What:

• Explore the importance of outdoor play for early childhood development, and how to best support children in their outdoor experiences. This will include discussion topics such as child-led play, loose parts, and risky play.
• Share our own experiences with delivering outdoor programming.
• Share and explore ways to incorporate the outdoors in our programming – both in-person and virtual programs.
• Have fun!

 Who:

Recommended participants include:

• Community leaders and administrators
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Child care centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Please note that this workshop is similar to the “Taking Wiggle, Giggle & Munch Outdoors” workshop presented in June 2021, so it may not be useful to those previous participants.

Maximum 12 participants

Register:

Register

Storytelling has been around for millennia, not only for entertainment but as a way of imparting education, connection, and empowerment. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges and develop resiliency skills like empathy, diversity, gratitude, and many more. We wanted to discover ways of bringing resiliency and storytelling together, and there has never been a more critical time to do so. Throughout the pandemic, our resiliency has been put to the test. Communities 4 Families’ workshop helps participants reflect and explore the many ways to build on their resiliency skills through the lens of each oral story we share.

Date: Wednesday, January 26 and Friday, January 28

Time: 12:30-3:30pm

Location: Online via Zoom (participants will be emailed the login details after registering)

Registration: Register here

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Families and caregivers
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Child care centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Topics: 

• Benefits of Storytelling
• Internal and External Resiliency
• Community as a protective factor
• Reflecting on personal and community agency

Quotes from workshop participants:

“Although I may read books to the children in my live, I don’t do much time doing oral storytelling. Yet as a child, many of my fondest memories with my parents are when they would tell me their own stories. Whether it be stories about their lives or ones that they imagined themselves. There is something very intimate about an oral story. The engagement between audience and storyteller is enhanced. I definitely want to do more storytelling.” 

“By using animals and specific themes, storytelling allows people to address systemic and cultural challenges without pointing blame at certain groups. This creates a pathway through difficult conversations and within this workshop it allowed us to reflect on personal and communal experiences where we have faced adversity and how to overcome it.” 

Storytelling has been around for millennia, not only for entertainment but as a way of imparting education, connection, and empowerment. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges and develop resiliency skills like empathy, diversity, gratitude, and many more. We wanted to discover ways of bringing resiliency and storytelling together, and there has never been a more critical time to do so. Throughout the pandemic, our resiliency has been put to the test. Communities 4 Families’ workshop helps participants reflect and explore the many ways to build on their resiliency skills through the lens of each oral story we share.

Date: Wednesday, January 26 and Friday, January 28

Time: 12:30-3:30pm

Location: Online via Zoom (participants will be emailed the login details after registering)

Registration: Register here

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Families and caregivers
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Child care centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Topics: 

• Benefits of Storytelling
• Internal and External Resiliency
• Community as a protective factor
• Reflecting on personal and community agency

Quotes from workshop participants:

“Although I may read books to the children in my live, I don’t do much time doing oral storytelling. Yet as a child, many of my fondest memories with my parents are when they would tell me their own stories. Whether it be stories about their lives or ones that they imagined themselves. There is something very intimate about an oral story. The engagement between audience and storyteller is enhanced. I definitely want to do more storytelling.” 

“By using animals and specific themes, storytelling allows people to address systemic and cultural challenges without pointing blame at certain groups. This creates a pathway through difficult conversations and within this workshop it allowed us to reflect on personal and communal experiences where we have faced adversity and how to overcome it.” 

Gentle Heroes is a workshop offered free of charge to downtown agencies working with dads/male caregivers.

Storytelling has been part of our cultures for millennia, as entertainment and as a way of sharing knowledge, building attachment, and empowering community members. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges, developing skills like empathy, gratitude, and more.

This workshop will also develop and enhance our appreciation of diversity.  It gives participants an opportunity and method to communicate their “story”. This is made possible through speaking, listening, reading and writing, art, music, humour, and role-playing, providing a language-rich environment for children, essential for early literacy.  Honouring each family’s culture through storytelling encourages attachment and bonding by giving parents the opportunity to be a significant part of the literacy process as a storyteller.

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Childcare centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Celebrate I Love to Read month with this FREE workshop! We will share diverse children’s books and activities complemented with strategies on how caregivers and professionals can extend literacy concepts to invite children to learn language, culture and acceptance of differences.

Content includes:

• Sharing stories and literacy extension activities that will allow children and their caregivers to explore concepts in a way that strengthen their understanding of language
• Supporting and enhancing the fundamentals of family literacy while celebrating diverse cultures, creeds, abilities and genders
  Receiving recommendations for books that are inclusive, cultivate compassion, awareness, and a broader world-view

This workshop is designed for those working with children from 0-6.

Register here

NOTE:  For certification, you must complete ALL sessions.

RIRO offers evidence-based, resiliency skills training programmes to strengthen well-being and resilience in adults and children through role modeling and relationships.

Since 2002 RIRO has helped fuel resilience and support well-being in adults and young children under 8 years. RIRO teaches childcare and early learning staff and service providers the “3Rs of Resilience” – relaxation and reflection skills to help them respond instead of simply reacting to challenging situations.

RIRO 12-hour resiliency skills training programmes:

Teach adults resiliency skills to…

• Reach IN to develop healthy ways to cope with stress and tough times
• Reach OUT to find support and offer it to others

Show adults how to help children by…

• developing caring relationships
• being positive role models
• passing along the resiliency skills to them.

Register here

Gentle Heroes is a workshop offered free of charge to downtown agencies working with dads/male caregivers.

Storytelling has been part of our cultures for millennia, as entertainment and as a way of sharing knowledge, building attachment, and empowering community members. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges, developing skills like empathy, gratitude, and more.

This workshop will also develop and enhance our appreciation of diversity.  It gives participants an opportunity and method to communicate their “story”. This is made possible through speaking, listening, reading and writing, art, music, humour, and role-playing, providing a language-rich environment for children, essential for early literacy.  Honouring each family’s culture through storytelling encourages attachment and bonding by giving parents the opportunity to be a significant part of the literacy process as a storyteller.

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Childcare centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Register here

Register here

Register here

Register here

Gentle Heroes is a workshop offered free of charge to downtown agencies working with dads/male caregivers.

Storytelling has been part of our cultures for millennia, as entertainment and as a way of sharing knowledge, building attachment, and empowering community members. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges, developing skills like empathy, gratitude, and more.

This workshop will also develop and enhance our appreciation of diversity.  It gives participants an opportunity and method to communicate their “story”. This is made possible through speaking, listening, reading and writing, art, music, humour, and role-playing, providing a language-rich environment for children, essential for early literacy.  Honouring each family’s culture through storytelling encourages attachment and bonding by giving parents the opportunity to be a significant part of the literacy process as a storyteller.

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Childcare centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

This 2-hour workshop is a condensed version of the outdoor play course previously developed for Mosaic volunteers. Topics include:

• The importance of outdoor play for early childhood development.
• Four fundamentals of successful outdoor play, which touches on sensory play, child-led play, play with loose parts, and risky play.
• Other topics touched on include parental/caregiver roles related to outdoor play, and how to utilize space and resources easily accessible to anyone.

Participants will also be directed to links and resources for practical ideas and activities.

Note: This is a free workshop for those serving families in Communities 4 Families Downtown catchment area.

Register here

* Agencies are reminded that any – or all! – of these topic areas can be tailored into custom workshops for your staff and volunteers. Please contact us to discuss further.

Learn to use active storytelling in your programs

Learn to use active storytelling in your programs

Gentle Heroes is a workshop offered free of charge to downtown agencies working with dads/male caregivers.

Storytelling has been part of our cultures for millennia, as entertainment and as a way of sharing knowledge, building attachment, and empowering community members. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges, developing skills like empathy, gratitude, and more.

This workshop will also develop and enhance our appreciation of diversity.  It gives participants an opportunity and method to communicate their “story”. This is made possible through speaking, listening, reading and writing, art, music, humour, and role-playing, providing a language-rich environment for children, essential for early literacy.  Honouring each family’s culture through storytelling encourages attachment and bonding by giving parents the opportunity to be a significant part of the literacy process as a storyteller.

Recommended Participants: 

• Community leaders and administrators
• Family support practitioners
• Early Childhood Educators
• Childcare centre administrators
• Program leaders and facilitators

Storytelling has been around for millennia, not only for entertainment but as a way of imparting education, connection, and empowerment. Stories help us reflect on and overcome our challenges and develop resiliency skills like empathy, diversity, gratitude, and many more. We wanted to discover ways of bringing resiliency and storytelling together, and there has never been a more critical time to do so. Throughout the pandemic, our resiliency has been put to the test. Communities 4 Families’ workshop helps participants reflect and explore the many ways to build on their resiliency skills through the lens of each oral story we share.