Here are a few of the many parenting/child supports available from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board:
OCDSB information on how parents can help their children succeed
OCDSB parent conference – resources from the conference are posted online
OCDSB homework help services for your child – this includes support in learning French
Please note:
The articles/readings/videos below do not necessarily represent an endorsement of any kind by Churchill Alternative School, Churchill Alternative School Council, the OCDSB or any of its staff.
They are provided merely for parents and families as information to do with as they see fit.
Some highlighted resources:
Parents Matter Canada Handouts: one page handouts jam packed with great parenting information on a wide range of topics.
Ottawa Public Library: The Ottawa Public Library is an incredible local resource. You can look up favourite authors/topics and place holds (order!) – then they show right at your local Branch. You can put holds on dozens at a time. And then there are other services too like downloadable audiobooks.
CHEO Mini Mindmasters and Mindmasters: Developed at CHEO, this resource supports children ages 6-12 in developing positive living skills through simple, age appropriate activities.
Big Life Journal: Big Life Journal provides engaging resources to help kids develop a growth and resilient mindset so that they can face life’s challenges with confident. Many (although not all) of the resources are free (check the blog), including a weekly e-blast with lots of tips and ideas.
Best Start (Ontario) Building Resiliency in Young Children: This provincial resource has many great ideas for building resiliency in children ages 0-6, although many of the ideas can be used for older children
Parents’ Lifeline of Eastern Ontario (PLEO): This provincial resource is designed to foster positive outcomes for families with children to age 25 facing mental health challenges by providing family peer support and by amplifying the family voice for system change.
eMentalHealth.ca: Community mental health support, services, and resources.
General parenting tips:
Parents who raise “good” kids do these 5 things
Harvard psychologists have been studying what it takes to raise ‘good’ kids. Here are 6 tips
What if everything you knew about disciplining kids was wrong?
Learning:
Why kids shouldn’t sit still in class
How incorporating physical literacy is helping kids have academic success
People with ADHD have different brains
How to ruin children’s play: Supervise, praise, intervene
What happened when one school banned homework — and asked kids to read and play instead
Hattie effect size list: 195 influences and effect sizes related to student achievement
Homework in primary school has an effect size of zero
How to help girls with ADHD
Media use:
Why you need to talk to your kids about media right now
Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens
Screens ‘not a toy’: Canadian pediatricians promote limits for children 5 and under
Toddler’s speech delays could be linked to screen time, study finds
Emotional literacy, regulation and resilience:
Brene Brown short video on empathy
To raise brave girls, encourage adventure (TedTalk)
Why rejection hurts so much – and what to do about it
Anxiety:
Helping Your Child Cope with Back-to-School Anxiety
The things loving parents do that might unintentionally feed anxiety in children – and what to do about it
How anxiety leads to disruptive behavior
Kindergarten-specific:
Your child’s social skills in kindergarten are more important than their academics
Preteen-specific:
It’s not just hormones
Dr. Ross Greene's YouTube Channel
Dr. Ross Greene: Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS)
Grounded in Play: Churchill's Playground Rejuvenation Project
IXL login
Self-Reg with Stuart Shankar
Self-Regulation: Dr. Stuart Shankar's The MEHRIT Centre
Social Thinking
Zones of Regulation