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! 

Ice Cream Bread - Easy 2 Ingredient Dessert Recipe!

One of the best features of momstown Mississauga is our message board. Our members can talk in person to each other during our programs but when they can't make it to events they can continue the conversation online via our forum.




This recipe is straight from our forum - Crazy Recipes. One of our moms posted it and I just had to try it out. I used PC Pumpkin Pie Ice cream but our mamas have tried cookie dough and thought that was just as delicious. The possibilities are as endless. The dark pieces in the photos to the left are the chunks of graham cracker crust from the pumpkin pie icecream! 

Note: If you don't have self raising flour don't worry just make your own! For every 1 cup of flour add in 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt. 



Ice Cream Bread

Ingredients:

2 Cups Ice Cream - softened
1 1/2 cups self raising flour


Combine the softened ice cream with the flour and spread into loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment or make sure it is lightly greased.

Bake:  350 for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Once cooled enjoy a slice for dessert or an afterschool snack!

Business Development at momstown Fall 2013 Conference in Niagara Falls

momstown owners from all across Canada gather bi-annually for Fall & Spring Business Development Conferences. It is a jam packed 4 day experience full of innovation, team support and motivation. This November's conference marks a turning point for our company. momstown is about to embark on our biggest year yet in 2014.  The energy and passion for next year's plans was reflected in every person.

This conference was hosted at the Niagara Courtyard Marriott. Located right in the heart of Niagara Falls it is close to everything a tourist could desire.  Our group of 28 owners and momstown HQ Staff  enjoyed delicious food both for breakfast and dinner at the on-site Keg Restaurant. The conference amenities of the hotel and  Wi-Fi made it a breeze to get down to work.

Friday night was all about reconnecting. The team got to talk face to face with each other for the first time in 6 months. Our Inaugural momstown Team Awards ceremony recognised the hard work of many of our chapters.

The second day of our conference was a mix of  business development with sessions by Shelagh Cummins from BizTrainHer , and play as we worked to make rocketships - a metaphor for where momstown is headed in 2014. This was done in true momstown fashion out of paper towel rolls and craft supplies.  Saturday's sessions were rounded out with Pizza and Games in our PJs as we enjoyed pedicures by Ah Bella Luna Mobile Spa.




Sunday saw our team connect over our Entrepreneurs Book Club, and more business planning for 2014.  The day was finished off with a tour of the Chateau Des Charmes winery. The group arrived for the tour & wine tasting in style with transportation from GM Canada  in the Chevrolet Equinox. The evening was finished off with headshots from CL Buchanan.

Being a small business owner with a young family can be very isolating at times. Working within a support network comprised of such brilliant entrepreneurs from across Canada is an invaluable part of being a momstown Chapter owner.

A support system is an integral part of what our Chapters create in each of our hometowns for our members,  it is nice that is mirrored in our professional team as well. Everyone's heart is in their job at momstown. Consider joining us today either as a member or perhaps by starting your own business in your hometown.
  

Tales for Tots in October: Family Storytime

momstown Mississauga moms and kids meet over 20 times per month at fun and educational programs that follow our monthly curriculum themes. Our momstown families meet at different sponsor's locations for our programs all over the city of Mississauga.

Scholastic Canada is a monthly sponsor of our Bookclub for Kids called Tales for Tots. We traditionally meet monthly at the Chapters on Vega Blvd for our program. The adorable toys in the kids section and the large selection of books is a great fit for this program.

Octobers's book is Good Night, Sleep Tight by Mem Fox. An engaging story everyone will love to read over and over again as familiar nursery rhymes are featured in the bedtime routine. 

Our bookclub consists of a storytime and crafts and then one lucky child gets to take the book home to build their family library! 

Our lucky winner with her craft!