Resources

5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

Child-adult relationships that are responsive and attentive—with lots of back and forth interactions—build a strong foundation in a child’s brain for all future learning and development. This is called "serve and return." Harvard Centre on the Developing Child has a quick video that explains "serve and return," and 5 important steps to follow when you're interacting with children.

10 Activities to help young children express and label feelings & emotions

Children can have a difficult time understanding their emotions and the way certain events make them feel in the early years of life. As educators, it is our responsibility to help and support them to manage their emerging and often confusing emotions. Here are 10 strategies and 10 activity ideas for helping children express and manage their emotions.

Webinar: Updated recommendations for early introduction of allergenic foods

Did you know that the Canadian Paediatric Society has updated recommendations on the early introduction of allergenic foods for high-risk infants? Register now to learn about the new recommendations.

Keeping Reusable Water Bottles Clean

We often ask parents to bring in reusable water bottles, but did you know that without proper cleaning, children's water bottles can be filled with germs? Reusable water bottles must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized on a regular basis to avoid contamination.

Webinars to Support Your Work with Newcomer Children

Looking for online opportunities for professional development? Here are a few interesting webinars that you might be interested in: Promoting Early Learning for Children of Immigrants: Family and Early Care and Education Supports, Addressing Trauma in Young Children in Immigrant and Refugee Families through Early Childhood Programs, and Culturally Appropriate Positive Guidance with Young Children in Our Care

How to Facilitate Risky Play

Risky play is when children engage in risk-taking activities. This benefits the child because it helps them build essential skills for their development; for example, their confidence, self-regulation, and independence. But how can we facilitate risky play safely in our programs?

How to Transform Challenging Behaviour

Are you struggling with children's behaviour and looking for ways to teach social-emotional skills in your CNC program? Here's a website and resources might help! You can even download a free resource that's full of simple, practical strategies to help you create positive changes in your CNC program.

Dos and Don’ts of Classroom Decorations

What you put on your classroom walls can affect your students’ ability to learn. Heavily decorated classrooms can bombard students with too much visual information, interfering with their memory and ability to focus, a new study finds. So what do researchers say teachers should do?

WEBINAR: Finger Plays-Fun, Free, Focus, and Skills!

In this webinar, you'll discover the fantastic world of finger plays! Have you ever watched children when they are doing a finger play? You can almost see the synapses firing in the brains. Finger plays are a natural way to engage children and develop oral language, auditory memory, small motor skills, social skills, and their imaginations. Best of all, they are FREE and FUN!

Toddler Activity Idea: Colour Run & Sort

With the long winter months, many children are missing outside play… so this fun toddler activity idea that combines gross motor and colour recognition might be just what your program needs!