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(Part 2- read part one here) In our previous blog post we talked about what self-care is, why it is important for you and your family's wellbeing, and gave some tips on where to start with creating a plan and doing self-care. Here we will answer more questions. I don’t have the time or money for self-care what can I do? I have some great news for you, self-care does not need to take up hours of your day or cost you a pretty penny. Start small. Self-care only needs to take 5-10 minutes a day consistently for an individual to notice the effects. Like mentioned previously you won’t notice the effects of self-care overnight majority of the time so the sooner you start and longer you are able to consistently practice self-care the more you should notice the effects if the activities you’re engaging in are the right ones for you! Check out our “10 Minute Self-Care Activities” handout for more ideas! As for the cost of self-care there are tons of things, we can do to meet our needs in these 5 areas that don’t cost anything. Check out our “Parenting & Self-Care” handout for more information and talk to any member of the Norwood team next time you join us for a group or event if you have more questions! Boring Self-Care Boring self-care is exactly what it sounds like, its nothing new or exciting but rather small things we can do every day to take care of ourselves. Here are some great examples: Doing the dishes Cleaning something in the home Doing a load of laundry Going for a walk Journalling Taking medication as prescribed Setting boundaries Breathing exercises Brushing your hair Learning to identify self-sabotaging behaviours/patterns Staying in after a busy week Grocery shopping Spending time with animals Being kind to yourself Engaging in a hobby you enjoy Listening to music Watching the sunset Cooking a nutritious meal Meal prepping for the next day or week if you can and want to Completing a task on your to do list Couples Care The next thing that’s important to discuss when practicing self-care is couples care. Parents, more often than not, will put their own needs and the needs of their relationships on hold and spend that time with their children. Dedicating time to your relationship is extremely important when it comes to raising children. You are your partners main support and vis versa so it’s important to make sure you work together to keep your relationship strong. When couples don’t dedicate time towards their relationship the relationship starts to deteriorate which usually results in more disagreements, fighting and potentially the end of the relationship. Dedicating time to have uncomfortable conversations about what you need, how you're feeling and how you would like to address situations that arise can work to prevent issues before they arise and help you feel connected to your partner. That being said, you also want to spend time enjoying things with your partner, wither that’s going on a walk together, having dinner alone, or dancing in the kitchen after the children go to bed, it all works to build your connection with one another. Engaging in couple care will help prepare you navigate difficult situations together, work on your communication, and ensure that you are spending at least some time having fun together and connecting on a deeper level. Worksheets in this post: 10 Minute Self-Care Activities. Parenting & Self-Care Worksheet At Norwood Centre our team of qualified At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Family Support Workers work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support themselves and their families, as their children develop. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. Call 780-471-3737.

(Part 1) What is self-care? Self-care is intentionally spending time and energy focusing on your needs with the goal of improving your overall well-being. A common misconception about self-care is that it is or must be something we find fun, but this is not always the case. Self-care can look like limiting how much time you spend with people who have not respected your boundaries, cleaning the house, or seeking out various mental and physical health supports, among other things. "Self-care is meant to increase our well-being and sometimes that means doing things we don’t always want to do." Self-care looks different for everyone, what works for you will most likely not work for the next person. There will be a little bit of trial and error before you find the things that work for you and it is important to be patient and give things time to work before you try something else. The trial-and-error period will look different for everyone, if you’re struggling to implement your self-care activities or just don’t know what to do, we would love to support you in making a self-care plan that works best for you. We also have some resources linked at the bottom of this blog to help get you started, so be sure to check those out! Why is self-care important? Self-care increases our ability to handle the events of everyday life. When people engage in self-care regularly it: reduces stress increases our energy and ability to focus affects our ability to respond to challenges that arise rather than react to them Self-care has lots of benefits for your children too. When your children see you practicing self-care they are learning how to set and maintain boundaries with others, how to cope stress in a healthy way, and how to ask for help if, and when, they need it. Self-care also helps you continue to build healthy and secure attachments with your child! In addition to all of these wonderful things, practicing self-care regularly ensures that we are able to be there for others when they need some extra support in their lives. We cannot support others if we are not okay ourselves. This goes for our children too, it is significantly harder to respond calmly and logically to our children during the 2nd, 3rd, or even 10th temper tantrum of the day when we are feeling extra run down from outside stressors in our lives. Okay but how do I actually do self-care? Our “Parenting & Self-Care” handout has some information on these areas including some activities you can do that will support you within each of them. When creating a self-care plan, you want to identify activities you can do that will help fulfill your needs in each of these areas; one activity can fulfil needs in multiple areas. Please note, not all of your activities have to be done every day, some will take more time and planning. Once you know what activities support your well-being, you can engage with them as needed and work to create a self-care routine. A self-care routine will help you manage stress and fatigue on a regular basis so when more stressful situations do arise, you’re better equipped to manage and, depending on how far into your self-care journey you are, ideally you won’t feel the effects of those stressors as intensely. When reflecting on our lives and stressors, it's important to note little things. For example, when things aren’t going well you may realize that: you’re not sleeping very well/having difficulties falling asleep feeling rushed more than usual are quicker to anger and yell change in appetite you’re going out of the house less/more not spending as much time talking to friends and family The same can be said when things are going well, you may notice yourself having better feeling more rested after sleep, having more energy, spending more time with friends and family, spending less time worrying, engaging in more activities that bring you joy and help you feel rejuvenated. When it comes to making a self-care plan the easiest place to start is with the basics, also known as your physical self-care; are you maintaining good hygiene practices, getting enough sleep, eating enough nutritious food, drinking enough water and getting in enough physical activity day-to-day. Once you’ve addressed the basics you can start to dive more into your other needs. This starts by asking yourself what area you want or need to improve for your overall well-being. This will not happen overnight, and you don’t want to overwhelm yourself either, it is best to start with one area and work your way through them from there. If you don’t have a clear reason to choose any one area over another, choose one that you think you can manage taking on and that you believe will have the greatest impact on your life right now. Worksheets in this blog: Parenting & Self-Care Information Sheet At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Family Support Workers work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support themselves and their families, as their children develop. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. Call 780-471-3737.

National Child Day is celebrated on November 20 every year in Canada. It marks two important dates in Canada’s history, the 1959 signing of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a requirement for a child to have the best start and become a successful and thriving citizen of the world. The Conven tion can be broken down into 3 sub-categories: Provision Protection Participation National Child Day and the Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledge that children have rights too and that children deserve to be recognized as citizens of our community, and world. At Norwood Centre, recognizing the rights and citizenship of children is embedded in all that we do. The child-sized furniture and materials to explore throughout the agency, the utilization of participant photos in our Program and Services Guide, and the naming of our Parent Respite Program rooms (Discovery Community and Exploration Community) demonstrate that everyone, including children, are valuable members of our community and space. While Norwood Centre upholds the rights of children daily and in each program space we occupy, that is not the case in our community and our world. That is why, on November 20, it is important to reflect on how we can best teach children about their rights and how we can best acknowledge and honor these rights to give children the very best start in their journey. To read the Convention, visit the UN website at: The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The child-friendly version | UNICEF State of Palestine Celebrate National Child Day by supporting Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre! For more information about making a donation go to the donation page on our website or phone us at 780-471-3737.

Edmonton’s latest Vital Signs report shows that almost 22% of children lived in food insecure houses in Edmonton in 2021, up from almost 18% in 2011. "This comes as no surprise,” said Laurie Fagan, executive director of Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre. “Many of our families struggled with the prices of food in the past, however with inflation over the past two years we are seeing even more people in need of healthy, low-cost food resources.” According to the Statistics Canada guidelines for low income, 98% of the families Norwood Centre serves are low income. “We are aware that the majority of our families, if not all, struggle with food insecurity,” Fagan said. At Norwood Centre we provide our participants with snacks and meals at our daily programs, at drop-in and parent education programs, as well as at our special events. Frozen meals are available in case of emergencies, and we have a list of food resources that we refer families to. So far in 2023, we have served more than 28,000 meals and snacks. “Studies show that every $1 invested in early years yields $13 to our economy. Healthy food is an integral part of that,” Fagan said. Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre has been a community hub for children and families since 1963. Norwood Centre responds to a wide variety of family circumstances and provides free, culturally diverse programming throughout Edmonton. We nurture trusting relationships, empower families to access resources and services, and support optimal child development. Norwood Centre is a safe gathering place that brings individuals together with a focus on prevention and early intervention to support healthy, well-functioning families. Apps to help save money: FlashFood-discounted groceries close to their “best before” date Flipp- search grocery items to see which store has the best prices, flip through flyers and can save point cards all in one place TooGoodToGo- An app that fights food waste from restaurants and connects you to discount food items Checkout51-digital coupon clipping RedFlagDeals- a Canadian made app to find the best deals Other food resources: WeCan Food Basket Society- WecCan food basket buys groceries in bulk providing the opportunity for families and individuals purchase nutritious food at an affordable price once a month Edmonton Food Bank bread runs- free bread on various days at different locations around the city: edmontonsfoodbank.com/documents/202/2023_April_Bread_Runs_VvRM8Jx.pdf Discount Grocery Stores: Giant Tiger H&W Check out the Edmonton Foodbank’s website for further resources: edmontonsfoodbank.com/need-help/workshops-collectives/

On April 8, 2024 at 11:54 am, the moon will start passing in front of the sun, causing a solar eclipse. In Edmonton, we will only be able to see a partial eclipse, at mid-eclipse approximately 23% of the area of the sun will be covered by the moon, according to the Telus World of Science’s website.  Though you and your children may want to watch the partial eclipse, it is never safe to look at the sun without proper eye protection.   The Canada Space Agency says that looking directly at the sun can lead to serious problems such as partial or complete loss of eyesight.  To prevent children looking at the eclipse without protection, it is safest to stay indoors on Monday, April 8 from 11:45 am to 2:00 pm.  Sunglasses DO NOT provide enough protection.  How to safely watch a solar eclipse:   Wear special glasses with eclipse filters (ISO 12312-2 international standard), also known as “safe solar viewers”  Create and use a pinhole projector (see instructions below)  Attend an event offering safe eclipse viewing (see more information below)  Edmonton eclipse viewing events:   Telus World of Science Edmonton   Free  April 8, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm  The Galaxy Gift Shop at the Telus World of Science will also be selling safe solar viewers, ask a cashier to assist you!  How to create a pinhole projector:   These instructions are from the Canada Space Agency’s website. Find them here .  Supplies:   An empty cardboard box (the longer it is, the larger the image of the Sun)   White paper   Scissors   Aluminum foil   A pin   Tape  How to build your projector:  Open the box and, using tape, cover one of the inner sides with white paper.  On the opposite side of the white paper, cut two holes side by side and at least 10 cm apart (one for the Sun, the other to look in).  Cover the Sun hole with aluminum foil and tape it in place.  Grab your pin and poke a tiny hole in the aluminum foil.  Seal the box tightly.  Decorate the outside of your new projector to make it your own! (optional)  How to use your projector:   Turn your back to the Sun.  Look through the eye hole and try to position yourself so that you see a projection of the Sun on the white paper.  When the Moon starts going over the Sun, you will see its shadow slowly covering the Sun.  For more information on solar eclipses visit the Canada Space Agency’s website .

Tuesday, February 27 Dinner at 5:30 pm | AGM 6:00 pm Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre 9516 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5G 0K7 RSVP to norwooda@norwoodcentre.com or call 780-471-3737

As children develop, it is important to give them the opportunity to explore materials in an open-ended way. What does that mean? It means giving your child(ren) time and space to explore materials in a way that interests and engages them. Here at Norwood, we believe that it is important to focus on the process of the play and experience and not the product (or end result). Like in this photo of some of our Head Start children: Through this activity, children were developing SO many different skills. These include: · Social development as the children worked together to complete the task of rolling the ball through the paint. · Physical development as they gripped the box at the side with their fine motor (small muscle) skills and as they moved their arms up and down (gross motor). · Language development as the children communicated back and forth as they created. · Intellectual development as they explore cause and effect (If I tilt the box this way, this is what happens). · Creative development as they explored a new way to use paint, balls and boxes. · Emotional development as they took pride in their work. Look at that! Through this simple activity children were developing in all their developmental domains (or S.P.L.I.C.E) because of the focus of the process of the experience itself and not the product or that the painting look or turn out a certain way. At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Early Childhood Development Subject Matter Experts work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support early childhood development. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. We have a variety of Child Development Activities available on our website, including the topics of Social Development, Physical Development, Language Development, Intellectual Development, Creative Development and Emotional Development. Find them at norwoodcentre.com/child-development-activities. For short-term one-on-one coaching, please call us at 780-471-3737.

If you walk into one of our child community spaces in Norwood Centre you might see a child smoothing squares of colored felt onto the floors of a dollhouse or looking at pinecones and dried leaves with a tiny magnifying glass, or making something with blocks, or using measuring spoons and cups to play with sand. This is what we call a “play based learning environment.” Children learn skills such as creative innovation, collaboration, critical thinking, language development, and math outcomes through play. They also learn a positive attitude towards education, empowering them to thrive in school and life beyond the four walls of their classroom. Play is a deep need in every brain,and is a tool that the brain uses to learn what it is developmentally ready to learn. Children learn through play, they learn to communicate, be friends with others, think for themselves, make decisions and change their minds. Play is instinctive and comes naturally to children and should always be the fundamental part of learning. Play helps children engage in activities, build an attention span, and learn persistence. Play encourages children to work through problems and raises curiosity in them. What special activities should I do? Or materials should I buy for my child to learn while playing? Anything! It can be random objects from around the home: dishes from the kitchen for the child to explore dramatic and musical skills a basket and balls for the child to play a tossing game, and learn counting and eye hand coordination skills plastic cups for stacking and exploring mathematical as well as motor skills Let your child play at the sink while you are cooking. This sensory activity not only builds attention and focus among children, but they learn concepts of science while they pour, collect, splash, and feel the water. Taking your child for a walk or outdoor play promotes gross motor development and encourages children to engage in imaginative play, and build strategic thinking. The goal is to support your child’s right to learn and develop through the power of play. Let’s do it: Integrate play into daily routines. Create a play friendly environment. Foster outdoor exploration Embrace messy play. Save the recycling and use it for your child’s play. Activate your inner child and be playful What is my role? Offer guidance through open ended questions such as: I wonder what you are building? I see you are collecting the blocks, let’s count how many blocks you have collected! How you feel when you are touching the pinecones? By engaging with your child in this way, you are not only encouraging critical thinking, but you are encouraging your child to express themselves, use their memory, use their imagination, and build sentences. This is exactly what learning through play is. Read more about the importance of play to a child's development here. At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Early Childhood Development Subject Matter Experts work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support early childhood development. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. We have a variety of Child Development Activities available on our website, find them at norwoodcentre.com/child-development-activities. For short-term one-on-one coaching, please call us at 780-471-3737.

Loose parts, which are objects or materials that can be used in a number of ways, are a great way to inspire creative thinking in your child. These objects can be natural, such as rocks, sticks or leaves, or items found around the home, such as paper towel tubes, spare pieces of fabric or old buttons. When your child is given these types of materials to create with, it inspires creative thinking (“What can I use this for? Or “How can I connect these two materials together”) and provides your child an outlet to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas. The children in the Head Start program were provided an opportunity to explore some loose parts on a mirror with a mitten drawn on. In these photos you can see: · Their fine motor skills developing as they pick up, move and manipulate the pieces on the mirror · Early numeracy skills as they group, sort and count by color, shape or size and as they pattern · Language skills as they talk about their creations Wow! All those areas of development are enhancing with just marker lids and buttons! Read more about the importance of play to a child's development here. At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Early Childhood Development Subject Matter Experts work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support early childhood development. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. We have a variety of Child Development Activities available on our website, find them at norwoodcentre.com/child-development-activities. For short-term one-on-one coaching, please call us at 780-471-3737.

An important part of play for your child is their environment. The environment where play and learning happen for a child plays an important role in their development. Environment - as defined as time, space, materials, and participation - impacts your child learning and involvement in the community around them. Environment is a child’s third teacher with you being the first and most important teacher in your child’s life. The environment as a child’s third teacher considers elements of time (how much a child spends exploring/playing in it), space (how conducive it is for play/learning), materials (the variety of safe materials available to explore with), and the involvement or participation of caregivers in the space. Setting up an interesting and engaging environment for your child helps to spark their curiosity and invokes participation. “The environment is not a substitute for you; rather, the environment is a reflection of who you are in relationship with the children—as mighty learners and citizens—and their families,” says Mary Ann Biermeier, in her article “Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments”. What is your child excited about and how can you incorporate it into their play? Do they like to climb or play with water or does your child like dinosaurs? It can be going for a dinosaur hunt at the park to look for fossils or pretending to walk or fly like different dinosaurs. What can you do to enhance your child’s play space base on their interest? It can look like moving items and furniture around, so the space encourages the child in their interest and play. For example, using cushions or chairs to make a fort for children to play in. Creating inviting play spaces doesn’t mean buying more toys but looking around and seeing what you have or can adapt in the space to encourage your child’s interest. Is your child’s environment meeting their different needs? Are they given enough time to explore it? If your child struggles with regulation, do you have a calm space to support them in regulating their emotions. If they like building, does the space give them enough room to build? Read more about objects you can use to inspire creative thinking here. References BIERMEIER, M. A. (2015, November). Resources: Publications: Young Children:. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2015/emergent-curriculum#:~:text=The%20third%20teacher%20is%20the,and%20environment%20that%20ignites%20learning. Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N. (2014). Flight: Alberta’s early learning and care framework. Retrieved from flightframework.ca. At Norwood Centre our team of qualified Early Childhood Development Subject Matter Experts work to provide tools that caregivers can use to support early childhood development. We hear you! If you have a question or concern, please ask us. We have a variety of Child Development Activities available on our website, find them at norwoodcentre.com/child-development-activities. For short-term one-on-one coaching, please call us at 780-471-3737.

It's back to school and for some of you, separation from your children has been quite natural, maybe your child is enrolled in a daycare, or maybe they frequently spent time away from you with extended family or friends. For other families, you may be experiencing prolonged separation for the first time, and it can bring up many different emotions! The bond we have with our children and loved ones is called “attachment.” These close relationships allow us to have the courage and confidence it takes to go out into the world and learn new things. When it comes to spending time apart, here are some ways to build secure, healthy attachments with your child: Make a plan. Children want to know what is coming next in their lives. Let your child know what will happen in their day and make a plan for what you will do when you come back together. For example: “Today is Head Start day! You will go to school on the bus, and then when you come home, we will have lunch together.” Something Special. Children may miss their families throughout the day, especially when separating for the first few times. Consider sending your child with a picture of a family member, a special bracelet or string tied around their wrist to remind them of you, or even a heart drawn on their hand. Always say Goodbye. It can be tempting to “sneak out” when dropping off your child in a new place. Often families do this to avoid tears or clinging behaviours, but these strategies can make things more difficult. Waiting for your child to be distracted or telling them you’re “going to the bathroom” when you plan to leave reinforces your child that separation is confusing and scary and that they can’t let go of their caregivers in new places. Children can experience strong feelings when it comes to separating from family members, this is a sign of healthy attachment. It is important to acknowledge these feelings but not let them change the plan. Your child can trust that their family will make safe healthy, supportive choices for them, and you can trust that your child is strong enough to be brave and miss you for a short time.

To be able to nurture your child's executive functioning skills, you must first understand what it is and what it does within your brain! What is executive function? Executive function refers to your brain's management system. This system is responsible for your working memory, inhibitory control or self-control, and cognitive flexibility. Within these three categories, many aspects of your day-to-day life are controlled such as: Your ability to pay attention Organizing yourself, your environment and your thoughts Planning and prioritizing your day, week and future Understanding perspectives other than your own Regulating your emotions Initiating steps to carry out a task or goal Controlling your behaviour in different emotional states Your ability to problem-solve As you can see, your executive function controls many of the things you do every day. For example, when you are pulling up to a four-way stop, your executive function kicks in and helps you asses who got to the intersection first, and who goes second, all while checking for pedestrians and controlling your vehicle. On Sunday when you are planning out your week and deciding what tasks you need to accomplish first and what can wait until the end of the week, that is your executive function helping you make those decisions. Or when you're working on writing a school paper, you are bouncing between your book for information, and your computer screen to type information, that is your executive functioning skills helping you do that. What does executive function look like in children? Executive function skills build over time. These skills develop in stages, so we have to acknowledge what is developmentally appropriate when we look at this specific set of skills. However, there are many ways we can see these skills through the child's everyday routines and play. For example, if there is a bowl of candy out and you tell your child they can have just one, and they take their one candy and run along to play, this is their self-control which is a skill controlled by your executive function. If you were to see your child, get upset, take a handful and run away, or possibly take one and come back for more after, this could be a sign that this skill has not yet developed - but this does not mean that it won't! What can I do to help develop my child's executive function? There are many ways you can nurture your child's executive functioning skills: Label your emotions, and your child's. When you label your emotions and share them with your child in a positive way, they will learn from you that it is okay to have big feelings and it is okay to talk about them. In doing this, your child will learn to recognize what they are feeling, and therefore be able to regulate themselves, with or without support from you. Learning how to do this will help their executive function skills such as controlling their behaviour during high emotions, understanding perspectives other than their own, and regulating their emotions. Support, but do not over support. Yes, there can be such a thing as over supporting! You can never give your child too many hugs or kisses, or tell them you love them too much, but when your child is trying a new activity like a puzzle for example, if you put all the pieces together for them, they are not learning how to problem-solve on their own. Instead, allow them to build the puzzle and put the pieces together, while you encourage them, teach them the tricks like putting all the flat-edged border pieces together first, and reassure them if they begin to get frustrated. Problem-solving is a major life skill, and the more you do to nurture this skill, the more successful your child will be as they get older and face bigger puzzles or problems. Set your child up for success. Since executive function skills develop at different rates and times, it is important to keep this in mind. When you are working with your one-year-old, giving them a five-step plan may not be the most effective. However, giving them a very simple one or two-step plan will likely be more successful. For example, "Take your shoes off and put them on the shelf," would be more appropriate than "go inside, take off your shoes, put them on the shelf, go brush your teeth, and then go to bed." By setting children up for success with easy-to-follow instructions, they can start to build self-confidence while developing their executive function skills! Remember, children aren't born with executive function skills, these skills build over time with the support of parents, caregivers, and other adults in their life. Just make sure to be patient and give your child space to explore and learn new things!