About Us

This website has been developed to increase your awareness of and capacity to promote and encourage physical activity for young children.

Physical activity is an important part of a child’s development and the early years are the best time for children to develop movement skills and physical literacy. This will help them grow, be healthy and enjoy physical activity throughout their life.

Have a Ball Together! is intended for anyone involved in caring for children up to 6 years old. This includes:

• Parents, guardians and grandparents
• Childcare providers
• Early childhood educators
• Kindergarten teachers
• Recreation leaders and coaches
• Volunteers in different settings

Have a Ball Together! gives you tools and resources to get children active through games, activities, learning, and play. These include:

• Important information about physical activity, physical literacy, and child development.
• Easy-to-use tips to promote and encourage physical activity.
• Fun games and activities to play with children.
• Links to websites with additional information on physical activity and child development.

Enjoy your visit!

The Best Start Resource Centre: Ontario’s Maternal Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre is a key program of Health Nexus, a bilingual health promotion organization that works with diverse partners to build healthy, equitable and thriving communities.

The Best Start Resource Centre supports Ontario service providers in addressing preconception, prenatal and child health through training, consultation, listservs, ebulletins, web-based information, client/provider resources, information supports, research, as well as periodic provincial awareness campaigns.

This website has been prepared with funds provided by the Lawson Foundation. The resources and programs cited throughout this website are not necessarily endorsed by the Best Start Resource Centre or The Lawson Foundation. The information in this website does not replace medical advice from a health care provider.

The Best Start Resource Centre wishes to acknowledge the contribution of the many individuals and organizations who participated in the development of this website. In particular, Best Start would like to thank the following Advisory Committee members:

• Cynthia Arcato, Toronto District School Board
• David Arsenault, ACC Sports
• France Brunet, Eastern Ontario Health Unit
• Michelle Cundari, North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit
• Mary Jane Gordon, Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health
• Paola Hohenadel, Guelph Wellington Quality Child Care Initiative
• Iris Liu, George Brown College – School of Early Childhood
• Karen Lukic, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit
• Alexis McDonell, Toronto District School Board
• Drew Mitchell, Sport for Life Society
• Sylvie Prevost, Ophea
• Brian Timmons, McMaster University
• Trish Tucker, Western University

Every effort has been made to trace the owners of the copyrighted materials and to make due acknowledgement. If situations are identified where this has not been achieved, please notify Best Start Resource Centre so appropriate corrective action can be taken.