Honouring Dad, "Mais papa...", French Tales for Tots sponsored by Scholastic Canada

Indigo Milton was filled with the happy sound of children and their families getting together for another fun-filled educational session of momstown Milton’s French Tales for Tots - Contes pour les bouts d'choux sponsored by Scholastic Canada.

Sam Kassam-Macfie, owner of momston Milton, created a colourful and eye-appealing craft display to whet the imaginations of the little ones as they envisioned what their very own monkey puppet would look like. In honour of the upcoming Father’s Day celebration, Scholastic Canada’s choice of the book: Mais, papa! was just parfait!
 

Glue, stickers, Bingo markers, crayons and more – els petits enfants amazed us with their creativity! Little sheets of construction paper were transformed into ready-to-play monkeys; perfect for an interactive storytelling.

 

But wait! There’s always more with momstown Milton. Sam very cleverly thought of creating extra special “Father’s Day” themed ties – the children pasted the Father’s Day poem provided by Sam and decorated their ties with immense and enthusiastic pride. You could only imagine how thrilled they will be to present the ties to their daddies on Father’s Day.

 

Craft time over, the children gathered together in a circle to listen to Madame Liz read the story. Throughout the reading of this delightful tale, the children cackled with laughter at the hilarity of the forgetful papa who during the little monkeys bedtime, forgot “les pyjamas” (pyjamas) and “les verres d’eau” (glasses of water) and of course, how could papa forget the “le monstre dans le placard” (monster in the closet)?

 

Following the story-time, the group sang some of their favourite songs loudly and clearly en français:

To the tune of “Where is Thumkin?” the momstownMilton families sang, “Ou est la famille?”

(Where is the family?) 

 

     To the tune of “All Around the Mulberry Bush”; we sang “Voici ma famille”

(Here’s the family)

 

Our sing-a-long complete, we drum-rolled enthusiastically as Sam chose the winner for the Scholastic Canada book. Triumphant cheers resounded as Hannah was declared the winner!

As we bid au revoir to our amis , we smiled happily thinking of the fun to come next month at our French Tales for Tots - Contes pour les bouts d'choux sponsored by Scholastic Canada.

We would love to have you join us for our momstown Milton events!

Register here for your 6 week FREE trial. 

Written by Liz Marques Kogan, a momstown Milton member and mother of two children. 
You can check out her site at: OrchidaWords.

momstown Milton's Top Picks for Father's Day Gift Ideas

Dads seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Father's Day gifts.  Tacky ties, homemade ash trays and pictures of dogs playing poker are just a few of the gifts I've heard some daddies have received.  Men are pretty straight shooters and if you think about it, they're pretty easy to shop for.  We have a ton of great places to shop right here in town to help give the dads in our lives the best Father's Day gift ever!

1)  Is hubby a golfer or does he want to learn how to golf?  How about a gift certificate for his favorite golf course?  There are some great courses in the Milton area that will fit the bill for any level of golfer. 

2)  Need to outfit dad?  Clarke's Golf has a wide range of equipment that will make dad look like a PGA player.  Choose from clothing, shoes or equipment to help improve dad's game.

3)  How about a guilt free night out with the boys?  Dad likes to hang out with his buddies but doesn't want to feel bad for doing so.  How about sending him out to a momstown Milton favorite and get him a gift certificate to Boston Pizza?

4)  Looking to make dad something from the heart?  Simply Creative allows you the opportunity to use your imagination to create a one of a kind piece.Don't forget to show your momstown card for our special discounted rate! 

5)  Indigo has a wide range of items perfect for any dad.  Whether you choose to get them a book about their favourite sports team, fishing or barbecuing or a fun little gadget to satisfy his tech cravings, you're sure to find the perfect gift.

6) Wee Piggies & Paws creates beautiful one of a kind, highly detailed ornaments and life casts mounted or professionally frames.  Mention you are a Momstown member and receive $10.00 off any Shadow box or framed ornament.

Whatever you decide to get dad, try to keep him and what he enjoys in mind.  We tend to buy things that we think our hubbies should want rather than what they would want.  Let's make this one of the most memorable Father's Days ever!

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





momstown Milton Tots get Quacking over Lucky Ducklings - Our Scholastic Sponsored Book!

Was that a quack we just heard? Is a duck within our midst?

Our momstown Milton kiddies were quacking with excitement to read Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore at our Tales for Tots at Indigo sponsored by Scholastic Canada.

Always getting the group off to a crafty start, momstown Milton's mamma, Sam Kassam-Macfie, guided the group through the steps of creating a fascinating duck puppet.



 Once the craft was completed, these happy kids were only too ready to settle down for an interactive and fun story. Each child's puppet was named after one of the ducklings in the story and they were instructed to hold them up every time the ducklings names were mentioned in the book.  Oh, how the children laughed and followed along Sam's enthusiastic rendition of the telling of the comical misadventures of the tale of a Mama Duck taking her baby ducks out for a walk one day.

 
 First, the five little ducklings: Pippin, Bippin, Tippin, Dippin, and Little Joe follow steadfastly behind their Mama Duck. But one by one, much to Mama Duck's dismay, the little ducks get separated and end up in the town's slat drain! Imagine the intrigue and excitement on the children's faces as they listened and watched in suspense to learn how this tale ends: three firemen and a pickup truck rush to the rescue of these wayward but very lucky ducklings.

Once the story time was done, the little ones were only too eager to get up and get active! As a fun activity, the children lined up in a row and reenacted the Mama Duck and little ducklings scene. Laughter filled the air as they flapped their wings and quacked with gusto.


Bringing the Little Ducklings story to life! 

With Mama Duck in front, the ducklings flapped and quacked along

A morning of crafts, reading, fun, and laughter - one that our 'Lil Explorers won't soon forget!

Congrats to our Littlest Lucky Duckling who won the book to take home. 

Thank you Scholastic Canada for inspiring such a fantastic event! 

We would love to have you join us at our amazing momstown Milton events!  
Register here for your 6 week FREE trial. 

Written by Liz Marques Kogan, a momstown Milton member and mother of two children. 

You can check out her site at OrchidaWords. 

Momstown Milton Tales for Tots featuring The Very Hungry Bear sponsored by Scholastic Canada

Their morning may have started at the Indigo Milton  bookstore on February 27, 2013, but soon the momstown Milton families were off onto an exciting  expedition to save endangered animals inspired by the book "The Very Hungry Bear" by Nick Bland sponsored by Scholastic Canada. 

To say that the momstown Milton group had fun would be quite the understatement. The high energy in the air was positively contagious. Sweet smiling arctic animals greeted the children as they made their way in.  

Soon it was time to settle down and get crafty! The eager little art students worked diligently alongside their families to transform paper plates into polar bears. Their eyes focused and little hands at work, they put their hand/eye coordination skills to the test by pasting body parts on their polar bear, and used crayons to colour their creation as their imagination dictated. 

Crafty families 

Getting some snuggle time with their arctic friends! 

The group then gathered together in a circle around the momstown Milton mama, Sam Kassam-Macfie, for an interactive story reading session. With her gift for bringing a story to life, the children were quite mesmerized and their delighted giggles filled the air. 

Following the reading of the "The Very Hungry Bear", the children were given a very important assignment! They were now special arctic explorers searching for animals at risk of being extinct in the arctic (the stuffed animals were hid throughout the Indigo Milton and the children had to find them). By having the children take part in such a journey to save the animals; they were learning about extinction and the need to help the animals on our planet. 

Their arctic expedition a success; they then gathered around in a circle again, for a sing-a-long! Voices were loud and clear and arms were waving happily in the air as they imagined and reenacted a penguin waddling across the arctic ice as they sang, "Did You Ever See A Penguin?" 



Doing the arctic dance! 

Singing along waving penguins in the air

A draw was held for the book and one very lucky little one

smiled brightly as she claimed her prize!

We would love to have you join us for our momstown Milton events!

Register here for your 6 week FREE trial. 

Written by Liz Marques Kogan, a momstown Milton member and mother of two children. You can check out her blog at: www.orchidaforever.blogspot.ca 

momstown Milton's Tales for Tots Program: My Friend Henry

Momstown Milton families took their love of reading and learning to Indigo bookstore for the Tales for Tots  program.The featured Scholastic Canada book was My Friend Henry and to start things off with the friendship theme, the children gathered together to make beautiful and colourful friendship bracelets. Not only were they able to release their little artist from within but also gain valuable eye/hand coordination skills.

 With their friendship bracelets complete, the tots looked on their creations with pride!

Then it was time to gather round in a circle as Sam Kassam-Macfie, our very own momstown Milton mama, did an interactive read along for the children. The air was filled with delightful laughter as the children followed along the story of a little boy looking for his friend Henry.  The enthusiasm in the room was contagious - some kiddies got up close and personal with Sam as she read aloud!

After the story time, it was time for some fun, action, and yeah some singing as well! The kids paired with their new friends to participate in songs that required a partner such as "Pat-A-Cake.", "Criss Cross Apple Sauce" and "Row Row Row Your Boat.". It was great watching as the little ones bonding with smiles and giggles.

Our time together creating, learning, reading My Friend Henry, singing and laughing was over far too soon and as we waved goodbye to our friends, we look forward to our next Tales for Tots get together of learning and fun! Congrats to our Lucky winner Marisa who got to take the book home to add to her personal library!

We would love to see you at our events!   

Register here for your FREE 6 week trial.

Written by Liz Marques Kogan. A momstown Milton member and mother of 2 girls. You can check out her blog at orchidaforever.blogspot.ca

momstown Milton kicks off a new French Literacy Program: Contes pour les bouts d'choux sponsored by Scholastic Canada

We are all proud of our beautiful nation, Canada, and its two official languages: English and French.  On January 16, 2013, the momstown Milton moms and tots were bursting with pride and excitement as they headed over to the Indigo bookstore for an  interactive French Tales for Tots: Contes pour les bouts d'choux story time sponsored by Scholastic Canada!

The featured book this month was Mon Ami Henri by Philippe Beha and the theme for the session was body parts (les parties du corps). Upon arriving to the bright and colourful Indigo store, the little ones were put to the creative test by making face puppets inspired by one of their real-life friends or by the delightful whim of their imaginations of what exactly Henri might look like?  

To help the tots become comfortable with French vocabulary, Madame Liz, would ask them repeat body part names and associate them back to their own puppet creations. They took to the task with gleeful enthusiasm. "Le nez!" they'd exclaim with excitement while gesturing at the noses on their puppets or their own face.

The tots then assembled in a circle on the floor to sing a "hello my friends" (bonjour mes amis) song. Their young but strong voices filled the air with happiness. Passers-by stopped with their children and grandchildren to find out what all of the buzz was about and then of course, they just had to join in on the fun too!

After the rousing rendition of the bonjour mes amis song, we moved on to a body parts song (to the tune of head and shoulders, knees and toes). "Tête, épaule, genoux et pieds!" Little hands and feet got busy grooving to the beat.

Then it was time to settle down for a story. The group gathered close together as Madame Liz read the featured book Mon Ami Henri. (With each page read, an English translation was provided). In the story, a young boy describes his best friend, Henri, and the children were mesmerized by the description of Henri: petit (small), frisé (curly hair), deux grands yeux noirs (two large black eyes), des tâches de rousseur sur le nez (freckles on the nose) and une sourire jusqu'aux oreilles (a smile that reaches to his ears). They happily followed along with the story using their puppet or own body parts for emphasis. 

Once the reading aloud of the story was done, the children then bounced off the floor and back to the craft station to review their colours in French. Each child was given a sheet with the colours in French and crayons so they could fill in the circles on the sheet with the appropriate colour. Little hands scribbled furiously to get the job done! We then reviewed all that we had learned together to gather a complete description of their friends - blue eyes, black hair, white teeth, etc..

After the review was completed, it was time for a few final songs. We sang "Alouette" and shrieked with delight and practically did a little dance showing off all of our body parts as they were announced in french. 

Our fun French time didn't end before our special Scholastic Books draw. Our lucky winner who funnily enough bore a strong resemblance to Henri (the character in the book) was delighted to take home the book to add to his own personal library! 

It was over all far too soon and as we bid au revoir to our amis, we weren't sad as we knew that we'll all be back next month for another exciting Contes pour les bouts d'choux. 

We would love to have you join us for French Tales for Tots/Contes pour les bouts d'choux  sponsored by Scholastic Books next month at Indigo - Milton. A fun way for kiddies to learn and practice French in a group!  Register here for your 6 week FREE trial.


Written by Liz Marques Kogan, a mother of two girls, and momstown Milton member. You can check out her blog at: www.orchidaforever.blogspot.ca