Dual Language Booklets and Resources for Families
The Saskatchewan Literacy Network has a series of
free family resources and dual language booklets that are now available in Arabic, Chinese, Dari (Farsi), Nepali, Pashto, Somali, Tigrigna, Urdu. Each booklet contains a small selection of simple, practical vocabulary by theme. Written at the emergent literacy level, they were designed for young learners and their caregivers to use together, on topics like clothing, colours, food, transportation and more. They are perfect for sharing with parents or even printing out for use in your program!
Free Teachers’ Toolkit: Including Refugees in the Classroom
Teachers are facing new challenges in making sense of forced displacement and its complexities. Teaching newcomers often comes with specific needs relating to language acquisition and adaptation to a new culture and environment. Some refugee children may suffer from stress or trauma preventing them from participating fully in school activities, and requiring specific support. To help, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has released a free
Teachers’ Toolkit, professional development and guidance to help teachers understand the needs of refugee children, as well as a collection of
adaptable teaching materials on refugees, asylum, migration and statelessness.
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
Voices Of Children Documentary
In this small film with a big heart, we meet young children from communities around the globe, bringing us a glimpse of their extraordinary diversity.
Children from five diverse countries draw us into their worlds through their many voices. Behind their experiences lie messages, both universal and informed by place, time, and culture. The children share their ideas, hopes, challenges, and capacity as they talk, sing, work, dance, and play!
Children take longer to learn two languages at once compared to just one — don’t fret
Some bilingual children from immigrant families develop each language at a slower pace because their learning is spread across two languages. This research shows strong evidence that the rate of language growth is influenced by the number of languages a child is learning - which challenges the belief that children are linguistic sponges who quickly absorb the language or languages they hear and become proficient speakers of both languages!
Learn how to better engage diverse families in your program!
All parents want the best for their children, and there are plenty of creative ways to support parent involvement in early childhood programs. The McCormick Center has a
collection of resources, training and ideas to help you engage diverse families in your program!
Keeping home languages alive key to English success for newcomer kids
A language workshop for parents in northeast Calgary is highlighting the
many benefits of keeping home languages alive and encouraging parents to pass on their spoken language to their kids.
Checklist: Planning for a Multicultural Child Care Environment
Use this helpful
checklist for planning a multicultural child care environment to see how your program is doing, and identify areas for improvements!
Webinar – Young Children in Refugee Families and Early Childhood Programs: Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Trauma
Young children in refugee families often endure significant direct or indirect trauma from their experiences during conflict, flight, or resettlement. The issue of trauma has gained increasing visibility across the early childhood field, yet relatively little research has explored the specific traumatic experiences and needs of young refugee children or strategies to address them. High-quality early childhood programs can have enormous benefits, particularly for the children of immigrants and refugees. Join this
webinar where experts will discuss the effects of trauma on the development of young refugee children, and practical strategies that child-care providers in Canada are using to support the resiliency of refugee children and families.
Migration Matters: Young Children of Newcomer Families
Drawing from Statistics Canada and research,
this edition of Migration Matters summarizes recent trends on the socioeconomic status, education, and mental health of young children of immigrant families. It also provides resources of research and best practices to meet the needs of immigrant children and families.
