child development Archives | Creating Together Parkdale

Nurturing Art in Childhood

November 27, 2019 by Creating Together

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Albert Einstein

Art is vital to the mental, emotional, and psychological development in children. Children benefit from discovering art by doing and exploring an array of art materials. They are naturally curious and love to experiment with colors, textures and art tools. Using, safe, non-toxic art materials, toddlers can get messy using their hands to feel and apply paint; scribbling with markers and crayons; painting with sponges, brushes and other tools; squeezing safe modeling materials; cutting all types of paper products with safety scissors; gluing materials to create something new; and playing with shapes. These types of activities help toddlers to develop fine motor skills and cognitive abilities while promoting creativity and building fine motor skills.

“Research indicates that a child who is exposed to the arts acquires a special ability to think creatively, be original, discover, innovate, and create intellectual property—key attributes for individual success and social prosperity in the twenty-first century.”
International Child Art Foundation

How Parents and Caregivers Can Encourage Artistic Play

*Stencil Art Table at Creating Together*

Set Aside Space

Having a specific area in the home that always has a variety of art materials available for children is a great way to interest and encourage children to experiment with art. Don’t put everything out at once, as it can be overwhelming and distracting for a young child. Supply paper plates, recycled paper, old magazines and such to encourage creative clipping and for making pictures and collages.

Practice Non-Judgement

Resist the urge to direct a child’s art creation or judge it. Creative expression and making choices builds independence in young children, as they naturally learn to do more and more by themselves each day. A child may experiment with colors and end up with something that looks muddy – yet this unintended outcome is a great opportunity for a child to learn by doing.

*Huge gratitude to our funders for this new art station we were able to bring in*
*for the children of Creating Together!*

Ask Questions

Parents can show interest by asking their child about the story behind the artwork. “How did you make it?” What is it all about?” “What do you really like about it?” Listen up! When a child asks a question, encourage the child to solve it by him/herself. “How do you think that might work?” “What can you try?” What would happen if….” Parents and caregivers can reinforce language by discussing colors, shapes, patterns and all aspects of the creative process.

Displaying Artwork

Displaying a child’s artwork is also a great way to encourage a child to create art because it shows how much a parent values the child’s very original creation!

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!

The Benefits of Music for Children

May 5, 2017 by Creating Together

Music ignites all areas of child development. It helps the body and mind work together, helps children learn the sounds and meaning of words, allows for self expression, helps memory skills, and improves mathematical learning. Interested in understanding how? You may enjoy this recent study by the Brain and Creativity Institute, which found that learning music in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills.

And we can’t forget the amount of joy that music brings! Take a look at these shining faces at Creating Together when we incorporated musical instruments into our circle time on Tuesday, one of our weekly offerings.

If you can’t make it out on Tuesdays, perhaps you’d like to make some instruments from home. Here are some fun musical creations to choose from: http://www.howweelearn.com/spectacular-homemade-musical-instruments/ – and you may take it a step further and incorporate some free online learning tools (eg., A2Z), or resources from organizations like the Children’s Music Network.

We are all so fortunate to be in Toronto. It is incredible what people across the city are doing to ensure the influence of music is felt among the children and youth of our communities, regardless of income. Teachers voluteer their time and talent, community centers and schools offer their spaces, and students come from all over to benefit. Here is a quick list of inspiring work happening in our city, for you to keep in mind as you keep music a strong component of your child’s life:

Sistema – A social development program offering free, ensemble-based musical instruction in Toronto
Axis – A tuition-free music program that makes music accessible to children and youth living in Toronto Community Housing
Toronto Public Library (Parkdale Branch) – “Borrow a musical instrument” program lends musical instruments to children under the age of 18.
The Regent Park School of Music – Offers subsidized, quality music education in priority areas across Toronto and at satellite location across the city, including Parkdale.
Help We’ve Got Kids – Has put together a fairly extensive listing of music programs across the city.
The Toronto Music Garden – A bach-inspired garden by the waterfront, hosting free concerts all summer long!