L is for Letters at our momstown Alphabet Play Program sponsored by Post Alpha-Bits Cereal

Our momstown Milton Alphabet Play is already popular amongst our members so when we announced that Post Alpha-Bits cereal was sponsoring the event for the next year our mamas quickly went to work signing up for everyone that they could possibly get into. Mamas love the educational component that is emphasized each week in our programming through books, songs, activities, tracer sheets and crafts.

This week we were working on the letter "L". Our focus was letters so we started off with a simple "L" craft with alphabet letters. The craft was left as an "open" concept to decorate as they wished and our little eager beavers decided that they would use the letters provided to spell out their names.

We then moved on to an identification activity. Flashcards were held up with pictures and the kids had to shout out what letter the picture began with. Mamas helped by overemphasizing the beginning sound to get the kids on the right track - A-A-A-Aligator.

Snack time - I mean craft time. Actually it ended up being both! Each person received their own cup of Post Alpha-Bits cereal to match to an Alphabet Letters worksheet. Kids couldn't resist popping a couple into their mouth as they searched for the corresponding letters.

After tasting a few, one at a time was not fast enough so they actually started to drink their cups and filled their mouths with as much as they possibly could.Needless to say I was reaching for the box to top up the cups 2-3 times! The moms didn't mind one bit since they were aware that Post Alpha-Bits cereal provides a source of 9 essential nutrients plus is an excellent source of Iron and Thiamin.  

We moved over to our next activity which was magnets. These are always a hit with the little ones so my Melissa and Doug Alphabet Magnet board was quickly surrounded by keen helpers to place the letters in the correct order. I did learn that smaller case letters did present a bit of a challenge for this  young crowd but with a little direction we were able to complete the task.

We ended off the program with each participant getting to take an entire box of cereal home with them and taking pictures in front of the pretty blue sign that the kids couldn't take their eyes off of!

A big shout out to Post Alpha-bits for the free swag and for being so generous in sponsoring our Alphabet Play Program for the next year!

momstown Milton - Baby Sensory - Exploring Fall Leaves!

Fall is here and the momstown Milton babies had a blast playing in the leaves at a recent Baby Sensory program!

Many of our momstown Milton families live in "new Milton" meaning that our trees are fairly small still.  For this activity we decided to import a big bag of leaves from nearby parks, to the comfort of our host's back yard!  We also played with some colourful fall gourds in varying shapes, colours and sizes.   It was a beautiful day to be outside.  Too soon, winter will be here and we will be stuck indoors!

Fall leaves are a treat for the senses! The crunchy sound is fun underfoot and the texture of smooth leaves, crisp leaves and wrinkly leaves is wonderful in the hands.  Leaves have a great earthy smell that is unmistakably "fall"!  With a group of babies it was a little bit of a challenge to keep them from exploring the leaves with their fifth sense - taste! 

The babies lit up when they were put right into the pile of leaves!  They swished them around with their little hands and feet, and grabbed them by the handful!  Some of the kids decided that lying down in the leaves would be a good idea, and they enjoyed a whole new perspective on the world from that position!  Moms had fun throwing handfuls of leaves up in the air and watching them land around and on their mesmerized babes.  This game produced lots and lots of giggles (from the babies AND the mamas!).

 

The gourds were a big hit with the babies!  Everyone enjoyed feeling the bumpy skin, and having a chew.  It is a good thing that the gourds have tough skin, because they were banged, chewed, thrown, and rolled!    The babies were interactive with one another, and it was so fun to see them have such a great time.

As usual, our Baby Sensory group was a blast for both babies and their moms.  It is wonderful to watch your child discover new things using all of their senses.  Activities need not be expensive or complicated for little ones.  Sensory activities allow for our little ones to explore and learn about the World around them.  You just never know what we will be exploring at this group!

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

Fun and Creative Do It Yourself Costumes for Halloween

Looking for a fun costume that isn't going to cost you a fortune this Halloween?  Here are some fun and very cute ideas that you can make yourself in no time!

1)  Bubble Bath - Cut a hole in the bottom of an inflatable baby bathtub (we used Munchkin's Inflatable Safety Duck Tub). Leave at least 2 inches for the rim

 

On the remaining bottom rim, punch two holes near the front and back. To make the suspenders from wide ribbon, measure your child from shoulder to waist and multiply by 2; cut two lengths of ribbon to that size. Thread through the holes, knotting the ends underneath to secure.

 

Blow up 15 white balloons and attach them with double-stick tape inside the tub and to the sides to make it look like bubbles are overflowing.

 

2)  Here comes the Sun - All you need is: an over-size yellow sweatshirt, orange and yellow felt, elastic, rickrack, pipe cleaners, fabric glue, a large safety pinShe's the sunshine of your life, so show the world! A basic sweatshirt is the start of this cheery costume. The smiling face of the sun is made from felt. A plain long-sleeve tee and yellow kneesocks or tights finish it off!





3)  Scuba Diver - Scouring pads, a soda bottle, and other household products give you a deep-sea diver's duds.

Scuba gear:
 3 yards black nylon webbing 1 yard self-adhesive Velcro  6 metallic scouring pads  2-liter plastic soda bottle  1 sports-bottle lid  Silver spray paint  4 inches black rubber tubing  18 inches cord-keeper tube Wet suit: Black hooded sweatshirt  Black tights or leggings  Black gloves  Plastic safety goggles 1. Cut a piece of nylon webbing 2 inches longer than your child's waist circumference. Attach Velcro pieces to each end for a belt. 2. Measure your child from front of waist, over shoulders, to back of waist. Cut two straps of webbing to this measurement. Glue one end of each piece of webbing to the center of the back of the belt, about 1/4 inch apart. Attach loose ends to front of belt, about 3 inches apart, like suspender straps.
3. Fold scouring pads into tubes and glue edges together. Glue tubes around belt to create diving weights.
4. Coat soda bottle and sports-bottle lid with spray paint and let dry, about one hour.
5. Glue a piece of webbing around bottom of soda bottle to resemble an air tank. Attach bottle to belt and straps with pieces of Velcro.
6. Wrap rubber tubing around the mouth of the soda bottle and glue ends inside cord-keeper tube.
Push other end of cord keeper into loop of painted sports-bottle top for a ventilator; tuck cord-keeper tube under webbing strap to hold in place.

For more fun ideas check out suggestions from our friends at Today's Parent

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

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

Bobbing for Apples at momstown Milton Baby Sensory

Our Baby Sensory program is a very popular event here at momstown Milton!  These babies really know how to dig in and have fun.  They use all of their senses at this play group, and love to interact with one another while they learn.  Moms enjoy watching their little ones light up when they start to explore.

This week our babies had a splashing good time with colourful bobbing apples and bumpy fall gourds.  Bright orange, red and green was immediately interesting to their eyes, and once they discovered the water they REALLY started to have some fun!

Making the apples bob in the water with their hands and feet was a real thrill for these little ones!  Everyone loved using their mouths to explore the fruit and the gourds.  We wondered if the hard and bumpy gourds were soothing to sore gums because all of the babies had a great time with these colourful "teethers"!

Throwing the apples into the water to watch them splash quickly became their favorite game.  One of the little ones has a pretty good throwing arm, and he decided that throwing the apples across the room was even more fun!

As usual, our momstown Milton Baby Sensory group had a blast using their ears, eyes, hands, noses and mouths while exploring new and exciting things.  It is so great to see a baby light up when experiencing everyday objects in new ways.  Seeing an apple bobbing in water is a very simple activity but it opens the door to discovering new things about the world around us.  Join us at this fun group (but prepared to get messy!).

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

A Trip to South Africa for momstown Milton!

Last month we travelled to beautiful South Africa with our momstown Milton Trip Around the World group!  South Africa is a wonderful country and we discovered that several of our families at the event had travelled there before.  Everyone arrived to the sound of wonderful African music.

We started the day by playing a game to identify some of the amazing animals that you can see while on safari at one of South Africa's many game parks.  Each explorer was given the national flag to hold up when they knew the name of the animal on the screen. We identified lions, zebras, giraffes, impala, guinea fowl, jackals, water buffalo and more. Everyone enjoyed shouting out their answers!

We then got to look at and touch some beautiful treasures from South Africa!  The kids and moms alike got a kick out of my collection of African fertility dolls, and had fun guessing which ones were male and which were female.  These dolls are said to increase the chances for conception when they are placed in the house!  We also looked at some incredible beaded animals - an elephant and a lion.  Our final treasures were two tiny clay guinea fowls, our inspiration for our craft today!

The group moved to the table to start our craft - guinea fowls.  These birds are a common site in parks and back yards in South Africa.  They are comical looking birds with large black bodies speckled with white dots, blue necks and red heads.  They run fairly quickly on spindly legs.

       
Once we were done our craft we had a snack of South African oranges, and rooibos tea. Our little explorers enjoyed some play time and then it was time for home!

What a great trip we had!  Looking forward to our next destination!

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

 

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids - Turkey Napkin Rings

Gobble Gobble Gobble!  October is here and our momstown Milton theme for the month is the humble turkey!  Our Recycled Treasures group meets monthly to create wonderful crafts from items found in the recycling bin!  This week we made adorable turkey napkin rings from cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls.

The crafty kids love working with glue!  Everyone had fun selecting their circles of cardboard - one large one for the tail, three medium sized circles for the body and wings, and two small circles for the head and waddle.  

 

The children got to practice their cutting skills, turning one of the circles into "wings" by cutting it in half.  This part definitely required some assistance from moms, as we had several younger artists at the group today!

 

The children looked at the sample craft to try and figure out how to glue their own turkeys together.  Some followed exactly while others took a little more artistic license!  Once they added some googly eyes and a beak, the turkeys really "came to life".  The last step was to cut a toilet paper tube and glue it to the back of the turkey, completing the napkin ring.  The turkeys were all held together with a clip while the glue dried... a perfect time for a snack and some playing together!

Everyone was thrilled with their turkey napkin rings!  They worked out beautifully and will look wonderful on the table at Thanksgiving!  A few of the moms said they were thinking of making a whole set!  This is a great way to use colourful boxes. 

We're looking forward to our next Recycled Treasures group.  You just never know what fun stuff we will be creating!  This group is one of many fun and educational groups that are free with your $45 annual membership to momstown Milton.  Join today!

To learn more about what momstown Milton is all about - Click Here

To register for a 6 week FREE trial membership - Click Here 

If you are a business that would like to sponsor our events or advertise with us please contact info.milton@momstown.ca

Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and

 mother of two amazing girls.

Lots of laughs at our Scholastic Sponsored Baby Basics Program while reading "Giggle!" by Caroline Jayne Church

There is nothing more infectious than the sound of your little baby giggling and laughing, and that is what our mamas and little ones were able to experience at Baby Basics: Books for Babes with momstown Milton held at Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids.

Books for Babes which encourages reading early on with your child, has always been very popular with the baby basics program held on Wednesdays, but thanks to Scholastic Canada, books for babes has been packing a full house.

 

Giggle! Written by Caroline Jayne Church is an adorable board book complete with a button that your little one can press to hear the giggles of babies. The illustrations along with the feel good rhymes found in the story put a smile on our adorable audience of tots and their mamas. As Miss Tracey read the book, the older babes were captivated by the sound of giggles, and had a lot of fun pressing the button to hear it again and again with the same surprise and excitement each time.

 

 

A Sing-a-long followed the reading of Giggle! Here are the fun silly songs that our mamas had a blast singing with their little ones. 

Apples & Bananas

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas

I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas

I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay nays

I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay nays 

I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees

I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees

I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and by-ny-nys

I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and by-ny-nys 

I like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos

I like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos

I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos

I like to oot, oot, oot oo-ples and boo-noo-noos

 

5 Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys (Hold up 5 fingers)

jumping on the bed. (Jump up and down)

One fell off (Hold one finger and then roll your hand down towards the floor)

and bumped his head. (Tap your head with your fist)

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, (Put your pinky to your mouth and thumb to your ear like a telephone)

“No more monkeys jumping on the bed” (Put a hand on your hip and wag your index finger)

Repeat until you get to one little monkey 

Shake My Sillies Out! 

Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

And wiggle my waggles away 

I gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies out

Clap, clap, clap my crazies out

Clap, clap, clap my crazies out

And wiggle my waggles away 

I gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out

Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out

Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out

And wiggle my waggles away 

I gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out

Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out

Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out

And wiggle my waggles away

I gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out

And wiggle my waggles away

And wiggle my waggles away

 

After the sing-a-long , Giggle! was passed around to the group where each mama got to spend time taking their little one through the story and pressing the giggle button.

 

 

 

 

The book was a HUGE hit with our babes, and thanks to our generous friends at Scholastic Canada, two lucky babies were able to add this book to their home library. Congratulations Taya and Kayia.

 

Like the book said “Laugh out loud or just giggle, feel a tickle in your middle” that is exactly what our momstown Milton Baby Basics group got to do!

 As always, new members are welcome so register here to join us next time!  All  one year memberships purchased in 2013 will receive a Today's Parent magazine subscription for 12 months!

 

Written by Jacqueline Bellmore, momstown Milton Member.

 

 

Family Expo presented by Milton Mall and momstown Milton

Join us at the Family Expo on Saturday October 19th as we celebrate what Milton is all about - FAMILIES!
 

Lot's to do to keep everyone entertained including:

 

Fitness Stations:

Monkeynastix Milton - obstacle course
Rugby Tots - active play station
Firepower Kids - walk the wire

Entertainment:

Hitherfield School - Face Painting
Par-T-Perfect: Bouncy Castle with Ball Pit, Balloon Artist, Popcorn


Activity, Music and Craft Stations:

Milton Community Nursery School
STEM Educational and Hobby Labs - Robotic Lego Alligator, Beebots and more!
Energy Events - craft station
Grade Learning - Milton - henna tatoos
The Halton Resource Centre - Bean Bag Toss
Bullseye Child Safety - Cars Raceway


Stations for Mom:

Supperworks - yummy samples
Tupperware from Annette - sorting and shapes activity
Pure Magic Vacations - Bubble station


Health and Wellness: Prenatal and Postnatal

Halton Doula Group - Baby Footprint Craft
Sleepwise - chat with Jillian -sleep expert
Living Green Nutrition
Hearsay Speech and Hearing Centre
Vitality Center - Pampering Station
United Way Milton - items for sale to raise funds


Scheduled Events:

9:30am - Registration, Door Prize Ballots and Swag Bags at momstown table

10:15am - 10:45am & 1:00pm - 1:30pm - meet our Special Guest Mickey Mouse - bring your camera! FREE photos with Milton Photo!

10:30am - Register for Diaper Derby at the momstown table
(crawlers only) *Preregister and just show up at 11am!*

11:00am - Diaper Derby - Let the races begin!
Winner will be awarded $500 worth of diapers!

12:00pm - Q&A with Jillian - Sleep Consultant from Sleepwise


 

 Preregister to receive an extra ballot for the door prize table.

Prize Giveaways Include:

$150 Gift certificate from Monkeynastix Milton
5 Class Kids Pass from Firepower Kids
Heartbeat Bear from UC Baby
A Free Session with Rugby Tots
An Early Literacy Reading Gift Basket from Hearsay Speech and Hearing Centre
one month of free tutoring services (twice a week) and a free assessment from Grade Learning

and tons more...............