One easy and healthy recipe to use with young children is:
Snip It Salad 
Essential Equipment
Sieve or lettuce spinner
Blunt or safety scissors
Salad bowl
Liquid measuring cup
Gather Ingredients
1 head lettuce
1 bunch broccoli
1 red pepper
1 handful of shredded cheese
1/3 c. salad dressing
Simple Steps
Drain lettuce leaves in sieve or dry in lettuce spinner.
Tear lettuce into large salad bowl.
With blunt scissors, snip red pepper and broccoli into salad bowl.
For extra calcium, toss your shredded cheese into the bowl.
Toss with 1/3 cup of your favourite salad dressing.

Some of these concepts can include:

•  turn taking and cooperation
• reading and language
• measuring
• fractions (ie: 1/2 of a cup)
• eye-hand coordination
• imagination
• healthy eating and nutrition
• a sense of accomplishment and pride in something they have created

There are a few tips to remember if you want to try cooking with children.  Make sure you choose easy recipes to start.  Also, make sure you have set the environment up for success.  Have cooking tools that will be easy for children to use and master, and not spill the ingredients with.  Give younger children simple tasks like stirring, measuring and pouring ingredients into bowls.  Allow older children to do more difficult tasks such as cracking eggs, creating their own recipes, and using electric mixers.  Build on the skills of the children.

Cooking can be messy, but remember….the messier something is always means the more fun you have do the activity and creating the mess!

Parents were excited for their child to be entering the Full Day Learning Kindergarten Program, but they also felt some apprehension on whether their child would be ready for Kindergarten.  Every family wanted to know how to prepare their child to start school.

These families had taken the first step and were at the school, with their child, to meet the teacher and have a tour.  But what about the rest?  For me, the answer for parents came easily – play.  Play with your child and your child will be ready for school.  Through play, your child will learn valuable skills like sharing, turn taking, interacting in a positive way with others, spatial awareness, oral language, problem solving, etc…..the list of skills a child can aquire through play is long and invaluable.  You can even play “school” with your child if you want to give your child a sense of what it might be like.

For parents, you take advantage of story time at your local library or bookstore to make reading more engaging.  Some playgroups also offer story time for parents and children to enjoy.  Children can enjoy sitting with a group of other kids listening to a story, and hearing English spoken by a variety of different native voices can also be helpful. This is a great option for parents who do not speak English well themselves. Children may also have the chance to participate in choosing books to take home from these various story times, which in turn will make him more enthusiastic about reading at home.

For parents and teachers, there are book series, internet sites and hundreds of other resources designed specifically for teaching children how to speak English. Lesson plans, games, story books and plays can be easily found on internet or in bookshops. You can create your own resources that are simple and easy to follow. Even the most unimaginative of adults can make up a short story that children can identify with.

Social activities with native English-speakers provide a relaxed opportunity for your child to hear English without the pressure of having to speak it. Participate in casual activities like dinners, barbecues or parties with native English-speakers on a regular basis. Allow your child to interact with both children and adults who speak English so your child can become more comfortable and less self-conscious in English-speaking environments.  Set up play dates with other children who speak the same primary language as your child but are also learning English as a second language.

Make-believe is part of development for children. Children can be remarkably inventive and imaginative and they love to create fantasy worlds .  They also use drama to recreate situations in their lives and to deal with everyday emotions.  Children can use their imagination and feel more comfortable using the English they know in a dramatic play setting.

Other ideas to help make learning English more fun are:
• storytelling
• visual teaching aids like short films, photographs, posters and pictures
• drama, dialogue and poetry
• songs, music and rhymes
• dance and movement
• games and manual activities

I walked through the entrance gates and could immediately feel the enthusiasm of all of the volunteers who had already begun the day.  It was as if we were all children ourselves looking forward to a day full of play.

Soon after the set up was completed, children and families began to pour through the entrances of Fort York.  Everyone had the opportunity to experience several play centres, listen to incredible storytellers, and see bands perform live on the stage.  Parents had the opportunity to ask volunteers questions about how children learn through play, and get some tips on play activities at home.  I got the chance to speak to parents and answer questions about the Full Day Kindergarten Program and the success that I have personally seen children have in the program.  It was also a day for educators from all over the province to meet and share ideas with each other.

We were lucky that we had beautiful weather for the day.  The sun was shining on us. 

Thank you to all of the Play Partners, Sponsors, Advisors, Volunteers, Performers and families who helped make the day such a success.  It was a day I will never forget.

PDF Version

TORONTO, ON – Ontario public elementary schools are on the right track by having play-based learning as the focus for the province’s new full-day kindergarten, according to the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

“The research evidence is clear that play-based learning fosters creativity, initiative, collaboration and problem-solving,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond at The Ultimate Block Party, a free celebration of play which attracted thousands of families and children in Toronto today. “We’re celebrating the first year’s completion of this important educational initiative with the biggest play date ever.”

ETFO gathered 25 educational partners to develop play centres at the Ultimate Block Party to showcase how adventure play and construction play, language and creative play, make believe and physical play relate to children’s brain development. Mountains of LEGO® bricks, kilos of clay, dress-up costumes, robotics, and musical instruments were the focus of play activities presented by partners including the Ontario Science Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, Scientists in School, Right To Play, TVOKids, Canadian Tire Jumpstart, and Imagination Playground.

“Our goal is to have parents understand that play is the work of children and that it fuels their brain development,” added Hammond. “That’s true for children through all elementary grade levels. Play is about developing innovation, creativity, and other skills to help children succeed in life.”

ETFO has developed a playbook full of information, resources and activities for families to play at home. Called “My Playbook, it’s available for free online at www.ultimateblockparty.ca.

A leading advocate for the science of play, ETFO has also developed a significant body of professional learning for teachers and early childhood educators to develop and implement play-based curriculum in Ontario elementary public school classrooms.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents 76,000 elementary public school teachers and education professionals across the province and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.

Break out the clay. Some children may pound or roll it, while others try to build things. The kinesthetic joy of squeezing the pliable clay and the simple goal of making a pinch pot or rolling out a snake offer a sense of mastery. This releases tension if children are becoming frustrated or angry, so there are behavioural benefits as well.

Add texture to paint with sand to create a stimulating tactile experience in finger painting, or allow children to paint with cars or marbles. To help with other possible sensory issues, you can also add pleasant scents to playdough, paint, etc…as long as you do not make the smells too strong, especially the first few times you do this.

Get children engaged in “heavy” gross motor activities such as using weights, weighted products, jumping, bouncing, rocking, pushing, pulling, and swinging.  All children need this and it is fun for adults to join in too!

Use a sand or water table.  Add some toys to the table to help children use their imagination and focus on playing, rather than the feeling of the sand or water.  Or put non-toxic shaving cream in the table for something different!

Sensory integration activities are unbelievably fun and a necessary part of development for any child, whether they have a sensory processing disorder or not.  But, if you think your child may have sensory issues, you should consult with your child’s doctor.

Adaptations to physical activities can be easily done. Provide large balls, hoops, and other oversized equipment outside or in a gym for visually challenged children. Provide large sticks of chalk for sidewalk drawing for children with fine motor difficulties. Provide tabletop activities for children who are in wheelchairs (marbles, create a garden), or have an easel outside.

Small adjustments can allow every child the opportunity for physical activity.