Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre Facility Tour

Yesterday I was very pleased to attend a briefing and facility tour of the Ottawa Inuit Childrens Centre (OICC). OICC programing plays a signifigant role within the Ottawa Inuit community and their work is greatly appreciated.

Playing the accordion with children at the launch of the ITK "Have Fun, Play Safe" colouring/activity book held at the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre May 12, 2010

After the briefing and a tour I had the opportunity to play with many of the children who attend the daycare and preschool programs at the centre, and to play a few tunes for them on my accordian. I played some songs for them and the children were very eager to have a try at playing the accordian. I'm pretty sure there are a couple of budding accordian players in the group.

Mary Simon at the launch of the ITK "Have Fun, Play Safe" colouring/activity book held at the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre

It was a warm sunny day so we soon moved outside where the children sang songs in the inuit language and showcased their developing throat singing skills

I also gave each of the children copies of the ITK "Have Fun, Play Safe" colouring book and did a little colouring with them.

It is such a joy to see children learning, singing, and playing in our language and I applaud the work that OICC is doing to promote this.

Spending this precious time with these children makes me realize how vital our work is at the National Committee on Inuit Education, as this is the generation that will benefit most from our work.