Winter 2014 Baby Babble and Toddler Talk: Session 1

Our first winter 2014 session unfortunately happened to be on one of the windiest days of the year. Despite the storm, we had a few brave moms and kiddos stop by and hang out with us for a nice, relaxed afternoon.

Winter 2014 Baby Babble and Toddler Talk Session 2: Literacy

Today at Baby Babble and Toddler Talk we talked about Family Literacy. The staff here at the Centre are big book fans so this was a fun topic for us! We discussed various ways of introducing literacy, besides the usual story time. Here is a collection of ideas to introduce literacy to your child:

• Remember that an introduction to reading can be more than stories- try reading poetry, recipes and cereal boxes together. One family that attends our program uses music and lyrics. Another plays board games.
• Provide your child with a comfortable spot for reading and try to limit distractions during story time.
• Pick a regular day for a trip to the library- it's free! Our province has a wonderful request system if your local branch doesn't have what you are looking for.
• Try to spend some time reading in front of your child. When they are young, they want to do everything you do! 
• Since reading and writing go hand in hand, make sure you, the parent, are demonstrating writing in everyday life (shopping lists, sticky notes, keeping a journal).
• Provide child-friendly resources for practicing writing. Make sure to pick pens and pencils that are comfortable for small hands.

Have fun reading with your little ones!

Digital Mapping Project- Valley Manor

The digital mapping is an ongoing resource tracking project the Youth Engagement Society here in Martensville are working on in conjunction with the Martensville Community Access Centre. On Tuesday, Lori Morphy (President of Board) and Kristee Lynn Adrian (Coordinator of the MCAC) headed out to get some help. Youth from Valley Manor School offered their opinions on a few questions, including: Where are the great places for youth in Martensville? Where are the places that are not so great for youth? What is missing in Martensville, and where would you put it? We provided several copies of city maps and let the youth brainstorm. Here are their Top 3 answers per category: 

Where are the great places for youth in Martensville?
- A&W (a very popular response) 
- the parks 
- the public sports areas, including the rinks, ball diamonds, pool, etc. 

Where are the places that are not great?
 - the industrial area
 - the bar 
 - the dump 

What is needed in Martensville and where would you put it?
- mall with food court (and "epic cool" stores) 
- more indoor and outdoor areas for sports and activities 
- a long list of favorite stores and fast food joints- McDonalds was the most popular request 

Thank you to the Valley Manor students for their help!  Special thanks to Mrs. Chiesa, Mr. Little and Mrs Harack for letting us into their classrooms.  If YOU would like to find out more about our Mapping Project or the Youth Engagement Society, please contact us!