Healthy snack tips for school

Feeding our kids healthy foods gives them the essential vitamins and minerals they need to grow and develop over the years.  But how do you keep it interesting? 

Here are some ideas to give your kids a healthy snack that they will enjoy when they are in school.


1)  Cut sandwiches into little shapes to make them fun.  We like to use cookie cutters so every day there is a new shape to eat.  We also cut cheeses into little shapes.  Kids will think there food is fun and forget how healthy it is.



2) Give your kids a few options to choose from when making their snacks.  If they are part of the decision process, they are more likely to eat all their food.

3)  Remember the 4 food groups and try to send snacks that contain all of them.

So now what types of food should you send?  (Remember it is important to send food items that are nut free.)  Pack them in fun colorful containers to gain your child’s interest and keeping snacks litter less at the same time.

1)      Jello – Who doesn’t love jello?  Make it healthy by adding fruit into the mix. 

2)      Smoothies – Blend up some fruit/veggies and yogurt and put it in a thermos for a healthy drink.

3)      Yogurts are a great way to get your dairy servings

4)      Cheese and crackers

5)      Skewer fruit and cheese pieces for a fruit kabob (add some yogurt or hummus so they can dip it)

6)      Nut free trail mix – throw in some dried fruit and your childs favorite dry cereal




These are all easy snacks that don't take much time to prepare.  Looking for some great recipe ideas to change it up as well?  Click here for some fun and easy ideas.

This Blog was written by Angela Hickman - mother of 2, momstown Milton member and blogger - Mommy TimeOut.

Hundreds of Milton Families partied at our momstown.ca 6th birthday celebration!

This month all of our momstown chapters have been hosting parties across Canada to celebrate our 6th birthday! Here in our Milton community our party has been the talk of the town for weeks amongst our mamas, partners and sponsors and you could feel the excitement mounting as the event day drew closer.

This years line up was DOUBLE ( look carefully at the first pic below - the line up winds down the path and extends all the way back to the old post office - second pic! WOWZERS! ) It was truly astounding to see the number of families that came out to celebrate with us! We gave out over 1200 wristbands at our registration desk and needless to say our 100 goody bags were gone in minutes!

The line up began at 9:22am with some pretty excited moms and tots!

Checking out all the cool swag!

are you ready to party - WOOT WOOT!

and they kept coming and coming and coming! 

 

How do you keep your guests smiling when the line up seems never ending? Have a power team of super friendly volunteers greet them with a smile AND serve them ice coffee or berry tea from the Hawthorne Café to keep cool! I don't believe I heard one complaint at all. 

 

The day was jam packed with tons of  activity stations and demos which were chosen to give everyone (especially trial members and non members) a taste of what momstown Milton is all about. 

Each of the designated stations not only complimented the businesses that was sponsoring it, it also highlighted our educational curriculum and our 6 program pillars that are encorporated in all of our programs and events that we offer year round for just $45 a year! We are so much more then just a  convenient playgroup and I'm confident that we got that point across today at the party. 

Kids of all ages enjoyed making music with Harmony Is, creating messy masterpieces with veggies and fruits at the SupperWorks Picasso's Booth and decorating and building towers at our United Way Station.  

Our Early Literacy station hosted by Indigo was well received by our guests who were happy to have a shaded area where they could grab a book and snuggle under a tree for a relaxing break. The kids were absolutely thrilled to sit still and listen to a story being read about their favourite Scholastic Character - Clifford!

 

Every child has a sense of curiosity and we encourage it through our momstown Science and Discovery programs. Today the kids enjoyed our sensory tables from Wee Ones Childcare Academy, a bubble station provided by Haber & Associates, and a Speedway Ramp from Bullseye Child Safety. Learning though play and having fun was the goal of each of these activity centres.

Anyone who has a toddler/preschooler knows that active play is a must in their daily routine. We made sure there were several fitness stations - Monkeynastix Milton, Rugby Tots, Fire Power Kids and Little Kickers available for ALL of our age groups to burn off tons of energy. An extra large Bouncy Castle from Par-t-Perfect was a great addition to get this party jumping!

  

No matter what age you were, our Change it Up with Zumba and the Academy of Martial Arts demos had everyone up and moving!

We even had a Diaper Derby contest sponsored by Clothworks to encourage our little crawlers to get in on the action! This mama was all smiles about winning the silk sling for being the winner!

Our Play and Social  pillar which is the heart of momstown and how it all began was well represented with face painting from Oxford Learning and Bergsma Paint, playtime with Toys Trunk, a pampering station from our local Seacret rep Sylvia, a gigantic colouring mural from the Town of Milton, a Dora Colouring station from Koba Entertainment, A dress up station with In Step Active Wear, and of course lots of fun crafts provided by Milton Optometry, The Dance Class, & Lisa Roach from Century21.

Can't forget to mention the always busy Fisher Price Little People Play Zone that had four awesome toys for kids to play with. It was great seeing the little ones imaginations soar as they created different play scenarios. Four of our lucky attendees got to take one toy home with them at the end of the event!

 

We were also lucky enough to have a lot of local resources join us to make our party a smashing success. A big shout out to the Canadian Red Cross who set up an info both along with tattoos for the little ones, a great big red Fire Truck from the Milton Fire Hall, Officer  and an ambulance with all the bells and whistles. The Mason Chip Identification Program also offered their services at today's event. So many parents felt a little better prepared once they had the Free Id kit in hand to take home.

Can't have a party without cake, treats and presents! A big shout out to Longo's Milton for 3 very large slab cakes, Hillary's Cupcakes for providing mini cupcakes and cookies and Michelle Hawco for the popcorn!

The draw for the door prizes seemed never ending because there were so many from both local and National sponsors. Highlights included a stroller and a baby carrier from Britax, 2 tickets to see Dora Live from Koba Entertainment and a $200 GC from Milton Orthotic and Wellness Centre towards a new pair of shoes! Check out some of the winners below to see if you recognize anyone?



 

We made sure that no one goes away empty handed this year. We are offering EVERYONE  (new, old, and current) members / non members a gift of your very own! JOIN NOW  and all through 2013 to receive a BONUS YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO TODAY'S PARENT!

A Big Shout Out to everyone that came out  to support and celebrate with us and all of the wonderful volunteers that made this event possible! It was great catching up with the regulars and just as great getting to know all the new moms that dropped by to experience momstown Milton first hand. A special thank you to Laurie Goodman Photography  for capturing the event! You can see more of her wonderful pictures by visiting our Face Book Page for ALL of the pics from our special day. Don't forget to hit the "LIKE" button to keep up to date with our latest and greatest adventures..... Real moms connected!