THUNDER BAY – A daycare with a focus on Indigenous culture and teachings has opened at McKellar Place.
John Dixon, director of mental health and addictions at Dilco Anishnabek Family Care, on Wednesday said the Abiinojiishiik-amino-yawook EarlyOn Centre said the idea behind the facility was to create a safe space for families to play, connect with each other and make new friends.
“I think it’s important to have these kinds of centres to make sure that children are meeting their intellectual milestones, that they have a place to go where they feel a part of, where they feel welcome,” Dixon said.
“I think that was the goal of the place. I think making sure that people are connected to their culture is important. We’re bringing in elders and we’re bringing in resource people to re-teach some of those customs that were lost over time.”
Not having that connection to one’s culture is detrimental to development, Dixon added.
“I think we can see the impact of that generally in society. It’s one of those things that if you don’t have connection to your culture, you don’t know who you are, you don’t know where you belong and you don’t know what your purpose is,” he said.
“Bringing kids in and connecting them back to those cultural teachings is intrinsic to their development.”
The site, a partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board, is open to children from infancy to six years old five days a week, with a focus on learning that’s safe, relevant, reciprocal and respectful.
Erica Shebobman, a registered early childhood educator, said they’ve developed a friendly space where kids can play and families can relax.
“It’s a great place for parents to come socialize with us and other parents,” she said.
The programming has been tailored to suit the needs of today’s caregivers,” Shebobman added.
“We do Healthy Me, Mommy, Daddy and Me, Morning Munchies and Circle Time,” she said, the latter a chance to do storytelling, reading books and singing songs, which helps with language development.
For more information about the centre, which has been open for about a month, contact Dilico.
