Growing Together Family Resource Centre
275 McNaughton Ave W Chatham or 183 Snow Ave or 182 King St. or 231 Chatham St. S N0P 1A0 Blenheim, ON, Canada

Earthing - making a physical connection between the electrical frequencies of the human body with that of the earth’s.. the earth is a source of subtle energy in the form of electrons.. Our school age group at Harwich Raleigh spent most of the day in our outdoor space. We explored the fit park, walked the nature path, listening to the music in nature, climbed the hill, met a couple of Canadian geese and gathered some natural materials for our fairy garden. We returned to our ...School Age play area and began to dig into the earth. We transformed a corner of our space into a sweet fairy garden. We planted some freesia and ranunculus seeds, hoping to watch as they sprout!! The children were filthy, happy and had a renewed energy that would continue over the next few days. A fun day was had by all!! Ms Nicole, Ethan, Emily, Haven and Beau..

The GTFRC School Age program at St Anne's is getting back to nature. How do you like to reconnect with the earth?

The preschool room at St. Anne’s celebrated Easter last week by having an Easter egg hunt. We are lucky enough to have two preschool rooms so we combined in one room while a staff went over to the other room to hide eggs.We then split into small groups and took them over to hunt for eggs. We filled each egg with little surprises and the children were so excited that the ‘Easter bunny’ came to visit us. -Ms. Nicole & Ms. Miranda

AUTISM AWARENESS!! Spreading awareness one puzzle piece at at time From the School Age Children at Tecumseh, Miss. Kayle, Miss. Sydnee and Miss Jayden

Schemas of play continue to be found through out our classroom. Recently we attended a workshop on this very thing. This schema of play is called positioning. The child lined up all his cars in a line. #schemasofplay #positioning #toddler #play Toddlers at St.Anne's

Happy Halloween from the St. Anne's Toddlers.

Last Thursday GTFRC celebrated Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Appreciation Day with our amazing team of Educators. A great big THANK YOU to the Municipality of Chatham Kent Early Years and Childcare Division for their generous donation to contribute towards this special day. We decided to offer a Subway luncheon, as we know food fuels the heart. Please feel free to leave a note below recognizing your child's educator with your encouraging words to keep the positivity grow...ing. MB See more

The Great Pumpkin Contest has now begun. Please vote on your favourite pumpkin by including the number in the comment section below. These were created by the creative team of educators at our WJ Baird location. 1 - Popcorn Pumpkin... 2 - Candy Apple Pumpkin 3 - Mike & Sully Pumpkin (Monsters Inc.) 4 - COVID Witch Pumpkin 5 - Forkie Pumpkin (Toy Story) 6 - Pumpkin Spice Latte - Tim Hortons 7 - Welcome to GTFRC Pumpkin 8 - Bubble Gum Machine Pumpkin Voting will be closed Thursday October 29th at midnight. Thank you for playing along! MB

Schemas of play is something we discuss on a daily basis in our toddler classroom, sometimes intentionally and sometimes without even realizing the connection. Today we focused on giving the toddlers an outlet to explore the schema of ROTATION (children show fascination with things that rotate). We set up a lazy susan and gave the children a few items to put on the top. They watched in amazement that every time they spun the top, the items would come flying off. #schemasofplay #toddler #halloweencolors #amazement #alwayslearningsomethingnew #toddleractivities #RECE

We are looking forward to another great week at Growing Together. A big thank-you to all the staff who continue to stay positive as we operate through these new protocols and guidelines. Please know that we value your dedication and kindness.

- THOUGHTFUL TUESDAY - A BIG and warm Welcome Back to all our GTFRC families that are returning this week. Here at WJ BAIRD, Ms. Jessica D in our preschool room has created a staff collage showcasing our wonderful staff at WJB and HR!... We hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and we are excited for your return! MB

As of September 1st, the Growing Together staff will be wearing masks and protective eyewear when physical distancing is not able to be maintained. You might not be able to see them, but we are full of smiles underneath our PPE. Keeping a positive attitude is key!

This morning I used magnatiles to make a rainbow pattern on the window that separates the toddler room from the preschool room. Nate enjoyed looking through and seeing the preschoolers. Both groups became engaged in the activity. The preschoolers collected their own magnatiles and began building on their side. It was a great way to stay connected and play together while maintaining our social distancing. Ms. Heather (RECE)

I am proud to share with you one of our greatest GTFRC cheer ambassadors - Ms. Dawn! Ms Dawn is usually found at our WJ Baird location in our infant program. During our COVID operations, she has been working in our JR PRE program. She has been working with GTFRC for 13 years. Below is a picture of her with her daughter Becca. The other is of Dawn engaging with the junior preschool children. ... She has a creative mind and is always finding a way to incorporate loose parts into the programs she is in. 1) What is your favorite song? My favorite song is Baby Shark. 2) What is your favorite activity at circle? My favorite activity at circle is giving out props and seeing the excitement in their eyes. 3) What was your last professional development completed? My last professional development was an online learning about outdoor activities. I am excited about what I have learned to share with my friends in the preschool room. One thing I took away from the workshop is to make leaf sandwiches. I never thought of that - I always thought about mud pies. To make a leaf sandwich you need leaves and mud and your imagination.?Usually Found at WJB Dawn is typically found working in our infant program at WJB. She has been working with GTFRC for 13 Years. Above is a picture of her with her daughter Becca. The other is of Dawn engaging with the junior preschool children. She has a creative mind and is always finding a way to incorporate loose parts into the programs she is in. 1) What is your favorite song? "My favorite song is Baby Shark." 2) What is your favorite activity at circle? "My favorite activity at circle is giving out props and seeing the excitement in their eyes." 3) What was your last professional development completed? "My last Professional development was an online learning about outdoor activities. I am excited about what I have learned to my friends in the preschool room. One thing I took away from the workshop is to make leaf sandwiches. I never thought of that I always thought about mud pies. To make a leaf sandwich you need leaves and mud and your imagination." Thank you for your work of "heART" that you bring to work each and every day! MB

Hello Growing Together Families, Thank-you for your continued patience as we navigate through these unprecedented times. The Health and Safety of the children, families and staff of Growing Together continue to be our number one priority as we plan for our next steps together. We have received finalized guidelines from our Governing Partners for September and are updating the official Growing Together Protocols for Reopening Document. This document will be forwarded to all fa...milies once all needed revisions are made. I have included below a summary of services that have been temporarily modified to accommodate the Enhanced Health and Safety and Cleaning Protocols. Please note these temporary changes will come into effect beginning September 8, 2020. Hours of Operation will be Monday-Friday from 6:30am-5:30pm for all locations. The minimum requirement to maintain a space with Growing together will be 2 full days OR 3 half days. The minimum requirement for before and after school programs will be 3 sessions a week. (The am program would classify as one session and the pm program would classify as one session.) The infant program will not be opening at this time. The Extended day program at May Court in Chatham will not be offered at this time. Children will be in cohorts according to their age and will not be mixed with other childcare cohorts. All children, parents and staff will be screened upon arrival and must pass the screening to stay at the centre. Only Growing Together staff and essential visitors will be allowed in the building at this time. School Age children in grades 4 and up will be required to wear a mask. The ELP funding from the Municipality is not available at this time. The Market Rate Reduction funding from the Municipality has ended. Subsidized care is available for families who qualify. Please contact the office at (519)351-8573 Ext. 2429. We will be re-evaluating these changes over the coming months and will add additional services when possible. Thank-you for your continued support as we plan for our future. Take Care, Rebecca Dodman

Just a reminder that the Growing Together Parent Survey is due today. Please complete with your childcare needs for September 2020. The survey can be accessed using the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KTNG6BF. Thank-you!

We are unable to put into words the success that was shared from our re-opening this past week!! Thank you to all the families for your patience, support and cooperation as we begin to adjust to our new routines! Thank you to the amazing staff for investing your time, love and experience to create safe, fun, and warm playrooms for the children to come back to! <3 We realize how difficult it is to not come into the building to bring your children. The toddler room at WJ B...aird came up with a great idea of a way to share with you the learning that is unaffected with the pandemic. You will find these amazing moments captured and displayed at our main entrance of our WJ Baird location. When viewing this display, please keep in mind to be kind to others and respect the 6' physical distancing. "Although we've seen a lot of change - discovery, love, and learning still remains!" - Ms. Mel

Re-Think, Re-Set, Re-open: Rebuilding Our Village! Welcome Back GTFRC Families! The St. Anne's location wanted to say hello and share a few images from our first week. The staff, parents and children have been so excited to begin this new journey together. Thank-you!

Today we celebrate Ms.Tina Stefina and her 19 years of love, patience, and care that she provides to the families of GTFRC. She is often found at our WJ Baird and Harwich Raleigh locations ensuring operations are running smoothly and supporting our front line staff. She is a great asset to have as part of our Dream Team! Thank you Tina for ALL you do! <3 MB

Thank-you to all Growing Together staff and families for making our first day back so successful. We appreciate all your patience and support as we begin this new journey together.

Hello Growing Together Families! The Ministry is looking for parent and child care providers feedback around the Child Care and Early Years Act. Please click on the link below to complete an online survey. The Ministry values your feedback and want to hear how the child care system is meeting your needs. https://www.ontario.ca//survey-improving-child-care-famili

We are very grateful for our amazing staff at Growing Together. They have been very busy getting our locations set up and ready for our reopening on July 20th. Thank-you to everyone for all your hard work and dedication to Growing Together. We are lucky to have such a great team.

The buzz is back! This week our amazing team of educators and cooks are back in the building preparing for our soft reopening next Monday July 20th. They were found pouring their hearts into recreating their playrooms to welcome back with open hearts your loved ones!... Below you will find Ms. Jessica, Ms. Dawn, and Ms. Liz preparing the JR PRE room at our WJ Baird location. A few months back, the administrative team adopted our new slogan Re-Think, Re-Set, Re-Open: Rebuilding our Village as an inspirational mindset to lead our Educators and team for when we were able to return to work. Check out the beautiful shirts that we ordered from CK local business Priceless and Personal. Today, we began to deliver the surprise T-shirts and masks that were gifted to our team. Stay tuned this week for further developments. Continue to take care, MB #CKshoplocal #GTFRCstrong

Congratulations Debbi on your retirement. Over the past 30 years you have lead the Growing Together team with Integrity, Kindness and Grace. We thank-you for Inspiring all of us to be the best version of ourselves. You will be missed!

WE ARE REOPENING! Hello Growing Together Families, Thank-you for your patience as we prepare for the re-opening of our Child Care locations. The Health and Safety of the children, families and staff of Growing Together are of our utmost priority as we plan for our next steps together. We have received finalized guidelines from our Governing Partners and are preparing Growing Together specific Policies and Procedures for our re-opening. The official re-opening date for Growin...g Together will be Monday July 20th, 2020. This will be a soft opening and some of the services have been temporarily modified to accommodate the Enhanced Health and Safety and Cleaning Protocols put in place by the Ministry of Education. The following are temporary changes that will be in place starting July 20th, 2020: Hours of Operation will be Monday-Friday from 7:30am-5:00pm for all locations. The minimum requirement for part time care will be three full days a week. The infant program will not be opening at this time. Children will be in cohorts or groups of 10. Staff will be included in this number. All children, parents and staff will be screened upon arrival and must pass the screening to stay at the centre. We will have a reduced number of play rooms available and priority will be given to full time and essential workers. We will be re-evaluating these changes over the coming weeks and will add additional services when possible. We are requesting that all parents complete an Updated Parent Survey using the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y3L68RS. Please indicate your current childcare needs as of July 20th, 2020. Based on survey responses received, a prioritization waitlist of spaces will be created. We ask that you complete the survey by noon on Friday July 3rd, 2020. A new survey will be sent in August for parents requiring care starting in September. Thank-you for your continued support as we plan for our future. Take Care, Becky Dodman

STORYTIME + MUSIC What a wonderful way to wrap up this week; focusing on how learning happens around well being. One of our incredible educators Samantha Meredith shares a wonderful story that we all can relate to as we navigate through these uncertain times. Ms Sam's home site is at St Anne's although as many of you know she has worked at all our our GTFRC locations. She wanted to share the following with you: "Hi everyone! Having been primarily preschool educator, I've a...lways loved reading books with the children. Especially books the children can relate to in terms of their emotions. I hope you enjoy this video of a story I recently found to help our children process their experience around this pandemic. Another favorite sing along story of mine is 'The Story of my Feelings' by Laurie Berkner. Here's the link to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zQJyL821Ic, some of my former preschool friends might recognize this one. I love this song/story because it helps the children develop an emotional vocabulary, it's also very soothing. While you're there check out the Goldfish song or We are the Dinosaurs because Well-Being isn't just about mental health it's also about physical health :) Link to story "Not forever, but for now" by Heather Malley - read by GTFRC educator Samantha Meredith. https://onedrive.live.com/ Thank you for sharing this amazing resource for our families. Your compassion and gentle tone reminds us that we are all in this together. Enjoy your week-end! MB

DId you happen to see ? .... Our new sign @ GT Harwich Raleigh in Blenheim!

LOOKING FOR: Gently used receiving blankets. Blenheim : Please contact Melanie : [email protected] Chatham : Please contact Robyn : [email protected]... With thanks! :)

Dear GTFRC family, You are invited to attend the GTFRC Annual General meeting. The Board of Directors and Administration team, and special guest Paul Cudmore from Baker Tilly will be reviewing Growing Together Family Resource Centre's financials and highlights from 2019. Monday, June 29th at 6:30pm live,on line using Zoom. ... ID # 81443402295. There will be a Zoom waiting room to authorize eligible participants for the event. See you there! Debbi Sluys

Ms Robyn - who is the new Supervisor at our May Court location, found this great activity that she wanted to share with you. "I know whenever my kids see me exercise they want to join me so I think these exercises are a great idea and very kid friendly. Enjoy!" Thank you for sharing Robyn - what a fun and healthy way to connect your children. If you have older children, challenge them to create their own animal pose or challenging move - who can hold their pose longer? ... "Well-being addresses the importance of physical and mental health and wellness. It incorporates capacities such as self care, sense of self, and self-regulation skills." - How Does Learning Happen? - MB - https://pin.it/4UBGwxk

"Well-being addresses the importance of physical and mental health and wellness. It incorporates capacities such as self care, sense of self, and self-regulation skills." - How Does Learning Happen? - I found these animal breathing techniques on pinterest. They're easy enough for most of our age groups to engage in. Something that families could do at home when their children are overwhelmed that could easily transfer over to childcare when we all return. ... Submitted by PEC member Samantha Vassallo from our May Court location: How much fun are these breathing techniques!?! What a fun way to be intentional with mindfulness and a great tool to add to our children's "toolbox for life" when it comes to dealing with stress and anxiety! Thanks Ms. Sam! :) MB https://pin.it/7gVxjZ0

GTFRC UPDATE: Good afternoon GTFRC families, I wanted to take a minute to touch base with all of you as there is an important question that everyone is looking for an answer to: When will you be re-opening? Unfortunately, we do not have a date yet of when we are able to safely re-open. The government won over the hearts of families stating that childcares are able to open on June 12, however, the required safety guidelines and funding has not been provided in order for us ...to finalize re-opening plans. We want you to know that the administration team has been extensively meeting and collaborating with our Public Health Unit, local municipal government, school boards and other professionals that we partner with, to try and determine when we are able to re-open, details of what that might look like, ordering Health and Safety supplies, and establishing safety controls ensuring everyones safety. I have been extensively working on our parent surveys and I understand the need is urgent for a lot of our families. There was a lot of great questions on the surveys and we appreciate you taking the time to share your honest comments and concerns. Please be assured that when the safety controls are developed, policies and procedures are finalized that your questions will be addressed. Administration will clearly communicate the revisions with you before we officially open, as this will be a requirement for all our families to review and agree to the terms of enrollment. Please know that we are doing what we can as our entire GTFRC team is eager to return to work. We appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate through these uncertain times together. Until we have another update please continue to take care. Kind regards, Melanie L. Brown RECE, Supervisor

This week our Parent Engagement Committee (PEC) is going to focus on the domain of how learning can happen through the lens of Well Being. Nicole Koopmans, our RECE in our school age program at Harwich Raleigh has shared the following pin: https://pin.it/4kWLpOK "We have done this somewhat in our hangout space at HR.. ... I chose this particular one because I am all about filling buckets. I believe its extremely important to be aware of how ANY of us have the ability to impact anyone at any time.. Our families have been home together for quite some time. Suggesting this activity will give both the parents and their children the ability to literally see what each other feels good about! If someone in the household might be feeling sad or stressed or simply something for the family to do together, this activity will show the children how something so simple can truly fill someone elses bucket and put a smile on their face." I agree Nicole - thank you for sharing! If you complete this activity with your child(ren) we would love to hear their answers below! Let's circulate the positive vibes and fill each other's buckets! Continue to take care of one another! MB

Dear GTFRC Families, Growing Together is very eager to open. There was an announcement today by Doug Ford that childcares will be able to open in accordance with guidelines put in place by the Local Medical Officers of Health. We are awaiting confirmation from Dr. Colby around regulations and guidelines for the Chatham-Kent area regarding reopening of childcare facilities. Once we receive this information we will proceed with official plans around reopening Growing Together F...amily Resource Centres. We have created a short survey, in partnership with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to gather information on your child care needs. We ask all families to complete the survey by Tuesday June 16th, 2020. The information gathered will help us understand your individual child care needs as we prepare for the reopening of our centres. Please find link below. https://clicktoregister.wufoo.com//growing-together-child/ We look forward to seeing all our Growing Together families soon. Stay safe and take care, Rebecca Dodman and Debbi Sluys

Such a fun night as GTFRC employee playing virtual bingo! Thank you social committee!

Have you ever been part of something that is bigger than you? That is the love in the Growing Together Family! Watch this 7 min video and you'll see what I mean. We miss you and each other! With love, The GTFRC family ... #gtfrcstong See more

Here are a few more pictures from the Growing Together Drive Thru Parade. The official video will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

On a rainy morning this week 23 GTFRC employees decorated their cars for a DRIVE THRU. They exceeded their goal of safely physical distancing while increasing positive morale and sending a cheery video taped message to the children and their families! They all expressed to the Supervisor organizers that they are excited to return to work at the child care for the Growing Together family! Stay tuned for the video that is being compiled by Pete Koopmans Photography

Find your inner toddler!

Hey!!! Check out Mr. Shawn jamming about alligators

Growing Together at May Court has new signs to complete the final stages of the renovations. There will also be some upgrades to the playgrounds that we are excited for the children to explore. We are looking forward to the day soon that we can re-open all locations!

As we begin preparations around opening our childcare centres, I came across this video. What a great positive way to introduce masks to children. Re-think Re-Set Re-Open Rebuilding our Village!

Happy Mothers Day to all of the GTFRC family! Thank you for all you do for your children and family! We appreciate you!

A very special story time with Ms Laurie. She is an Educator in our Junior Preschool Program at our WJ Baird location. Snuggle up and enjoy The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland. Stay safe! MB

Hello GTFRC families, please check out this wonderful FREE resource from Sport for Life sent on behalf of our local Public Health Unit about the importance of staying active during this challenging time. https://sportforlife.ca/facing-covid-19-together/ MB

Here's to a fabulous Friday! A very special message from some very special people from our St Anne's location. Continue to stay safe, strong, and care of each other! MB

GTFRC Families - Our Parent Engagement Committee have been brainstorming creative ideas of how to connect with you. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU ... What is it that you and your children miss the most about coming each day to Growing Together? Please share your comment below. Thank you in advance for participating in this. MB