Tales for Tots: Clifford at the Circus

This month’s theme is at the circus so we have had a chance to talk and learn about some of the things that we might see at a circus.  At our tales for tots we read a story from Scholastic Canada that was called  Clifford at the Circus  by Norman Bridwell which was a great story about Clifford and Emily helping out at the circus. 

At first the owner didn’t think they could do much, but Clifford and Emily surprised him by really saving the day.  Check out the rest of the book review here.    

Afterward we talked about going to the circus and some things we might see there.   We also got a chance to sing about going to the circus and we did a rhyme:

Funny Clown Tune: 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around

Funny clown, funny clown, spin around

Funny clown, funny clown, jump up and down

Funny clown, funny clown touch your toes.

Funny clown, funny clown, honk your nose.

Then we had a draw for the book that we read and our lucky winner was Jaxson!  Congrats Jaxson!

We also did a craft afterward and it was a clown’s hat.  Click here to find out how to make this craft.

The tots busy crafting.

The end result! Adorable!

Playing with a nice present from the staff at Chapters Polo Festival!

Babies hanging out while the big kids made their craft.

Thank you Chapters Polo Park for having us and providing some snacks and freebies! 

Get creative with a Dr. Seuss themed party!

My daughter loves to read! And she is a little silly, as most 3 year olds are. So I wanted to throw a fun, wacky birthday party for her.  So with the help of pinterest I got some fabulous ideas on a Dr. Seuss themed birthday party.

1) First off, location. I knew right away the place to have it. The Children's Museum is a fun, wacky and colourful place. Perfect for a Dr. Seuss themed party!

2) Invitations. Well I sort of delayed myself on this, so I sent out e-invites to avoid postal delays. Otherwise I would have gone with a mailed invitation. Something about receiving an invitation in the mail that still excited me! Here's a great example of a Dr. Seuss invitation, that looks like a book.

Click here to see more of this invitation.

3) Guest list. This really depends on how big or small you want to go. I really am a big believer of to each their own. Some people like big parties, some like small gatherings. Last year we skipped my daughter's birthday because we just moved back home to Winnipeg. So mama guilt got the best of me and I went BIG!

These were just some of the guests!

4) The food. This part was fun to get my creative juices flowing. It's easier and a lot simpler then it appears. All the ideas are all ready out there. Creative names and presentation make simple food look like hours of work. Here's a great blog that inspired me.

The spread! It's all in the presentation. So simple. I worded the food on Dr. Seuss labels based on characters or objects from Dr. Seuss books. Like a Cheese Tree, Sam I Am Hamwiches, Yertles Blueberries and Green Eggs.

I bought the water bottle labels off etsy.

I made my own cupcakes. You can't tell but the blue icing is standing up like the hair of Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Who Pudding and Blue Goo! Pudding and Jello. Simple and easy to make.

5) The activities. The kids got to make and wear Dr. Seuss hats. They also made goo, an activity that the museum provides. But if you host this at home I would get the kids to make Oobleck!  Then benefit of having a party outside the home in places such as the Children's Museum is that the kids got to run around and play in the museum. So less activities for mom to plan! 

Other activities you could do is pin the egg on the ham, read a Dr. Seuss book, make a wacky Dr. Seuss inspired craft or set up the inflatable pool and place cut outs of fish and have the kids fish with a fishing rod. We did a lot of these activities at our momstown Dr. Seuss Birthday Party!

6) The decorations. I actually had a hard time finding Dr. Seuss decorations at the store so I had to be creative. I bought cheap wooden A, B, C letters at Walmart and painted them. I found some cute stuff of etsy too. I printed some Dr. Seuss quotes that I bought off etsy and placed them in cheap black frames I got from Dollerama. And I placed all our Dr. Seuss books around the room as part of the decorations.  I used colourful bowls for the food and that was pretty much it.  

7) The loot bags. I wanted to give something useful, so they each got a Dr. Seuss book with some stickers. A few older kids got book markers instead as I figured Dr. Seuss would be a tad too easy for their reading level.

So that's our Dr. Seuss Party. The only regret was I didn't take more photos. It was a fun party to plan and my daughter talked about it for weeks!

momstown Celebrating 5 Years Across Canada

Have friends across Canada near a local momstown Chapter. Invite them to attend their local momstown Birthday Bash!

If you live in the Winnipeg area join us:

When: Sunday, August 19th

Where: Earl Grey Community Centre

Address: 360 Cockburn Street North

Winnipeg, MB  

Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm 

For more details on Winnipeg's Birthday Bash click here. 

Hope to see you there!

How to make sidewalk chalk paint

Checking off one more thing on my bucket list for this summer. I found a great sidewalk chalk paint recipe on pinterest that looked easy, affordable and a whole lot of fun!

What you'll need:

• Cornstarch
• Water
• Food colouring
• Bowls
• Tablespoon
• Paintbrushes
• Wipes for clean up

Directions:

Mix together equal parts of cornstarch and water. Start off with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Mix together until you have a smooth consistency.  You shouldn't feel any drag from the cornstarch, but it also shouldn't be too liquify either. It should pour off your spoon and not leave a layer of cornstarch goo in the bowl or on your spoon. 

Now add the food colouring! You will want to make a few batches so you can have a few colours of chalk paint.

I stripped my son down as he is still quite young and will get messy! Since it has food colouring be sure to wear play clothes. 

What I like best about making homemade sidewalk chalk paint is that it is safe for the wee little ones that still like to eat everything in sight! 

I took some Huggies Simply Clean wipes to wipe down my son. It came off quite easy. It also washes off the sidewalk nicely too. 

So there you have it. A fun activity to involve the kids with making and keep them busy this summer!

Here's another great blog on how to make sidewalk chalk from our friends at momstown Edmonton South.

Wordless Wednesday: First Time Fishing

Summer Vacation Bucket List

School's out and the kids are home. How to keep them busy so you don't lose your mind? Make a bucket list. There are a ton of great ideas that we found off pinterest, momstown.ca and of course many are part of our signature momstown events! And be sure to check your local community for upcoming festivals, local farms, parks, and splashpads.

So here it is. My bucket list of 25 things to do this summer:

1. Go swimming in the lake
2. Make a sandcastle at the lake
3. Have a car wash playdate
4. Attend our momstown Picasso's in the Park
5. Visit the new Variety Heritage Adventure Park
6. Have a Pudding Party Playdate and let the kids get messy
7. Invite the neighbourhood kids for Bubblefest - bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles
8. Make homemade chalk paint with my kids and paint our driveway
9. Go to Birds Hill Park for a picnic and a hike
10. Have a lemonade stand
11. Go strawberry picking
12. Go fishing with my oldest daughter
13. Visit Fort Whyte Alive
14. Go to Assiniboine Park's Nature's Playground
15. Take the kids to the St. Norbert Farmers Market
16. Go to the zoo
17. Make this non-toxic home-made paint & let the kids go wild in the yard
18. Bring the kids to Tinkertown
19. Make a craft on those rainy days
20. Visit a local farm
21. Fly the kite my daughter got for her birthday
22. Visit at least 2 different splashpads
23. Go camping
24. Drop the kids off at Grandma's so mom can get a pedicure (I think we all deserve this!!)
25. Attend the momstown Winnipeg Birthday Bash this August (check your local city for the date)

So here it is! My bucket list. So go on and make one too! There are so many fun things to do around the home and through-out our great city.  momstown.ca also has a great list of activities to do this summer. Check it out here.

And check us out on Breakfast Television talking about our Bucket List: http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/1722339460001.000000/your-kids/

Welcome our new momstown Winnipeg team!

momstown is growing! We have added some great members to our team. As much as I love being out there at events meeting all the parents and kids, I can't get it all done on my own. So I have brought on some very talented, friendly, creative and outgoing team members.


Be sure to say hi to them when you're out and about in the community, or at one of our amazing events. Their energy, passion and excitement for life and for momstown are totally contagious and I know you'll love them as much as I do! 


Event Coordinator & Ad Rep - Jennifer Hanslip
Jennifer is a mom of two beautiful little girls and pretty much one of the nicest people you will ever meet! She has been a member of momstown Winnipeg since day one and has been to countless events! She has 4 years experience running a mom's group and pre children Jennifer worked in Human Resources. She will be out and about running events and also will be working as our Advertising Representative. 


Event Coordinator - Camille Dyck
Camille has been a member of momstown for a few months and one day she helped me out in a pinch and ran an event for me. Let's just say she ran the event far better then I ever would and I knew right then that she was perfect for the Event Coordinator role. Her creativity and love for literacy go hand and hand with momstown.


With 20+ events on the calendar we will still need more help from time to time. So we have some great members that you will see helping us out.


Welcome Jenn McLarty and Colleen Peluso who will be helping out from time to time with events. Colleen is the queen of backyard playdates and Jenn has a teaching degree. Education and fun are kind of perfect for momstown!!


Meals4Mama Coordinator - Christina Hiebert 
Christina is taking time out of her busy schedule to volunteered to be our new Meals for Mama Coordinator. Christina is not only a fabulous guest blogger for momstown but also an active member who loves to help out where help is needed. And a food lover! So this role is right up her ally!


Welcome again ladies! I am looking forward to working with each and every one of you and together as a team I know we will make momstown even bigger and better!