Making Wishes at Tales for Tots September's Bookclub for Kids

Our book selection this month from Scholastic Canada was Wishes by Jean Little.
It is a rhyming tale full of great illustrations that demonstrate the limitless imagination of children.

If wishes were ice cream,
our cones would be doubles.
If wishes were soapsuds,
we’d blow shining bubbles.

The cover depicts two kids blowing seeds off a dandelion while making a wish - a favourite activity for children everywhere as dandelions are so abundant! Wishing is such a feature in our everyday lives this tale expands upon the usual birthday candle and star wishes to come up with some really creative ideas.

 

As kids get older they are often able to anticipate the next word, making rhyming books like this a delight to read both while the kids are small and as they grow! Predictive reading skills are a part of child development.  As this skill develops children are able to recognize the emerging pattern of words that are used in communication. A pause while reading is often enough to encourage the kids to finish the sentence. There are sometimes great and silly new rhymes that come of this practise!

 

We had a great time reading the story and doing some crafts - followed by our monthly draw!

Our happy book draw winners for this month!

Visit momstown at the Babeebloomz Family Expo!

On September 29th, momstown will be participating in the Fall Babeebloomz Family Expo at The Meeting House.  The expo features things for every stage and age! Find support and ideas for each stage from Pregnancy, baby, toddler, kids, tweens & parents!

 

For a limited time you can get free tickets, and after that tickets are $3.00 (cash only at the door).

Kids under 12 are free and there is FREE BABYSITTING so you can walk around without distraction!  

 

There are lots of things to see and do! We hope to see you there for this Family Fun Event! Make sure you stop by and visit us at momstown's booth for a chance to win a FREE 1YR MEMBERSHIP!

Dive and Swim Dora

    

At momstowns across Canada we get to test toys each month from our friends at Fisher Price. The Dive and Swim Mermaid Dora arrived at our home 2 weeks ago and I must admit – I was a little skeptical of this toy. When reading what she does on the package my expectation were that she would be exciting for a day or two and then be passed over for lower tech toys. I didn’t immediately see the allure. 

Dora's Ready for Launch! 

I decided to give the toy two weeks in our house before writing the blog just to see if  the Mermaid Dora was going to have staying power.  Boy did I ever underestimate this toy! 

First off she’s a Mermaid, she has hair that can be combed And she can get in to the bath and get wet! These are three things that majority of my daughter’s dolls are strictly forbidden to do!  Especially the getting wet part. The bathroom is off limits for anything but bath toys after an incident involving the sink drain… enough said.

Dora has a mermaid tail that bends to allow her to sit on the edge of the tub. Her arms must be wound up, and then she’s ready for launch. There is a button on her tail that sends her flying into the tub where she flips over onto her back and swims the length of your tub. She has been a constant fixture in our tub ever since her arrival. Both kids are really enjoying her although in different ways. My daughter loves to comb her hair and have her swim in pretend play adventures...

My son has never been the biggest Dora fan although he sure can rock that Map song.  I wasn’t sure what he would think of this toy... however the jumping into the tub action is right up his alley. He isn’t interested in the hair comb but he sure loves to wind up her arms, set her tail up and watch her launch into the tub. Over and over and over...

I bet if there was a Diego version of the toy it would be even more popular. Who knows maybe they will come out with a surfer or a deep sea diver for boys? In the meantime Dora seems to be a winner for both kids. 

Fall Events in Mississauga

Fall is the time to get active and get the family outside! There is so much to enjoy about  FALL  - the spectacular leaf colours put on display by Mother Nature, the crisp air, apple picking, pumpkins, baking, bird watching, the fall craft and family shows...  
Here is a list of some of what's happening right here in our community. 

Doors Open Mississauga  - Saturday September 29th 

Bradley Museum Fall Festival 10am - 4pm
Horse and wagon rides in the park, blacksmith demonstrations, heritage activities, and a visit by the Canadian Peregrine Foundation.
Free admission as part of Doors Open Mississauga

Beneres Historic House 
Take a tour of the historic house and see the history of butter making in the visitor centre. 
Free admission as part of Doors Open Mississauga

Leslie Log House 
Free admission as part of Doors Open Mississauga

For a listing of all the activities that are available on September 29th as part of the Open Doors Mississauga visit their website: 
http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/discover/doorsopenmississauga

Bradley Museum

BabeeBloomz Family Expo  Saturday September 29th 

You can find information and resources from pregnancy to tween at this family expo! There are vendors, demonstrations, a fashion show, childcare and lots of great prizes to be won! 
momstown will be on hand  - if you have membership questions or you would like to meet us in person. 

http://www.babeebloomzfamilyexpo.com



Culture Days in Mississauga  Sept 28-30

Culture Days is a collaborative pan-Canadian volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. Mississauga heritage workers, artists and cultural organizations offer a behind the scenes look at what they do from September 28 to 30, 2012. Enjoy free performances including a kick-off celebration at Mississauga Celebration Square led by the Mississauga Urban Design Awards and an audio-video disco on September 28;Doors Open Mississauga (mississauga.ca/doorsopen) on September 29 with over 40 incredible sites across the City opening their doors for tours; 19 artists and arts groups performing across the City as selected through a juried program entitled Take 3; and an incredible array of self-organized art events everywhere. Feel the love of local art and culture… Mississauga Culture!

Bird Watching Hikes 

Have you visited Riverwood Conservancy yet? It's a true gem right in the heart of Mississauga. 
There is no better way to spark a child's imagination than to get them out and enjoying nature and Bird watching is the perfect activity. It combines physical activity with opportunity for discovery and self regulation.  Here is the program description and dates! 

Join expert birders Luc Fazio and Dan Salisbry for a series of bird watching hikes at Riverwood. Bring your binoculars and discover our magnificient birds. Great for families, new birders and experienced ones alike!

Mondays, October 1, 15, 22, 29, 2012 @ 8:30am - 10:00am

Wednesdays, October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2012 @ 8:30am - 10:00am

Mondays, November 5, 12, 19, 26, 2012 @ 8:30am - 10:00am

Wednesdays, November 7, 14, 21, 28, 2012 @ 8:30am - 10:00am

WHERE:

All walks and hikes will meet at the Pergola in the NEW MacEwan Terrace Garden off the main (first) parking lot at Riverwood, 4190 Riverwood Park Lane, Mississauga.

COST:

FREE! unless otherwise indicated

PRE-REGISTER:

Call 905-279-5878 or email Info@TheRiverwoodConservancy.org 

Fall Made By Hand Show - October 27th

This show features over 190 exibitors who are local and have handmade their items. You can do all your holiday shopping in one place at this incredible event! Don't miss it mark your calendars for October 27th from 11am - 5pm! Hall 6 at the International Centre - 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga. 

Show Highlights:

Over 190 Handmade Exhibitors

(full list of exhibitors)

 FREE Face-Painting

Surprise Pricess Visit

FREE Swag Bags to the 1st 100 families

FREE Parking

Admission only $2.00 (Children free)

Door Proceeds benefiting 
Crafting for a Cure

Art & Play sponsored by Tropicana

At our Art and Play Program this month we were lucky to have some special treats to share with our moms and tots from Tropicana! This month momstown is helping to raise awareness of the Tropicana Tree of Giving. We are sharing this program with our members to raise awareness that Tropicana is supporting the Breakfast for Learning Program.

By picking an orange from  the virtual orange grove they have made on the Tree of Giving website you can help support this program too! Each time an orange is picked Tropicana will donate a glass of orange juice to the program. 

Our moms and kids had a great time at The Creative Kids Place! It is so much fun to paint with little kids – especially when it is outside the home! The kid sized tables and chairs make it easy for the tiny tots to get up to their elbows in paint!

The theme in September for momstown is Firetrucks so we used cut up sponges and stamped ourselves some firetruck bodies and wheels. The finishing touches were added with scraps of paper. 

After we painted we gathered for a few songs and the Parachute. The kids were delighted to sign and run around underneath the bright colours and bounce the ball all over the chute. 

There is a large selection of fun toys to play with at The Creative Kids place – lots of time for free play and the moms got to sit and have some juice and catch up.

If you would like to join us next time please check out our website and sign up for a free trial membership!

Back to School Lunch Junior Chef Program sponsored by Metro

This month our Junior Chef program where we cook with momtsown kids was a little different. Metro sponsored the entire event providing momstown with a gift card to purchase the supplies for the program in order to showcase their large selection and great pricing on back to school products. 

The room was set up with 5 stations for making brown bag lunches, starting of course with a momstown craft – decorating lunchbags!  Crayons, stickers we had it all and the bags turned out great! 

Once the kids had spruced up the bags, they could choose a drink (we chose juice boxes and water which were both on special) and a snack (Bearpaws, Rice Krispie treats or Granola Bars) for dessert/snack. Next stop - Sandwich Station! 

Many  of the items that are in kids lunch bags everyday were featured in Metro’s Back to School  promotion this month. Metro has a  Do the Math contest  right now where they are giving away $1000 to you, $1000 to your local school and 1000 Daily Prizes of 5 Air miles! There is a winner every day!

One little man who didn't like bread ate apples for lunch! 

For our sandwich station we had a variety of options.  The Kraft Double Cheddar shredded cheese is a handy idea for lunches as you can make a quick quesadilla or sprinkle the cheese onto a tortilla to make a quick wrap sandwich. There were also jam and cream cheese sandwiches, which were then cut out with cookie cutters and options for tuna, ham slices, and soy (nut-free) butter. 

Sometimes when kids eat the same things over and over making a fun shape or using a different coloured wrap like the spinach or sundried tomato can revitalize a boring sandwich. The possibilities for sandwiches are endless. The moms loved the Avocado Hummus dipped on veggies or tortilla strips and one of the babies who attended was a big fan.   

mmmm green hummus! 

Once the kids were done the “assembly cooking”, the sandwiches were wrapped up in some Selection Brand Ziploc bags and containers were filled with fresh fruits and veggies to round out the healthy brown bag lunches.    

Metro provided a fantastic giveaway for our moms too! They each received a loot bag with a $10 gift card to spend at Metro! This was a very fun event for our moms. We enjoy cooking with the kids and getting messy somewhere else so a big thank you is required for THE FUN SIDE for letting us host the program in their party room.  We had a great time trying their huge climber and the toddlers enjoyed all the toys available in their toddler room.

 

If you like the sounds of this fun event please let us know here on our Blog or leave a message on our Facebook Page – more pictures of the event can be found there too.  We offer a free 4 week trial membership so you can join momstown and try some of our great programming for a whole month for free! 

First Day of Kindergarten - To do list for MOMS!

So this blog is not about how to prepare your child for kindergarten. I have two munchkins who are having their very first day next Wednesday... and their biggest worry seems to be how I will spend my time without them! They have spent the last two weeks preparing ME for Kindergarten!

I have done what everyone says not to do (of course) and I have let them see how sad I am that this special time in our lives is soon going to be over. I have enjoyed being at home with my twins these last four years more than I have ever enjoyed any other time in my life. There have been lots of hard times too of course since being a stay at home mom is a tremendously hard job, but memory is good to us and those tough moments seem to fade... leaving in their wake lots of happy, funny and silly rememberings.

We have had some serious conversations the last two weeks about the fact that the kids will be in different classrooms. There have been a few fears (my own as well as theirs) but overall I know this is the right decision for my two individuals. After all, every other brother and sister who are not twins have to face school alone. At least these two will be able to see each other at recess and any joint times their classes will merge (assemblies, special events and field trips).

So the last two weeks during our tough conversations I have become misty eyed, and morose a few times.
I have covertly hugged their special cuddly toys in my most sad moments. I cannot help but mourn for the end of their babyhood. I know once they go to school we will be on a track we cannot get off until they are graduating high school and out of the house! Why does the time goes so fast!

At the store this week as we were buying school supplies the kids were singing and playing in the cart all the while thinking up all the games and fun things I will now have to play on my own (since they will be busy all day at Kindergarten). I have a list of things to do that I have been assured are OK for me to do alone while they are busy.

When we were in the aisle with the water bottles I saw a woman with a very full cart and a teen-aged girl walking down the other side. She stopped and we exchanged sad and knowing glances for I could tell she way saying goodbye to her baby in the same but far more permanent way than I was saying goodbye to my babies.

Here is my list in no particular order of my to-dos to keep myself busy during Kindergarten hours!

• wash the clothes
• play robot (you only need 1 person to play robot mom)
• make playdoh (not play with it make more)
• bake muffins
• wash the floors
• do puzzles
• make cards using crayons but NO stickers
• work at momstown
• sing the abcs and twinkle star
• read books
• play hopscotch
• cook dinner 

It is a sad fact of having twins that these milestones seem doubly hard! Hopefully with this list and working at my momstown I will have more than enough to occupy my days until the best kids in the world come home to play with me again!