Family Pages

Baby Mess Makers in Person Program

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Community Association for Lasting Success (CALS) offered their first in-person session in the last few years of the Baby Mess Makers program on Feb. 7 at Senior Citizen Sunshine Club of Vegreville.

CALS Family Literacy Facilitator Jennifer Dixon said this is a program where they discuss child development with the parents. “We sing songs and then the babies do a sensory activity. We speak about the importance of sensory activities for the development of babies. Each week we do a different sensory activity; this week we did edible sand.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

This program is really nice for families as they have been feeling really isolated through this COVID-19 pandemic, so they get to bring out their babies to socialize with one another and parents get to also socialize with each other.

We are promoting literacy, numeracy, and encouraging parents to sing to their babies,” Dixon added.

Morning of Sensory Fun for Children

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Children between one and five years of age were able to spend time doing activities with their parents on Feb. 8.

It was the first in-person session since the pandemic of Community Association for Lasting Success, (CALS) Mess Maker program which was held at the Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville.

Parents and children make slime.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)

“This program reinforces literacy skills as well as numeracy skills in both children and parents. Our program begins with songs and rhymes, followed by a story and a group activity. We then move into our sensory activity,” explained Jennifer Dixon, Family Literacy Facilitator for CALS.

Dixon added, “Sensory play strengthens a child’s sensory processing skills and nervous systems. Exposure to many different sensory experiences help their brains adjust to future sensory input they’ll encounter at school and in other new environments.”

Work and Play on a Warm Winter Day

Danica and Clark Evans play in the snow and help shovel a bit of snow off of the sidewalk.

(Rosanne Fortier/Photo)