Inspiring neighbourhoods - Day 2 - My Community Spirit

Trivia Question: Which of these is not a neighbourhood in Calgary: Bowness, Applewood, or Okotoks.

Mindfulness Activity:

• Put your palms together at chest height.
• Push your hands against each other as hard as you can.
• Which muscle gets tired first?

Supplies:

• Balloons

Have your child invite a neighbour to play. Remember to stay at least 2 metres (or 6 feet) apart.

Blow up one balloon each. When you say go, you must keep your own balloon in the air without letting it touch the ground. Whoever drops their balloon last wins.

If you’re playing with older children you can use multiple balloons at once to increase the challenge. You can also create rules like only using one hand or only using your feet.

Supplies:

• Blank paper
• Pencil
• T-shirts
• Permanent markers
• Fabric paint

Have your child draw a logo that represents your community on paper. Help your child decorate the t-shirts with the community logo you designed.

Drop off the t-shirts at your neighbours’ houses. Plan a time when you’ll all get to wear the spirit t-shirts together to represent your community.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Paint
• Markers
• Crayon
• Mod podge
• Hole punch
• String
• Sidewalk chalk

Have your child paint or draw 3-5 pictures that represent your neighborhood spirit. Once dry, use mod podge to seal your art.

Hole punch the corners and thread a piece of string through to use for hanging. Help your child hang their art work on your fence. Advertise your picture gallery with side walk chalk.

Ask your child:

• When you think about your community spirit, how does it make you feel? (Feel)
• Do you think that community spirit is important to feel included in your neighborhood? (Think)
• If someone is new to your community, how can you welcome them? (Act)

Answer: Okotoks

Trivia Question: What neighbourhood is the Calgary Zoo in?

Mindfulness Activity:

• Sit so you are comfortable.
• Close your eyes or keep them open.
• Notice how it feels when you say these sentences to yourself: I am safe. I have everything that I need. I am surrounded by people who love me.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil

Watch the Community Spirit video

Have your child make a list of people in your neighbourhood they can interview by phone or with safe physical distancing. You can think of people who have lived in the neighbourhood for a long time or people who are new to the neighbourhood.

Contact each person on your list and ask if they are willing to do an interview about community spirit. If possible, try to record your interviews. The goal of this interview is to understand what community spirit means and what actions you can take to promote community.

These are some of the questions you can ask, but feel free to add your own questions:

• What does community spirit mean to you?
• Tell me about a time or event when you felt the community spirit?
• What can we do to promote community spirit in our neighbourhood?

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil

Inspiring neighbourhoods are inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Each of us are unique and have different needs. Some of us can go anywhere we wish within our communities. But for some people, there are many places they cannot visit and enjoy. Perhaps they cannot hear well enough to enjoy a concert in the park or they can't get their wheelchair up the steps of the community library to borrow books.

Have your child think about the needs of people who have disabilities. How can your community be made friendlier and safer for all of them? Think about the following topics:

• Transportation
• Street safety
• Housing
• Entertainment
• Restaurants
• Education
• Parks

Think of a way you can create awareness and promote change. These are some ideas:

• Write a letter to the Mayor and Council
• Make a poster
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
• Write a speech

Supplies:

• Sidewalk chalk
• Paper
• Pencil

Have your child write short positive, encouraging and inspiring messages on paper first. Then go around your neighbourhood and write these messages on the sidewalks where you and your neighbours walk.

You can take pictures and send these inspiring messages to people you know outside your community.

Ask your child:

• How do positive things in your community make you feel? (Feel)
• Why do you think community work is important? (Think)
• What can you do in the future to build community spirit? (Act)

Answer: Bridgeland

Trivia Question: What neighbourhood is Edworthy Park in?
A. Spruce Cliff
B. Wildwood
C. Westgate

Mindfulness Activity:

• Notice how your belly feels.
• Breathe fast for 10 seconds.
• How do you feel? Better? Worse? The same?

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil

An acrostic poem is a poem where certain letters in each line spell out a word or phrase. Typically, the first letters of each line are used to spell the message, but they can appear anywhere.

Write the name of your neighbourhood vertically. Use each of the letters to write sentences that show community spirit.

Post your poem in your window to show others that walk by. Here is an example of a neighbourhood acrostic poem:

Dover
Diversity
Open hearts
Views of downtown
Engaged
Relaxed

Supplies:

• Paper/Notebook
• Pencil
• Markers

Celebrate your community spirit by collecting stories, photos, clippings, drawings and quotes from friends and neighbours.

Create a scrapbook that captures your community’s spirit. Use the stories, photos, clippings, drawings and quotes you collected.

Add new stories and clippings every week to update your scrapbook. It will be a souvenir to keep and reflect on a year from now.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Markers, pencil crayons or crayons

A community spirit award recognizes individuals who have made a contribution to the community.

Think of three people you know who have made a difference in the community. These people could be family, friends, community members, first responders, grocery store staff, etc.

Create a Community Spirit Award and fill in the name of the recipient. Add some pictures and colour to the award certificate.

Give your award to the recipient to thank them for the work they are doing in your community.

• How does it feel to have community spirit? (Feel)
• Why is it important to recognize people in our community? (Think)
• What are ways you can show community spirit in your community? (Act)

Answer: B. Wildwood.