momstown Victoria Baby Basics and Britax Prize Draw

Our 12-week momstown Victoria Baby Basics program is especially for moms with babies ages 0 to 12 months! A baby playgroup (our weekly Tumblebums playdate) alternates each week with a free seminar or workshop led by a baby expert! Baby Basics is your opportunity to connect with other new and expecting moms as well as enjoy high quality workshops and presentations. Topics will include sleep solutions, natural health, infant massage, baby signs and more. 

Tuesday, October 2

Sleep Seminar with Tumblebums Solutions

Brenda Kovitz is the owner of Tumblebums Play Centre and Toy Shop. After years of hearing about parents suffering with the little one’s sleep routines, it was time to become an expert on the topic. Under the guidance of the Family Sleep Institute and the Co-Founder of the the International Association of Child Sleep Consultants, Deborah Pedrick, Brenda has become a Certified Sleep Consultant. With training in many sleep methods, Brenda is a Certified Sleep consultant and able to help every family find the method that is best suited to them. 

http://www.tumblebumssolutions.com/

Thursday, October 16

Babysigns with Laura Shepherd

Join our very own Laura Shepherd for a special Babysigns class! After discovering the many benefits of baby sign language with her own daughter, Laura became a Babysigns Independent Certified Instructor. 

http://www.babysignsprogram.com/

Tuesday, October 30

Post Partum Naturopathic Care Seminar by Dr. Lisa Lau, ND

Many moms take care of themselves during pregnancy, but not so much once baby arrives. Post partum health care is very essential and it's important for moms to take care of themselves mentally and physically. Learn about natural health tips for a healthy mind and body, which will help your baby be healthy too.

Basic Infant Massage Workshop by Laura Kidson, RMT

Learn basic massage techniques to enhance parent/child bonding, increase parental confidence, improve blood and lymph circulation, deepen respiration, enhance gastrointestinal function, reduce hypersensitivity, modulate sleep and wake states, and provide general relaxation for both mom and baby. Specific techniques will be demonstrated and we will also discuss the use of safe oils and when massage can be performed on your baby.

http://www.victoriacentrefornaturalhealth.com/

Sign up for any of our amazing Baby Basics programs in October, and you could win this Britax Head & Body Support Pillow! One entry for every signup - up to 3 ballot entries!

Not a member yet? October is a spectacular time to sign up for a free 4-week trial! We do not share your information with any third party, and we offer high quality early education programs, events and resources to support and connect moms for only $45/year. Your membership cost goes back into growing your local chapter, and our awesome local and national sponsors help add to the value and fun!

Ask us all of your questions this weekend at Vancouver Island Baby Fair!!!

momstown Victoria Scholastic Tales for Tots: "Wishes" by Jean Little

Our Scholastic book selection this month is "Wishes," by Jean Little, a beautifully illustrated poem which begins with the old English proverb, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." The saying usually means that wishing is useless, but in this book, wishing is a doorway to imaginative possibilities. The children loved this book and were able to follow the pattern of verse, "If wishes were ____, then _____ would ______," using their own own imagination and whimsy to fill in the blanks. Drop by our momstown Victoria Tales for Tots program at Chapters Victoria on the 3rd Wednesday of every month, 10-11 a.m., for a free craft, story time, and book prize draw! You might win a copy of next month's book selection, "Let it Fall," by Maryann Cocca-Leffler.

We are happy to announce a second Tales for Tots program in Colwood! Join us this Friday, September 28th, 11:30 am-12:30 pm at the Juan de Fuca Library for a special storytime, craft and free draw for our wonderful Scholastic book. Please register at www.gvpl.ca.

We have so many other exciting events and programs coming up in October, including a Crafty Mamas night at Fired Up!, Little Scientists with Glenn Kachmar, a special Nutella Buddies Brunch and our very own Halloween Boo Bash! Sign up for these events and more on your free 4-week trial!

momstown Victoria Picassos in the Park with Tropicana - 'the good stuff!'

We had a wonderful time serving delicious Tropicana orange juice at our momstown Victoria Picassos in the Park event this month! momstown.ca is proud to team up with Tropicana to raise awareness of their Tree of Giving campaign, which aims to donate 300,000 servings of orange juice to Breakfast for Learning programs in schools across the country.
 

The sun was hot, and our momstown Victoria moms and kids were thirsty! As one mom told her child, we were serving 'the good stuff'!' The children loved our craft, which was an orange tree made with toilet paper rolls and tissue paper, and we also gave away orange balloons!

  

31% of elementary students do not have breakfast before going to school, and when you pick an orange from the Tropicana Tree of Giving website, you donate a serving of orange juice to the Breakfast for Learning programs, and get a chance to win a year's supply of orange juice. You can pick up to one orange each day.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Free Rock 'N' Roll Literacy Show

Get inspired to enjoy reading and stories with your children.
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Join GVPL and the United Wayof Greater Victoria on Saturday, September 29th, at Burnside Gorge CommunityCentre for a free family event that will inspire you to enjoy reading and stories with your children. We'll start with a lively Rock'N'Roll Literacy show by author and speaker Sigmund Brouwer and then enjoy hands-on workshops for parents and kids. This event is free but spaces are limited so pre-registration is required. A free brown bag lunch will be provided and limited free child minding spaces will be available. The event is suitable for families with children aged 12 and under. Register online or call your local branch for more information. 

http://gvpl.ca/audiences/kids-and-tweens/

momstown Victoria Defining Moments: Adventures in Preschool

“Good night, Taliya.  I love you.”

“Good night, Mommy. I love you too. And Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“I don’t want to go back to school.”

Huh? Did my 4-year old just tell me that she didn’t want to go back to school?  Yes, I admit it is debatable as to who was more excited about her first day of preschool – she or I? But really –How could she not LOVE it? When she came out of pre-school she had a big smile on her face. Was she smiling because she was happy to be leaving school?!

After an hour of lamenting the loss of her academia even before it started, I took a step back and saw the truth of it.

Nothing gave me perspective about how my life had changed in the moment that I held her for the first time. What joy! What elation! And then, what a big responsibility! And so for every day of her life, I wait for her to reveal her hopes, dreams, and passions so I can nurture them. Ah! What work this has turned out to be! Currently, she dreams of flying like Wendy-bird in Peter Pan and she is passionate about barking and howling like a wolf-pup in a wolf pack. She is better at the latter. In any case, why wouldn’t she love school? I had made sure to explain all the great things about school so that she could be as elated as I was about her next step of growing up.

And then, I suddenly realized that I might have set her up for disappointment. Had I hyped it up a little too much? I told her she would make new friends, play games, do art projects, learn new things, etc etc etc…but I realized I was not being realistic at all. I mean, she was only there for an hour (gradual entry for first-timers). No wonder she wasn’t crazy about school – it just wasn’t as fun as I had said it was going to be. She probably thought: What’s the big deal?

I’m still a new mom. I’ve never had a 4-year old daughter before and I got a little carried away with preparing her. Note to self:  First, Be cool. Second, Be realistic. Third and most important, Let her discover for herself what she loves about school.

“Mommy, I don’t want to go back to school”

“Are you sure about that?”

Long pause. “Well, maybe I can try.”

Melanie Matthews is a busy mom of a 4-year old girl and 2-year old twin boys. If you would like to become a guest blogger, please email melissa.hogg@momstown.ca for more info.