Children's Cottage Society

Great News! We've adjusted the starting date of our Nurturing Newborns Perinatal Support Group, giving parents more time to register! Share this with any expecting parents you know, as well as parents with littles up to 12 months of age!

This support group, offered by our Family Resource Centre, helps expecting and new parents understand and navigate the transition to parenthood by providing a supportive space to strengthen mental wellness, build community, and grow confident in caring for both baby and parent.

Over the course of eight weeks, participants will learn and discuss a variety of topics related to family wellness, mental health, child and parent development, and social support and resources to stay connected.

Bring your baby and your questions! The first session starts September 26th!

Siblings are welcome to join; childcare will be provided for older children.

For expecting parents and parents of children up to one year of age.
Register at: https://childrenscottage.ab.ca/.../nurturing-newborns.../
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🏠💛 The RONA EN Foundation’s Home Sweet Home campaign continues, and we’re so grateful for the support of three Calgary RONA locations:

💛 RONA Calgary (Forest Lawn)
💛 RONA+ Calgary McKenzie
💛 RONA+ Calgary Signal Hill

All three stores have selected the Children’s Cottage Society as their local charity partner, giving customers the opportunity to support local children and families through the campaign until October 12.

Today, we’re shining the spotlight on RONA+ Calgary McKenzie and saying a special thank you to their team for choosing the Children’s Cottage Society.

If McKenzie is your neighbourhood RONA+, look for the Home Sweet Home campaign during your next visit. Every contribution helps us continue to be there for families when support is needed.

Thank you, RONA+ Calgary McKenzie, for supporting children and families in our community. 💛

In August, members of The Children’s Cottage community gathered on Stoney Nakoda Nation in Mînî Thnî for a day of medicine harvesting, connection, and learning.

With guidance from Elders Jackie Rider and Terry Daniels, and support from our Board member Amanda Goodstoney, participants harvested sage to be used for smudging at The Cottage throughout the coming year.

Experiences like this are an important part of our ongoing ReconciliACTION, creating opportunities to learn directly from Indigenous Elders and community members, deepen relationships, and better understand the medicines and cultural practices shared with us.

We are grateful to our hosts and everyone who shared their time, knowledge, and teachings with us.

Playdough is more than just play. It’s a sensory activity that builds creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative thinking. 🙌

Want to make your own at home? It’s easier than you think!

✨No-Cook Homemade Playdough Recipe:

2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
1 tbsp oil
1 cup cold water
A few drops of food colouring (optional)

Mix the flour and salt, then add the cold water, oil, and food colouring. Knead for a few minutes until it feels like playdough.

Too wet? Add a little more flour. Too dry? Add a few drops of cold water.

Then it’s time to squish, roll, shape, and create! 🎨

Building strong children and safe, nurturing families begins with truth and grows through reconciliation.

At Children’s Cottage, conversations about Truth and Reconciliation are not limited to a single day or month.

They are part of our values, our commitments, and the way we walk alongside children, families, staff, volunteers, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers throughout the year.

Our Commitment to ReconciliACTION asks us to keep listening, learning, building meaningful relationships, and finding ways to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into the spaces and supports we provide.

We know reconciliation is ongoing work. By creating opportunities for reflection, cultural connection, learning, and action, we continue taking meaningful steps toward a future where Indigenous children and families feel safe, seen, supported, and connected to culture.

💛 We invite you to learn more about our Commitment to ReconciliACTION:
https://childrenscottage.ab.ca/commitment-to-reconciliaction/

👵❤️👴 Happy National Grandparents Day

Today, we celebrate the vital role grandparents and great-grandparents play in the lives of children and families.

At Children’s Cottage, we work with a diverse range of families, and often that includes grandparents. Sometimes they are part of a loving support network, and sometimes they step in as primary caregivers when their family needs them most.

Through our programs and services, families receive support with everything from speech and language development to creating routines, building resilience, and preparing children for school.

Today, we honour the strength, sacrifice, wisdom, and love of grandparents.

👩‍🍳👨‍🍳 It’s Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day!

Today we’re celebrating the joy, learning, and tiny bit of chaos that comes with inviting kids into the kitchen, like these delicious chocolate chip pancakes made by young chefs in one of our Family Resource Centre programs. 🥞💛

Whether children are stirring batter, measuring ingredients, sprinkling toppings, or proudly taste-testing their creations, cooking can be a wonderful way to connect.

Getting children involved in meal prep helps build confidence, encourage healthy habits, practice math and reading skills, and teach responsibility in a fun, hands-on way.

Here’s to little chefs, family favourites, and making memories together, even if there’s a little flour on the floor.

Magic Carpet Ride with CanLearn Society (Ages 3-5) – Morning and Afternoon Sessions

This free family literacy program is for 3-5 year olds and their parents or caregivers. Families learn to use everyday activities to build a love literacy and learning.

📆 Date: Thursdays, September 17 – June 3, 2027
⏰ Time: 10:00am – 12:00 pm (morning program) and 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (afternoon program)

As long as space remains open in the program, you can join anytime.

💻 Register at https://canlearnsociety.ca/magic-carpet-ride/

Caring Dads with Families Matter

This program is designed for those who identify as fathers whom harmful behaviours may be damaging the relationship with their children and/or co-parent.

Fathers will reflect on their parenting, understand the impact of their actions and develop strategies towards self-regulation, accountability and safety and well-being for their children.

Fathers participating in the program will learn strategies to cope with frustrations, develop realistic expectations and change their perspective to better understand, and meet the needs of their children. Caring Dads means safer children.

📆 August 30 – December 13, 2026
⏰ Sundays, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
📍 1804 Home Road NW

✨To secure a spot for this free program, call Mike at 403-589-0559 to complete a required intake.