BC Family Child Care Association 2013 Conference & AGM

BCFCCA would like to invite you to participate in our annual conference, 

Early Literacy: More than just ABC’s and 123’s

The Board and staff of BCFCCA have been extremely busy putting together a weekend that is intended to educate, excite and inspire you. At this year’s conference, we invite you to be open to creative ideas, innovative ways of educating and caring for our most important citizens. We have brought in presenters who are truly inspiring and are ready to help you embrace new ways of thinking.

Friday night join us for a meet and greet in the Nanaimo Museum, relax and mingle with other child care professionals.

On Saturday, take time to explore our Mini Market where local vendors and vendors from across the province will be bringing their exciting products to share.

Finally, we end the weekend with breakfast, our AGM and a terrific workshop. We are sure you will be as excited as we are, we sincerely hope you can join us!

For more information, please visit www.bcfcca.ca.

momstown Victoria will be participating as a vendor at the Mini Market! Visit our table where you can enter to WIN one of these three amazing prizes from Fisher-Price! See you there!

Soozsports and Yoga Therapy with Dr. Suzanne Flannigan, PhD

Dr. Suzanne Flannigan, PhD, triathlete and
owner of Soozsports and Yoga Therapy

SoozSports and Yoga Therapy offers a variety of customized and highly individualized coaching programs geared toward two groups of people: those who want to become more active, vibrant and healthy; and, those who want to improve their competitive performance in general fitness, swimming, biking, running and/or triathlon.  

SoozSports and Yoga Therapy also offers individual and small group (10 or less) yoga classes in a beautiful and serene yoga studio. Yoga sessions help individuals calm the mind and rejuvenate the spirit while releasing stress and strengthening the systems of the body. Yoga sessions improve flexibility, strengthen the core and remove physical, mental and emotional toxins from the body. 

In addition, SoozSports and Yoga Therapy offers specialized mini and small group yoga sessions. These programs are specifically tailored toward the needs of each specialized group. Our yoga programs will increase flexibility, decrease tightness, build strength and energize the entire body.

"I have a PhD in Higher Education, am a 200-hour certified and registered yoga instructor, and I am a Canadian National Coaching Association Level 2 Coach in triathlon (and will be doing my level 3 assessment in less than 2 weeks.) I have been an athlete all my life, competitive in swimming, gymnastics, track and field, cross country, and triathlon. I have done yoga most of my life as part of my athletics. And, I have celiac (a gluten allergy) so am well-versed in nutrition."

Follow Soozsports on facebook and twitter!

Suzanne is offering a $5 drop-in yoga session for momstown Victoria members on Wednesday nights for 12 weeks only, from February 20th to May 8th. Space is limited and signups will close on the Monday night prior to the event. You must a be a member to attend! Not a member yet? Try us FREE for 4 weeks and you'll have access to this yoga class and many more great events to connect with other moms around town!

momstown Victoria OverJOYed Baby Basics sponsored by Fisher-Price

momstown Victoria

OverJOYed Baby Basics

sponsored by Fisher-Price!
Tuesday, March 12th

9:30-10:30 am

Medicine Moves Dance Studio

841 Fisgard Street

Our Baby Basics Special Event will include our wonderful Baby Picassos mini art session, circle time, potluck snacks, refreshments, and four amazing Fisher-Price toys to raffle off at the end of the event! Bring a friend and you'll both receive an extra prize ballot in our special prize draw!*

Here are the fun toys we'll be playing with!

Baby Basics is our mama & baby program designed for moms with babies aged 0 to 12 months looking to connect with other moms with infants. Our Baby Basics program includes guest speakers, "Baby Picassos" art sessions, and Baby Book Club sponsored by Scholastic Canada. Each session includes loads of chat time to get to know your local moms in momstown.

You must be a member or on a 4-week free trial to attend! You can register online or at the event. Our membership is only $45/year which includes access to 20+ events each month and a BONUS 1-year subscription to Today's Parent Magazine! Join in the fun and start connecting with other moms in your neighbourhood today!

*increases your chance of winning only. One prize per family.

momstown Victoria Members Get a Bonus Today's Parent Subscription!

If you haven't noticed it yet, momstown is more. We're more than a website, and we're more than a mom entrepreneur business. We're a movement that is connecting local moms through frequent, high quality, fun and supportive networking events. We offer this at a low membership fee of only $45 a year, and our members enjoy exclusive discounts and deals at both the local and national level to make this incredible value even more incredible.

There's never been a better time to join momstown Victoria! When you purchase or renew a full year momstown membership in 2013, you receive a BONUS subscription to Today's Parent!

Included in your membership to momstown is a one year (12 issues) subscription to Today's Parent! This includes all new memberships as well as existing membership renewals, and applies only to full year momstown memberships ($45). This special offer is available from January 1st to December 31st, 2013.

Already receive Today's Parent? Then your subscription will be extended for one additional year!

Click here for details and mark your calendars to renew or sign up soon! Sign up for your FREE 4-week trial with momstown today!

Breakfast, Bears & Baby at the momstown Victoria Nutella Buddies Brunch!

Thank you, Nutella, for sponsoring a fun Buddies Brunch for our momstown Victoria moms, dads and kids! We had an awesome time doing a teddy bear craft, snack and circle time with our kids and their special buddies (teddy bears, dolls and stuffies.) All of our momstown Victoria attendees also received a special Nutella giveaway and a chance to win a great Nutella prize!

Each attendee received a full-sized jar of Nutella, a heart-shaped sandwich cutter, and an 'I ♥ Breakfast' button! The door prize was a Nutella backpack filled with even more goodies, including TWO additional jars! Sweet indeed!

We were so happy to have one of our momstown Victoria Event Coordinators join us with her 8-day old baby! Congratulations, Kate! (Looking forward to Kate's momstown Book Club event on Friday, October 26th, 6-7 p.m. at Tall Tales Books/Story Studio! We'll be sharing potluck appies and choosing our first book. Sign up to join us!)

All the kids did a great job of colouring and cutting out the pre-printed templates for this easy teddy bear paper bag puppet. Great craft for all ages!

  

Our momstown Victoria kids enjoyed a delicious potluck snack together. We had orange juice, fruit, and all the ingredients to make teddy bear faces using a rice cake, banana chips, chocolate chips, wafers, raisins - and Nutella!

In circle time, the kids took turns finding the teddy bear on each page of  "Because You Are My Baby," by Sherry North and Marcellus Hall. We then sang songs with our buddies, such as "Smooth Road" with the teddy bears on our laps, "Sleeping Teddy Bears" (the kids decided that teddy bears would 'whisper roar' because they wake up at night when the kids are sleeping,) and "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around" to say "bye-bye." We all had a really fun time together!

Congrats to the dad and daughter winners of our door prize! The dad told us that he grew up eating Nutella every day, so it was very appropriate that he took home THREE whole jars (two in the knapsack, plus the free gift!!!) Another mom was happy because she loves to bake with Nutella. You can find more great giveaways and recipe ideas on the Nutella facebook fan page.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and thanks again to Nutella for sponsoring this great event and for drawing attention to the importance of breakfast in Canada’s Breakfast Report.

Where else can you have this much fun and make great friends too? Sign up for a FREE 4-week trial and see what else is happening with momstown Victoria. Our membership is only $45/year!

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 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!

Today's Parent Bonus with momstown Victoria Membership!

If you haven't noticed it yet, momstown is more. We're more than a website, and we're more than a business. We're a movement that is connecting local moms through frequent, high quality, fun and supportive networking events. We offer this at a low membership fee of only $45 a year, and our members enjoy exclusive discounts and deals at both the local and national level to make this incredible value even more incredible.

momstown.ca is proud to announce that Today's Parent, Canada's leading national parenting magazine, is offering a BONUS 1-year (12 issue) subscription with each 1-year momstown membership. This limited time offer is only available between August 1st, 2012, If you already receive a Today's Parent subscription, your subscription will be extended by one year! 

Today's Parent is committed to helping parents build happy, healthy families. From pregnancy to teens, and in between, parents will find articles on health, education, discipline nutrition, crafts and so much more. 

Look for our full-page article on p.76 of the September issue! Click here to sign up for your FREE 4-week trial!