longer and brighter, and the much anticipated first day of spring. Yet as we all know, this time is not without its darkness. We wish to say that given the current events in Eastern Europe, we know this is a difficult time for so many. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian community in Toronto. We at Creating Together are here for you, and we stand with you.

As we begin this new season, we continue to plant the seeds of resilience, play, and learning at Creating Together. Read on for some much anticipated programming news, and help us to welcome new faces at the centre.

Program Updates

In-Person Program

Beginning the week of February 28th, we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be increasing our capacity from two families per session, to four families per session.

Additionally, as of March 7th, we will be increasing both our session lengths, as well as our days of in-person programming! Our sessions will now run for two hours, from Monday through to Thursday.

As of March 7th our new in-person program schedule will be as follows:

Monday-Thursdays:

9:00am – 11:00am

12:00am – 2:00pm

Two Saturdays a month:

10:00am – 1:00pm

To book your time, please contact Creating Together by phone or email: (416) 537-1004 / creatingtogether@rogers.com.

We continue to follow all of the Toronto Public Health safety recommendations and standards, as well as our screening process and temperature checks upon arrival to the centre. We ask that if any member of your household is feeling unwell, that you stay home and call the centre to cancel your registration.

Virtual Programs

With the expansion of our in-person programming as of March 7th, our virtual programming will be slightly reduced, however we still offer the following programs:

Live Circle Time

We invite you to join our live circle time Fridays at 10:00am using the following zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5199316471

On March 18th we’re excited to bring you an extra special live circle time with invited guest, Nina from Glitterbug! Join us at 10:00 am!

We’ll also be continuing our new science program…

March Dates: Science with Sal

Looking for some interactive live virtual science? Our new virtual science program Science with Sal continues with three new dates for March! Join Salvina in our virtual lab for an interactive science program from the comfort of your own home. This program offers opportunities for you to embark on a hands-on learning experience no matter where you are, using easy-to-find at home materials.