CMAS
National Child Day
November 20th marks the 30th anniversary of Canada’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - and it's a time to celebrate our country's commitment to upholding the rights of children everywhere! Children First Canada is organizing a special week of activities leading up to National Child Day. How will you celebrate in your program next week?November 13th is World Kindness Day
In celebration of World Kindness Day, here is a beautiful poster and calendar of kindness ideas for you to share with colleagues, friends, and families this week!How to Use Books to Promote Diversity in Early Education Classrooms
Many educators struggle with how to introduce the topic of diversity and differences in a classroom. How do we manage to do this without making one child or any of our children feel singled out? How do we make diversity something that we celebrate and talk about instead of acting like we are all the same? How do we ensure that all our staff participates in the discussion? Books are a great way to introduce diversity in CNC.6 Active Games Kids Can Play With a Pair of Socks
Are you looking for fun physical activities that kids can do at home? Here are 6 simple games with sock balls that kids can play indoors with limited space and “equipment”—including single-player games kids can enjoy even when a parent or sibling isn’t able to join them.Free Picture Book Shares First-Time Experiences of Immigrant Children in Canada
New Canadians Centre in Peterborough has published a new children’s picture book that shares the experiences of immigrant children when they arrive in Canada - and it's available online in 7 languages! Written and illustrated by Peterborough artist Casandra Lee (herself a recent immigrant), Building A Home was inspired by the stories of six local newcomer children — including learning English, going to school, visiting large supermarkets, experiencing winter and snow, eating pizza, and more.How to Support Children (and Yourself) During COVID-19
The coronavirus outbreak has changed many things about our daily lives. But even during this uncertain time, it’s a sure thing that children are still learning, growing, and developing - and that everyone can help support a child’s healthy development - in ways that may even help relieve your stress!. Here are a few simple, free activities that can make a big difference.Gross Motor Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
During the early years, children need to be exposed to many activities that strengthen their large motor muscles. As babies, it begins with their trunk, neck, and head control, and then they strengthen their legs and feet. As preschoolers, once body control is achieved, you can help them work on throwing, running, and climbing! It's important to intentionally integrate fun, physical activities that kids can do to strengthen these muscles into your program. And since most gross motor activities center around physical fun, it won’t be hard to get the students excited about them! Here are some examples of ways to enjoy gross motor activities with children.Shifting How We Manage Challenging Behaviours: Try Viewing Behaviour in a New Light
When you look at challenging behavior as an indication of the skills children still need to build, you can move from constantly reacting to behaviors to identifying missing skills and intentionally working with children to strengthen these skills. Here are a few different ways that we can look at challenging behaviors that might shed new light on what we see in our programs.WEBINAR – Don’t Look Away: How to Embrace Anti-Bias Classrooms Now
In this webinar, the authors of Don’t Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms participate in a roundtable discussion on how to embrace anti-bias classrooms and anti-racist teaching by creating affirming and culturally grounded environments that protect children from psychological trauma and heal them from the inside out.