National Family Week
October 4-10 is National Family Week! This year, Canada is focusing on the theme: “Connected Families, Connected Communities”. Throughout the last 18 months or so, families across the world have had to become creative about how we stay connected to our loved ones, and how we support and keep our communities safe and healthy.
Family can mean different things to different people. It can be our biological family, our ancestors, the people we live with, the people we go to for support and guidance, the networks and communities that we rely on in our day to day lives, and more! National Family Week can be a meaningful time to reflect on what family means you. Who do you consider part of your family?
Ways to celebrate Family Week:
- Look through family pictures, old and new! It can be really interesting for young children to see pictures of grandpa as a young boy, or mom as a teenager. Tell stories about your family, and reflect on cultural, religious or special occasions that you have pictures of.
- Make some art! Have your child paint your portrait (and you can paint your child’s). Or create a collage of cut out pictures, with things that represent your family’s values, favourite things, and hopes and dreams!
- Take a walk in your neighbourhood, and talk with your little one about all the special places that you love to go to. Maybe it’s the library, where you take your toddler for storytime. Maybe it’s the community centre where they get their swimming lessons. Maybe it’s the local park where you have picnics with friends. Reflect on the community resources that you enjoy.
- Do something kind for a friend, family member, or someone in the community. Help your child think of a way to do a little act of kindness.
- Continue to explore what we can do as individuals, as families, and as communities to move towards Truth and Reconciliation. Check out this amazing child-friendly guide on the Truth and Reconcilliation Calls to Action!
Happy Family Week!
