Erika Giarud on Unsplash
Do you have a toddler or a young child who did not get a spot in Spring Break camps this time? Or you are a young parent on a tight budget like many others grappling with the cost of living crisis this year! Even better if you are a stay-at-home mom looking for casual and free-flowing engagements for your children this week!
The good news is that our super-active mommas in the region have created fun-filled plans for parents and young kids to connect, stay active and bond together! You can join them or form a local cohort with your neighbour or other play-date mommas to organize these events on the days and times that suit your needs.
How to Plan Collective Events
Nandini Asthana Shah, a local mompreneur, loves keeping her six and two-year-old boys busy with community-promoting activities. “I have always found that when we do an activity with other moms and kids, planning and carrying out the events become less stressful! The moms help each other, and kids have more fun,” Nandini, a former marketer and event planner reflects. She advises other moms to connect with other parents they meet in a park or daycare to organize events.
“Camps or local community events often require a stricter schedule and planning. Instead, when you come up with a plan as small as a movie-watching in a cozy community room, it’s can be an amazing opportunity to make friends with shared experiences and for young children to learn from social connections and build age-appropriate skills,” she added.
As goes the saying, it takes a village to raise a child; you can join Nandini and her fellow mommas for the following itinerary or come up with a similar one in your neighbourhood!
Itinerary for the Five-Day Spring Break
- Movie-Monday:- Like Nandini and a group of another dozen moms, you can book a community room late morning and watch a movie with your children. You can even wrap up the event with active play, as kids get bored quickly.
- Tykes-Tuesday: You can guide preschool kids with some animal yoga as you follow an online yoga tutorial online or lead a virtual yoga class for a group of families. Children can then sweat outdoors in the snow, as we expect more early this week.
- Swim-Wednesday: If you have an indoor pool in your condominium, you can bring in a group of moms and children for water fun later in the day. If not, you can book together drop-in session at a community centre for supervised swimming.
- Train-Thursday: Bundle up and join the local mommas for a train ride to Toronto at 11 a.m. Before heading home, take the kids on a short Harbourfront stroll or enjoy the Toronto Railway Museum.
- Fun-Friday: The best place to wrap up the week can be a local indoor playground like Lil’ Monkeys. You can also choose any other indoor gym closer to your home. Going with other mommas makes watching the kids with an adrenaline rush much easier.
