Updated Knowledge Translation Resources with COVID-19 Information for Pregnant and Chest/Breastfeeding Persons from Best Start:
In 2020, we have collaborated with provincial partners to develop and spread the information on COVID-19 to growing families in Ontario. Among the developed resources, we prepared COVID-19 bulletins, webinar resources below, infographics, and tips sheets. We have also updated some of our resources to reflect the provincial health recommendation around COVID-19 and maternal-child health.
To access our COVID-19 resources, please visit: https://resources.beststart.org/product-category/resources/covid-19/.
The direct links to the updated resources are available here:
1. Important Signs to Watch for if You are Pregnant. https://resources.beststart.org/product/e08e-important-signs-if-you-are-pregnant-image/
2. Your Guide to Labour and Birth. https://resources.beststart.org/product/e42e-guide-labour-and-birth-booklet/
3. Your Guide to Postpartum. https://resources.beststart.org/product/your-guide-to-postpartum/
These resources are available in English and French and are free to download from www.beststart.org
To access all our resources, please visit the Health Nexus home page at http://new.healthnexus.ca
Additional Resources:
- Pandemic Pregnancy Guide Instagram Page (@PandemicPregnancyGuide)
- Pandemic Pregnancy Guide
- Birth Mark: Making Doulas Accessible
- Women’s Health Education Made Simple
- COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy
- Prenatal Screening Ontario
- Pregnancy and mental health: U of T expert offers tips, resources during COVID-19
- National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)
- Ontario Ministry of Health: COVID-19 Vaccination Recommendations for Special Populations
On Campus Child Care
Priority is still given to current U of T students, staff and faculty at the on campus child care centres. The centres have re-opened (August/September 2020) and you will need to contact the on campus child care centre to determine if you are able to confirm a child care space.
University of Toronto Early Learning Centre (3 locations)
7 Glen Morris Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2G4
252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6
Telephone: 416-978-6725
Fax: 416-946-5319
Email: early.learning.centre@utoronto.ca
Leacock Lane Residence, 3359 Mississauga Rd, Mississauga
For more information contact Teresa Silva, Supervisor: teresa.alves.silva@utoronto.ca or call 905-569-4422
Karen Venneri, Manager
karen.venneri@utoronto.ca
Ages: 6 weeks – 4 years
The Early Learning Centre (ELC) provides a safe, secure, supportive and stimulating environment where children are free to grow to their potential. The curriculum implemented at the ELC is known as the Emergent Curriculum, which is based on the knowledge and understanding of child development. Early Childhood Educators record observations of a child’s interests and activities and use them as the starting point for providing experiences in an environment that supports emerging skills and ongoing development of the whole child. A full scope of activities in all learning domains (social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive) is provided and developmental checklists and recorded observations are shared with parents in a combination of formal and informal communications throughout the child’s tenure in the program.
The ELC is a department of the University of Toronto, and its priority is to enroll children of University students, staff and faculty.
University of Toronto Childcare Centre on Charles
35 Charles Street West, Toronto, ON M4Y 1R6
Telephone: 416-415-2604
Effie Ntanou
Manager, Childcare Lab School
effie.ntanou@georgebrown.ca
Located within the University’s Student Family Housing, the Childcare Centre on Charles provides full -time and part-time care. This centre is operated by George Brown College and serves as a training Lab School for the students from the Early Childhood Education programs at the College. The childcare centre also supports research and curriculum development opportunities from both institutions. We believe that children require environments that respect who they are, and who they are becoming. Children learn best through play and our center offers a rich play-based curriculum that builds on their interests and emerging skills. Teachers work in partnership with families to create a warm and nurturing environment. As spaces become available they are offered to families in the following priority order:
- Children of U of T students living within the Student Family Residence on Charles Street.
- Children of U of T students (not living in SFH), staff and faculty.
- Children of George Brown College students, staff and faculty.
Please note: Given the current high demand for spaces from students in the first priority group, it is unlikely that those in priority groups 2 & 3 will be offered a space.
Ages: 6 Weeks – 4 Years
Hours: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Weekdays
Includes lunch. Special dietary needs can generally be accommodated.
Campus Community Cooperative Day Care Centre
370 Huron Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2G4
Telephone: 416-946-0875
campus.daycare@utoronto.ca
Campus Community Cooperative Day Care Centre provides stimulating and challenging programming in a warm and supportive community atmosphere that encourages diversity, inclusivity, cooperation, and transparency. Our staff creates and delivers high quality, child centered programming that inspires children and emphasizes communication, decision-making and free choice. The Centre is conveniently located a 5 minute walk from both Spadina and St George TTC stations on the University’s St George campus.
The Centre offers healthy vegetarian snacks and hot lunches prepared fresh by our on-site cook. Menus are planned with value placed on local and seasonal produce and offer a wide range of food experiences. The Centre is peanut/tree nut/sesame-free with no outside food allowed, and our cook is committed to partnering with families to accommodate food allergies.
Although not required, parents of the Centre are encouraged to be engaged in a way that suits their interest and schedule — by volunteering for one of the parent-staff committees that meet monthly to support the Centre’s operations or by helping out with a special project or event. Parent involvement creates a community of caring families that are supportive of one another, and we welcome you to join us!
Ages: 3 months – 5 years
Hours: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Weekdays
To apply for a daycare spot, please download, complete and return this application form. Priority is given to families affiliated with the University of Toronto.
University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC)
1255 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON M1C 1A3
Telephone: 416-287-7624
childcare@utsc.utoronto.ca
N’sheemaehn is a centre built with children in mind. Snuggled into a forest at the edge of a very beautiful campus, N’sheemaehn is fully staffed with Early Childhood Education teachers and governed by a Parent-University Board of Directors. A Board of Education curriculum is followed for all 4 to 5-year-old children during the school year. An on-site chef prepares nutritious hot lunches and snacks. The centre emphasizes self-control, positive behavior, independence, empathy, cooperation, self-esteem, and individuality.
Ages: New Born – 5 years
Hours: 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Weekdays
Capacity: 54 full-time
Includes Lunches, snacks, pureed food for infants and cloth diaper service.
Child Care (off campus) and Back up Child Care
Telephone: 1-866-MY KIDCO
Email: info@kidsandcompany.com
Various locations across the GTA, Canada and the US.
Ages: 3 months – 12 years (depends on location)
Kids & Company is a corporate child care service providing full-time, part-time and back-up child care for faculty, staff and graduate students.
For our graduate students, staff and faculty, this organization will guarantee full-time or flexible part-time care within six months of registration.
For a list of all locations, fees or to arrange a tour at one of their centres, please visit Kids & Company or call 1-866-MY KIDCO.
Back-up child care is available when your regular child care arrangements fall through. You can access this last-minute care for your children on a moment’s notice. Maybe your regular caregiver becomes ill, or there’s a school closure, or maybe you have to work on a scheduled day off. Whatever the case, this program is ready to fit your schedule with reliable, progressive child care for children up to 12 years old. Simply fill out the online Back-Up Day Booking form or call the centralized call centre at 1-866-MY-KIDCO and reserve a space. Each centre has a back-up capacity to care for a number of registered children with little or no notice. Availability of back-up care is on a first-come, first-served basis. But don’t worry, you’ll be offered the next closest Kids & Company centre if your first choice is full.
If you are a faculty, staff or a graduate student you may access back-up child care, and the cost is $80 a day for a total of 5 days. More days may be available at an additional cost, but you must contact Kids & Company for more information.
If you are an undergraduate student, or need to access a Family Care Office Emergency Back-up Child Care Pass, then please call our office at 416-978-0951.
Licensed Child Care Centres and Home Child Care Agencies in the City of Toronto
To locate licensed child care centres, you can use the City of Toronto’s Licensed Child Care Locator map. You can search for centres nearby your home or work address by entering it into the search bar, as well as specifying which age range you are looking for (infant, toddler, preschool, etc). You can also filter by centres who accept Child Care Fee Subsidy, which can assist you with the cost of licensed childcare.
Another option is to look into a licensed Home Child Care Agency, individual childcare providers offering childcare out of their homes. The listing includes whether they accept childcare fee subsidy, their ‘general service area’s’, and contact information.
Babysitter Listing
Our babysitter listing contains babysitters who are available to babysit in Toronto. The babysitters, who are University of Toronto students or the partner/spouse of a student, have a wide array of training and experience with children and child care. The Babysitter Listing has been created to assist staff, faculty, and student parents in finding casual child care.
To access a directory of available babysitters please email us with your U of T student or staff number. Once we verify your status with the University, we will send you a password. If you are not getting feedback from some of the students, please let us know so that we can follow up with them accordingly.
Educational Resources
For all ages
- The Ontario Learn at Home portal offers a number of resources for elementary and secondary students to practice math and literacy skills. The portal also offers guides for parents who may be struggling to teach these subjects to their children at home.
- Google has partnered with many educational creators to bring families resources and activities on a variety of subjects for kids through their Google Learn at Home program.
- If your kids are missing their art classes, they could spend an hour or so exploring a number of art galleries that have been made available online. More than 2,500 museums around the world have made their collections accessible through Google Arts and Culture.
- You can also continue to support your local library by borrowing books from the Toronto Public Library’s online drive.
For preschoolers and kindergarteners
- The But Why? Podcast from Vermont Public Radio is an educational and interactive show that answers questions about nature, science, and the world submitted by its young listeners in an engaging way.
- Sparkle Stories offers a great collection of original audio stories that make for an easy listening experience for both parents and kids.
- If your kids get tired of hearing your voice reading them stories, check out the Story Time from Space program, which sends children’s books to the International Space Station (ISS) to be read on video by astronauts as they orbit Earth.
- Teach Your Monster To Read is a free program that helps kids develop a love of reading through mini-games that focus on phonics and words, getting progressively more challenging the more you play. It’s available as a website and as well as an app.
- Kids and Company has created an online family resource centre to support families in keeping their small ones occupied and learning, along with parenting resources for adults. You’ll find a variety of curriculum activities, virtual events, reading resources, webinars, and more!
For elementary and middle schoolers
- The maker of TED Talks is now providing educational videos — or “Ted-Ed” videos — ranging from topics on Literature and Language, history, MAthematics, Science, and Technology.
- NoRedInk is a free online writing curriculum with a paid premium option that provides writing and grammar lessons for middle schoolers and above.
- Khan Academy offers free, online learning videos in a variety of subjects, and is especially known for its math programming. Parents can track their kid’s progress and identify strengths and weaknesses through daily learning schedules. There are videos available for children aged 2-18. Khan academy has also created guides designed to help parents and teachers get through the COVID-19 crisis.
- IXL features thousands of exercises designed to help young students (K-8) practice math, including practice questions, step-by-step explanations, engaging awards and certificates, easy-to-read progress reports, and more.
- Codecademy gives students the ability to take free computer science lessons online, offering lessons on everything from HTML basics to Python.
- Hour of Code, where you can find one-hour coding tutorials for kids of all ages with themes such as Star Wars, Minecraft, and Frozen.
- The Royal Institution’s ExpeRimental series of instructional videos that showcase fun and affordable science experiments that can be performed at home
- Zooniverse, which allows people of all ages to participate in real scientific research online, from categorizing galaxies to counting Arctic penguins
- Climate Classroom focuses on creating age-appropriate curriculums and projects that educate youth about the causes and remedies for global warming. This resource includes lesson plans for middle and high schoolers.
- For older kids, CBC Kids News is a great way to keep kids engaged as well as teach them about what’s going on in the world in a safe and trustworthy environment. For instance, they have a great series of short, informative, and accessible videos explaining the importance of social distancing and flattening the curve in the wake of COVID-19. Not only is this educational, but it can be comforting for children to understand why the precautions we are taking are necessary.
For High Schoolers (and beyond!)
- The Crash Course web series, hosted by authors John and Hank Green, provides bite-sized lessons on subjects in philosophy, economics, politics, psychology, literature, world history, computer science, physics, biology, chemistry, ecology, and more!
- Against All Odds: Inside Statistics shows students the relevance of statistics in real-world settings through an engaging video series targeted towards high school and university students.
- MIT is producing a series of short videos that teach basic concepts in science and engineering for K-12 students. These videos are generally produced by MIT students, and can be sorted by topic and grade level.
- If you’re on the hunt for a Shakespeare play, MIT offers the Web’s first edition of the complete works of William Shakespeare. You can also read all of Shakespeare’s plays for free online, courtesy of Project Gutenberg.