News
CMAS Tutorial: Responding to Children’s Fear
For many of us, when a child expresses fear, it can be hard to know how to respond in a way that makes them feel heard and supported. In this tutorial, we’ll talk about how to respond to children’s fear, common mistakes, and why they’re important to avoid, and some practical tips with examples to help us understand and remember. At the end of the tutorial, you’ll also find resources, references, a facilitator guide, and added group discussion questions so that you can easily facilitate your own team training. At the end of the tutorial, you’ll also find resources, references, a facilitator guide and added group discussion questions so that you can easily facilitate your own team training.
The Monster Dash: A Digital Story About Resilience and Flexibility
With a positive outlook, some flexibility, and a little help from grown-ups, children can learn to bounce back from challenges. This digital storybook is about one of many ways to build resilience: reframing. Read it together with children to help strengthen their growing bodies and minds!
Affirmation and Celebration: New Report Offers Recommendations for Supporting Multilingual Preschool-Age Children During the Pandemic
Affirming and celebrating all language practices supports children’s identity, and social and emotional well-being, as well as fosters their learning and development. That’s the top message from a new issue brief that focuses on how caregivers can help multilingual preschool-age children cope with stresses and trauma of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. It also describes the language development of multilingual children and how to nurture them through daily conversations and other interactions.
HiMama Webinar: Four Music Strategies to Boost School Readiness”
Can music really boost school readiness? During this session, participants will explore how music can boost social-emotional development while also building foundational skills for deep literacy and letter learning. The strategies in this webinar are designed to support all early childhood professionals in incorporating a wide range of musical tools and techniques in the classroom!20 Shared Reading Tips to Share with Parents
Shared storybook reading is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child. At its best, this one activity can promote strong parent-child attachment, nurture key early language and literacy skills, strengthen a child’s pride in their cultural and personal identity, expand their knowledge of the world, and help them process strong emotions and deal with life’s challenges. Share these 20 practical shared reading tips with families, and help them make the most of their special storytimes with young children.Cultural Competence Self-assessment Checklist
Developed by Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society, this cultural competence self-assessment tool provides an opportunity to explore your cultural competence, reflect on your skills, knowledge, and self-awareness, and think about ways to improve your interactions with others.Preschool All About Me Activities
Preschoolers love to talk about is themselves! In fact, it's developmentally appropriate for them to be egocentric and find it challenging to take on a perspective that isn’t their own. It’s such an important phase in their development, so it's important to nurture socio-emotional skills such as self-esteem and identity formation so that children grow into kind and confident adults. Here are some great activity ideas to help!New Developmental Milestones
Did you know that the CDC has developed new developmental milestones and tips for parents? This insightful article explains why the CDC made these changes. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the new milestones - especially for the age group that you work with - so that you can incorporate appropriate developmental goals into your programming, and share up-to-date information and resources with parents.12 Spring Traditions Around the World
Spring is a time of rebirth, renewal, and warm-weather activities. Baby animals are born, flowers bloom, and families around the world welcome spring with their own traditions. Through food, festivals, and various activities, the spring celebrations are endless. Here’s a list of how 12 different countries welcome spring.CMAS Webinar: Virtual Programming for Young Children
Over the last two years, many SPOs have responded to the needs of newcomer families during the pandemic by delivering online services - and the SDR from one such organization has developed a webinar to share what they’ve learned! In this webinar, join Zakia Labonee, the SDR from Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services to talk about three important things to consider in developing virtual programming for young children: child development, building relationships, and family support.