CMAS
Happy Child Care & Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day!
How will you celebrate? Tuesday, October 21, 2025 is the 25th annual Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. This day recognizes the commitment, skills and hard work of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and staff who work with young children. This year’s Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day theme is Care Counts, to centre the importance of care in early learning and child care and the pride that ECEs and child care workers feel in their work. There is no education without care. “Care Counts” also speaks to the need to value and remunerate those doing care work better – and builds solidarity across care work professions.
Activities for Anxious Kids: How to Help Children Cope with Anxiety Through Play
We all have a range of feelings. We feel happy, sad, silly, disappointed, excited, amazed, surprised, angry, or brave. But we all, including kids, sometimes feel anxious. Anxiety is the feeling of worry, nervousness, fear, or unease. Even if these feelings in kids seem small to adults, they can be very real and important for a child. But they’re also very normal. Parents and caregivers can help by recognizing what anxiety looks like and providing activities and opportunities for play for anxious kids.
The 2025 CNC Virtual Conference was a Huge Success!
The 2025 CNC Virtual Conference: Inspiring Care was a powerful reminder of all the ways we can support newcomer families across the country.
In case you missed it – or just want to revisit the expert strategies shared – you can now access most of the 2025 CNC Conference session recordings in the CNC Learning Centre!
Nouveaux webinaires pour éducateurs et éducatrices francophones
Découvrez une série de trois ateliers présentée par l’ECCDC et animée par Hélène Pouliot-Cleare, pour enrichir vos pratiques en éducation à la petite enfance : apprentissage en plein air, communication avec les parents et compréhension du comportement des enfants. Inscrivez-vous ici.
Harvest Festivals Around the World
What is a Harvest Festival? How do people celebrate harvest around the world? In this video, children can hear about and see several different harvest festivals that are celebrated around the world throughout the year, from Pongal to Vendimia, Thanksgiving, The Moon Festival to Olivagando. It’s a great way to learn about some of the many ways people celebrate harvest around the world with the children in your CNC program!
There’s plenty to acknowledge and celebrate in October!
Are you busy collecting ideas and planning for your CNC program this month? If so, there are a few important days this month that you might want to incorporate and honour to raise awareness in your CNC program and community! October is Canada Library and Fire Prevention month, and there are harvest festivals around the world! Thanksgiving is celebrated on October 9th, and International Day of the Girl Child on the 11th. Diwali is October 20th, Make a Difference Day is October 23rd, and Hallowe'en is on October 31st.
Truth and Reconciliation Week and Orange Shirt Day
National Truth and Reconciliation Week is an opportunity for the CNC community to stand with the Indigenous peoples in Canada and listen. It can be difficult to find our path towards reconciliation, but we encourage you to reflect, learn about residential schools, and begin a dialogue within your CNC programs. To acknowledge and honour the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, here is a collection of online events and resources to help: Truth and Reconciliation Week 2025, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Orange Shirt Day, The Path Here/The Path Ahead, Resources to Help Guide Your Journey.
How will you honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th?
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (also known as Orange Shirt Day) is an opportunity for the CNC community to stand with the Indigenous peoples in Canada, listen, reflect, and learn. To help you acknowledge and honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with the children and parents in your program this month, here is a beautiful collection of Anishinaabe nursery rhymes recordings and read-alongs.
International Day of Peace
This year the International Day of Peace focuses on engaging and mobilizing people throughout the world to show support for refugees and migrants. You can get involved, and learn more through the TOGETHER initiative. The TOGETHER website promotes respect, safety and dignity for refugees and migrants and has two new animated videos sharing the powerful stories of two young refugees.
WEBINAR: Encouraging Families to Embrace Child-led Play
As early childhood professionals, it is our role to educate families on the importance of child-led play and how it is vital for laying the groundwork for early literacy. Join this webinar to gain confidence in explaining how child-led play develops early literacy foundations and prepares children for school. Learn effective ways to engage parents and families in conversations about the importance of child-led play both at school and home. Explore talking points when addressing any concerns families may have, reassuring them that child-led play is more than sufficient for future reading and writing.