A Field trip to the Toronto Christmas Market.

Toronto Christmas Market takes place in the beautiful part of the city, the Distillery District. This historic district is an awesome place as it is, with its shops, restaurants, and theaters, but every year now it also hosts a Christmas Market, European style, making it a great attraction for the Torontonians and visitors.

 

Yes, it was cold and the narrow streets full of people were sometimes difficult to navigate, but we enjoyed walking around, staring at the decorations, spotting various TV reporters with cameras, taking pictures here and there.

There was a big Christmas tree, of course, a gingerbread house, Santa with elves, performers every hour singing Christmas carols, or dancing folk dances of various nations, food stands, and much much more.

Read the rest of the story and more photos here.

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"Countdown to Christmas" Activities. Day 1.

As I've been told multiple times by multiple people, it is normal for the little boys not to be interested in art, creative activities, painting, gluing. I still encourage Santino to do something creative every day. Even if it is just a few strokes on the blackboard. Something!

Making wreaths or any other kind of Christmas crafts is a challenge here. Well, not the "making" per se, but the interest in such activity. Santino only wants to play with dinosaurs (anything related to dinosaurs) and silly wreaths had nothing to do with them. Now they do!

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Exploring Creative Tools

Little ones want to examine everything within their reach. This time of discovery leads the to the tools for expressing their creativity. Placing some paper or whiteboard on their level and some drawing/painting tools ready for use will allow your child to discover his/her ability to leave a mark. The first time my son scratched a pencil on paper he giggled with joy. It was a powerful experience for him to see that he could make something happen from what he was doing. 

I say their level for  little ones because you can sit comfortably with them while they move with their work and explore. Big chairs and tables can hinder the free flowing experience. Any option that brings the tools to their level will work. Little ones (I mean two and under ) seem to like putting their whole body into it.  As children develop an understanding of the use of cause and effect tools and refine their motor skills they will tell us stories using these tools. They can show us their joy and imagination. They can draw from their hearts and mind things they might not yet be able to fully express in words.

The prompting of this gift and supporting your child in the creative process is in my mind as valuable as teaching them to read and write. They are opening a channel of expression that allows them to share more of their heart with others.   Describing their artwork to you opens up a new world of discussion. Listening to their sweet little descriptions of their artworks is very uplifting Enjoy!

By Janine Georgiou-Zeck

Artist Educator 

www.jzartstudio.com 

Art classes age 4 and up

Sent from my iPod

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Good 'Ol Fashioned Birthdays Parties and Potential HARMFUL Risks You May Not Have Thought About

As an event planner by profession and fellow mom, of course my head is always spinning with new event ideas and ways for the kids to have a fun time.  Recently I had to plan to party which would have many children ages 0-6 years.  I must have been stuck in some type of time warp the last few years, because what apparently the things we all grew up with at birthday parties as children (and still likely do in our homes and experience when we go to other birthday parties) are now not considered "safe".  In fact, they are FORBIDDDEN in many places.  

I am sharing this information with all you fellow parents and "party planners" out there in case you, like me, had no idea.  And please don't feel bad about it!  Because I totally beat myself up (and likely still am, hence this blog rant post) because I felt like "I should have known better" or that I was a "bad mother" or "bad event planner" because of it.  The fact of the matter is that information changes all the time and sometimes we don't even realize such things until we become a parent and experience it hands on to learn about it.  Of course we all want the best for our children and when caring for other children we especially want to ensure their safety as well.  So although you (like me) may find some of these things a little "extreme"; after thinking about it some more you may see that they do in fact make sense.  Just be aware of these recommendations and decide what to do in your own home for your own parties and with your own children - and don't be surprised like I was if a 3rd party place you chose to host a party at will absolutely just not allow certain things in their facility.

Allow me to elaborate on just some the dangers: 

1.     Balloons.  Apparently now HUGELY forbidden. I had some that I was going to blow up for decoration at a party but apparently they are a huge choking hazard for children (both un-inflated and inflated).  I must have been naive to think that birthday parties generally have balloons?   The last dozen of parties I've been to with my son recently have had balloons?  I never thought twice about it.   But yes, it's true (see links below to Canadian Red Cross).   Balloons are totally a thing of parties past. 

2.     Most Candy & Chocolate.  It's not challenging enough (but at least it's very common knowledge now) that we need to be extremely careful when it comes to Nut Free treats.  This is generally an accepted principal across the board now and "common knowledge".  However in going through my Piñata recently almost 100% of what was in there proposed some type of danger per the resource links provided.  Whether it be a dangerous due to a "stick" (i.e. lolly pops), too hard of candy, too chewy of candy, the shape, the size, etc. -- the fact is that most candy you can get today is just NOT RECOMMENDED.  So scrap the piñata all together I suppose?

3.     Popcorn.  Yup!  They serve it as part of the kids meals at movie theatre and will sell it to you at any children's show (I just bought some for my son at Disney On Ice), but also extremely not advisable. With its sharp edges and kernel flakes, popcorn is one of those foods that can even get caught in an adult's throat, causing gagging and choking.

Thankfully we could sing happy birthday and have a candle for me to blow for the event I had planned.  (I suppose it wasn't unreasonable for me to ask if cutting a cake with a knife or having an "open flame" was an issue after my other new findings?   (--> insert sarcasm here ;) ........ Good thing this was allowed *phew* cause my birthday party plans would have turned into just another day of chaos but with 30 unoccupied kids to entertain and equally frazzled moms.

Thank You,

Connie Berenguer

Founder / Director

Newmarket Goober Gang Play Group

E. connie@connieberenguer.com

W. www.goobergang.yolasite.com

See the following resources for further information:

Canadian Red Cross http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=6884&tid=021

Ontario Public Health: http://news.ontario.ca/mcscs/en/2011/08/public-safety-reminder-from-the-chief-coroner-for-ontario.html

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Anticipation and Fascination: Creative Tools

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Anticipation and fascination: These are two tools that can inspire creative thought. When children experience some anticipation they get curious and excited, this stimulates the mind and directs it into thoughts and feelings that help develop problem solving skills. Here you see my son and daughter 10 years ago allowing a caterpillar to crawl on them. They are fascinated and they are anticipating the creatures next move while taking in the beauty and feeling of it. They still remember the experience today. Creative and alternative teaching methods seem to reap the greatest rewards. Who doesn’t remember a field trip in elementary school or an excursion with family where they discovered something new and fascinating. When something happens that fascinates a child they express joy or surprise and observe closely. They are taking in this new revelation, this new experience and expanding their thinking and their feelings. These memories tend to become permanent faster than a more mundane experience. Doing anything in a creative way enriches the whole experience.

 We can ignite anticipation by suggesting something exciting like building a leaf fort, or making letters out of cookie dough. We can engage in the anticipation while reading stories and pausing to ask “what do you think will happen next?” The response is a wide eyed stare and then suggestions from the mouths of babes.

 

The fun continues as they engage in the activity and enjoy the creative journey. Fascination arrives as they complete a task and observe your reaction and when they see their cookie letters come out of the oven and they enjoy eating them piece by piece. Some letters will change as they eat them, like a Capital E might become a capital L after two bites. Stories always fascinate especially if we use fun voices and encourage the children to join in here and there.

My sister in England once put a foam letter into coloured goop (corn starch, water and colouring) with foam shapes of objects that started with her chosen letter. Her sons enjoyed pulling the objects out of the goop and sounding them out. This is a creative way to build connections with letters, make memories that last, ignite anticipation and revel in their fascination.

Janine Georgiou-Zeck
Janine’s school of Fine Arts.
Newmarket, On
905-952-0806
www.jzartstudio.com

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Creative Hands Creative Hearts!

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As parents we think of so many things we would like our children to accomplish and dream of them doing great things. When my teens were little and I would drop them off at school I would say “Do Great Things”.

They knew that I felt that the little, kind and thoughtful things they did each day were “Great Things” to me. We are the teachers of great things. We know  when we are presented with a teachable moment. We have the gift of a wonderful connection with our own children. They hang on our words and actions. They hold moments close to their hearts and pull them out of a hat when they need them. When they are toddlers they are retaining memories that are tactile and more of the visual. It’s a time to feed the visual memory by supporting it with tactile connections.  It’s a time to share with them how their little hands can be creative and hearts thoughtful at the same time..

Valentines is a time to show your little ones visual ways of expressing what is in their hearts.

The heart itself is a great first shape to teach. Using their own hands they can form a rough shape of a heart. They can stamp their hand in finger paint or have you paint the bottom of their hands with a washable paint. You might want to have a bowl of soapy water and a towel ready. Once the heart is stamped as many times and in as many colours as they like, they can fill in the shape.

 

You could offer them some decorative sticky foam or other embellishments that are easy to apply to decorate the artwork or card. You can cut shapes out that they can stick on. Ask them what they would like to say in words on their gift, and who they would like to give it to. You can use dots for letters they can trace over or write the words for them.  This will help them to reinforce connections with others through a creative channel, while learning about a special shape and their abilities.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Janine G-Z . 
Janine’s school of Fine Arts. 
Newmarket, On 
905-952-0806 
 www.jzartstudio.com 

    

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