Mattel Game On! momstown Niagara's Mama Game Night!

We had such a great time with our momstown Niagara's mamas this weekend playing some fantastic games by Mattel.

 I just got the game Apples to Apples for Christmas this year and I'm always looking for new people to play with.  It is my favourite.  I have to say I was pretty disappointed that I didn't win, considering it was everyone else's first time playing.

 I have also loved UNO since I was a kid so it was fun to add a new spin to an old favourite with UNO Power Grab.  It definitely added a new competitive aspect as everyone in my group was trying to get all 4 power towers.  No one did and again, I did not win.

Although my favourite game is Apples to Apples, Blokus was the favourite for our mamas.

It was really great to raffle off these awesome games at the end of our night.  We had such a great time and now that we have all these great games we are going to make Mama Game Night a regular event.  Maybe next time I will actually win a game.  I guess I will have to practice!

Mattel has just designed a great new facebook app called "Gameology" which determines what games suit your personality best based on your facebook profile and answers to 5 questions.  Turns out I fall into the Socialies category which makes perfect sense, since my favourite game is Apples to Apples.  The other Gameology signs are Wittian, Activius & Strategicorn.  Find out what your gaming personality is here!

momstown Niagara's Jr Chefs Bake for Rankin Cancer Run

Our Jr. Chef's were busy today baking cookies to donate to our local TD Canada Trust's bake sale where all proceeds are going to the 2013 Rankin Cancer Run Fund.

Head down to the Geneva St. TD branch tomorrow, Friday May 17th 2013 to purchase some of the amazing cookies our  Jr Chefs made!

At momstown Niagara, our Jr Chef program is one of our flagship monthly events where our tots can get down and dirty in this fun, hands on learning experience.  From measuring the ingredients, to pouring and then mixing, each child gets a chance to be really involved and get comfortable with working as a team.  And what better motivator is there than cookies?

Brianna did such a great job breaking the eggs...no shells!

Jack and Justin worked so well at mixing the dough before putting it on the sheet to bake.  Good thing they brought their big muscles!

I think everyone's favourite part was putting the cookie dough onto the baking sheet.  What a great job everyone did taking turns (and not licking the spoons!).

Ready to go in the oven!  Can't wait to taste them!

And we know what Kieran's favourite part was.  He didn't care if we baked them or not.

Although our intention is to donate all the cookies, we had to make sure they were good enough to sell first.  Our judges approve! Good sharing Levi!

Niagara's Rankin Cancer Run has raised over $32,250,000 in the last seven years and all of that money goes right back into the Niagara Region.  Proceeds always stay local!

If you haven't joined or donated and wish to donate please do so at:

 

Rankin Cancer Run

2 Maplewood Drive
St Catharines ON L2M 3P1

or

https://secure.rankincancerrun.com/donate

 

 

momstown Niagara's Early Literacy Programming with Scholastic Canada

We enjoyed the book "Rain, Rain, Go Away!" by Caroline Jayne Church at our Scholastic Baby Basics event this month, which tied in nicely with our monthly theme, Wet, Wet, Wet!  This event is held monthly at Chapters and is for infants aged 0-12 months. 

This was a great book for our babies made of cardboard, so you don't have to worry about ripped pages and was full of shiny colours to hold you baby's attention.  It is the story version of the familiar song we often sing with our children on rainy days!  We are provided with two copies of our book every month by Scholastic Canada and we raffle them off to our momstown mama's after we read the story.  We are so thankful for their continued support of all momstown communities in Canada!

Our lucky winners!

After our book we did a dragonfly footprint craft and had some mama chat time, while we welcomed some brand new members.

Garrett admiring his work of art!

This event and many others every month are included in your membership fee of only $45/year.  Register Here if you're looking to connect with other mom's in Niagara for fun and friendship while enjoying our great programming with your children!

momstown Niagara "Little Scientists" Making it Rain!

We had a great day at the park earlier this week for our monthly "Little Scientists" event.  Our theme for the month of May is Wet, Wet, Wet!, so what better experiment could we perform than making our own rain?  We learned all about clouds and why and how it rains. 

We filled up clear plastic cups with water, added some shaving cream on top like a cloud and put a few drops of blue food colouring on top.  The kids watched in anticipation for the food colouring to become their very own rain pouring out of the clouds!

To celebrate Mother's Day, our kids  planted some flower seeds for their mom's and we learned how important rain and water are to make our flowers grow.  The kids also loved getting their hands dirty and watering their seeds all by themselves!

Once we finished up with our science experiments we headed over the playground to enjoy some free play time before we went home.  It was the perfect day to learn about rain with a few clouds in the sky and some light showers just as we were leaving!

 This event among many others are included in your annual membership fee of only $45.  Included with your membership is a one year subscription to Today's Parent.  If you'd like to join us REGISTER HERE for your free 4 week trial membership and give us a try!

momstown Niagara's "Picasso's in the Park": Mother's Day keepsake crafts!

We've been looking forward to this since we launched this past January....."Picasso's in the Park"!  Today we got together with our mama's and infants to make our keepsake hand and footprint crafts in the park.  It was such a beautiful day and so nice to be outside for a change!

We met at Pearson Park in St. Catharines and enjoyed the great space under the pavilion.  There were so many people out to enjoy the fantastic weather.  With Mother's Day coming up this weekend we made a special flower out of our baby's hands and feet with a special Mother's Day poem.

After we finished our works of art we played in the grass and soaked up some much needed vitamin D!

Picasso's in the Park is a great way to create special keepsakes during the short time our baby's are this small and it's also a great way to connect with other moms in Niagara for fun, friendship & support.  Looking forward to many more great events throughout the summer months!  We'll be back at Pearson Park this Saturday for a special momstown Mother's Day picnic!!!

Not a member yet?  Membership is only $45 for the whole year and includes all of these great events, plus a one year subscription to Today's Parent!  Register today for a FREE 4 week trial and get in on the fun!

Scholastic Books for Babies!

  Robert Munsch books are among some of the best children's stories, so of course we were thrilled to receive our books from Scholastic Canada this month to find "Alligator Baby" with illustrations by Michael Martchenko for our Baby Basics program!  This is now available as a board book which is great for our babies, so they can't rip the pages!

  We all gathered around the kiddie table at Chapters in St. Catharines to enjoy this story where poor Kristen is trying to track down her baby brother who was born at the zoo.  Her parents brought home an alligator baby and a seal baby, so she takes on the task to go to the zoo and get him herself!  What silly parents!!

  We raffled off two copies of this great story for our momstown babies to enjoy for years to come!

 ....Followed by a cute keepsake craft with a spring theme.  We made adorable toe print caterpillars by painting their little baby toes and pressing them onto paper and thumb print ladybugs on a leaf!

Frog Run, Petting Farm and Pancakes at White Meadows Farms!

  Our momstown families went on our first trip to White Meadows Farms yesterday for the annual Frog Run.  According to an old tale it was said that as the weather got warmer you could hear the frogs croaking throughout the night, which meant that the end of the maple season was nearing.  So, every year the Frog Run is celebrated at White Meadows Farms to bring an end to the maple season.

  We started our morning off with the Frog Run.  The kids were given a net to collect their plastic frogs in, sort of like an Easter Egg hunt.  It only took a few minutes for the little one's to gather up hundreds of little frogs.  Once their net was full, they got to trade them in for a special treat and delicious maple goodies!  The rain held out until the end of the hunt and started just as we headed into the petting farm!

  We got to see sheep, lambs, turkeys, rabbits and goats.  The kids had a great time feeding and petting them...and got a few kisses too!

  We finished off our morning with a delicious breakfast!  Too bad it's the end of the season for pancake weekends, because let me tell you, they make the best pancakes ever and are of course served with their famous pure maple syrup!  We'll be back when they re-open in January 2014!

  One of our members who is new to Canada was so thrilled to partake in a truly Canadian event for the first time.  Sometimes we take things for granted when they're in our own backyard.  What a great way to embrace our Canadian culture and be proud of the amazing resources here in Niagara!   White Meadows Farms is the perfect place to spend the day with your family!
 
I had to do a little shopping at "The Maple Sweet Shop" before we headed to the car to get one of my favourites, maple red pepper jelly and then we called it a day.  Everyone had a fantastic morning and we can't wait until next season!