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Pop Quiz! True or false: A child cannot build their brain unless they are sitting at a desk inside. If you guessed false, you are correct! There are so many ways to build your child's brain and help them flourish into thriving and successful people as they grow. As we head into the last few months of summer, there are plenty of opportunities to be outdoors and stay active. Here are some ways to support their development and build your child's brain while outdoors! Resiliency Resiliency is having the capacity to "bounce back" from challenging situations. When you are outside, this might look like your child attempting to climb a tree and falling down. However, resiliency is your child knowing that they can try again! You can help your child develop resiliency while outdoors by encouraging them to explore and do things independently, such as climbing on a structure themselves or going down the slide alone. If they are not successful the first time, that's ok! They can try again. Encouraging your child to try again might sound like "I believe in you!" or "You can do hard things!" As we have learned earlier this year, YOU are your child's first and most important teacher and hearing that their favourite person believes in them will help your child believe in themselves. Serve and Return Serve and return is one of the easiest ways to create a strong foundation for your child to build their brain. Think of serve and return as a tennis match. Your child speaks to you (the serve) and you speak back or acknowledge what they say (the return). Serve and return interactions strengthen the pathways also known as synapses in your child's brain. Serve and return outdoors might look like you laughing with your child as they go down the slide, talking back and forth with them as you walk together or even just smiling at your infant as you push them on the swing. Attachment and Bonding Creating a strong trusting bond with your child from a young age will help them develop the ability to create and sustain relationships late in life and it's is easy! All you need to do is be there for them. Laugh with them. Play with them. Talk to them and take the time to listen to what they have to say. Creating a strong attachment and bond with your child while exploring the outdoors may look like keeping proximity to your child, noticing and naming what they are doing and playing and having fun with them. Your child does not need fancy toys, expensive things or to sit and do worksheets to build their brain. It is happening all day every day as you spend time together. All they need is you!

Did you know play helps support children's social, language, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and cognitive development? Play is a great way for parents and caregivers to support the development of responsive relationships, strengthen core life skills, and reduce sources of stress. When parents have positive interactions with their children during play, they not only strengthen their relationship and attachment with their children but are also encouraging them to seek out and build relationships with others later in life. Imaginative play such as playing dress up with your child lets them take the lead, helping them learn new things and their boundaries. It has been shown that "children who engage in make-believe play tend to be more advanced in language, memory, and reasoning. They also tend to have a more sophisticated understanding of other people's thoughts, beliefs and feelings" (Kail & Barnfield, 2015, p.519). Imaginative play is also a great way for children to experiment and learn core life skills in a safe environment! While imaginative play scenarios can create fun and unique experiences for children to play freely children can also build their brains with activities like colouring, cutting paper, playing with playdough, and stringing beads to help develop their fine motor skills while activities like running, jumping, and dancing help develop their gross motor skills. Risky play is another great way to help children discover the world around them, build resiliency, and learn their boundaries; children learning their boundaries is important so they understand what their limits are and when they need to ask for help. Children can learn how to do things such as chop vegetables, fold laundry, take turns, and resolve conflicts with peers all through the complex interactions that occur while engaging in play. By playing and challenging your child with new experiences, you are helping them develop their cognitive and problem-solving abilities along with other areas of their development by engaging in different activities! Some information in this blog post has been pulled from Kail, R. V., & Barnfield, A. M. M. C. (2015). Children and Their Development (3rd ed.). Pearson.

There are so many ways to help build your child’s brain, but it can be hard to know where to start! One of the easiest and most important things you can do is to be a positive and responsive caregiver. This may sound daunting and confusing at first, but we are here to give you some places to start so that you, your child’s first and most important teacher, can give them the strongest foundation possible to build their brain. What does being a positive and responsive caregiver look like? Being a positive and responsive caregiver means engaging in lots of serve and return (click here for a refresher on what serve and return is) with your child. Responding to their verbal and non-verbal cues, noticing and naming what they are doing, and simply just making eye contact will help to create a secure and trusting relationship with your child. So, as a responsive and positive caregiver, how can you spend quality time with your child? Here are five low to no-cost ways: Edmonton Public Libraries Edmonton Public Libraries are all over the city and are a great way for you and your child to spend some quality time together, whether that be reading a book, attending a group or exploring the many services they offer. The best part? Memberships are FREE for adults and children who live in the City of Edmonton. Use the link below to access their website to apply for a card, see what services are available or check out some resources: Edmonton Public Library (epl.ca) City of Edmonton Parks Getting outside with your child provides them with so much opportunity to flourish in all their developmental domains! As you play in the parks, you can narrate what you see; play I-Spy or a scavenger hunt; practice turn taking on equipment; give your infant some tummy time on a blanket in the grass or just be silly and laugh together! Having these small, teachable moments creates a stronger bond between you and your child and lays the foundation for strong brain architecture later in life. Use the link below to check out which park is closest to you. Find a park near you. Tip: Check out our printable activity sheets for fun and engaging activities you can do in the pork with your child! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Children don’t need fancy toys or expensive items to learn. What they need is for you, a responsive and positive caregiver, to be their first and most important teacher! Challenge your child to find items around the house to create something new. What can this cereal box be? What we can create with this empty milk jug? Old socks that don’t have a matching side anymore? Hello, sock puppet! Inspiring creativity while engaging in serve and return interactions with your child sets the stage for success as they age. Green Shack Program The “Green Shack” is an initiative created by the City of Edmonton, where a City of Edmonton employee will facilitate crafts, games, and fun for children and their families in various parks around the city during the summer months. As these summer months are quickly approaching, click the link below to see where the closest Green Shack is to you and the start dates. Find a Green Shack near you. Norwood Programs and Groups We couldn’t make a list of fun and intentional ways to spend time with your child without adding Norwood’s groups. Drop into a Stay and Play or a Jumping Gym Time group and get some quality time with your child. Our Explore the Outdoors group will be starting Tuesday, April 4th and is a fantastic way to get outside and explore with your child! Check out our spring Program and Services Guide below for upcoming groups. Programs | Norwood Child And Family Resource Centre | Edmonton (norwoodcentre.com) Program Guide pdf.

Did you know you can encourage your child to play in ways that will help their brain develop pathways for an easier understanding of the school curriculum when they get older? Let’s start with math. Block Play In the early years, encouraging your child to play with blocks is an excellent tactic for teaching math concepts. Very young children will stack blocks, sort blocks into colours, and soon start to count them! Lego or Duplo-type blocks help children learn about fractions as they grow. How? When a child has a piece of Lego with eight dots on the top, they will quickly discover that to make an equal part with smaller blocks they need two blocks with four dots on top. They’ve learned that two halves make a whole. Even further, you can help them see how four blocks with two dots on top also make an equal part for their first block – or four quarters make a whole. While your toddler is not consciously processing fractions at this age, they are building pathways in their brain that will be receptive to similar knowledge as they grow older, meaning learning more advanced math concepts will be easier. Many academic studies have linked early childhood block play and later math achievement. Play with your food! Let's say you and your child take a break from playing to re-energize with a snack, and you choose trail mix. Some children will naturally start to sort the different items that come in mixed foods: they make little piles of pretzels, raisins, chocolate bits, sunflower seeds, and so on. Sorting like this is also an early math concept that you can take a step further by asking them to create a pattern: pretzel-raisin-sunflower seed-chocolate, and so on. The ability to recognize patterns is a key math skill… it helps us make predictions based on what we see. Compare objects and colours Comparing is a preliminary step that can be taken before getting into the concepts of ordering, positioning, and patterning with your child. Think about the objects in your home that are different colours or shapes, and have your child compare them to one another. An example of this would be to take out a yellow piece of paper and a red one, and ask your child to find a yellow object and a red one, then have them compare the objects to the pieces of paper. Cupboard Play The ability to distinguish sizes and recognize patterns is a math concept you can teach by using items around your house, specifically in your cupboards and drawers! Simple activities such as getting your child to organize the cups from smallest to biggest when putting dishes away or allowing your child to organize objects in your cupboards according to their size can help develop their understanding of patterns and sizes. You can further this concept by first making a place setting on the table for dinner as an example for your child and encouraging them to set the rest of the table with cutlery and dishes by following the same pattern. By incorporating these teaching moments into your daily routine, your child is not only learning life skills but gains a self-esteem boost from contributing. Measuring You've set the table, so now what about dinner? Children often get excited when they have the tools to create and play with their parents and caregivers, and measuring is an everyday task you can easily turn into a fun activity! Giving your child the opportunity to develop an intellectual skill (understanding measures) by letting them help you cook is a great way to bond with them. Recipes will often require measuring and understanding fractions, so if you are making cookies with your child and the recipe calls for half a cup of sugar, have them look at the fractions on the measuring cup and fill the right amount. If you have access to a measuring tape, another activity is to have children measure how long their feet and hands are, how tall they are, or how tall their toys are. While doing this activity, explain what the marks on a measuring tape mean and how they can help your child compare sizes. Exploring scientific subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics at an early age with your child is a an excellent way to give them the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how the world works and grasp concepts such as cause-and-effect. A child's natural curiosity gives you many opportunities to explore scientific topics with them; not only is it fun, but it also increases a child's capacity for reasoning and logical thought. Biology Biology is the study of living things and can easily be introduced to your child by looking at the things around you. Next time you are on a walk with your child, point out what you see in your environment and ask them questions to prompt them to think about what they see a little bit deeper. Is the grass you see green, or is it turning brown? Why is the grass turning brown? Did the grass not get enough water, or is it getting colder outside? If you have plants inside your house, have your child help you take care of them. Where can you put the plant to help it grow? What will happen if we don't water the plants? Has the plant grown since we last watered it? Another way you can support your child's early understanding of biology is to help them understand how their bodies work, their body's processes, and how everything is connected. We are all living things, so having your child understand their bodies is a great way to kickstart their early understanding of biology! Chemistry The best way to introduce chemistry to your child is to invite them to try different things and get involved in messy play! A great way to do this is again through cooking with your child. Let's say you are preparing broccoli for dinner; you can have your child feel and even bite the broccoli when it is raw so that they can see it is hard and not easy to chew. Then you can cook the broccoli however you choose (in a frying pan, boiled, in the oven etc.) and then what happens? The broccoli becomes soft and easy to chew, showing that by adding heat, you can make chemical changes to the food. Another simple activity to help your child visualize chemical reactions is to take a small amount of vinegar and add a teaspoon of baking soda. When these two ingredients are combined, you will see the mixture begin to bubble, causing a chemical reaction. Physics Physics can be difficult to understand as we get older and the concepts get more advanced, but it's quite easy for children at an early stage! A great place to start when introducing early concepts of physics is to study how things move. A toddler learning how to get from a sitting to a standing position on the ground or a child learning how to throw or kick a ball to make it go fast or slow involves physics. You can teach your child about applying different levels of force and how that affects an object's movement by using a toy car and putting a piece of tape on the floor to act as the finish line. Walk to the other end of the room and see how hard you must push the car to get it across the finish. Compare pushing the car softly and pushing the car as hard as you can. How does this affect the car's distance and speed? Another simple way to introduce physics to your child is by going outside on a windy day. What happens when the wind starts to blow? Does it cause things to move? Watch the leaves on the trees and see! Where we come from, who we are, and recognizing the ways in which we are the same yet different is an important concept to teach your child in the early years. When children notice things and point them out, it helps them understand the world around them. Parents and caregivers play a significant role in supporting children's understanding that it is okay to be different and that we are all diverse from one another. Introducing this concept to a child in their early years will help them to become more open and support a lifelong practice of embracing the amazing diversity that surrounds us! Social Studies There are many opportunities to teach your child about social studies in their early years. It is natural for children to display curiosity and ask questions about who and what surrounds them, and as parents and caregivers, we must make sure we are answering children's questions honestly and openly. When you think about a child asking questions, it shows that they want to understand, so if a child points out that someone is different from them, it is a perfect opportunity for a parent or caregiver to explain we all have differences that make us who we are. In addition, it is important for children to understand their culture as well as others and why we practice the things we do. Using the objects in your home to teach your child about their culture is one way to help your child understand why and how your family celebrates different holidays at an early age. This will support them in understanding themselves while giving them the knowledge to allow them to continue those traditions as they get older and share them with others if they wish. We should feel proud of our differences, and instilling this concept at an early age will help your child understand and embrace the differences between themselves and their peers. Ways to encourage intellectual development through language arts can be found in our previous language development blog posts: Language Development Sing with your child! Language Activities There are numerous teaching opportunities you, as a parent or caregiver, can give a child just by looking at the world that surrounds you. By introducing the concepts of math, science, social studies, and language arts to your child during the early stages of their development, you are providing your child with the knowledge and tools to help them succeed in school during their later years.

Play 'peak and pit' (also called 'petal and thorn') to prompt conversations at dinner time. Adding time to play ‘peak and pit’ or ‘petal and thorn’ as part of your dinner routine will spark conversations between you and your family and give everyone something to look forward to. Mealtime conversations build language and literacy skills in young children as they seek to understand the stories others are telling and formulate their own when it's their turn to speak. How to play: Start with your 'peak' or 'petal' Talk about something great that happened in your day. Describe how it made you feel and why. Move on to your 'pit' or 'thorn' Now talk about something that was more challenging. Share how you overcame the challenge, or what you might do differently next time. How playing supports your dinnertime routine This strategy can support your dinner time routine by giving everyone something to look forward to. You are able to hear about important things that happened in one another’s day and extend conversations about the more challenging experiences. Bonus benefits Once something like peak and pit or petal and thorn becomes a part of your dinnertime routine - a natural opportunity for your family to connect - you may also begin to notice increased enjoyment of the actual meal provided. Eating meals together can improve parent-child relationships, create healthy habits, and support children to understand expectations. Rely on routines Regular routines bring comfort and consistency to a child’s life, and they make parents' lives easier too. Daily routines look different for every family; the most important aspect is creating a routine that works for you and your family. If you are new to routines, having a consistent dinner time every day is a great place to start. Read our previous post on routines >

Over the past few months, our blog and social media posts have explored various developmental areas - social, physical, language, intellectual, creative and emotional domains or, as we call them "S.P.L.I.C.E." Our content and suggested activities have provided ideas and ways you can support your child in achieving their optimal development, but you may be asking yourself “is my child hitting their developmental milestones when they are supposed too?” First, what is a developmental milestone? A developmental milestone is a functional skill or task a child can perform at a certain age within the developmental domains. For example, walking is a major developmental milestone and usually occurs somewhere around one year of age, but what happens if your baby is older and still not walking? Before you panic, consider what your baby IS doing. Can your baby crawl, pull themselves up, or stand? These are all signs your baby is developing their motor skills and indicate that walking will soon follow. While children typically grow and develop in a similar sequence, they may develop certain skills at their own pace either before or after their peers. For example, a child 18-24 months (about two years) old will typically be able to use approximately 50 words. This means that you may meet a child who is18 months old (about one and a half years) using 50 words and another child who is 22 months old (about two years) using only 20 different words. While this may seem like a significant difference, both children are within the appropriate range for their age. Another thing to consider is the environment a child spends most of their time in. In the previous example, the younger child may have older siblings or extended family, creating a language-rich environment, while the older child may be an only child with a quieter family and home life. One step at a time Milestones develop sequentially, meaning a child needs to develop basic skills before they can expand on them and develop new skills. A perfect example of this is a child’s ability to draw a human. The first step to achieving this skill happens around age one when the child picks up a tool and creates random marks or scribbles on paper. As early as age two, lasting until around age four, a child will start to make more intentional scribbles that resemble a person, usually with a head, arms, legs, and face. Soon after, they will begin adding details to their drawings and, by age five, can usually draw a person with many different elements such as fingers, toes, hair, and other familiar objects such as pets, demonstrating their intellectual development. To accomplish these artistic skills, the child must also refine and develop their pencil grasp (how they hold a pencil) to establish more control over their fine-motor (small muscle) movement, demonstrating their physical development. The above photos show the difference in skill between two developing age groups. The toddler (left) is focused primarily on the experience of moving the paint around the paper with his brush while using his palmer grasp. The preschool children (right) are using their refined tripod grasp to paint purposeful marks that represent objects they are familiar with. Whether your child is beginning to show their development through drawing, stacking blocks or naming objects, their brain is continuing to develop rapidly and observing these types of milestones is important to understanding your child’s growth and development. However, as with other benchmarks, not all children will develop these skills at the same time. Ages and Stages Questionnaire If you would like to learn more about where your child is developmentally or if you have any concerns, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) is a great screening tool that provides a snapshot of a child’s current strengths and identifies areas they may need a little extra support. There are different types of ASQs available based on your concerns. If you are interested in completing one with your child, call (780) 471-373 and ask to speak with one of our intake facilitators about doing an ASQ.

Happy New Year! Get 2023 off to a great start by implementing household routines to make your life as a parent run more smoothly! Some parents resist the idea of schedules and routines because they believe their home will become too rulebound or that fun and spontaneity will be stifled. But young children thrive in the structure and predictability routines provide. Routines help children feel safe and secure, which in turn makes it easier for them to learn and develop new skills. Routines help children learn to self-regulate, as they begin to understand and follow the expectations and rules associated with different activities. And routines can help children develop a sense of independence and responsibility, as they learn to follow a schedule and complete tasks on their own. Overall, routines play an important role in helping young children learn and grow. Like most things, the key to success with routines is balance: scheduling too much of your day can create stress for your child (and you), but scheduling too little creates stress too. Constant spontaneity without some baseline routine to depart from is just chaos. Routines are important for both children and parents Structure and predictability can be helpful for the entire family, not just small children. Routines make it easier for parents to manage their time and responsibilities, in turn reducing stress and conflicts within the household. Routines can help parents establish clear expectations and boundaries for their children, which promote good behavior and support children's emotional and social development. Overall, routines can be important tools for parents to help ensure the smooth running of their household and support the healthy development of their children. The three most important routines for young children: The three most important routines to put in place for young children are a regular bedtime routine, regular mealtimes, and a regular morning routine. A regular bedtime routine helps children wind down from their day and prepare for a good sleep, while a morning routine can set a positive tone for their day. Regular mealtimes with healthy food choices help ensure proper nutrition and can also provide opportunities for socialization and learning when the family sits down for a meal together. Bedtime routine: Preschool children need from 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night! A bedtime routine for young children helps them wind down and prepare for a good night’s sleep - and a good night's sleep makes them ready for tomorrow's brain-building! Try these steps: Establish a regular bedtime and stick to it consistently, even on weekends. Create a relaxing and calming atmosphere in the bedroom, with dim lighting and comfortable bedding. Help your child prepare for bed by having them brush their teeth, wash their face, and put on their pajamas. Spend some time together before sleep, cuddling and reading a bedtime story. Turn off the lights and tuck your child into bed, giving them a goodnight kiss and reassuring them that they are safe and loved. It is important to be consistent and patient as you establish a bedtime routine. With time and practice, your child will learn to wind down and relax before bed, setting the stage for a good night's sleep which in turn leads to an easier morning. Download a ‘Good Night!’ routine checklist (pdf) > Morning routine: A good morning routine for young children will help them (and you) start the day off on the right foot. Wake up at a similar time each day, even on weekends. Help your child prepare for the day by having them get dressed, brush their teeth and hair, and wash their face. Provide a healthy breakfast and enough time to sit down and eat it. Encourage your child to help with simple tasks such as packing their school or daycare bag. Put your packed bags by the door. Help with shoes and any outside clothing, if necessary. Have a checklist you run through before leaving the house (Bag? Check! Hat? Check! Mittens (or sunscreen)? Check! Jacket? Check! … and so on) It is important to find a routine that works for your child and your family, and, again, to be consistent and patient as you establish a morning routine. With time and practice, your child will learn to start the day off in a positive and productive way. Download a ‘Good Morning!’ routine (pdf) > Mealtime routine: To set up a mealtime routine for young children, try following these steps: Establish regular mealtimes and stick to them consistently. This will help your child know when to expect meals and can also help regulate their hunger and eating habits. Create a calm and pleasant atmosphere at mealtimes, free from distractions such as television or other screens. Provide a variety of healthy foods for your child to choose from and encourage them to try new foods and flavours. Involve your child in meal planning and preparation by encouraging them to help with simple tasks such as setting the table or washing vegetables. Set enough time for your child to eat without feeling rushed; encourage them to eat at a leisurely pace. Sit down and eat together as a family – this encourages healthy attachment, building strong family bonds. Avoid using food as a reward or punishment and avoid pressuring your child to eat more than they want. Instead, focus on fostering a positive relationship with food and mealtimes. It may take some time and patience to establish a mealtime routine, but with consistency, your child can learn to enjoy mealtimes as a time for nourishment and connection with others. What happens when your household has little routine? Young children who lack structure and predictability in their lives can develop feelings of insecurity and uncertainty, which can lead to behavioural challenges and learning difficulties. Lack of household routines makes it more difficult for parents to manage their time, too—which leads to increased stress and conflict throughout the household. Items get forgotten, chores get left undone, and time always seems to be working against you. Make life easier on yourself. Life with small children is so busy and there are so many things to remember all the time: routines can save you a lot of time and mental energy. At the same time, they create the right conditions for your child’s optimal early brain development. What could be better than that? For a calmer, healthier home, rely on routines!

Parenting is tough! And one of the really hard parts of parenting is setting limits for our children. One thing that can make life a little easier for you (and your child!) is using something called “I-messages”. Using I-messages sounds like this: Instead of “Get down!!” try, “I am afraid you might fall when you climb up on the couch." Instead of “Stop running in the store!!” try, ”I worry when I cannot see you in the store. Please stay next to me.” Instead of “Do not throw things!” try, “I worry that you might hit your friend when you throw your toys. What/where could we throw that is safe?” Instead of "Don't leave your toys all over the floor," try, "Wow, there are a lot of toys on the floor. I am nervous that someone might trip. Let's put some of them away!" Why do I-messages help? I-messages take the blame off of your child and put the focus on the behavior. This will help your child be more receptive to what you are saying, making those tough parenting moments just a little easier for you - and for your child! I-messages are not just for redirection! I-messages are also a great way to inspire critical thinking and problem-solving skills in your child: “I wonder what we could do with these?” “I wish somebody was singing a fun song right now." "I think that you can do it! You are strong and capable!"

Tuesday, February 28 5:30 pm Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre 9516 114 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5G 0K7 RSVP by February 15 to norwooda@norwoodcentre.com or call 780-471-3737.

National Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. Taking time every day to read with children is crucial to their development and can help parents improve their skills as well! Join us and celebrate with food, stories, singing, and other creative activities all designed to encourage children's language development. January 27 11:30 am to 2:00 pm Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre 9516 - 114 Avenue, Edmonton 780-471-3737

A huge, huge, HUGE thank you to Edmonton Remand Centre staff, who will be collecting toys, books, and donations in support of our vulnerable families with young children on December 3 and 4 by the Walmart at 16940 127 Street in North Edmonton. This event means so much to our families, many of whom are truly struggling with the high cost of basic necessities this year, let alone gifts or special holiday meals. The donations deliver joy to children and remind parents they are part of a community that cares about them and their families. If you are in a position to give this year, please drop by and donate!

We were so pleased to have our program director, Kathy Burgett, speak at the launch of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region's winter fundraising campaign. She shared some stories of how Norwood's programs and services - and through them, Edmonton families - benefit from United Way funding. Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre and United Way Alberta Capital Region have been partners in supporting vulnerable Edmonton families for nearly 60 years! United Way helps fund Norwood's Parent Respite Program, our unique program for parents who are alone, have little or no support in caring for their children, and often can't afford safe care. Parents walk through our doors for many different reasons - in some cases, that few hours of respite care gives a parent the chance to make a job interview or attend a counselling session or sometimes just take a shower and have a nap! Our staff are educated in early child development and understand the magnitude of creating a safe, nurturing environment for the children who come into our care. United Way funding has helped us provide good wages to hire the best staff in our childcare communities. We are also able to provide nutritious meals for the children we care for ... when sometimes their parents have to alternate between buying meat and fresh produce each week because they can't afford to buy both. Our Parent Respite Program is intended for those needing immediate support, but the impact is life-changing for these children and their families!