ASSINIBOIA - The Assiniboia Rotary Family Centre (Family Centre) has wrapped up a busy and successful year of early years programming in our community. After several years of ups and downs due to covid and location changes, the Family Centre has flourished with a stable home and busy schedule. The Early Childhood Coalition (ECC) board, which is made up of volunteers that oversee and plan the programming that takes place, is very pleased to see the Family Centre being utilized in many ways.
The Assiniboia Rotary Family Centre was the recipient of several generous donations and grants that were used to improve the building and experience for its patrons. The Town of Assiniboia generously covers operational, maintenance expenses and employee wages. The Assiniboia Rotary Club made a substantial donation of $10000 in 2022 that was put towards renovating the space by removing walls and adding an upstairs bathroom and kitchenette. The space was completed with new flooring and paint; making the space much brighter and functional. In 2023, the ECC was the recipient of grant funds from the Golden South Wind Community Benefit Program through Potentia and RM 72 Lake of Rivers. The ECC used these funds to purchase some new indoor play structures, mats and storage for the Family Centre. Several personal donations were also made throughout the year.
The third session of play school wrapped up earlier this spring. The play school enrolls between 8 and 10 children ages 3-4 years old for an 11-week session in the fall and another in the new year. The play school facilitator plans the play-based curriculum with a variety of themes that engage the children in fine and gross motor play and the foundations of learning they will need as they enter kindergarten. Children attend play school 2 days per week in the mornings. In addition to overseeing the play school, our facilitator takes part in planning open play sessions and a special quieter tummy time for babies 0-18 months old.
Throughout the year the ECC has planned several special events that many families came out to enjoy. The Christmas Shopping Spree for children has been well attended by children shopping for Christmas for the special people in their lives. They are assisted by elves in choosing, purchasing and wrapping their gifts to take home and to put under the tree. Our community has generously supported this event the past two years by donating items, gifts bags, wrapping paper and other supplies, as well as the time they take to come out and volunteer. This last year they wrapped over 250 gifts!
The ECC organized a Prize Bingo in conjunction with the family day activities happening in Assiniboia. The event was well attended and everyone had a great time! As part of the community wide garage sale, the ECC organized a Children’s Only Consignment Sale that was setup in the Multipurpose room in the Southland Coop Centre. The sale was well attended by shoppers and so many toys, baby items and clothes got a second chance in a new home, instead of ending up in a landfill.
Throughout the year smaller events are planned to coincide with special days or themes. The ‘Books and Babies’ program was back again last fall. A ‘Family literacy Party’ celebrated 25 years of encouraging and growing literacy for the whole family. Our local public health team helped with a ‘Teddy Bear Clinic’ and made sure everyone’s teddies were healthy and up-to-date on their vaccinations.
There was also regularly scheduled open play on Monday mornings at the Family Centre and open gym time once a week in the multi-purpose room at the Southland Co-op Centre throughout the winter months. The children enjoyed having a bigger space to run around and loved when the bouncy castles were set up there. Open play mornings have been very well attended throughout the year. It’s a great space to bring your child to meet and play with other children. The parents and caregivers also enjoy the social aspect of having a gathering place where their children are welcome and safe. The Family Centre has become a special gathering place for families with young children in our community and is great way add some variety to your schedule, especially when the weather is too cold or rainy. Parents, caregivers and grandparents all enjoy bringing their children to Family Centre and taking part in our activities and events. The space is also used by Rapid Access Counselling, which offers timely counselling services accessible for children, youth, adults, couples or families when they need it the most. Services are provided for no fee and appointments are preferred. To book a spot please go to www.counsellingconnectsask.ca or email [email protected].
We wrapped up our year by celebrating with a special visit from the fire truck and Sparky and a hot dog lunch with watermelon and cupcakes during the last open play on June 17th. We hope everyone enjoys their summer!
We would like to say a special thank you to the volunteers who came out to help assemble the new play equipment we purchased. With the help of Robin and Sandy Cristo, Maureen Ellis, Madison Chubb, Henry Wiebe, Peter Wiebe and Logan Gould, we were able to get everything put together and ready to use in one afternoon! Thanks again for your help!
The ECC board meets regularly and along with representatives from the Town of Assiniboia, SHA’s Mobile Early Learning Coordinator, Public Health, Palliser Regional Library, local teachers and other community supports we are able to plan and bring to life a variety of events geared towards early years education in our community. While most of our programming is targeted to children aged 0-5, we strive to provide a space where all shapes and sizes of families feel welcome and safe in our community.
We are looking forward to continuing programming in fall. Registration for the fall session of play school will open August 1st. We will be attending the community registration evening on August 1st, so please come and find us there if to learn more about the Family Centre if you’re interested in getting involved or have questions. The Family Centre is also available to rent for small gatherings like birthday parties. Please contact any ECC member or Steph VanDeSype for more information. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page (Assiniboia Early Childhood Coalition) for any events that may pop-up throughout the year.
