Programs and Activities
Family Literacy Day 2025: Let’s Have a Family Party!
| Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th. The theme this year is “Let's Have a Family Party!”. You can check out ABC Life Literacy Canada’s website, join the celebration virtually, find community events, and download free resources to share with parents! |
Brain-Building Games to Play: Activities for Infants, Toddlers, and Children
From infancy on, play is an important part of a child’s life. For babies and toddlers, simple, playful interactions with adults help brain development and the building blocks for health and resilience. Through games and playful activities, children can practice and strengthen important skills that will help them throughout their lives. This handout series provides all kinds of great suggestions for games and play-based activities based on a child’s age!
20 Creative Cardboard Box Games and Activities for Kids
Cardboard boxes are one of the greatest and most versatile toys. Yep. You read that right. Before you take those boxes to the recycling bin, think of all the things your kids could do with them. From tissue boxes to shoe boxes, TVs, cereal, fridges, crackers, pizza, and all those online shopping spree items, there are so many ways to DIY these cartons into some fun. Here’s a list of 20 cardboard box craft ideas, games, and activities to get you started.
December Fun and Activities: Sesame Workshop
It's a wonderful time of year for families to connect! Sesame Workshop has put together a fun list of books, music, movies and more that you can share with the children and families in your program this month.
NEW! CNC Learning Moments: Simple Tips for Play-Based Programming
CNC Learning Moments is a training series that’s been developed especially for you to reflect on, inspire, and improve your CNC program. In this 30-minute session, CMAS consultant Tricia Kassotis joins us to talk about Simple Tips for Play-Based Programming. This CNC Learning Moment focuses on: 3 elements of play-based learning; simple ways to create a play-based program; 3 different approaches to play-based programming; and how children benefit from play-based programs. We encourage you to watch on your own, or as a team. You’ll also find that each new session includes a list of resource links to extend your learning and further support your CNC team.
50 Helpful Words Have Been Translated into 10 Languages for CNC!
Communicating with newcomer children and their families can be challenging. We translated 50 frequently used words into the l0 languages most commonly spoken in our newcomer programs. The words are available as cards that include pictures and phonetic pronunciations. These can be used as a visual to support language learning and confidence, create cultural connections, and communicate with and involve parents in the learning process. The files are available in a variety of formats, so you can print and/or repurpose them in many ways!
Building a Gratitude Jar Together
Highlight the power of gratitude! Some ideas for self-care take longer to show results, but the more we keep them up, the easier it is to remember them when we need them the most. In tough times, help children pause, notice, and savor the feelings that the good things in our lives bring. In this quick, 5-minute Sesame Workshop gratitude jar video, kids can watch Grandma Nell create a Gratitude Jar to help Tamir and Gabrielle practice gratitude.
10 fun autumn activities for kids
Cool but comfortable autumn weather is a great time to encourage families to get active outdoors and enjoy everything the season has to offer here in Canada! As a way of saying thanks to autumn, Active for Life has 10 fresh ways to play that you can share with families this season... because developing physical literacy is a year-round journey.
Activities for Infants
There are many great activities we can do with infants to support their development. This article explains four stages of infancy, major developmental milestones for each stage, and fun activities you can do with babies to help them meet those milestones!
7 Wonderful Things ECEs Can Do For Children
Early childhood educators (ECEs) are incredibly valuable in supporting and guiding the educational, social, behavioural, and emotional development of children in their early years. Through their work, they provide a strong foundation for kids’ future learning and functioning. This article highlights 7 wonderful things ECEs can do for children.