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! 

Are You Smarter Than a Martensville 5th Grader?!

On the weekend we held our annual fundraiser, Are You Smarter Than a Martensville 5^th Grader?! We had a great turnout. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who helped with this event! Our all-you-can-eat buffet was entirely provided by volunteer bakers and I must say it was delicious!

Baby Babble and Toddler Talk Session 6: Parenting Types, Child Behaviors and Planning for Baby #2

At this week's session, we discussed the positives and negatives of various parenting styles, keeping in mind that no parenting style is ever perfect. We discussed that families may evolve through many styles. In depth, we discussed Dr Michelle Borba’s of 7 Modern-Day Parenting Styles. You can read the article here. We discussed possible ways of changing those parenting styles to be more positive.

We also touched a little on worrisome child behavior. Some parents were concerned with children becoming reliant on one parent and only going to that parent with their problems. We discussed allowing for children to spend time with a variety of personalities and family members or friends in order to help with this concern.

Baby Babble and Toddler Talk Session 5: Halloween Dress Up and Rhyme Thyme

We had some costumed cuties at this week’s session of Baby Babble & Toddler Talk! This session was all about fun. We did some interactive rhymes, played with bubbles and read some stories. One of my favorite kinds of sessions- playtime!

Baby Babble and Toddler Talk Session 4: Dental Care

This week at Baby Babble & Toddler Talk we focused on early dental care. Kimberly Edeen, a dental hygienist currently on maternity leave, planned the session and made all the arrangements. Thank you, Kimberly! Dr. Allison Atchison also dropped by to talk to us. Dr. Atchison has just returned to the Martensville Dental Clinic after maternity leave. Some of the topics discussed included the first visit to the dentist, different levels of care for different ages, and soother/thumb sucking. For those new parents who did not attend the session, here are a few tips:

•           Try to wash out your baby’s mouth several times a day.
•          Let your baby chew on a toothbrush under parent supervision to get used to the feel.
•           Develop a bedtime routine that includes brushing at the end of the evening.
•           After brushing or rinsing, only offer water.
•           Make sure to brush the child’s teeth after eating or drinking anything that is not water.

The Martensville Dental Clinic brought toothbrushes for all our young attendees. Thank you!

Local Dentists:
Dr. Brian Meyer
Dr. Allison Athcison
(306) 934-4446