Duration: 2 hours

Play is Risky!! While society has changed over the years, children’s needs have not. All growing bodies need real challenge. When children learn how to identify and manage risks they become more independent and have a greater respect for boundaries and social expectations. Risky Play also builds confidence, resilience and improves social skills.

Participants will take a deeper look at why we need to provide children with opportunities to take risks, the benefits of those risks, how to introduce risk into children’s play and participants duty of care while supporting child development. The 16 different types of play will be used as a framework for discussions.

Duration 2 hours

"Connecting" with school age children means your interactions matter! Research shows that children who connect with positive adult role models feel more secure, confident, are willing to take risks, feel safe to explore, discover and build on their life skills. Learn some fun ways to connect with our school age children. 

Duration: 2 hours

School age children learn from everyone. As school age care workers, we need to evaluate our own strengths and personal knowledge and skills. This interactive workshop will help school age care workers reflect on their own personal resources, how those skills can be used to influence positive outcomes for the children they work with, and how those skills match up with the different interests and developing characteristics of the school age child.

Duration: 2 hours

Most school age programs have pre-set program rules. This workshop will provide participants with the tools to get children’s buy-in to rules and expectations by involving children in the rule making process. But, it doesn't stop there, we will discuss how children can be involved with logical consequences and can develop a self-monitoring program.

Duration: 2 – 4 hours

This workshop will support school age professionals in setting all children up for a successful and fun after school. We will discuss strategies on how to support children to live within the program rules, take responsibility for their actions and to develop tolerance and respect for peer temperaments.

Duration: 2 – 4 hours

Wide ranges of circumstances or conditions may result in conflict and behaviour problems amongst school age children. Join us for strategies to support children and support your team. You will have the chance to evaluate the environment as well as your conflict management style.

Duration: 2 hours

This workshop will challenge you to rethink your attitude about behaviours and child discipline for school age children. "Control the Climate not the Child". We will guide you through the examination and evaluation of your behaviour management and provide simple tips on how to generate appropriate behaviours while creating an environment all children feel safe in.

The Influence of Staff and the Importance of Peers (Part 1)

Duration: 2 hours

Developing Appropriate Practices in school age programs ensures characteristics and needs of school age children are met. We will explore the impacts that caring staff has on school age children as well as the importance of peer relationships and how this effects social development. Adult and peer interactions are core components in a Developmentally Appropriate environment.

Environments and Routines

Duration: 2 hours

Developing Appropriate Practices in school age programs ensures that the environments are created to meet the needs of a variety of age groups as well as small or larger group activities. Schedules and routines are predictable but flexible. We will design our spaces and evaluate our routines to ensure we are maximizing school-agers

Duration: 2 hours

Effective supervision is an essential element in the safe provision of child care. Supervision, together with thoughtful design and arrangement of children’s environments, can prevent or reduce the likelihood of accidents and the severity of injury to children. Out of school care professionals need to actively supervise children to identify risks and therefore minimize injury. Workshop participants will examine strategies and principles of active supervision that ensure children’s play is enjoyable and learning opportunities are promoted in a safe environment.

Duration: 2 hours

School Age children experience numerous transitions at home, at school, and in the after school program. A transition is defined as simply moving from one activity to another. Join us as we evaluate our current transitions, discuss how to make them better, and learn some new transition tricks.

Duration:  2 hours per workshop up to 12 hours (Total 6 workshops)

During the middle years school age children begin searching for learning opportunities outside of the family unit. As professionals working with these children you are in a position to influence their skills building and support them in developing their characters and social values. Join us for 6 sessions on skill building, lead skill-building activities, and develop a plan on how you will implement these skills builders. Each skill builder is a 2-hour session.

Duration: 2 hours

Many out of school care programs operate in schools, community centres, churches and even strip malls. A good relationship with your leasing organization can be critical to your organizations' success. This workshop will bring Operators, Executive Directors and Site Supervisors together to reflect on some of the opportunities and challenges of working with leasing organizations. We will develop a strategy to build bridges and partnerships with leasing agents that will support quality after school care for community children.

Duration: 2 hours

Parents of school age children are often quite busy and on the run. This workshop not only shares proven techniques for engaging parents as partners, it facilitates the development of tools to create a family friendly environment. A brief skit, on a parking lot conversation amongst 3 parents will help us to broaden our perspectives on parent needs.

Duration: 2 hours

Early learning and childcare programs are often challenged by the many complex and diverse needs of children and families. All children are unique, yet have much in common. This makes it imperative for ELCC educators to adopt and follow a philosophy of inclusion that includes Designing services around children and their families, rather than fitting them into existing services. 

Workshop participants will examine their core values and reflect on their current inclusionary philosophy and practices. They will explore strategies for including all children and establishing a good foundation. Facilitators will guide participants through activities that will allow them to identify with their own ethical responsibilities and help them overcome barriers to inclusion.

Duration: 2 hours

Developing a program that meets the needs of all children is a difficult task at best. Curriculum involves decisions about how children learn, when learning takes place, and what is to be learned. It requires ELCC practitioners to "Implement curriculum that is thoughtfully planned, challenging, engaging, developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, comprehensive, and likely to promote good outcomes for all young children." (NAECY, 2003).

This workshop is designed to help participants identify with the many elements of an inclusive, comprehensive curriculum. It will guide them through developmentally appropriate standards of practice. Through hands-on activities participants will explore strategies to set the stage for individualized learning and the importance of establishing schedules, routines and transitions.

Duration: 2 hours

Implementation of Loose Parts materials in any setting can take longer than expected. Taking the time needed to work through potential challenges that often arise will provide a solid foundation to implement loose parts play.

This workshop provides participants with the tools to help minimize potential risks factors, educate staff and parents on the benefits of loose parts play. We also show you how to develop ongoing management plans on the implementation and maintenance of loose parts materials.

Duration: 2 hours

The more children are involved in the program planning, activities and projects, the more invested and engaged they will be. This workshop will go through the steps on how to truly involve children of all ages and what important skills development is met when clubs and committees are well planned and followed through on.

Duration: 2 hours

Through hands-on activities school age programs can open the doors to the world for our children. Understanding the impact of global issues, a better understanding of cultural diversity and community service projects builds compassion and allows children to better understand the issues facing their immediate communities. This workshop will provide the ideas and tools to implement these topics into your everyday program delivery.

Duration: 2 hours

Environments in school age programs can be one of our biggest challenges. Activity centres are a great way to involve children's ideas for equipment and when creating portable spaces. Participants will not only have the opportunity to explore some portable activity centres, they will have the opportunity to be involved with groups to plan some portable activity centres. A fun, interactive workshop!

Duration: 2 hours

Project based programming experiences often miss the opportunity to be real life changing experiences for children. This workshop will help participants turn important issues that children truly care about into opportunities for children to build on their abilities and learn new skills. Participants will leave with working templates on; group roles, project planning guides, and project planning review sheets.

(a multi-cultural celebration of the season)

Duration: 3 hours

Let's celebrate! As we think of this time of the year (December) we begin to realize that people everywhere in the world are celebrating. What are they celebrating? This workshop is a celebration of celebrations in recognition of the rich cultural diversity of our country and the cultures around the world. Participants will be engaged in cultural activities which can be easily introduced to the children in their programs and will provide networking opportunities to share their own cultural backgrounds and traditions around this festive season.

Duration: 2-3 hours

It's gross that’s why they love it! If you thought that science was dull, here’s a workshop that will change your mind. There are so many things that peak the senses and get the giggles going, from awful ooey gooey sensory experiences to disgusting smells, gross songs, and stories. Throughout this hands-on interactive workshop participants will roll up their sleeves for some serious mess making, exploring all that is gross.

Duration: 2 hours

Canadian children and youth are sitting idle indoors during the after-school period of approximately 3 to 6 p.m., getting a mere 14 minutes, out of a possible 180, of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity. The Report Card also tells us that fifty-nine per cent of the after-school time period is spent engaged in sedentary pursuits. Learn ways to engage children and support staff members in all kinds of fun physical activities School Age Style.

Duration: 2 hours

After school time and non-school days are the perfect time for staff and children to create new environments by setting up portable outdoor centres! Enjoy the beauty of the great outdoors, enjoy new physical environments and allow children the space and fresh air to learn and grow through natural play experiences. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to assess outdoor play spaces and plan to set up outdoor activity centres. We will focus on engaging children to participate at different levels as well as having different activities available for children to have choice. This is a fun, interactive workshop! Make sure you are dressed in comfortable as well as for the weather!

Duration: 2 hours

Non-School days and summer camp is the perfect time for staff and children to create new environments, enjoy the beauty of the great outdoors, and explore new physical challenges. This workshop provides participants with opportunities to plan and lead non-school day activities that include; field trips, outdoor play spaces, and physical activity. We plan to have fun, dress comfortably and for the weather.

Duration: 5 hours

Maximizing experiences for children and families requires healthy, collaborative partnerships between all stakeholders. This workshop not only shares proven techniques for engaging parents, families and community it will guide participants through a process of how to open channels of communication and facilitate the development of tools to create a family/community friendly environment.

Duration: 1.5 hours         

Environmental print refers to symbols, letters and words that we encounter in the places we live, eat, shop, travel and learn. Join us as we embark on a brainstorming literacy treasure hunt that will have us exploring the how, when, where, and why’s of incorporating environmental prints in our out of school care programs. This interactive workshop will have us explore all the different locations within our community that offer different environmental print materials and resources we can use in our programs, and how we can use those prints to engage children in developing literacy skills through play opportunities.