Child Development
VIDEO: How Early Childhood Experiences Affect Lifelong Health and Learning
How is ongoing, severe stress and adversity in early childhood connected to chronic disease in adults? And, what can we do about it? In this animated video, learn what the latest science tells us about how early experiences affect not only early learning and school readiness, but also lifelong health. Challenge yourself to think about how we can address the sources of these problems. And, consider how integrating primary care into every aspect of early childhood programming may be an important part of the solution.Brain-Building Through Play: Activities for Infants, Toddlers and Children
From infancy on, play is an important part of a child’s life. Through games and playful activities, children can practice and strengthen important skills that will help them throughout their lives, including learning to focus their attention, strengthening their working memory, and developing basic self-control. This series of handouts provide suggestions for games and play-based activities based on a child’s age, so they are perfect for inspiring educators and sharing with parents!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.
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!
Multilingual Activities Guide: Enhancing and Practicing Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence
This activities guide offers a variety of age-appropriate activities and games to support and strengthen various components of executive function and self-regulation in children. Each chapter contains activities suitable for a different age groups, ranging from infants to adolescents. The full guide is also available in Arabic! And two sections—5 to 7 year-olds and 7 to 12 year olds—are available in French.Teaching Emotions to Young Children: Tips and Tricks
With all of the research out there on emotions, the studies are far from complete, but one thing is very clear – naming our feelings helps us develop skills to manage our emotions. This article is full of tips and tricks to help us give the children in our programs the important emotional tools and language they need.Being a Teen in Canada – Available in 7 Languages
The Being a Teen in Canada tips sheets, video, and facilitation guide are part of the Family Life in Canada resource series. The goal of this series is to help newcomers adjust to life in Canada and encourage them to access information, programs, and services in their community. All you have to do is sign up to get access to the free resources that are available in 7 languages - making them easy to use with the newcomer families you work with!Free Toolkit: Engaging Families in Healthy Development
Parents are their child’s first teachers—and when they’re actively involved in promoting early development, the results are better outcomes and stronger parent– child bonds. Children with involved parents are more likely to get the support they need and be prepared for school and future success. Adapted from the trusted Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ®) family of products, you can use this toolkit of resources to help you engage families in nurturing their child’s development - and help them get their children off to the best start in life!CMAS Tutorial: What is Executive Function?
For many of us, executive function sounds like a really abstract term that might not hold much meaning. But executive function is actually an incredibly practical, useful and important set of skills that children start to develop in the early years.
In this tutorial, we’ll help you to understand what executive function is, and why it’s important. We’ll also share some resources and ideas for how we can support the development of executive function for the children in our programs.
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.