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Celebrating the Earth on Earth Day (and every day)

April 13, 2021 by Creating Together

Celebrate Earth Day with us on April 22nd. Earth Day is a day celebrated in 195 countries around the world. It was created to raise awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s air, earth, water, plants and animals.

At Creating Together, we will be celebrating with a week of Earth-themed activities, songs, and crafts – and we hope you’ll join us!

Below is a planting project and a storytime to get you started 🙂 Next week, check out programming all week on Facebook and join us for live circle time on Monday and Wednesday to celebrate our Earth.

Planting Project

Call us in advance to arrange a pick-up of your planting package (pot, soil, & seeds), and join us for a fun planting project. If you can’t pick up your planting package by Friday, then you can still create your own, and tune into this video “Planting and Pollinating Flowers” with Leah! Check our window to see the progress of our seeds if you stroll by the Creating Together EarlyOn Centre!

https://fb.watch/4IjcJW0moe/

Storytime

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/1142119392901131/

Other Resources:

  • Learn how to say “Happy Earth Day” in 40 other languages HERE!
  • 21 Earth Day Activities for Kids
  • Check out this video to learn with your children what you can do together as a family to protect the environment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl3zgcL0Tv8&t=82s

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Science Activity, Special Activities, Tips and Tools, Traditions Tagged With: Celebrating Community, nature discovery, Nature Play, parenting tips

5 Fun Ideas to Celebrate Family Day Weekend

February 13, 2021 by Creating Together

Family Day is celebrated on the third Monday of every February. Though not an official national holiday, we celebrate it across the country, with family festivals and things to do. Between Valentines Day on the 14th and Family Day on the 15th, this time of year is certainly a time for us to appreciate one another.

Each year Creating Together holds a family potluck to celebrate our families. This year, we are all getting creative given the entire Greater Toronto Area is under lockdown until Feb 22.

Here are some ideas for Family Day Weekend:

Go Fishing!

OFFE is a province-wide opportunity for Canadian residents to fish Ontario licence-free. There are four periods throughout the year, the 3-day Family Day weekend in February, Mother’s day and Father’s day weekends and a full 9-days in July, which coincides with National Fishing Week. Give it a try, and fish Ontario waters near you with the kids this family day weekend!

https://www.ontario.ca/page/licence-free-family-fishing

Ice Skating

City of Toronto has 54 outdoor artificial refrigerated ice rink locations, and many of them have the season extended until March, weather permitting. General hours of operation for City-run outdoor rinks are 9:00 am to 10:00 pm, seven days a week. Check them out HERE.

Toboganning

Toboganning never gets old. Timeless, tried and true – enjoy these 50+ Places to Toboggan in Greater Toronto Area

Go for a Family Hike at a Conservation Park

Ontario is filled with unspeakable beauty – and it’s yours for the exploring. Get the hiking boots out, dress warm, and enjoy some of the natural wonders at one of these 50 Nature Attractions & Hotspots in and around GTA.

Vitual Storytime with the Stars!

Burlington Performing Arts Centre invites you to celebrate Family Day by snuggling in with our FREE virtual Storytime With the Stars! Enjoy videos of some of BPAC’s favourite artists, who have each selected a cherished children’s storybook to read to your little ones.

Happy Family Day Weekend

from Creating Together!

Whether it’s sharing food together, helping out one another around the house, spending special time together or sharing memories – we’ve come to celebrate this time of year with love, gratitude, appreciation and fun. From our families to yours, may you enjoy this time together and make it the very best that it can be!

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Special Activities, Tips and Tools, Traditions Tagged With: family traditions, nature discovery

Enjoying Summer in Nature

June 24, 2020 by Creating Together

Happy Summer Solstice everybody! Back in Spring we wrote about the importance of getting out in nature during COVID-19:

Free play in natural environments increases attentions spans, creative thought, and the desire to learn through exploration (1). It helps their motor, sensory, social and cognitive development – and is great for their general health and well-being (2).

(1) https://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=39558
(2) https://www.learningpotential.gov.au/the-benefits-of-outdoor-play

Well, this week we celebrated the longest day of the year on the summer solstice, and it’s a great time to enjoy all that the sunshine has to offer us. Get out and enjoy the beautiful bounty of the season while shaking off those solitude blah’s, with these fun activities.

First we’d like to kick things off with a fun nature walk with Tanya (here’s a hint – make sure you gather some flowers and small bits from your walk for your nature craft coming up next with Neetu!):

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/192916012130648/

And when you return, from your walk, here’s a fun “Flower Painting and Nature Bracelet” craft you can enjoy with Neetu! The materials you will need include:

  • Flowers,
  • Paints,
  • Paper,
  • Double Tape, and
  • Clear Tape.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=553455038660914

Have a very wonderful summer everybody! We’ll see you soon!

Filed Under: Special Activities Tagged With: nature discovery, Nature Play

Birding with Toddlers

June 27, 2019 by Creating Together

Nature discovery is an incredible activity for children and adults alike. It reminds us how incredible life is, and certainly this time of year is brimming with opportunities to go out and connect with the life around us.

This month, the families of Creating Together are having fun with nature through a number of trips to the zoo, Downey farm, and local parks. On 2 days we had a specific focus on birds: the 18th we went to Beaty Park to identify birds in our neighborhood, and on June 26th our monthly science activity is creating bird feeders!

This summer, we thought you might like to do some bird watching yourself, because it has a lot of great benefits for families:

  • builds respect and compassion for nature and all living things
  • kids can refine their skills in concentration, observation and reasoning
  • can be done at any time of year and across continents
  • its fun and interesting to learn about bird behaviour (also called “birding”)

Before you get started, here are some tips on good birding manners, what to bring, and some birding activities to do with your children.

Birding Manners

  • Be respectful of habitat and neighbors’ yards.
  • Don’t shake trees, take eggs, or wreck nests.
  • Walk slowly and quietly.
  • Point out birds, don’t yell.
  • Shoot birds with a camera, nothing else.
  • Leave grounded fledgling birds alone; Mom is probably nearby waiting for you to leave before she helps it back to the nest.
  • Keep pets leashed so they don’t chase birds, disturb neighbors, or destroy fragile habitats.
  • Take only memories away with you and leave only footprints behind.

Bird Watching Supplies

  • A water bottle and backpack of snacks is wise.
  • If you go into rugged areas, take a first-aid kit, too.
  • Dress so you don’t invite poison ivy or insect bites.
  • Bring binoculars (or a spotting scope) so kids can focus on details, like bird color or beak shape.
  • A camera or a sketch pad and pencils help children focus on detail and allow them to reflect on what they observe.
  • A pad and pencil for recording species is handy, too.

Activity Ideas

  • Preschoolers can make their own binoculars by taping together two empty toilet paper rolls. Attach yarn for a neck strap.
  • Remind kids that birds are hard to spot, but easy to hear. Have them close their eyes and listen. Can they point to where the song is coming from?
  • Kids can keep a yearly bird record to track bird population increase or decrease.
  • Bird identification guides, called field guides, name birds and help distinguish between similar looking birds. They narrow down possibilities by providing range maps of seasonal bird territory and preferred habitat. Some illustrate nest styles, too.
  • Scavenger Hunt! To fire up kids’ powers of observation, make a list of target birds before heading to the yard or park. Use general categories like ducks and hawks or even critters in groups of threes or fours.

Tips

  • Stick to areas near water if you can. You’re likely to spy herons, egrets, and swans, which are easier for kids to see. Plus . . . ducklings!
  • Striking out on live birds? Point out the signs they leave behind such as nests, cracked seeds, whitewash (poop), or owl pellets.

More Resources

Birding With Kids Resource Guide

Adventures in a Box Bird Watching with Kids (CBC)

Birding Colouring Pages

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Special Activities Tagged With: nature discovery

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Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

Our mission is to support the healthy social, cognitive, emotional and physical development of children 0 to 6 years and their families. We welcome children aged 0 to 6 years and their families/ caregivers to relax and connect with each other and with the greater communities through our many programs.
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Hours

MON 9:00am - 2:30pm
TUE 9:00am - 2:30pm
WED 9:00am - 2:30pm
THU 9:00am - 2:30pm
FRI 9:00am - 1:30pm
SAT 10am - 2:00pm (twice monthly)
SUN Closed

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Creating Together
1342 Queen Street West
Phone: (416) 537-1004
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Charitable Registration Number:
12947 6248 RR0001
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