EarlyON

EarlyON CHILD AND FAMILY CENTRE

At our main location (240 Centrum Blvd.), attendance numbers will be distributed 10 minutes prior to the start of playgroup. To help ensure your child’s comfort and well-being, we recommend arriving right at the scheduled start time to avoid a long wait.

EarlyON Child and Family Centres offer free, high-quality programs for families and children from birth to 6 years old. You can learn and play with your child, meet people and get advice from early childhood professionals.

EarlyON Centres are open to all families in Ontario. They’re welcoming places that offer a range of services and resources, where you can:

  • Join fun activities such as reading, storytelling, sing-alongs and games

  • Get advice from professionals trained in early childhood development

  • Find out about other family services in your community

  • Connect with other families with young children

Please note that the morning playgroups at our main Centre operate on a first-come, first-served basis, with a maximum of 35 participants.

DID YOU KNOW?

The EarlyON Centre provides a free Toy Lending Library service. Resources available for lending include toys, games, and puzzles for children under 6. We have a large variety of toys for all interests! For more information, please call or email a Family Resource Worker at 613-830-4357 / earlyonyva@crcoc.ca.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS & CALENDAR

The EarlyON Centre will be closed for all playgroups on November 26th, 27th & 28th for staff training.

Dear families and caregivers,

We would like to acknowledge the recent closures of two EarlyON sites in the East End of Orléans. Since there will be fewer options in the area, we are anticipating an increase in demand.  With this in mind, we will be making several programming adjustments in December to better support and accommodate families during this challenging time.

On Monday mornings, we will now offer a Bilingual Playgroup. We will also be increasing the capacity of our afternoon Baby & Me Playgroup from 16 to 20 families.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we will offer two back-to-back Bilingual Playgroups. The times will be from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, we will also be adding Bilingual Playgroups. Unfortunately, this means we have made the difficult decision to temporarily put on hold our Friday morning Sensory-Friendly Playgroups.

When the playgroup is full, we will put up a sign in the window near the front door and share a message on our Facebook page. 

At our main location (240 Centrum Blvd.), we ask that you attend a maximum of two times per week. On days when we offer more than one Playgroup, please only choose  one Playgroup to helps us ensure that we can welcome as many families as possible.

Attendance numbers will be distributed 10 minutes before each Playgroup begins. To help ensure your child’s comfort and well-being, we strongly recommend arriving at the scheduled start time to avoid extended wait times. To stay up to date on any future changes or announcements in the new year, please make sure to follow us on our social media channels

*Please note, no groups will be offered in Cumberland when school buses are cancelled.

We will be closed on Saturday, December 6th, for our Centre’s Food Bank Annual Firefighters’ Food Drive. We will also be closing as of December 24th 2025 and will resume programming on January 5th 2026. 

See you soon!

- Dominik, Zoée, Mira & Gabrielle

FRIENDLY REMINDERS!

We ask you not to participate if you or your child has any flu/cold/gastro symptoms.

When the EarlyON playgroup is full, we will:

  • Have a sign in the window beside the front door.

  • Post a message on our Facebook page.

Our morning playgroups at our main location have a maximum capacity of 35 people.

Online Registration is ONLY required for Special Activities and Virtual Programming

First Words is the Preschool Speech and Language Program of Ottawa and Renfrew County. We support families of preschool children of Ottawa and Renfrew County to reach their optimal communication development by providing free speech and language services. Our goal is to facilitate increased awareness, prevention, early identification, and intervention for early speech, language, and overall communication development in young children of Ottawa and Renfrew County.

PARENTING IN OTTAWA / BABY WEIGH-IN

During Parenting in Ottawa Drop-ins, parents can weigh their baby and speak, in person, with a Public Health Nurse :

  • Parenting

  • Get support for infant feeding

  • Learn ways to help your child eat healthy and be active

  • Make sure your child is on track with their growth and development

  • Ask about your child’s social and emotional development

The program is available to:

  • Expectant parents, parents and guardians of children aged birth to four years of age.

No appointment is necessary, first come first serve.

CONTACT US!

Dominik Lavictoire

613 830-4357 ext. 303

Gabrielle Caron

613 830-4357 ext. 302

Zoée Perrault

613 830-4357 ext. 304