Milton moms enjoyed our Tales for Tots Program this month sponsored by McDonald's!

This month our momstown Milton moms and tots enjoyed an extra special Tales for Tots Program sponsored by McDonald's Canada! For a limited time offer (November 4th - November 15th) each child will receive a book focused around healthy eating with every Happy Meal purchased. The books are fun and relatable and encourage the little ones to really think about the food choices that they make. Here is the listing of the 4 books that are available:

The Goat Who Ate Everything – Tells the story of a goat who has a big appetite and struggles to eat right, but when he does, he feels great and becomes the playful ‘kid’ everyone loves.

Deana’s Big Dreams – Shares how Deana, the world’s smallest dinosaur, grew tall by eating right. 

Ant, Can’t – Features Ant, a bite-sized bodybuilder who’s big on encouraging physical fitness through exercise and eating right.

Doddi the Dodo Goes to Orlando – Follows happy-go-lucky bird Doddi, who travels the world. She eats right because this dodo is always on the go-go.

McDonald's will also be releasing monthly e-books, which are available on McPlay™ - McDonald’s Happy Meal app.

 

Our little readers enjoyed listening to The Goat Who Ate Everything and Deana's Big Dreams while snacking on apple slices, yogurt parfaits and juice. The mamas really appreciated the McCafe beverages that they received from our friendly hosts- a book and a coffee what a great way to start the day!

The kids then went to work on their food mobiles that helped them learn about the food groups and having a balanced meal. They were so proud of their creations and were eager to get them home to hang up as a daily reminder to eat right!

After hitting the play land for a little while everyone was ready for lunch. McDonald's had spoiled us with swag bags filled with books, a nutrition guide, and coupons for a FREE Happy Meal - Yipee! A special shout out to the Milton location for ensuring that ALL of our little ones including siblings and the extra participants that showed up received a complimentary meal as well!

McDonald's has come a long way in evolving the Happy Meal to reflect customers’ changing wants and needs. Happy Meals now offer options that include a Danino® Strawberry Yogurt, the choice of apple slices, small or mini-size French fries, and the choice of a low-fat dairy option like 1 per cent white or chocolate milk. It's a great option for families that are on the go and need to grab a quick meal or for an occasional treat!

Here's what our mamas thought about the event:

"Isabella's favourite book is Deana's Big Dream and she was reading it all day.  She loved the fact that the last page is like a poster and was bigger then the book. The cherry on top was the fact that she got apple slices, juice, and a Happy Meal for lunch (a treat definitely). Overall, it was a great day!"                                                                                                           IsabellaEmilia

"Ryan really enjoyed himself. I also like the idea of a book instead of toy. Ryan has been reading them everyday. I also love that the there is healthy options especially since my eldest doesn't like fries."                                                                                                            MandyM

"This was a great event. My daughter enjoyed the crafts and the play area.. But most of all she loved the food and books. She loves to "read" and being able to do that while having some apples and yogurt and knowing these healthy snacks are available with the happy meals makes me feel less guilty about using McDonalds as an alternate for dinner when I need to. I hope they continue with the literacy component books are of greater value and use to children then the toys they get in the happy meals. Great job McDonalds"                                                           VanessaR
                                                                                
"It was great. I enjoyed how everything was incorporated into healthy eating....the books are a great treat instead of a new toy.  I never let my son have McDonald's but now I see the healthy options available. We will definitely go back for a kids meal treat.  So not only was the event fun for my kids but it was insightful for me."                                                                 M. Moscoso


Thanx again McDonald's for including momstown Milton in your literacy launch. All of our participants left smiling from ear to ear!

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! 

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

You can check out her site at OrchidaWords. 

momstown Milton French Tales for Tots Sponsored by Scholastic Canada: Un bébé Alligator

While the spring rain pitter pattered outside, les petits enfants of momstown Milton and their families met at Indigo for an exciting and interactive French Tales for Tots- Contes pour les bouts d'choux sponsored by Scholastic Canada.

To start the morning off on a crafty note, momstown Milton mamma Sam Kassam-Macfie, showed les enfants and their families how to put together the alligator puppet perfect for an interactive reading session with the featured book: Un bébé Alligator? by Robert Munsch. 

 

After les enfants got help with cutting out the shape for the alligator body, they zealously coloured in their alligator body to their heart's content, allowing their imaginations to take free reign. Once their alligator puppets were ready to be displayed and of course, to be played with, they sat down in a circle around Miss Liz for the story time. 

The children cackled with laughter and eyes widened in interest over the hilarious chain of  events following a human family's quest to find their baby after accidentally leaving the baby at the zoo and bringing home a bunch of zoo animals instead. Eager to be an active part in the storytelling, the children made animals sounds as Miss Liz read through the story.
 

Following the reading of Un bébé Alligator?, Miss Liz held up flash cards of pictures with animals and the children repeated the French name for the animal in loud clear voices. "Zèbre!" they cried out when the picture for the zebra came up. "Ourson" they said sweetly when a bear picture was shown and Miss Liz explained that they could see it as their own little teddy bear. 

To complement the featured book, we sang the popular "Alouette" song which was a wonderful way to reinforce body part names; pointing to mouth, ears, eyes, and more, the children were learning all the while having great fun! Our next song, "Petit poisson" (little fish), is always a crowd favourite at the momstown Milton French Tales for Tots and little arms love showing their swimming motions. 

The grand finale is always the draw for the book and the lucky winner Quinton happily held his Un bébé Alligator book tight with pride! 

We can't wait to meet again next month for another French Tales for Tots - Contes pour les bouts d'choux. We'd love to have you join us! 

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come out and meet our incredible group!

Written by Liz Marques Kogan - a momstown Milton member and mother of 2.  Her blog is: OrchidaForever. 

French Tales for Tots: Bonne nuit, Canada, sponsored by Scholastic Canada

With signs of winter still clinging to the first day of spring, the momstown Milton group headed over to the Indigo - Milton for French Tales for Tots - Contes pour les bouts d'choux for a fun and interactive story-time of Bonne nuit, Canada by author Andrea Beck, sponsored by Scholastic Canada on March 20, 2013. 

Settling down at the bright and cheerful craft station, the little ones and their families listened as Sam Kassam-Macfie, momstown Milton's very own mama, explained the 'star (étoile) and moon (lune) mobile craft that they were about to do. Each child would get one hanger and string would be attached to the hooks of the hanger with the help of family. On one string a moon shape would be attached and on the other, a star shape would be attached. From there, the little ones allowed their imaginations to explore and create. They busied themselves with sparkly glitter glue, markers and space-themed stickers  to create their very own unique and space-tastic mobile. 
 

 
After completing their mobile, the group gathered together around Madame Liz as she read Bonne nuit, Canada. The little ones were delighted with the story of a child saying good night to Canada's 10 belles provinces et 3 territoires. They exclaimed "Bonne nuit Canada!" with zeal and their good night waves were filled with enthusiasm. As we went through the provinces and territories, the children would eagerly share about their own family members who lived in different parts of Canada. 

 
Following the story, Madame Liz led the children in an animated en français rendition of "O Canada!" The children then listened as Madame Liz read a second book entitled Vive le Canada. Avid sing-a-long fans, the group then sang "Quel temps fait-il" (sung to the tune of When The Saints Come Marching In); "Petit Poisson" (The Little Fish), and "Scintillement" (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). 

Our entertaining time together came to a close far too quickly but before we said au revoir to our amis, we held a draw for the Bonne nuit, Canada book and a lucky little girl won. She was so excited by her name being called that she started clapping and doing a happy dance! 

We can't wait to meet again next month for another French Tales for Tots - Contes pour les bouts d'choux.

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Written by Liz Marques Kogan - a momstown Milton member and mother of 2.  Her blog is: OrchidaForever. 

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