Month: June 2021

Dear StrongStart Families,

What a year this was! The year was stressful, challenging and a real rollercoaster of emotions for us all.  Now, as we close the center for the summer, I look back and fondly remember all my StrongStart families, hoping this finds you healthy and well. I remember our times together, recent, and not so recent. I appreciate your trust and the relationship we have formed and partnership in teaching your children together.  It has been my privilege to support your family and delight in watching your children grow inch by inch and milestone by milestone!

As I remember this year, I appreciate re-connecting with many of you for our fun in-person visits and on Zoom for our Storytimes or Learning Together. With some of you we only talked by phone or exchanged e-mails, but there was always joy in connecting, and I hope to see you back in person in the fall!

As is everybody, we are hopeful about gradually returning to normal! We do not know details yet about our re-opening in September, but we will find out more from the Ministry of Education sometime in August. In the third week of August the StrongStart registration link will be posted here: https://burnabyschools.ca/strongstart/ for everybody (new or previously registered families). As you all know, our school district is tirelessly working to support our children and community. Please stay connected with the Burnaby School website for updates about StrongStart. There will be more resources posted for you there as well.

I just wanted to pass along some summer activities over to you to enjoy together over the summer:

• A list of simple things to do in Burnaby over the summer (put together by the Burnaby Public Library – please click on the following link) SRC summer challenge final
• Burnaby Family Life is hosting “Together at the Park” – activities at different parks, on different days and times throughout the summer. Registration is required. Here’s the link for all the locations, times, and registration – https://bflgrowscommunity.org/together-at-the-park

Enjoy the summer and I hope you and your loved ones stay healthy and safe!

Much love to all,

Ms. Lillian

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Play Toolkit for Parents and Practitioners

Dear StrongStart families,

Children  have always enjoyed playing with dirt, sand and mud.  It is a joyful sensory experience! It is messy play and sometimes children are discouraged from playing this way by adults for that very reason.  Children will, when allowed,  happily get dirty and messy and spend their time digging, squeezing, splashing, cooking with mud and making mud pies and mud soups.

It is fun but is it learning, is it beneficial for children’s development? Rest assured – it is! Because it is so important for their learning and development, many early learning programs have started incorporating more playing outside in nature, sensory explorations of dirt and mud and “Mud kitchens”. This type of play enhances children’s learning about world around them and nature through their senses, encourages creativity, builds problem-solving skills, promotes physical development and also benefits their social and emotional development.

I encourage you to try: dress your children for messy play, provide some some dirt and water, perhaps some old dishes and spoons and let the learning and fun start! Make sure there is an easy way for them to wash hands thoroughly after they are done.  If they are playing outside with dirt: check for safety (no animal waste, chemicals, no sharp or abrasive objects) and set a clear boundaries around where they can and can’t dig.

Here are several pictures of a fun day in StrongStart playing with water and dirt in our pop-up mud kitchen. We added freshly cut grass and some sticks, chestnuts and pine cones.

D. was cooking up a storm, first meat balls then he gave grandma a taste of his mushrooms.

Playing with water in nature creates mud in dirt as N. discovered: Look, I made mud by myself!

To find out why playing with dirt and mud is beneficial for children in all areas of child development and for some ideas for mud play read here:

handsonaswegrow.com/10-benefits-mud-play/
https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2016/the-benefits-of-mud-play

https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/mud-play

Ms. Lillian