News
CMAS Webinar: Supporting Newcomer Children through Active Play–Teaming up with Active for Life!
Incorporating physical literacy into your daily programming can be easy and inexpensive – and it can bring such a range of benefits for children, ECEs, and families!
When young children engage in physical literacy and active play, they can better cope with stress, build resilience, and start on their path toward a healthy and active life.
Watch this webinar where Dawne Clark, PhD, Early Years Physical Literacy discusses:
- What physical literacy (PL) and active play look like in the early years
- The benefits of PL and active play for children, educators, and families
- “Infusing” PL into everyday activities
- How to get children moving again and active for life after the pandemic
- The Active for Life website, tools and resources
WEBINAR: Happiness in the “Baby Room”: Supporting the Well-Being of Infant-Toddler Care Professionals
Happiness and well-being can have a huge impact on the adults and children who spend their days in infant rooms. In this webinar, participants will learn an ‘action plan’ of concrete tips for not only supporting play-based learning for the babies, but also ideas for creating a sense of community belonging, safety and security, and professional identity for your CNC team.Active Start newsletter for parents
Do you work with parents of young children? Active Start is a monthly newsletter, by our partners at Active for Life, for parents with children under the age of 4. It’s tailored specifically to the age of the child and filled with activities, games, ideas, and tips designed to help children fall in love with physical activity. And it’s all presented in a fun way for parents and children to enjoy together. You can preview the program and parents may subscribe here.
SickKids Research on the Impact of COVID-19 on Children’s Mental and Physical Health
https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2021/research-covid-19-pandemic-impact-child-youth-mental-physical-health/#:~:text=Among%202%2C206%20participants%2C%20the%20researchers,depression%20and%20anxiety%20they%20experienced.Active for life resources are available in more than 10 languages!
Physical activity is key to the physical, emotional, and social well-being of our children. That’s why Active for Life offers free resources in more than 10 languages, in addition to English and French, to help get kids active today so they can be active for life. Share these helpful resources with families, communities, and organizations that work with children, and they will thank you!
CMAS Tutorial: Play Across Cultures
Children are masters of play. It’s how they learn about culture, social norms, and language - and it provides endless opportunities for children to try out different roles, express themselves, and explore the world around them. But you may have noticed that children from different cultures engage in play differently. This makes sense because there are differences in language, context, and social norms in different cultures - and these are all reflected in children’s play! In the this tutorial, participants will have the chance to reflect on how play is different across cultures, and how we can encourage and foster all kinds of play variations in our CNC programs. You’ll also find resources, references, a Facilitator Guide and Questions for Personal Reflection/Group Discussion so that you can easily facilitate your own team training.
Reflect on and prepare your CNC program
Is your CNC program set up to help promote resilience and support the social and emotional development of young children? Here are some checklists to help you take a closer look! Start this new school/program year off in the best way possible: Reflective Checklists for Infant/Toddler Care, Reflective Checklists for Preschool
Do you have a staff who likes to knit or sew?
The CNC team at Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s Bayshore site found plenty of ways to stay busy and get creative with their knitting and sewing skills during the pandemic. They worked on a variety of inspired projects for their program and families. They made fun additions like doll clothes and activity aprons for the children. They also created practical designs like masks, handmade scarves, ear warmers, and mug warmers that brought families comfort in winter. And an added benefit is that all their creations are higher quality and longer lasting than store-bought! Click here to see.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.