Foot print Christmas trees!

Doing Christmas crafts is one of my favorite things this time of year.

Sometimes doing crafts with our littlest ones isn't always easy.  This is when hand print and foot print crafts come in handy!  Not only are they super cute, but they don't have to put pieces together or figure out cutting and gluing!

We made Christmas trees with their little foot prints.  Super cute and super easy.  Some of the kids were so interested in what we were putting on their little feet that they just let us do it... others not so much!

I always feel so bad for the little ones that cry when we do the prints, but the few tears is always worth the adorable outcome!!

Getting crafty with Art Innovators!

Our Art and Play last week was extra special~  We had the pleasure of having Tracey from Art Innovators of Barrie join us to do a Squiggles and Grin class.

It was so much fun to start the class with a little circle time to meet squiggles and sing some songs.

 But the real fun started when the kids got on their smocks and started painting!

We were creating an outdoor scene with a caterpillar.  Sounds a bit complicated for a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds right?  But not at all!  The craft was creative and abstract and fun!

Using spatulas, the kids spread yellow paint for the sun, blue for the sky and green for the grass!

This was messy but fun!  The kids really liked turning a few dollops of paint into something more.  Once we dabbed off the excess paint, giving the picture a nice texture, we were ready to add the caterpillar!

This was lots of fun for the kids using some red paint and circle sponge to create their wiggly caterpillar! 

To make the legs, eyes, and antennae, the kids used their finger in some black paint!

Voila!  A gorgeous outdoor scene with a pretty caterpillar!

A quick little goodbye circle with some parachute play and our class came to a close. 

We look forward to having Tracey join us once a month to get artsy with our tots!

First Day of School Ideas

I can't believe that the kids are heading back to school in just a couple of short days.  It feels like the summer barely started and now it's over.

While doing some surfing through Pinterest this weekend, I came across some neat First Day of School ideas.

A neat thing to do, especially if this is your child's very first school adventure, take a pic of your child holding a sign with the grade they are going into and the year.  This is a great memory for you and them!  You can look back at the end of the year and see how much they have grown!

Another great idea is to start working on name recognition.  If you haven't already, it's not too late!  There are so many awesome crafts you can do with the kids that will help them learn to recognize their name!  momstown's arts and crafts blog has a great roundup of things you should be teaching your kids!  Their name, phone number, if they have allergies, all important things that will help them when they are away from you!

If your little one is having some separation anxiety, or if you are, send little love notes in their lunch!  This will remind them that you are always with them and always thinking about them.  They will be sure to smile when they open their lunch box and see your little note. 

If your kids can't read yet, no worries!  just putting a big heart, or a hand for a high five will make them smile!  As they learn to recognize some words, you can easily add little notes like "I love You"

Hoping all you moms are ready for school!

Little Scientist fun!

Kids love learning and they love exploring.  Add them together and you get the fun of our Little Scientist program.

We did some neat experiments recently with the kids that was so fun!

 

Taking normal household objects and a big bucket of water we learned about density and volume by seeing what items will float and what will sink.

The kids took turns putting items in the bucket and guessing what would float or sink.

Some of the items surprised the kids!  A big apple would float but a small coin would sink!   They learned that it's not all about size!


We also took some fun with Magic Milk!  This one really got the kids excited and some of the moms too!

 For anyone that had not seen the Magic Milk experiment it was so fun to watch the explosion of colours that could be created with just a touch of a cotton swap dipped in the "magic potion"

First we filled a low dish with a bit of milk.  Then we put drops of food colouring in the milk randomly.  

In a separate bowl there was water mixed with some regular old dish soap.  The kids dipped their cotton swab in the "magic potion" (the dish soap mixture) and then touched the tip to the colours in the milk.

The colours magically exploded creating beautiful patterns of colour!

The dish soap breaks the skin of the milk allowing the colours to spread and bloom.  This was lots of fun and an easy one for moms to do at home on a rainy day!

Jr. Chefs was a wrap with Et Tu Salad kits!

Our Jr. Chefs this month was sponsored by Et Tu Salad Kits.
 
Getting kids to eat salad is a great way to add veggies into their diet! 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Et TuSalad Kits are a great way to get kids to eat more vegetables.  You can keep them involved in the preparation, and the salad tastes great!

Our tots got to help prepare the Caesar salad for our Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps.
 

 

They had fun making this very easy but delicious meal!  Some fresh chopped romaine lettuce, mixed with the contents of the Et Tu Salad Kit (dressing, some croutons and some bacon bits), a good mix and  voila!  A great salad that is good for you too!

 
Once the salad was all mixed, we got some chopped, cooked chicken and fresh wraps.
 
The kids put their wraps together and enjoyed a healthy and delicious lunch!
 
Some of our younger chefs had the salad and chicken on it's own, and they loved it!!!
 

Having a salad that is healthy and delicious doesn't have to be a lot of work, make it simple with Et Tu Salad kits!
 
You can enter to win with Et Tu Salad Kits and their  “stock your pantry contest”.  Visit http://bepreparedtobesurprised.ca/ 

Celebrate our Birthday with Us!!!!

Have you marked your calendar yet?  We are celebrating our 6th Birthday this summer in true momstown style!

Our Birthday Bash will be held on Sunday August 25th from 10:30am to 2pm at Bulldog Interactive Fitness.

This is a free event for the whole community!  Come out with your whole family and enjoy entertainment and activities with our amazing Sponsors and Vendors!


Our amazing national sponsors are

There are lots of great local sponsors and vendors joining us for the celebration as well including

You can register to attend our event by going to our event at Eventbrite.   By registering you will get the chance to win tickets to see Dora the Explorer this fall!  Everyone that brings their tickets from Eventbrite will get an extra chance to win!!!

Goody bags to the first 200 guests!!!

Visit us on facebook for updates!

 

 

Strawberry picking fun with the momstown tots!

Every summer we look forward to hitting the fields of Barrie Hill Farms for some strawberry picking.

This year the humidity almost had us beat but we decided to brave the summer heat and enjoy a morning of strawberry picking fun!

 

The kids were excited as we armed ourselves with baskets and waited in the sun and heat for the wagon to pick us up and take us to the picking fields!

The kids were so excited, and I was too.  I love fresh strawberries and had vowed to make some jam.

We got out to the fields and the kids got down to picking..... and eating!

They had a blast searching for the biggest and reddest berries.  The moms had fun too.  Even though it was hot, and humid, we all had a great time!

With full baskets, full tummies, red faces and hands, we headed back to the wagon to go back to the market to take our berries home.

The fresh berries were amazingly delicious and were well worth braving the heat!!!

Family Fun Day! Fun in the heat with the momstown families!

It's been incredibly hot and humid but that didn't keep our families from having some fun at Rounds Ranch or our annual family picnic.

The morning started off overcast and heavy with humidity, but soon enough the sun was out and that humidity was keeping us all in need of cool breezes!

We took a wagon ride around the ranch (much of us hoping for some breeze, but no luck) and the kids had fun seeing the ranch and the animals.

There is a fantastic playground that we hit before lunch.  There is a great slide, and a zip line that the kids just loved.  Even the moms and dads got in on the fun!!

One of my kids favorite things to do at the ranch is the pedal cars.  While the kids were having fun on the playground, some of the dads beat the kids to it though and took over the track!  It was so great to see the dads having fun and making friends too!

After a nice lunch and some chit chat with friends our kids had the chance to take a ride on the crazy box cars!  The kids love these fun little barrels turned into box cars. A small tractor pulls them around and they bump and sway and you can hear the kids giggling.

To top the day off, even though we were all melting from the humidity, the kids had some fun on the bouncy pillow. The giant air filled pillow had the kids laughing and the kids jumping so high!

I think that even though we were hot and sweaty it was a great day!  Next year we might plan to be closer to a pool or lake, just in case....

Thanks momstown mamas for making a great family day!

Picasso in the Park! Summer is here!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Barrie today and the perfect day for Picasso in the Park!

I love the creative and free nature of this event and the fact that all the kids can take part no matter how old they are!

We met at one of our favorite parks, Tyndale Park, and found  a great spot under the shade of the trees.
I decided with the painting we didn't need tables as the kids were better off on the grass painting away!

They had a blast creating their masterpieces! 

And one little munchkin had a blast painting herself!!

Summer is going to be a blast with our momstown mamas!

momstown Barrie Tots enjoy a Spaghetti dinner thanks to Barilla!

This month our popular Jr. Chef program was sponsored by Barilla!


We had an awesome turn out of moms and tots all ready to cook a fantastic spaghetti dinner with the new Barilla Plus spaghetti!

Barilla Canada’s latest line of pasta, called Barilla PLUS®, is a new multi grain pasta that contains protein, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and fibre. Not only does it deliver superior nutritional benefits, but the same great taste you expect from regular pasta, too!

After some back yard playtime and a good hand washing, the kids were ready to get busy creating a yummy meal!

While the water for the spaghetti was boiling we prepped our Caesar salad and garlic bread.

The kids got hands on with the cutting of the lettuce.  Most of them experienced their first time using a real knife.  With some assistance for safety, they did an awesome job!

Once we got all the components prepped and the spaghetti was cooked perfectly, the kid assembled their plates and headed out to the sunshine for a back yard feast!

Watching little ones eat spaghetti is always fun.  It's  messy and nutritious meal and certainly a delicious ones!

Our moms enjoyed their meal as well.  It's always a great dinner when you don't have to cook yourself and the kids all eat until their plates are clean!

With full bellies, the kids enjoyed some more playtime before having an ice cream cone and heading home for a much needed bath and bedtime!  Moms were thrilled to take home a box of spaghetti for a future meal!

Thank you Barilla for this awesome Jr. Chef and allowing us to try your new PLUS pasta!! 
For more on Barilla's new PLUS pasta and recipes, visit www.Barilla.ca.