What's Happenng
Planning Child-Inspired Activities for CNC Webinar Recording Now Available!
Do you ever feel like you’ve run out of activity ideas to extend children’s play and learning?
Whether you’re new to CNC, or have been working in CNC for years, this webinar is not to be missed!
Jackie Cunningham joins us for this interactive and engaging webinar to talk about:
- the benefits of emergent curriculum,
- how you can use LET’S PLAY to find new activity ideas, and
- plenty of real life examples of child-inspired programming in action!
The CMAS Play Across Cultures Tutorial is Now Available in French!
Children from different cultures engage in play differently. This makes sense because there are differences in language, context, and social norms in different cultures – and these are all reflected in children’s play! In the Play Across Cultures tutorial, participants will have the chance to reflect on how play is different across cultures, and how we can encourage and foster all kinds of play variations in our CNC programs... and now it's available in French!
Anti-Bias Celebrations: Webinar Recording
Let's explore how and what families celebrate helps children learn about themselves, their community and the world around them. We're often questioning, "How can we celebrate holiday events that are important to children and families in a respectful way?" It’s our approach and implementation of these practices that make a difference, so let’s chat about it! Join CMAS special guest, Tina Geers in this webinar to discuss different ways that educators have embraced an anti-biased approach to holidays. We'll also talk about what has worked for them and what they have learned from their mistakes. It’s a journey of learning that we can take together!
NEW! LET’S PLAY: House Activity Ideas
Playing house gives children plenty of opportunities to explore different roles, practice problem-solving, and act out feelings that they might not yet be able to express in words. A team of CNC staff put their heads together and came up with over 140 house activity ideas and play extensions to build on this interest.
The Canadian Child Care Sector is in a State of Change
With universal child care, ECEs in Kindergarten classrooms, and advocates calling for an ECE salary scale across the country, the landscape of child care in Canada is changing.
In response to questions from CNC administrators and program staff about how these changes might impact CNC, we’ve put together a list of links to articles and information to keep you up-to-date and informed.
Over the coming months, we’ll do our best to add to this list with news and updates from the sector.
- Ontario’s child care wage floor increase brings financial relief for some educators, but leaves too many behind
- Early childhood educators in Ontario among lowest paid in Canada, advocates say
- Daycare workers are exiting the profession in droves, just as access for parents opens up
- Ontario Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Boost Child Care Workforce and Protect Children
- Advocates say increase to Ontario ECE wages doesn’t go far enough for retention of workers
- Saskatchewan allocates funding for new regulated daycare spaces, youth mental health
- $10-a-day daycare in Manitoba raising demand for staff and lengthening wait-lists
- Increase In Wages For Certified Early Childhood Educators Beginning October 1
- Advocates are calling for a salary scale of at least $30 to $40 an hour for registered ECEs
- Early childcare centres struggling to maintain staff across Saskatchewan
- B.C.
NEW! LET’S PLAY: Painting & Colouring Activity Ideas
A team of CNC staff put their heads together and came up with over 100 painting and colouring activity ideas for CNC… and now you can find them here!
LET’S PLAY: PLAY DOUGH ACTIVITY IDEAS
Play dough play provides children with lots of great opportunities to use their imagination and strengthen their fine motor skills. It can also provide hours of fun while children develop problem-solving, language and social skills! A team of CNC staff put their heads together and came up with over 125 play dough activity ideas for CNC… and now you can find them here! Special thanks to the CNC team that worked on the new content.
There’s plenty to acknowledge and celebrate in October!
Are you busy collecting ideas and planning for your CNC program this month? If so, there are a few important days this month that you might want to incorporate and honour to raise awareness in your CNC program and community!
October is Canada Library and Fire Prevention month, and National Family Week is October 2-8. Thanksgiving is also celebrated on October 9th, and International Day of the Girl Child on the 11th. Make a Difference Day is October 23rd, Dress Purple Day is October 27th, and Hallowe'en is on October 30th!
New Online Tutorial Series: Now Available in French and English!
When children are calm and alert, they’re better able to manage their emotions, pay attention, ignore distractions, feel empathy, and really engage in their play and learning. Supporting children in developing self-regulation skills and helping them understand and manage big feelings is a great place to start. Supporting Self-Regulation and 8 Tips for Helping Children Understand and Manage Big Feelings are now available in French and English!
LET’S PLAY: CREEPY CRAWLY THINGS ACTIVITY IDEAS
Do you have a child in your program who is interested in bugs and creepy crawly things? A team of CNC staff put their heads together and came up with over 60 bugs and creepy crawly things activity ideas for CNC… and now you can find them here! Special thanks to the CNC team that worked on the new content.