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Join us at Car Free Day on Saturday, June 9 from 11am to 4pm for hula hoop fun! For more information about what’s happening, visit www.ourstreet.ca .
There are many benefits of playing board games with your children!
Social:
- A TV-free activity for you and your child to enjoy.
- Mommy/Daddy & child time.
- Practice of turn-taking and cooperating
- Sharing in an exchange of ideas and points of view.
- Making decisions and choices and accepting the consequences.
Emotional:
- Practice in regulating emotions if child does not “win”. Avoid competition if a cooperative alternative is available. Play in teams rather than one vs. another.
- Sharing and communicating emotions—both excitement and disappointment.
- Developing self-esteem while gaining success at playing by the “rules”.
- Focusing attention on the game and avoiding distraction.
- Persisting even when frustrated and coping with disappointment.
Communication, language and literacy:
- Responding appropriately to the verbal and print directions on how to play the game.
- Using new words and building vocabulary.
- Recognizing numbers in print and counting.
- Recognizing colours and shapes and matching their names.
Cognition:
- Asking questions to solve problems and clarify understanding.
- Using numbers, letters, shapes and quantities of items.
- Sorting objects, pictures and things into groups (classifying).
- Identifying patterns and knowing what comes next in a sequence.
- Using memory to remember picture cards in a matching game.
- Using counters to represent objects.
Physical:
- Fine motor dexterity, eye-hand coordination, by picking up and placing small items such as cards and game pieces.
- Large motor in floor games such as hop-scotch and twister.
- Auditory skills when identifying sounds on a sound bingo/lotto game.
HAVE FUN!
Mark your calendars! Its time to start thinking about Kids Tri 4 Kids 2012.
ScotiaMcLeod is thrilled to present the second annual Kids Tri 4 Kids on Sunday, June 10th at Carling Heights Community Centre,LondonON.
Last year’s event was a huge success as we raised over $15,000 for Childreach, a local charity whose main focus is to ensure every child has the best start to life by supporting the adults who care for them. The funds raised helped, in part, to open a new and much needed Outreach Program in Cherryhill Mall.
Online registration is now open! Space is limited so register early to ensure your spot in this year’s race. Be sure to sign up before May 27th to get your personalized race bib.
The entry fee is $42 per participant, with a minimum of $12 going directly to Childreach. We are also pleased to offer a family discount this year. The second, third and fourth child registered will be at a reduced cost of $37 however, you must register all participants at the same time under the family option to receive the discount.
We know you had a great time last year, so be sure to share this post to all your friends and family so they can join us at this amazing event.
Please visit our website for event details and to register.
We can’t wait to see you there.
Tickets are now available for the Family Fun Festival on Sunday, February 26, 2012.It’s a fundraiser for Childreach and lots of fun for the whole family – from the young to the old. Sunday, February 26 from 11 am to 2 pm at the Hellenic Community Centre, 133 Southdale Rd. W., London. There will be activities, crafts, face painting, cupcake decorating, balloon animals, Imagination Playground, silent auction, goody bags, buffet brunch, ice cream bar, visits from Tinkerbell & Buzz Lightyear, and more!!! Tickets are $10 for children 2 to 12 and $40 for adults. For more information call Jane at 519-434-3644 ext. 36, or purchase your tickets here!
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.
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!
This is the last year that we will be bringing Charlotte to London, so this is your last opportunity to see her live! Treat yourself and your child(ren) to a fabulous, interactive musical experience! You have your choice of two concerts on Tuesday, April 12 – 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. – at Forest City Community Church! Tickets are $10 each.
For tickets or more information, please call Jane at 519-434-3644 x36.
This IS Literacy is an initiative of the Literacy Implementation Team of the Child and Youth Network. This team’s goals are to improve literacy by 2011 and to be a provincial leader in child, youth and family literacy by 2015.
What are we talking about when we say we want to “make literacy a way of life”? We all may use the word “literacy”, but not have the same understanding of what it means. In terms of the work of London’s Child and Youth Network and this website, literacy is defined as:
- The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute using printed and written materials and
- The ability to express thoughts, feelings and ideas
- Literacy is a key piece of helping people achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential and participate fully in their community.
Why the Focus on Literacy?
The Child and Youth Network identified literacy as one of its top 4 priorities. Literacy is an issue for London’s children, youth and families.
- Over 27% of our children are not ready to learn when they enter Grade 1
- In 19 of 26 London neighbourhoods at least 20% of children are not ready to learn when they enter Grade 1
- At least 1 in 3 children in London ages 8 to 14 is not meeting the literacy and numeracy standards established by the province
- 19% to 23% of youth in London are failing to graduate from high school (within 5 years)
- 1 in 5 adults in London is functioning at the lowest level of literacy, often unable to read basic signs and medicine instructions
The emphasis on literacy needs to start at the beginning of a child’s life. Children who struggle with literacy will become youth and adults who struggle with literacy.
Although London is average in terms of literacy – no better and no worse than other communities – being average comes at a cost. Compared to those with low literacy skills, people with strong, well developed literacy skills are:
- Better able to earn a living and contribute positively to the workforce
- More likely to seek medical help when they need it
- More likely to maintain healthy diets and to be physically active
- Less likely to suffer from diseases such as diabetes and poor cardiovascular health
- Less likely to suffer from work related injuries
- Less likely to be involved in crime
- More likely to advocate for their children
What is Family Literacy?
One of the goals of the Child and Youth Network is to improve family literacy. How is family literacy different from literacy, in general? The term family literacy has 2 components. It refers to literacy activities that take place in the everyday lives of families and it refers to programs that aim to increase the amount and frequency of family literacy in homes and communities. It’s what families do together in their homes and out in their local community or neighbourhood. Family literacy is:
- About the ways families use literature and language in their daily lives
- About how families learn
- About how families use literacy to do everyday tasks
- Some examples of family literacy include:
- Shared reading activities
- Parents/caregivers modeling appropriate language skills, labeling objects and actions and describing what they or their child are doing
This website provides you with lots of ideas on how you can make literacy a part of your everyday life.
If you have young children in your life, consider taking them to the 5th Annual Family Fun Festival on Sunday, February 27, 2011 from 11 am to 2 pm at the Hellenic Community Centre. It’s a fundraiser for Childreach, tickets are $10 for children 2 to 12 and $40 for adults, and it’s fabulous value and fun for all ages. This year’s event is shaping up to be the best year yet with Storybook Gardens’ Imagination Playground, crafts from the Children’s Museum, karaoke, cupcake decorating, storytelling with the Waldorf School, face-painting, clowns, and visits from Princesses Belle & Aurora and Spiderman! There’s a child-friendly brunch buffet, a sundae bar, a family-focused silent auction, a big loot bag for each child, and so much more! For more information or to buy tickets, call Jane at 519-434-3644 x36 and check out the website at www.familyfunfestival.ca. We hope to see you there!
Planning a stay-cation during the winter break? We invite you to bring your children 0-6 years of age to our playroom for lots of FUN at NO COST. For the first time, we are opening our doors between Christmas and New Years. The playroom will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (December 28 – 29) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a great opportunity for those of you who work Monday to Friday and aren’t able to visit the playroom with your children during the week year-round. It’s especially good for those days when the children begin to get bored, and you need to get out of the house!
Happy holidays from the staff of Childreach!!
