News

2023 CNC Conference Session Recordings

Let’s keep the learning going… and growing! We have started to post session recordings on the CMAS website in the Learning Centre. Here’s a list of the conference session recordings that are now available for everyone!


Congratulations to our Wintergreen prize winner!

Congratulations to Maria Sol Pajadura from Parkdale Intercultural Association. Maria has won our 2023 CNC Virtual Conference prize giveaway!  Special thanks to Wintergreen for their generous donation.


39 Fun Ways for Families to Play Outside This Spring

The sun is getting warmer, birds are singing, and my children are shedding their winter gear all over our backyard. Spring is in the air! After the long sleep of winter, nature is filled with a flutter of activity and new energy. Trees are exploding with blooms, insects are buzzing, and critters are busy building nests. The kids are full of energy too! Thankfully, spring offers many simple, easy, and fun outdoor activities for children to get their wiggles out. On that note, here are 39 free and easy activities you can share with parents to get them outside with the kids this spring.

NEW! LET’S PLAY: Math Activity Ideas

Do you have a child in your program who is interested in math and counting? A team of CNC staff put their heads together and came up with over 100 math and counting activity ideas for CNC… and now you can find them here! Special thanks to the CNC team that worked on the new content.


35 Earth Day Activities For Kids

Are you wondering what things you can do for Earth Day with your the children in your program? Earth Day is a great time to introduce concepts such as recycling, pollution, planting, composting, and recycling. These simple hands-on Earth Day activities below will help you get started.

Canada’s New Toll-Free 1-844 POISON-X Number for Poison Centres

Health Canada, in collaboration with poison centres servicing most provinces and territories, is implementing Canada’s toll-free number, 1-844 POISON-X (or 1-844-764-7669), to facilitate access to poison centre services. Poisoning is a major cause of illness and death in Canada and internationally. In 2020, Canada’s poison centres managed 215,589 cases, of which more than one-third involved a child aged 5 or under. Be sure to share this new number with parents and colleagues so they know who to call in a poison emergency!


Covid Generation: Putting Them on the Path to Well-being

It’s hard to believe that children under five have spent half their lives growing through the stress and uncertainty that came with the pandemic. What can we do to make sure that they are on the path of emotional well-being? Here are some ideas for how we can help this generation recover from the socialization lost during this time.

Childhood Resilience – Trauma-Informed Care

Do you know the signs of childhood trauma, what to do, and what not to do? Caregivers cannot support children in developing coping skills, nor can we be part of the responsive relationships that children need, unless we have done the work ourselves. We can start this important work with this list of things to do and what to avoid when supporting children dealing with trauma.

How caregivers can help build children’s emerging language skills

Research shows that children’s early language skills have a long reach in affecting later life outcomes. Because when children develop the ability to understand language, as well as speak and communicate, it helps them to interact with others and learn about the world around them. Here are three simple ways that we can help build children’s emerging language skills in our programs and families.

CNC Virtual Tours

Each CNC program is unique, and at past conferences, participants have had an opportunity to visit local CNC programs to see how they set up their space and hear about their programming. Because the 2023 CNC conference was virtual, for the first time, we had a unique opportunity to virtually connect, “visit” and learn from quality CNC programs in different provinces. Instead of taking a bus to visit a program, conference participants were taken on four virtual tours through CNC programs in Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Our thanks fo out to all of the staff at ISANS, MAGMA, Regional Connections and Wortley YMCA CNC programs for making it possible. These virtual tours are available for everyone!