North Toronto MOMS - Speaker Schedule

WINTER/SPRING 2010- UPCOMING SPEAKERS
Topics and speakers subject to change.

January 5
Carol-Anne Warrington, Harvey Kalles Real Esate
Carol-Anne Warrington is a Sales Representative for Harvey Kalles
Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage. Carol-Anne will provide us with an
overview of the real estate market, specifically north Toronto. She
will also speak about home values, how to get your home
"sell-ready", what to look for when buying a new home and common
mistakes the average buyer/seller makes. She is a very personable
agent who would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

January 12
Good For Her
Carlyle from Good For Her will be talking to us about finding time,
energy, and desire for sex - and how to have more pleasure once
you get there.

January 19
Catherine Wakelin, How To Talk To Your Kids About Anything
Catherine Wakelin is a professional facilitator and consultant (CW
Facilitated Solutions) well known for her ability to help organization
think through and resolve complex business issues. Catherine is also
a mother to a set of active twins and her passion for strong and
effective communication skills has been the basis of success -
whether I the boardroom or in the home. Catherine is the author of
How To Talk To Your Kids About Anything and she will be speaking
with the group about how to do just that.

January 26
Kristina Laukkanen, SugarTree Photography
Kristina is the creative force behind SugarTree Photography. She
artfully captures life's most precious moments for her clients to
treasure. Kristina will be sharing some of her secrets of how we can
take better snapshots of our little ones so those random moments of
fun and wonderment can be forever remembered and shared.

February 2
Loretta, Mabel's Fables
Everyone can remember at least one story that they begged their
parents to read over and over again as a child. Many of us have
passed those same favourite books onto our children. Loretta from
Mabel's Fables children's bookstore will be sharing some of her
favourites, reminding us of some of the classic stories and introducing
us to an entirely new world of characters and verse.

February 9
Lauro Ono, Childhood Music Educator
Like reading, writing and arithmetic, the once forgotten cousin, the
arts, are garnering more attention for the essential role these skills
play in the developmental foundation of our children. Laura Ono
(ARCT), the creator of My Musical Upbringing, is passionate and
enthusiastic about the role that music plays in our children's lives
from an early age. Laura will provide us with the theoretical
knowledge about the importance of music and early childhood and
then engage us with our children in a musical workshop.

February 16
Debbie McGrath, Do My Make-up
Let's face it, busy moms need pampering too. Whether you work
outside the home and come home to full-time mommy duties or
spend all day on the front lines, at the heart of it, we are still women.
Do My Hair is a New York inspired blow-dry bar that specializes in
making you look fabulous from blow-outs to knock-out faces. Debbie
McGrath will be speaking with our group about how to do fabulous
make-up for everyday or those special occasions.

February 23
The Olive Oil Boutique
The Olive Oil Boutique is a newly opened shop on Yonge Street. Alex
from the OOB will speak to us about how to choose olive oils,
vinegars and will give us some entertaining tips! P.S. Word on the
street is that they make a killer sandwich . . .

March 2
Jennifer Kolari, Connected Parenting
Jennifer Kolari is a therapist who has been helping children, teens and
families get connected for 20 years. Jennifer published her first book
in 2009 with Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada. She has
appeared in magazines such as Today's Parent and Canadian Family,
and on Canada AM, Breakfast Television, and CBC's Steven and
Chris. Her insightful strategies, shared with warmth and humour
make her a highly sought-after speaker with schools, organizations
and agencies throughout North America. Jennifer spent several years
counseling children, teens and parents for the Toronto District School
Board and serving as a field supervisor for the University of Toronto
faculty of Social Work. Before that she was a family therapist at
Integra, a children's mental health centre in Toronto. Jennifer lives in
Toronto with her husband and their three children.

March 9
Sarah Burchell, Educator
Our own Sarah Burchell will be teaching us how we can incorporate
math "lessons" for our children into everyday life. Sarah is a teacher
who completed her master of education at OISE and is mother to
three children. Sarah's last talk about literacy and the home provided
fantastic tools for parents of children of any age. This is talk is not to
be missed!

March 16
Social
Even though there is no speaker planned for today, don't let that
deter you from coming to our weekly meeting. This is a great
opportunity to meet new members, reconnect with others and have
some time to recharge.

March 23
Madeleine Loewenberg, Labor/Employment
The decision to employ a nanny is an important one that should be
made with the utmost accordance to the law. Our own Madeleine
Loewenberg is a lawyer who specializes in labour and employment.
She will be informing us as to the particulars of hiring a
nanny/childcare worker. Don't miss this session! If you have a nanny,
you'd better make sure that you are following the law and if you are
going back to work and considering hiring a nanny, you need to know
what the rules are.

March 30
Dr. Joey Shulman, Nutritionist
Dr. Joey Shulman DC, registered nutritionist is the author of Winning
the Food Fight - Every Parent's Guide to Raising a Healthy, Happy
Child the national best seller The Natural Makeover Diet - 4 steps to
Inner Health and Outer Beauty and the national best seller The Last
15 - A Weight Loss Breakthrough. Her latest book Healthy Sin Foods -
Decadence without the Guilt (Penguin, 2009) will be in stores Nov. 09.
As one of Canada's foremost authorities on nutrition and wellness,
she is a highly sought after speaker, inspiring and educating large
audiences across North America. Her client list includes the likes of
Nike, The National Post, Research in Motion, Cadbury and Nesbitt
Burns.

April 6
Kelly Buchanan, Educator
Our own Kelly Buchanan is an amazing teacher who has touched the
lives of many children. Kelly has taught kindergarten for years and is
passionate about elementary education; especially these foundation
years. Kelly will present an overview of what to expect from
kindergarten, how to prepare yourself and your child and perhaps
she will even share some of her kindergarten secrets too. Even if
your little one is still nursing and waking up every three hours, this is
one session you don't want to miss because those school years sure
sneak up quickly.

April 13
Hank de Jong, Sheridan Nurseries
Winter's over so it's time to "dig up" the gardening tools. Whether
you're a regular Mark Cullen or green thumb challenged, Hank will be
sure to shed some light on how to make your spring/summer garden
its best. Come prepared with questions and photos if you have
specific concerns.

April 20
Dr. Alyson Shafer, Parenting Expert
Alyson Schafer is a psychotherapist and one of Canada's leading
parenting experts. She's the author of the best-selling "Breaking the
Good Mom Myth" (Wiley, 2006) and the new "Honey I Wrecked The
Kids" (Wiley, 2009). Her popular TV call-in show The Parenting Show
is now in its fourth season. Every year that Alyson comes to speak to
the MOMS group we leave feeling empowered and ready to take on
the tantrums and schedule the family meetings. Come early - the
room sure gets crowded when this parenting expert is in the house.

April 27
Cate Design
Designer's Luana Cazan and Nelia Teves of CaTe design Inc. have a
combined 15 years in Interior Design and Architecture. They are
experts when it comes to the interior workings of structures, spaces
and materials. Together they will share some of their design secrets
with the North Toronto moms.

May 4
Urban Alliance
Recent research suggests that in order to prevent race based
stereotypes from developing in our kids, we should be talking to them
about race, early and often (check out this fascinating article on the
topic: http://www.newsweek.com/id/214989) A representative from
the Urban Alliance on Race Relations will be speaking to us about how
to discuss race with our kids.

May 11
Annabel Fitzsimmons, ClearSpace
Annabel Fitzsimmons will be presenting a condensed workshop for the
moms with the goal to educate on the importance of a balanced
lifestyle and how it is attainable. Annabel has worked in the health
and wellness industry since 1999. She teaches yoga, Pilates, coaches
distance runners/walkers, and leads corporate and public workshops
in stress management, relaxation, positive thinking, and healthy
living.?? She has worked with a diverse clientele - amateur and
Olympic athletes, CEOs, kids and young adults, moms-to-be and new
moms. She also writes and speaks frequently on health and fitness
for a variety of publications and organization. ??Annabel has been
featured extensively in the national media - in print, on radio and
television.

May 18
Holocaust Survivor
A volunteer with the Holocaust Education Centre and a Holocaust
survivor will share his/her experiences with the North Toronto MOMS.
More details on the speaker to follow.

May 25
Calia Hair Deign Makeovers
It's time again for the annual MOMS Makeover extravaganza! Two of
the moms in our group will be treated to a full hair makeover by
Calia Hair Design and their big reveal will be in front of the MOMS
group! Peter, owner of the salon, will be on hand to solve all of our
hair woes, give us insight on trends and of course some pony tail
alternatives.

June 1
Carol Connor, Total Defense Inc.
CAROL CONNOR is the Founder, President and Master Instructor at
"Total Defense". They teach self-defense programs, which are
designed to focus on empowerment, streetwise attitudes, strategies
for safe dating, effective verbal and non-verbal self-defense
techniques, awareness of respect and tolerance of others, dealing
with the dynamics of conflict, anger, avoidance and de-escalation.
Students learn to physically prepare themselves for conflict so they
are secure in their ability to PREVENT confrontation, PROTECT
themselves and escape to ensure their PERSONAL SAFETY should an
assault or confrontation occur.

June 8
Mable's Labels
Veteran mother, Julie Cole is the Mabel Mamma. She has six young
children in her charge and is the co-founder of Mabel's Labels. Just
how does she do it all? With humour, Julie will talk about life in a
family of eight, including honesty about cereal for dinner and
monstrous carpool schedules. Mabels' Labels are run by moms who
were frustrated by the amount of stuff that left our houses, never to
return. After lots of research and testing we created the perfect fun,
durable labels for the stuff kids lose!

June 15
Narnia Fashions
A representative from the fashionable Yonge street boutique Narnia
will be joining us. She will tell us about this year's spring fashion
trends and will bring a few examples to show us!

June 22
Social
This is be the last meeting of the school year. Never fear though, we
will still have play-dates in the park and monthly Mom's Night Out all
summer long. Keep an eye on the web for when and where.

Weekly Tuesday morning meetings will resume September
14th 2010.

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FALL 2009 - PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
WINTER/SPRING 2009 - PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
FALL 2008 - PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
WINTER/SPRING 2008 - PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
FALL 2007 - PREVIOUS SPEAKERS