Children for a Better Future
  • Welcome
  • Community Education
    • Family Programs >
      • Foundations for Harmonious Families
    • Outreach Programs >
      • Kindness & Anti Bullying
      • Reconnecting
      • Whole Foods
    • Upcoming Programs >
      • Art from the Heart
      • Friends Outside of my Computer
  • About Us
    • Big Kids in Action - The Team
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Resources
  • Registration
    • UkeNPlay
    • Imagination Playspace
  • Contact
  • Welcome
  • Community Education
    • Family Programs >
      • Foundations for Harmonious Families
    • Outreach Programs >
      • Kindness & Anti Bullying
      • Reconnecting
      • Whole Foods
    • Upcoming Programs >
      • Art from the Heart
      • Friends Outside of my Computer
  • About Us
    • Big Kids in Action - The Team
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Resources
  • Registration
    • UkeNPlay
    • Imagination Playspace
  • Contact
Our Philosophy
We aim to NOURISH FUTURE GENERATIONS by giving them the tools to become LEADERS, CREATIVE and  INNOVATIVE THINKERS and to develop into STRONG, CONFIDENT, AWARE, SUPPORTIVE and COMPASSIONATE human beings. 

We bring 
principles of 
TEAMWORK, COOPERATION, EMPATHY, CREATIVITY and SELF EXPRESSION

Our programs aim to support children and parents to live a balanced life with technology. We make a special effort not to include computer time or video games in our programs.
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Eco-mindfulness - We guide children how to be aware and conscious of themselves, and their connection to nature and the world.  This means helping them connect to their free, intuitive self.
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Creativity - We work to nurture and expand children’s innate creativity. We do so by exposing them to a multitude of varied experiences and doing our best to constantly challenge their paradigms and help them see things in a different way. This also translates to problem-solving, flexibility and innovation in our changing world.

Friendship & Community Mindset – We believe the child needs to see the classroom as their own community of people who care for one another. We work together to create a space that develops their interpersonal skills, where the children feel safe to open their hearts and learn how to create healthy friendships, defeating the role model we constantly see on TV.

Emotional Intelligence – We guide the children to develop an internalized and intuitive understanding of their emotions and other people’s emotions as well as ways to cope with emotional challenges. Research shows that Social Emotional Learning (SEL), not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but also increases pro-social behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students (Durlak et al., 2011).

Patience and Listening Skills – We work on developing their ability in truly listening to their parents and to others around them. Dealing with frustration through patience, listening and careful guidance and support will help the children and people around them in their life and will foster the idea to not give up so quickly.

Children as Family Partners – According to our research and professional experience with children and families, the healthiest families are the ones in which the children take an active part in taking responsibilities that support the family and the home. Our goal is to work together as a team with the parents so that the children contribute on a consistent basis to their surroundings, (i.e, helping with house cleaning, or their siblings, etc). In our practice, we have seen that children who are educated in this way are often much more aware for the needs of others, able to help by contributing their ideas and enthusiasm in other environments, and develop a stronger sense of compassion and empathy. All around, we’ve seen that they are happier children.

Leadership Skills – We prepare children for practical life by getting them to work on the daily challenges of life, big or small. We guide them to be original, using different forms of art, music, and physical activity. Our goal is to open their minds to different ways of thinking and learning. We don’t only teach kids how to count, but what counts most. One of the most important things in being a leader in their surrounding is knowing how to be a good friend.

Cooperative Environment- world renowned educator, speaker and writer Alphie Kohn explains in his book No Contest: The Case Against Competition that according to research and major social experiments, cooperation helps build self-esteem, helps kids learn to communicate and builds trust. In his words, “when children compete, they are less able to take the perspective of others — that is, to see the world from someone else’s point of view. One study demonstrated conclusively that competitive children were less empathetic than others; another study showed that competitive children were less generous.”

Peaceful Co-existance and alternatives to violence are a main direction in our center. We promote a space in which everybody wins, everyone is empowered, everyone has a space to make mistakes and learn from them, everyone respects each other and everyone has the right and the tools to develop in harmony with each other.

Balanced Use of Technology – A new study led by Dr. Catherine Birken, MD, MSc, FRCPC, which was presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, found that children who spent more time with hand-held screens were more likely to exhibit a delay in expressive speech. There are a number of studies that show that overuse of screen time is associated with depression, loss of creativity and a major loss of social and emotional skills in children. Our programs aim to support children and parents to live a balanced life with technology.

Parent Involvement – This is a key aspect of our programs. We want and need the parents to be an active part in the education of their children, inside and outside of our programs. We require 3 hours per month of parent participation in our center’s programs, activities or other help to be able to work as a team with you on the education of your children.  An important aspect of this is that we will have a more united approach to the child’s education, which can be enhanced as a result of this involvement. When a child experiences two very different approaches to life between our center and their home, this can create confusion in the child’s mind. For example, when a child in the program is engaged in our cooperative space and then comes home to a very competitive atmosphere, they may feel unsure or confused.

“It takes a village to raise a child”. Let’s make sure that we have that village for generations to come.​



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