Saturday, September 28, 2013

Going to the Lacombe Corn Maze at the Kraay Family Farm!

We love our Autumn Trips to the Kraay Family Farm home of the Lacombe Corn Maze! It isn't Fall unless we make at least one trip!

So many pumpkins... how do we choose?

We love the jumping pillow, the animals, the slides and play houses and of course the corn maze!!

While the big kids explored the large maze, I took the little ones to the toddler maze!

We loved how they have integrated early literacy and an outdoor activity with the story of Jack and the Corn Stalk! As we weaved our way through the maze we looked for the next pages of the story to read aloud!
The girls loved it!!

We plan on going back at least once more time before the end of the season!!


Friday, September 27, 2013

Junior Chef Sponsored by Chef Boyardee!

momstown Central Alberta had a great Cooking program with Chef Boyardee!


Every member got to take home a bag of goodies including a super cute apron for the kids, cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli, a can of Pam and a recipe booklet!

We had two delicious recipes to create!
The first was mini Ravioli Lasagna

Recipe
1 Can of Mini Ravioli
I Cup of torn up Spinach
1 cup of cottage Cheese
1 Cup of grated Mozzarella
1/2 teaspoon of Itlatian seasoning

layered twice
Baked in a 425 degree Farnehiet oven for 20 minutes! Yum!!


The other was Chef Pizza-roni in a Pita Pocket
In a skillet combined 2 Cans of Beefaroni
1 cup of diced pepperoni
1/2 cup diced green peppers
Heat through

Add to Pita Pockets
Add extra garnish as desired, we added more peperoni, peppers and fresh mushrooms!







The kids also got even more creative with can stamping to create a Mural of Tomatoes!

Then of course it was time to eat!!
 Yummy enriched pasta, cheese and meaty tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee is a hot and hearty meal or snack.  It’s kid approved pasta, and has no preservatives!

Time crunched and faced with starving kids at dinner?  Chef Boyardee has easy meal solutions that the whole family can make together – then gobble up with no complaints!  Combine with different protein options, veggies and cheese for a new take on your regular way to serve Chef! 


Friday, September 20, 2013

Tales for Tots! Fox & Squirrel

Every month momstown Central Alberta hosts our Tales for Tots program at Chapters Red Deer!

Tales for tots is one of our Early Literacy programs that we offer, 
and it is sponsored by Scholastic Canada!

This months book selection is Fox & Squirrel by Ruth Ohi! 

It is about  you guessed it a Fox and  Squirrel and they think they might be different from one another but find out they are actually really a lot alike!






During our program at Chapters, we also make a craft with the kids based on the momstown monthly Theme, this month it is APPLES!

Each month, one lucky member gets to take a copy of our monthly book selection home to their family!


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

momstown monet! Preschool Crafts in Red Deer!

Every month momstown Central Alberta meets for our momstown Monet Program!


Our preschool craft events!

This month we met at Parkland Nurseries & Garden Centre to do some APPLE Stamping!

Similar to Potato stamping, but with Apples!

Luckily it has been a Beautiful September so we could still host our event OUTSIDE!!


Join us in October at Parkland Nurseries and Garden Centre for our theme of YOU TURKEY!!




Friday, September 13, 2013

Apple with a WORM! craft!

momstown Central Alberta held our Art & Play program this week, and we love our Fall theme of APPLES!

We made this super cute craft with the kids!


What you need

Paper plates
String
red paint
green paper
Brown paper
O shaped Cereal (we used Apple Jacks)




Poke a hole through the middle of your paper plate and pull a string threw. Easiest to do this first so you are not waiting for the pain to dry! Make sure you knot the end at the back of the plate so it stays!

Have the kids paint the outside of a paper plate for the apple peel, (Or the whole thing - up to the kids) add a few seeds with a black marker or crayons.

With scrap pieces of paper, we used green and brown scraps, to make the apple stem and leaves.

Add some o cereal (We used apple Jacks!)to the string for your worm. Great for practising the fine motor skills! Not the end and you are done! Of course make sure you have lots of extra cereal as it gets munched on during the craft!

Join us at next months Art & Play when our theme is YOU TURKEY!!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Books for Babies! Giggle!

Scholastic Canada sponsors our Books for Babies program each month in Red Deer! This month's sleection is GIGGLE!! By Caroline Jayne Church!


There's no greater thing to do
Than laugh and giggle here with you!


Pressing the giggle button made all the babies pay attention to this book!
And of course the giggle of a baby is infectious!!
All the babies loved this book and of course their older sublings couldn't stop puching the button! Such a fun book to have in your house!

As always a lucky member got to take a copy of this book home to their family!!




Tuesday, September 10, 2013

FREE Nursing Cover, Carseat Canopy, Baby Sling & Nursing Pillow!

I love getting a deal and so do our momstown mamas! I always get compliments on my Carseat Canopy, when I tell people I got it for free they are shocked. 

 











There is no catch with these items, they're free you only pay the shipping! 

I've ordered each of these products and they're great quality! I actually liked my nursing cover from uddercovers.com more than the one I spent $50 with my first baby! 

Just enter the promo code "YOURGIFT" and each item will be discounted!



Here's exactly what you'll pay at the checkout for Canadian shipping:


Nursing Pillow -$15.90
Carseat Canopy - $15.90
Nursing Cover - $12.90
Seven Sling - $13.90
 

Saturday, September 7, 2013

EASY Grandparents Day Craft

Looking for an easy and heartfelt Grandparents Day craft to create with your kids?

Here is an easy craft momstown Central Alberta did at our Baby basics event this week, and one we also did at home!



We had the Three Littles Girls stamp their hands with a sweet Poem to give their grandparents (Times Two) and the Biggest sister made them a sweet card with a note inside!)

Here is the Poem we used

A Grandchild's Hand (author unknown)

The Promise for Tomorrow
and the hope of dreams come true...
A reminder of the childhood
That is still apart of you...

The wonder of a miracle
From which this Love Began
There is so much Found in the touch
Of a Grandchild's hand

Friday, September 6, 2013

Fall Mama Book Club Sponsored By Scholastic Canada!

It is time for momstown Central Alberta's Semi Annual Sponsored Mama Book Club!

Scholastic is sponsoring by supplying 8 Books to giveaway to members!
Scholastic is giving us SIX TITLES TO choose from this time, so you get to VOTE on the book you want to read!

Voting Will close on September 18th and the Book Choice will be Announced September 19th!

HOW DO YOU VOTE? Leave a comment on this post! By leaving a comment you will be entered to win one of the copies!
Winners of the books will also be announced on September 19th!

Please note all winners MUST be momstown Central Alberta members to collect their book and take part in our book club!


ONE:
The Raven Boys (Book 1 of The Raven Cycle) by Maggie Stiefvater
This is a hard one to define, but it’s kind of riveting for those who love the paranormal! (No vampires though)
Here is an adorable video by the author: http://youtu.be/r_e2O...
Fun facts:
Maggie will also be appearing at the Vancouver Writer’s Festival, October 22nd and 23rd:

And at Chapters Cross Iron Mills on October 24th
https://www.facebook....

A starred review for THE RAVEN BOYS in School Library Journal!
“The Raven Boys is an incredibly rich and unique tale, a supernatural thriller of a different flavor. The cinematic feel paces the novel well, and the many pieces of the story unfold with grace. The complicated relationships between the Raven boys and Blue are not of the standard main character/love interest variety and makes the curious plot all the more enthralling. Fans have been salivating for Stiefvater’s next release and The Raven Boys delivers.”

TWO:
Inhuman by Kat Falls
This is my pick for those who loved The Hunger Games, want something similar, but not EXACTLY the same. Definitely a unique dystopic vision—and a bit terrifying!

Gathering some great reviews on goodreads: http://www.goodreads....
And one from one of Ally's favourite bloggers: http://www.themisbeha...

THREE:
Amber House by Tucker, Larkin and Kelly Moore (a mother and her daughters!)
This is my pick for those who love the Gothic Jane Eyre-style story. It has also gathered some great reviews, and might make a nice, atmospheric fall read.

Some fabulous reviews: http://www.goodreads....

FOUR:
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
This isn’t quite YA, more middle grade a la The False Prince, but we’ve really seen a pick up in sales for this series, which Suzanne Collins wrote before The Hunger Games, mostly by adults, so I just thought there might be some chapters that might like a little classic fantasy adventure to make themselves feel like kids again!

FIVE:
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg
This is for those who love a contemporary story—it’s part Mean Girls/part She’s All That/part Toddler & Tiaras.
Elizabeth is delightful too—really fun. All of her books are exactly the kind of thing I like to read when I was a teen, with characters exactly as I felt!

Reviews:
http://www.goodreads....
SIX:
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
This book also goes beyond definition but is huge in-house favourite! Jaclyn is a truly unique gifted writer, and this story is set partly in our world and partly in an invented world—between these two worlds is a gap, and a troubled teen has found a way to communicate with a young man in the fantasy world.

Some starred reviews:

A CORNER OF WHITE receives a starred review in Kirkus
*“Unlike anything else out there . . . Quirky, charming, funny, sad: another winner from this always-surprising author.”--Kirkus

"Australian writer Moriarty's marvelously original fantasy is quirky, clever, and delightful . . . Expect readers to flock to Moriarty's name and stay for the whole Colors of Madeleine trilogy." –Booklist

“The story is told through the teens’ communications and an omniscient narrator. This mix allows readers to know Madeleine and Elliot and their problems intimately, but it also gives them an aerial view of events, helps them meet the richly drawn secondary characters, and allows them to see the ingenious way in which the protagonists’ lives ultimately combine. Ultimately, this is a story of two people helping each other figure out their places in their respective worlds.” School Library Journal, May 2013

The Toronto Star, May 26th 2013.
“[A] fabulously quirky fantasy . . . Moriarty’s precisely drawn characters, sense of humour and general curiosity about the world make this continuously engaging. Psychological depth, heroic action, wit, suspense and invention intertwine beautifully. Not to be missed.”

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Fall Apple Scensory Bin for Toddlers

Today we had our first Toddler Time in Red Deer!

We met and had a great time with our Fall Themed Sensory Bin!


Luckily everything was edible!


We had crab apples from our member Heather's tree!

Cinnamon sticks to smell (and taste apparently)

Oatmeal to make a mess of!

It smells like a Fall dessert in here!!