TOYBOX on Community Building Day at UW!

September 26, 2026

TOYBOX friends were excited to meet UW students on Saturday morning, September 26! About 100 students from different faculties were invited, including Education, Psychology, Developmental Studies, and more. Each student received an “event passport” to note what they learned throughout the day, plus a free T-shirt for the group photo! Lots of interesting and meaningful sessions filled the day, starting with opening remarks from Dr. Dunnington, who shared a message about respecting children’s interests and their sense of wonder by connecting our values, beliefs, and actions.

We also had special guests from Thompson who made our event opening even more remarkable by sharing their stories of children and communities in Northern Manitoba. They shared how children’s curiosities are met through connections with nature, including water, rocks, trees, and skies filled with Northern lights. Their stories taught us how every child needs relationships with family, community, and nature to learn, play, and grow, which aligns with TOYBOX’s hope of “Learn Together, Play Together!”.

After the opening of the event, students were divided into three groups and joined Wooden Camera Craft, Special Topic, or In-Class Meeting sessions:

Camera Workshop:

Students went to the Community Room downstairs in Graham Hall to meet our special woodwork mentor, Quinn Nikulak! Each student made their own wooden camera using different tools and their sensory-motor skills. Every camera was different; yet those differences brought out the diversity and uniqueness of each student’s creation. We would like to send a special thank you to Quinn from Kustom Kitties Canada, who travelled from Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, to allow all of us to create these meaningful memories.

The camera reminded me how I, as a future educator, need to consider the diverse viewpoints that children carry. I accidentally put my camera button on the left-hand side even though I am right-handed, but my mistake made my camera more meaningful because it reminded me of considering minority perspectives, rather than assuming that the majority perspective represents everyone.

-YS.

TOYBOX with Dr. Skwarchuk:

TOYBOX was introduced during one of the Special Topic Sessions to meet many future educators in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Students who are educators, parents, or caregivers were reminded about the importance of bringing playful literacy, numeracy, and wellness activities into children’s daily lives! The Director of TOYBOX Manitoba, Dr. Sheri-Lynn Skwarchuk, handed out TOYBOX nature-based learning activity cards to demonstrate how learning can happen in fun and engaging ways for children, along with TOYBOX characters (Litty, Nume, and Welly) as children’s friends throughout their learning journey.

All students had a chance to meet their online classmates in person! This brought another TOYBOX hope to life: communities can become stronger when people come together with a common goal of supporting children’s growth and brightening their future. We thank everyone who came together to make Community Building Day meaningful. We are looking forward to seeing you again in Winter 2027!

Written by Yeong

Edited by Wynonna