Book Picks from the Playroom

Here are three of our favourite books to read with children.  They address language, literacy, numeracy and counting.  Enjoy!

• Red is Best by Kathy  Stinson.  This is a charming book  for a children of all ages about a little girls preference for the colour red and how this specific colour lights her world.
• Hello World! by Manya Stojic.  This book teaches how  to say hello in many languages; Hawaiian, Inuktitut, French, Spanish, German, Arabic and many more.  It also shows how to say the word the way it sounds.  It’s a great book for teachers who have  multi-language classrooms.
• One Snowy Day by  Tammi Salzano.  Numeracy is  prevalent in this book that counts each day with different items such as  hat, mittens, to snowflakes, and much more!  Great for toddlers and preschoolers.

Now Hiring! POP UP (Preschool Outreach Program Utilizing Play) Programmer

This is not your regular preschool program job! It’s a short term (8 week?), part-time (average 20 hours per week) contract for an innovative pilot program, with the possibility of extension (if you do a fantastic job!).

POP UP Program Overview
The Childreach POP UP Program plan follows much the same premise as the pop-up-shops becoming popular in many large urban communities. The basic idea is that Childreach would “pop-up” in a different place in the city (like an empty store in a mall) for a period of approximately one month and would provide physical play equipment and healthy active living mini-programs (including literacy, numeracy, skill development, etc.) to preschool children with their parents or caregivers. The underlying goal is to reach the most vulnerable, at-risk families. Our 35 years of experience have shown us that these families do not seek out and attend traditional early learning programs for their children. Those who most need help simply don’t identify that they are not offering their children the fundamental learning opportunities and support that they need. These new outreach plans include setting up a short-term program in areas that families frequent (who doesn’t need to shop?) and enticing them in with “Free, Food & Fun”. Once we have their attention, we will be able to develop a relationship with them, build their trust, and then softly integrate them into the social service network. We will be able to identify potential developmental and behavioural issues while observing and interacting with the children and provide the information and referrals necessary for the parents to comfortably go forward. Positive childhood experiences promote higher intelligence scores, higher school completion rates, increased earning potential and improved social and emotional behaviour. Physical activity and healthy living are vital to the health and well being of all. The program will be moved across the city to ensure that we connect with a broad and diverse range of families.

More about the job:
- Average of 20 hours per week including Saturdays and some evenings
- Contract wage of $20 per hour
- Valid drivers license and use of a reliable vehicle is required
- The opportunity to carve out a niche for yourself in a well respected London agency
- A comprehensive position including marketing, volunteer coordination, budget management, service delivery, statistics and outcome evaluation and working with community partners

You are:
- outgoing
- innovative
- flexible
- responsive
- enthusiastic
- creative
- able to work autonomously within the program, but as part of the overall Childreach team
- interested in breaking new ground in responsive service delivery

Your experience includes:
- Demonstrated knowledge of community resources
- A background in Social Work, Teaching, Early Childhood Education or ???

If you’re the person we’re looking for:
Send us your resume and cover letter by the end of the year, December 31, 2011, in Word or pdf format indicating WHY you want to lead this project to jpowers@childreach.on.ca .  We would like the successful candidate to start as soon as possible in the New Year, and have the program up and running by mid to end of January.

Londoners invited to apply and make SPARKS fly!

Now in its second year, the City of London’s SPARKS! Neighbourhood Matching Fund is inviting Londoners to realize their ideas to enhance their neighbourhoods by accessing up to $5,000 in project matching funds. The fund, which is accepting applications from December 8, 2011 to January 31, 2012, allows neighbourhood groups to initiate, manage and implement projects that make a difference and are aligned with the Strengthening Neighbourhoods vision for all London neighbourhoods. Last year eleven resident driven projects were funded more than $45,000 supporting the ideas and dreams of nine London neighbourhoods. Projects included community celebrations, neighbourhood beautification and naturalization and local gathering places.  “As part of the London Strengthening Neighbourhoods Strategy, these neighbourhood projects bring people together in variety of unique ways to celebrate, share and have fun. Londoners are coming together to show their pride in their neighbourhoods. Wonderful things are happening across our city,” says Lynne Livingstone, Director of Neighbourhood & Children’s Services. With countless project possibilities, neighbourhoods are encouraged to be innovative and creative and to have fun inventing projects to “spark” local neighbourhood beautification, celebration, enhancing green spaces, arts and culture and community pride.

The application process is simple, beginning with a neighbourhood group having an exciting idea. The group then submits an application online ( www.london.ca/sparks ) and if approved, the City of London supplies funds up to $5,000 to match the equivalent contribution the neighbourhood makes through a combination of other funds raised (including donated services, donated materials and supplies, and volunteer labour).

Funds for SPARKS! are provided through the City of London’s Neighbourhood & Children’s Services Division, with a total of $50,000 to allocate in 2012.

Make Giving a Family Tradition

 

The fall, whether it be for Thanksgiving, High Holy Days, Diwali or other traditions, is a time when many of us gather with friends and family to enjoy good company and good food.  As you gather this year, we encourage you to start a new family tradition focused on charitable giving. Take the time to start a conversation about what donating means to your family and to inspire the young people in your life to become the next generation of donors!   

Here are some tips to help you get started: 

Talk to your children or younger relatives about the causes that matter to you and why you choose to support them.  Discuss all of the great things that charities do in all sectors (healthcare, animals, the environment, education, international development, social services etc…). 

Visit or volunteer at a charity you’ve supported in the past to see first-hand the important work they do with your donations. Be sure to set up a time to visit in advance – service demands go up for many charities around holidays.

Make this time of year the time that you set your annual giving budget. Decide the amount that works for you , and how you would like to split that amount among the causes you support. 

 Ask everyone to research a charity they would like to support.  Before a meal, go around the table and ask everyone to say a few words about the charity they chose and the impact that organization has on the community.

Thanks for Giving!

Thanks to our generous donors, over the last year Childreach has:

•  led monthly Parent Circle programs in the Kipps Lane community, bringing families together to address parenting and neighbourhood challenges;
• introduced a new summer program AND a second stage program for our young moms group that has doubled in size;
• provided over 100 one-on-one parenting sessions to parents that are struggling; some of which required a translator;
• piloted a very successful ready for school family literacy program in a vacant store at Northland Mall.

Parents are the most important influence on a young child.  By supporting parents, we work toward our dream of the best start in life for all children.  We can’t do it alone.

Thanks for Giving!

What’s Happening at Childreach this Summer?

Summer hours are here!   New community playgroups are happening!  There are new books and kits in the library!  Find out about all of these and more by reading our monthly e-newsletter.  

If you liked this month’s issue and are interested in getting it delivered directly to your inbox each month, please let us know by email.

Rainy Day Fun

Today it is raining.   At some point, you may need to beat some boredom.  Here are a few ideas to keep your children busy and happy.

• Let children go through their toys and decide what they have outgrown or don’t use; then help them set up a yard sale and sell lemonade too (on a sunny day). On the next rainy day, plan a shopping day to spend the money they earned.
• Play music and dance!
• Visit an appliance store for very large boxes, and build a castle or a rocket ship.
• Visit or volunteer at a local seniors residence or nursing home.
• Visit the library and stock up on reading and viewing material.
• Break out the cards, and play crazy eights or go fish or make up a game.
• Get out old magazines and flyers. Cut them up and glue to create a collage.
• Plan a tea party with old tea cups and saucers.  Eat tiny sandwiches and cookies. 
• Armed with a list of things from around the house, make a scavenger hunt.

Summer Family Fun

Some of the challenges that families face in the summer are not having a huge budget to spend on things to do, meeting the needs of a variety of ages, and beating boredom.

We recommend you PLAN!  :)

• Think ahead
• Post activities on a calendar
• Plan for structured and unstructured activities daily
• Include your children in the planning
• Schedule a break in the day for everyone to relax (e.g. read or nap)

Our parent educators have compiled a summer handout.   Click on the link, save, print, share and enjoy!

Plugged in Parenting: Connecting with the Digital Generation with Judy Arnall

 

DATE: Thursday, June 2, 2011

TIME: 7 to 8:30pm, Doors open at 6:30pm

PLACE:CentralSecondary School,509 Waterloo St.,London,ON

TICKETS: $10 – You can buy them online here – http://www.childreach.on.ca/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=278

Judy is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and parenting expert on issues facing parents and families in the new millennium.  She’s a regular guest on Global TV and has been featured in Chatelaine, Today’s Parent, Parents, Canadian Living, Globe and Mail and many more

Parenting the Digital Generation

Childreach and Investing In Children are bringing  Judy Arnall, Speaker, Trainer and Canadian Bestselling Author to London on Friday, June 3, 2011   During the day, she will present an innovative workshop “Helping Parents Raise the Digital Generation” for professionals who work with families, and on the evening of Thursday, June 2 she will be speaking  to parents. 

Contact Jane Powers at jpowers@childreach.on.ca for more information.