Licensed child care centres in Niagara received unique infant and toddler materials and complimentary training thanks to a generous contribution of more than $20,000 from the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara. The infant and toddler materials are called "treasure baskets" and they provide sensory-rich play experiences for pre-verbal children and support the development of play schemas.

Feedback from Project Participants:

"We loved the treasure basket workshop. Thank you for hosting! The students have loved finding, discovering, and exploring with every item! This has definitely spurred on having baskets in the block centre and now outside! Thank you again for having us."

"The treasure baskets are wonderful! I look forward to bringing it into the centre for the educators to use in the classroom. Also sharing information with educators to create heuristic bags for the preschool children. From the list provided, we will encourage the children parents to donate some items."

"Received great ideas for our classroom and how to expand learning for toddlers."


The ECCDC extends its gratitude to the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara for contributing funds and volunteer hours and to Louise Kool and Galt for offering extensive supplier discounts towards the purchase of kit materials.