How To Get Your Kids To Talk About Their Day

All parents know that at the end of the day the last thing their children want to do is talk about their day at school. However, it’s important for parents to know what their kids are doing at school and how they feel about school. It’s also important for kids to talk about their day and share their feelings. These tips can help you get your kids to open up about their school day.

• Avoid asking “How was school today?”— If you want to start a conversation, quit asking this boring and expected question. Ask more specific questions, such as “Who did you sit with at lunch today?” These types of questions will help your children focus on one aspect of their day, rather than their day as a whole.

• Use Artwork or School work as Conversation Starters— When kids bring home their masterpieces from art class or a completed assignment, take the time to look them over and make observations about them to your child. Simple comments or questions will encourage your child to share more details with you.

• Talk About Your Day— Do you want to hear what your child’s favourite part of his or her day was? Start by talking about your day and modeling what you want to hear. After hearing your stories, your child will better be able to relate to you and share a similar story.

• Stop to Actually Listen— It’s important to actually put everything else aside to listen to your child without any distractions. Stop cleaning the dishes and sit down with your child to have a real one-on-one conversation. This time will show your children that what they are saying is important to you. When you’re not distracted, you will also be more aware of your children’s feelings and how they really feel about school, giving you the chance to extend the conversation and dialogue.

• Stay In-the-Know— Read the school newsletters and everything else your children bring home from school. Stay updated on what’s going on in their daily lives and what’s on their schedules. Being involved will help you better understand your child’s life and therefore help you stay connected to your child.

Each child is different and will respond in different ways. Learn what helps your children open up and what causes them to shut down. When does your child talk the most about his or her day, and how do you fuel the conversation?

*This is a guest post by the Sylvan Learning Centre in Mississauga.  Visit the website for the list of Mississauga North and South locations and for more information on a customized tutoring program to help your child.  For more great articles on parenting and education, make sure to visit the Sylvan Mom Minded Blog.

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Tales for Tots A Bookclub for Kids

The November Tales for Tots program at momstown Mississauga featured Swamp Water a fantastic new book by Robert Munsch. Sponsored by Scholastic Canada this monthly reading program shares a new book each month with our toddlers along with a related craft. 

Victoria is celebrating her birthday with her grandmother at a very fancy restaurant. She can't figure out what to eat as all her favourite items are not on the menu - even Swamp Water! Did you drink silly concoctions like this as a child? 

Sometimes our friends don't always want to sit for a story - so this mama got her son to listen to the book after the storytime was over by bringing the book to him! They were our winners this month too so will be able to enjoy this great story over and over at home!  

After a craft and a some free play time running on the indoor soccer fields at Canlan Sportsplex the kids were ready to go home for lunch! We meet monthly for Tales for Tots - please consider joining us next time! 

Little Scientists Mix up Colours in Preschool Science Program

Little Scientists, one of the monthly programs with momstown Mississauga, is a fun and interactive way to get your child interested in science!  The program is hosted monthly at Whole Foods Square One in their community kitchen.
Each month we perform simple, toddler-friendly experiments that showcase science principles in age appropriate experiments.  Most recently, our little ones had a chance to learn about colours, and learned the principals about making colours through experiments with primary colours!  

First, the kids were asked about their favourite colours, and then they listed as many colours as they could think of.  Using our primary colours, yellow, blue and red, we tried to make as many new colours as possible.

The kids each had 2 cups of water, and with their mama’s help, they took turns stirring food colouring into each cup.  They then guessed what colour they thought they would make if they mixed the 2 colours together.  They had a lot of fun pouring one colour into the other and discovering the new colour that they made!  Red and yellow made orange, blue and yellow made green, and red and blue made purple.  Purple seemed to be the favourite of the day!

The kids then were able to each document their findings by colouring in a sheet to show the results of each combination.  Our Little Scientists program is not only fun for little ones, but it helps stimulate their senses and exercise their thinking skills.

Just one of the many programs we run monthly at momstown Mississauga and is included in your yearly family membership fee of $45!  We hope to see you next time! 

Mom's Bookclub in November was Sponsored by Scholastic

momstown Mississauga's mama bookclub this month was sponsored by Scholastic Canada. Our group was given 6 books to pick from from Scholastic's Young Adult Fiction section. 

The clear choice from our mamas was Inhuman by Kat Falls. The story is post-apocalyptic tale of a human engineered bio-tech advancement gone wrong. The story was fast moving with lots of twists and turns to keep readers engaged and guessing until the end. 

Reading YA seems to be a popular choice for many in our group as the story is fast moving and easy to read.  

One thing our bookclub has discussed is that it is not always easy to read the books you want to read once you become a parent. Life gets so busy it's hard to fit everything in. Trying new genres such as these Young Adult books has proven to be a surprisingly successful match for many of our mamas. 

Here are a couple of quotes from our message board. 

I loved the book! I've been finding it hard to read in general lately (I fall asleep far too easily!) but I could NOT put this book down.  I never thought I'd enjoy the YA genre, but it's proven to keep me interested.  I really enjoyed the storyline. It was not like anything I'd ever read before.  I found the story easy to follow, but it wasn't too predictable.  The cliffhanger at the end definitely makes me excited for the next one!

It was good - very creative and interesting storyline. 

I loved the idea that the young girl goes on an adventure to save her father and finds the truth of her childhood revealed through the fairy tales her father had told her as bedtime stories. 

Our moms meet monthly for a bookclub with no pressure. Join us next time we are on hiatus over the holidays but will resume in the winter. The cost for momstown is only $45 for the year  and includes a ton of great Mom-only events such as our bookclub. 

Pirates and Princesses: Pretend Play for Preschoolers

Each month momstown Mississauga embraces a new theme, and to celebrate this month’s theme, we threw a Princess and Pirate Party at Taima Zone!  Our moms and kids each brought a peanut-free snack to share and gathered together for some fun free play, Princess and Pirate themed crafts and games and socialization.  

Taima Zone is always a popular spot for our members.  The kids love the open space to run around, the variety of ride-on toys, and the large climbing structure.  During craft time, the girls gravitated towards the Princess Tiara craft, made from pipe cleaners and stickers, while the boys busied themselves making pirate treasure maps.  

The crafts were not only fun for the kids, but they also helped work on their fine motor skills by peeling the stickers, cutting paper and twisting pipe cleaners.  The girls’ tiaras were fit for royalty, while the boys’ treasure maps were destined for adventure!  In keeping with the theme, we also had a dress-up station, so our Princesses and Pirates could ensure they looked the part. 

We would love for your little Pirate or Princess to join us next time, so join today! Our membership fee covers the whole family for one low cost! Sign up on our website and start having fun all month long with momstown. 

Sensory Activities for Babies and Preschoolers

Puzzles and Playdough and cutouts, oh my!  momstown Mississauga moms and excited little ones met at The Creative Kids Place for one of our great sensory programs, Puzzles and Playdough. momstown supplied the puzzles, playdough and fun cookie cutter shapes, while the kids supplied the creativity!  Smiles and giggles flowed as they rolled and molded and flattened the playdough, and then used the cutter shapes to create some silly combinations.  

Some of the kids favourites were the red ducks, green stars and blue dogs!  We decided to sneak in some learning as well, and used the cutouts to help the kids with letter and number recognition.  Their imaginative little minds then took over, as they created some yummy pretend playdough snacks.  They were even generous enough to share with their mamas, allowing them to have a pretend taste too!  

The puzzles were also a big hit with both the toddlers and the babies in attendance.  The toddlers kept their little hands busy, working on their fine motor skills by piecing the puzzles together, while the babies focused on the bright colours and busy patterns.  

Our farm peg puzzle seemed to be the favourite of the day!  Puzzles and Playdough is just one of the many exciting monthly programs we offer through momstown Mississauga.  Why not join us next time? We’d love to see what your little one’s imagination can come up with!

Our membership is $45 for the year and includes all the events, crafts etc. You can purchase yours here or consider giving one as a gift for the holidays!