Leaving my longtime career in marketing, moving to a new city in a new province with my husband and son, and starting up Mommy Connections was a lot last year! We moved August 10th and Aidan started school September 6 which meant that I had about 4 weeks of trying to figure out what to do with Aidan while we were home together… so, Mommy Camp was born!
Mommy Camp was the transition Aidan needed from ending summer day camp to starting a new school, while being in a new city without the benefit of family or friends. Almost everyday Aidan and I explored what Winnipeg had to offer, and had a blast doing it!
Now that the restrictions placed because of the pandemic are loosening up, Aidan has requested Mommy Camp to start again!
While daily explorations are not feasible or realistic, weekly Mommy Camp has now started. Join me as we explore Winnipeg and surrounding areas!
May 28, 2020 was a chilly day which followed many warm spring days. Given how nervous I was to actually take Aidan out of the house, I thought a cool day at the zoo would be best! I assumed the zoo would not be busy and most of the activity at the zoo was outside so contact with others would be limited. I was right! We arrived at the zoo shortly after opening and was able to walk right in. The staff was courteous and helpful at instructing us where to go and the new restrictions put into place. There was a limited numbers of other guests so there was never a situation where we had to wait or bumped into others. We had a wonderful day visiting the animals and Aidan even got up close to a polar bear who joined him at the window while we waited for our delicious lunch! We will definitely be back, especially after purchasing their yearly membership.
June 4, 2020 was a super windy day but we had an amazing time regardless! They moved the animals into the barn so they wouldn’t be blown away, which made for a much more enjoyable time being out of the wind. This little farm is well run and provides four different types of activities for the kids to do:
1. Petting Farm
2. Wagon Train ride with a close up of the deers
3. Games: a fence maze, bean bag toss and our favourite, the duck race
4. Tractor wheel playground
You could spend an hour, or like us, 3+ hours if your child is really into chatting with the team and petting the animals. They had the most adorable baby animals and were excellent about teaching my son about how they live on the farm and what they eat. As always (we’ve been a few times) we love the tractor ride into the deer reserve where you get an up close view of the many deer. Some of the deer are pregnant so looks like we will be back early July to see the fawns!
June 11, 2020 was a warmish but sunny day! We have some work being done on the house which interrupted our full day plans so we improvised! We went to the most interesting and exciting playground we have found in Winnipeg: Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart Inclusive Playground Project located on Grant Street beside the Pan Am Pool, and soon to be new library. “Jumpstart’s goal is to ensure that these playgrounds become the standard for inclusivity by creating imaginative and inclusive spaces where children of all abilities can share in the magic of play.” Have they achieved this goal? 110%! Through the use of wide open space, sensory exploration, music, sound, interactive installations, climbing and sliding structures they help children develop their social skills alongside their gross and fine motor skills. We found inclusivity with a group of 3 wonderful moms and their 3 amazing little boys who befriended us and ensured that we were included in their fun, games and even Timbits! What a fantastic afternoon.
June 18, 2020 was a crummy day with a bit of scattered rain and stormy skies. This is the perfect kind of day for an indoor activity. We headed over to The Golf Dome for Aidan’s first time mini-putting since he was 2.5 years old. We played an awesome 18 holes while simultaneously giving freedom to his excitement and helping him understand the rules. He would have made his Grampie and Grandpa very proud with his form and concentration. After we were done with mini-put we headed on over to the driving range where many questions were answered by myself and players about club types, driving distance and of course, when we could try! I think Aidan’s favourite part was the bag of 50 cent gummies!
June 25, 2020 was a beautiful day that threatened thunderstorms but we managed to enjoy the afternoon unscathed! Today’s adventure brought us to Assiniboine Park where my son decided that we would explore more of the park that wasn’t the Nature Playground. We started at the bridge and enjoyed looking at the river and the beautifully painted rocks that almost spanned the length of the bridge. The goal was to have painted rocks from one side to the other by July 1st, and it’s so close! From there we moved onto the English Garden to enjoy the beautiful flowers, graduating students in their formal attire and the sculptures. I HAD to read the title and date of each one of Leo Mol’s sculptures and the giggles were pretty restrained at the nudity of some of the sculptures. From there we moved onto the duck pond and the takeout window for some chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream – yum! We finished the duck pond and headed to the Nature Playground for a few moments of play before bringing this exhausted duo home for the day.
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