Village News

Vitality Café – Monday’s at 7pm you can break your isolation and connect with other people in some authentic conversation via zoom.  Improve your personal wellbeing.  Join any week.  Email [email protected] to get the link or find it on the website www.vulcanandregionfcss.com, the link is under the poster.

Parent Café – These are for parents to engage in real conversations about parenting and just a chance to connect with other parents. Will begin via zoom Feb. 16 and in person in March if regulations allow.

Winter Walk Day  – Winter Walk Day – Open the Door and go for it! Get more active outdoors this winter. Register at shapeab.com/winter-walk-day/

Coping with Covid-19 – Addiction and Mental Health Resources. There are a lot of links to resources in this booklet on a variety of topics.  Helplines, Wellness, Finances, Families, Seniors and Suicide

MCG Careers is thrilled to be offering a virtual job fair as an opportunity for job seekers to connect with employers. In addition to the main event we will be offering some Bootcamps the days leading up to the job fair. One of these boot camps will be all about Zoom and is in partnership with the Literacy for Life Foundation. If someone you are working with is unable to attend the job fair but is interested in one or both of the bootcamps they are welcome to attend! All three events are being offered at No Cost to attendees or to employers.  Interested parties can register by following the link to our listings on eventbrite on the corresponding attached poster.

Career Planning Online – “Kick-start your next career path”    Friday February 5, 2021, 9:30am – 12:00pm

Resume Building and Cover Letter Writing – “Tailoring and targeting”  Tuesday February 9, 2021, 1pm – 3:30pm

Resume Scanners? – “Getting your resume past the system and in front of the hiring manager” Friday February 12, 2021, 9:30am – 12pm

LinkedIn – “Create and advance your online presence” Thursday February 25, 2021, 9:30am – 12pm

Greater Foothills Family Network – List of Programs Pre-register for programs at 1-877-652-8633. Supplies are provided.

Be my Valentine – Create a special gift – Feb. 12 10:30am –   0-12 years old

Daily Discoveries – Wednesday’s at 1:30pm – Preschool

Design Squad – Engineering challenges for 9-12 years old. Tuesday’s at 4:30pm

Family Fun Night – Wednesday’s at 6:30pm

Game Show – Friday, Feb. 5 for  3-6 year old

Junior Inventors – Thursday’s at 10:30 for 3-6 year old

Kid’s Paint Night – Friday, Feb. 19 at7 pm for 7-12 year old

New 2 U – Skate Donation Program

Space Adventures – Wednesday’s at 10:30am for 3-6 years old

Sunshine Stretches Yoga – Friday, Feb. 26 at 10:30 for 3-6 years old

Holiday Craft-a-Long – Feb. 2 for Groundhog Day 2- 5 year old’s at 4pm, 6-8 year old’s at 6:30pm Register at Rainbow Literacy at 403-485-3107

Census Jobs 2021 – March-July

Vulcan Lifeguard Jobs – Summer 2021 Apply now

Resources

The Making Connections Program for Palliser Schools now has a Facebook page. It will be a place where we post different events, tips, etc. Here is the link if you wanted to include it in your emails/ news letter and let parents know they can like it for all different sorts of awesome information 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/Palliser-School-Divison-Making-Connections-Program-104502814933151/?view_public_for=104502814933151 

Rosie’s Gift of Love

Hi friends!. It’s a good day to stay inside and keep warm . If anybody is still in need of a warm coat, mitts, hat or scarf, let us know. Mom says she still has some to give away. Share the love, Rosie.  Visit Quarks Consignment or Facebook Message Sandy Stoddard.

Community Education Services provide free public education available via webinar   https://community.hmhc.ca/

Tues Feb 2 @ 6:30 pm  

Thur Feb 4 @ 1 pm (rebroadcast of Feb 2 live presentation) Friend or Foe? How to create healthy relationships with digital devices in the family 

Wed Feb 3 6:30 pm Managing Anxiety within the COVID-19 World
SATURDAY Feb 6 10 am Putting Stress Under the Microscope: Parenting Stress and Its Relationship to Parenting 

Tues Feb 9 @ 1 pm  

Wed Feb 24 @ 6:30 pm Supporting Your Children to have Healthy Relationships During a Pandemic 

Thur Feb 11 6:30 pm Bullying and ASD 

Wed Feb 17  6:30 pm School-and-community-based strategies to support newcomer youth and families: Taking relational and culturally responsive approaches to promote resilience and mental well-being 

Thur Feb 18  10 am Teens in Trouble With the Law: What You Need to Know 

Tues Feb 23 6:30 pm The COVID-19 Pandemic: Pedantics and Peculiarities 

Fri Feb 26 11 am Put the Pro in Cognitive Proficiency   

Sat Feb 27, Mar 6, Mar 13 11 am Teens Talk Transition

A Simple Plan to Get Your Family Outside More Often

“The premise is really simple,” she said, “but the impact is really profound. You have to make a conscious choice of what you want to fill your life with. Otherwise, time just slips away.”

The Importance of Teaching Life Skills 

In her book, “How to Raise an Adult,” Julie Lythcott-Haims makes a case for breaking from over-parenting and doing your children a favour by doing less for them.

As a parent, the goal, apart from surviving each day, is to get your beautiful little babies though childhood, thriving and alive, and launch them into adulthood with skills to make their way in life with an attitude, of “I can do this.”  That attitude is “Self-efficacy” and it means having the belief in your abilities to complete a task, reach goals, and manage a situation.  It means believing in your ability and effort – not in your parents’ abilities to help you do things or to do them for you.  Childhood is about the endless and repeated trial-and-error opportunities that allow us to learn. As long as we let the kids fail, do the work themselves, experience the discomfort and help them believe that they can learn something if they keep trying, they will gain valuable life skills.

Whether it is learning to read or managing a difficult friendship, we need to provide support rather than the solve the problem. We cannot just do everything for them, prevent them from failure or discomfort and then dump them out in the world at eighteen and wave bye-bye.  We can talk about how to let go of hurt feelings with a friend, and how to see someone else’s perspective.  We can expect them to clean up their own toys or help clean up the spilt milk.  We can involve them in cooking and get them to the point of leaving them in charge of cooking something nutritious for the whole family.  We can set expectations that they study for a test and work towards getting a better grade by putting in the effort.  We can skip teach them about the safety and how to stay at home alone safely, before they are old enough to become a babysitter and be in charge of other people’s children.

As parents we want to keep them safe, see them feel success at school, sports and in relationships and reduce their pain in difficult situations but we need to let them learn from their own mistakes too.  To take our “pounce” instinct and tone it down to a “wince” reaction when our child gets a boo-boo or fights with a sibling.  Can you watch at a distance to see if they can work it out or suck it up without your intervention? Can we help them mature into a responsible adult that can handle responsibilities and obligations beyond their own personal care and pleasure?

One strategy for parenting with a practical path toward independence involves teaching new skills in steps:

-first we do it for you

-then we do it with you

-then we watch you do it

-then you do it completely independently

Think of teaching your child to drive a car.  What skills can you teach a preschooler following this method?

Lindsay Hutton, “I Did it All by Myself” an Age-by-Age Guide to Teaching Your Child Life Skills,” https://www.familyeducation.com/teens/6-life-skills-every-teen-should-master-before-college

Ages 2 and 3: Small Chores and Basic Grooming

This is the age when your child will start to learn basic life skills. By the age of three, your child should be able to

• Help put his toys away.
• Dress himself (with some help from you)
• Put his clothes in the hamper when he undresses
• Clear his plate after meals
• Assist in setting the table
• Brush his teeth and wash his face with assistance

Ages 4 and 5: Important Names and Numbers

Safety skills are high on the list, now. She should know

• Her full name, address and a phone number to reach you
• How to make an emergency call

Your child should also learn how to

• Perform simple cleaning chores like dusting in easy-to-reach places and clearing the table after meals
• Feed pets
• Identify money denominations and understand the very basic concept of how money is used
• Brush her teeth, comb her hair and wash her face without help
• Help with basic laundry chores, such as putting her clothes away and bringing her dirty clothes to the laundry
• Choose her own clothes to wear

Ages 6 and 7: Basic Cooking Techniques

Kids at this age can start to help with cooking meals, and can learn to

• Mix, stir and cut with a dull knife
• Make a basic meal, like a sandwich
• Help put the groceries away
• Wash the dishes

Your child should also learn how to

• Use basic household cleaners safely
• Straighten up the bathroom after using it
• Make her bed without assistance.
• Bathe unsupervised.

Ages 8 and 9: Pride in Personal Belongings

By this time, your child should take pride in her personal belongings and take care of them properly. That includes being able to

• Fold her clothes
• Learn simple sewing
• Care for outdoor toys such as her bike

Your child should also learn how to

• Take care of personal hygiene without being told to do so
• Use a broom and dustpan properly
• Read a recipe and prepare a simple meal
• Help create a grocery list
• Count and make change
• Take out the trash

Ages 10 to 13: Gaining Independence

Ten is about the age when your child can begin to perform many skills independently. She should know how to

• Stay home alone
• Go to the store and make purchases by herself
• Change her own bed sheets
• Use the washing machine and dryer
• Plan and prepare a meal with several ingredients
• Use the oven to broil or bake foods

Your child should also learn how to

• Read labels
• Iron clothes
• Use basic hand tools
• Look after younger siblings or neighbors

Ages 14 to 18: More Advanced Skills

By 14, your child should have mastered of all of the previous skills. On top of that, she should be able to

• Perform more sophisticated cleaning and maintenance chores, such as plunging a toilet, cleaning the stove and unclogging drains
• Fill a car with gas, add air to and change a tire
• Read and understand medicine labels and dosages
• Interview for and get a job.
• Create and maintain a calendar

Young Adults: Preparing to Live on His Own

Your child will need to know how to support herself when he goes away to college or moves out. There are still a few skills she should know before venturing out on his own, including

• Make regular doctor and dentist appointments and other important health-related appointments.
• Have a basic understanding of finances, and be able to manage his bank account, pay a bill and use a credit card.
• Understand basic contracts, like an apartment or car lease.
• Schedule oil changes and basic car maintenance.
• How to deal with an illness, when to seek a doctor, how to make up an exam, etc.

It’s a process.  If there is a skill that is missed, you still have time to teach it.  Just don’t expect them to know how to do things without the time to teach them.

Take care of yourself and the people around you,

Lori Gair

Community Liaison

Vulcan and Region Family and Community Support Services

Phone: 403-485-2192 ext. 103

Email: [email protected]