Getting Rid Of The Soother With Susy the Soother Fairy

Getting a child to stop using a soother can be a daunting task.  Soother attachment is a tough habit to break and sometimes help and reinforcements are the only thing that will do the trick.  momstown Oakville was so pleased to welcome Susy the Soother Fairy to our music and movement program today and read her new book about helping kids give up their soother in positive way by helping them celebrate the milestone.

Before Susy was set to arrive, the kids got busy making magic wands.  We used glow sticks from the dollar store and then added some foam hearts for the top of the wand.  Each child decorated their wand using glitter, markers and foam stickers.

When our magic wands were ready, we sat in a circle for story time and read the 'Susy The Soother Fairy' book to learn all about Susy's magic sac.  Susy's book comes with a magic sac that children can leave their soothers in for Susy to come and take away one night and leave a present in return! To read more about how Susy's book and  magic sac work, click here.  Finally it was time for Susy to come and sing with us!

We sang lots of great songs like Old McDonald, Jingle Bells and Sleeping Bunnies but best of all was the Susy the Soother Fairy song.  A very catchy tune (my daughter was singing the song all through lunch after our visit with Susy!) that goes something like "You're getting so big, you're getting so tall, you don't need a soother at all!"  Susy was lots of fun and the kids all enjoyed her visit.

Susy the Soother Fairy was written by local Oakville author Laura Page-Hamelin who came up with the concept after trying to rid her own daughter of her soother attachment.  Using Susy worked like a charm for her three year old so Laura was inspired to bring the concept to life and help other parents end soother attachment using a positive and rewarding method.  Click here to read more about Laura and click here to buy the Susy the Soother Fairy book.

Coming Soon: momstown Oakville moms and kids experience music and movement with Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes!

On March 28th, momstown Oakville moms and kids will get a chance to channel their inner ballerina!  We've got an exciting Music & Movement event taking place at The Dance Exchange to celebrate the DVD release of Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes.

Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes is a new release which will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on February 26th, 2013. Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes is an exciting ballet movie in which Barbie™ stars as Kristyn, the hard-working dancer, who wows the big ballet company in her performance of Giselle and Swan Lake.  Through this journey Kristyn learns that when you dance from your heart – your dreams can come true.

momstown Oakville had a chance to attend the pre-screening event for this movie and let me tell you, all the little guests loved the movie!  It was so cute to see so many ballerinas twirling around in their best tutu.  I know that many little ballerinas will  love the new line up of Barbie dolls, accessories and a playset so they can recreate some of their favorite scenes from the film. A must have is the Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes as Kristyn Farraday™.  Two in one, girls can simply twist the doll and her skirt reverses for a magical transformation!

Would you like to join us for our March 28th event?  We'll be doing a dance demonstration with The Dance Exchange, getting musical with some instruments and each child will get to take home a themed craft from the event.  In addition to giving away a Barbie™ in the Pink Shoes DVD, we'll also be giving away a tutu from Instep Activewear.  And of course, everyone is encouraged to come in their best ballerina outfit and bring their favourite doll or buddy with them.  This event is open to the public but you do need to RSVP so please send us an email at info.oakville@momstown.ca to reserve your spot!

Hope you can join us, but if you can't make the event, you can still enter here to win a copy of the DVD!

Merriam Music gets momstown Oakville moms and kids moving and grooving!

It was all about celebrating Christmas through song and musical instruments at momstown Oakville's music program today! Merriam Music helped everyone get into the holiday spirit as we used music sticks to tap to Christmas music followed by singing jingles bells using tambourines, maracas  and of course jingle bells.

We also sang about Frosty the snowman and Santa using our hands and feet as clappers and stompers. We were given scarves to dance around the room with to really shake out all those Christmas jitterbugs! Lastly we finished the morning with the reindeer hokey pokey, putting our tails and reindeer noses in and out. What a wonderful morning to bring the Christmas spirit to life through music - thank you Merriam Music for such a fun morning!  Find out more about Merriam's wonderful preschool programs here.

We get musical every month - this is just one of the programs offered through momstown Oakville for just $45 a year.  Sign up for your free trial today!

Oakville music program for preschoolers offered by Merriam Music!

momstown Oakville moms and kids have had the pleasure of participating in a Merriam Music class for the past few months.  It's amazing to see how much the kids (of all ages) love the program and we have a packed house every single time.  Merriam Music in Oakville offers preschool programs and also a unique group piano lessons program.

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

The Merriam School of Music preschool program for children 2 - 3 years of age introduces all of the areas of music literacy through song, movement, rhythm, and craft. Creativity, experimentation and repetition of these concepts create a strong foundation for and direct link to our Kids Keyfest Program.

What to expect from each 45-minute class:
-Set structure and routine for the class delivery
-Rhythm, pitch matching, coordination and basic musical language development through song
-Creativity & self-expression development through activities such as improvisation, story telling, crafts & listening games
-Social skills development through the building of collaborative relationships with others during the class over the course of the year
-Teamwork development through activities that are built to encourage cooperation, respect of self and others and personal accountability


KEYFEST GROUP PROGRAMS

The detail of the skills developed in addition to the 9 areas of musical literacy are crucial to understanding the philosophy behind the delivery and content of every lesson.

-Social skills can only be developed in social settings! Through the group lessons, students learn how to build relationships with others and how to collaborate within a set routine.
-Teamwork is a crucial component to lesson success and flow. All activities run in the group settings are built to encourage cooperation, respect of self and others and personal accountability.
-Leadership opportunities are consciously integrated into each lesson. Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning while simultaneously supporting others in their learning too. These opportunities are backed by support and encouragement from the teacher in order to build overall student confidence in stepping up to this role.
-Ensemble performance settings develop the ability to simultaneously listen internally (to what the individual is playing) and externally (to what the group is playing). These skills are necessary in order to adapt and respond in real time to what’s going on around the student. What a great skill to have later in life when running business meetings!

To find out more about Merriam Music programs, please visit their website.  momstown Oakville moms and kids are really looking forward to our November and December sessions!

momstown music: Farm Animal Fun with Merriam School of Music!

Momstown Oakville moms and kids had a great morning with Merriam School of Music!  We have a monthly class with them and the theme this month was farm animals.

We sang fun songs about farm animals, danced around & played instruments.  I love how they were able to tie in everything we did to farm animals, and make the class so much fun & interactive for our kids.

 

The main focus was on the songs and the sounds that many of the farm animals make.  Our older kids were able to identify many of the animal sounds they heard, while our little ones were giggling and mimicking the sounds!  My son had a blast making pig and sheep sounds!  Miss Victoria had pictures for all the kids to identify with the sounds.  She was great about getting everyone up and moving as well.  Some of our kids have some great dance moves!

If you're interested in joining us next month at Merriam School of Music or any of our other 40+ momstown Oakville events next month, register for a FREE membership trial. Don't forget to check out the rest of our great pictures on our Facebook fan page.

music & movement with Merriam School of Music

Our momstown mamas and pre-schoolers headed over to Merriam School of Music for a music class today, and we had a great time!

The pre-school program at Merriam School program is interactive, and really gets the kids involved.  The theme this month at Merriam School of Music is the circus.  We talked and sang about the circus, and read a book!  The kids were jumping around like horses, and pretending to be elephants!  A few even walked the tight rope.

Our instructor Victoria was wonderful, and handled a room full of excited momstown kids with ease!

There was something fun for everyone!  So many of the kids enjoyed exploring the instruments, while others preferred the dancing and moving.

Looking forward to a new theme and some great fun next month!  Thanks again Merriam School of Music for hosting us.

If you're interested to learn what momstown Oakville is all about, register for a free 4 week trial - we have music and so much more to offer.

Kindermusik with momstown Oakville!

momstown Oakville kids were jumping and clapping at Kindermusik today with Miss Lorry from Performance School of Music and Dance!

We had a "family time" class which is geared towards children between the ages of newborn and up, so it was perfect for our group.  Our youngest participants were 4 months, and our ages ranged right up to 5 years old.  Miss Lorry has a fabulous way of integrating all the children into the class, and being able to adjust activities to each age.

Our kids explored with rhythm and instruments.  We even got to play with some balls.  The music ranges and keeps the kids on their toes!

We are excited for our next class scheduled in August.  If you are interested in joining us for our next music class, or other momstown Oakville events, register for a FREE 4 week trial.  Don't forget to check out more great pics of this event on our facebook fanpage.