IS there ever a time when flexible working is out of the news?
Mums are leaving the workforce in droves as the delicate balancing act between caring for a family and advancing a career seems an impossible dream. Partners and husbands can range from the incredibly supportive to the chocolate tea pot variety, so work outside of 'work' may also add stress levels. And for lone mums, the pressures are even greater.
Continue reading "Musical Minis - a permanent solution to flexible working?" »
We have been approached by Justin Fletchers' (Mr Tumble!) team to tell you that he has a new album coming out on the 5th March called Hands Up.
It’s packed with 20 children's songs, including some of our favourites such as Hokey Cokey, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Incy Wincy Spider along with some brand new tunes. 13 of the songs form part of the Musical Minis session – of course we use our own versions and not Justin Fletchers.
We are giving away three copies of the CD.
We have a copy of the album together with a Justin Fletcher signed photo, exclusively to give away as a competition prize. If you would like to be in with a chance of winning it just post a comment on this blog post saying you’d like to enter.
We have another copy of the album to give away on Facebook. To enter, go to the Musical Minis Facebook page and "like" it.
There is one extra copy of the album up for grabs for twitter users. To enter, follow Karen Sherr on twitter and tweet the following, filling in your name in the blank: "I'm a Musical Mini and ……… is my name!" #musicalminis Don't forget to use the hashtag.
The competitions close at 8pm on Friday 2nd March 2012 when winners will be chosen at random. The competition is open to UK entries only.
For those of you who are not lucky enough to win you can buy the album here. It is priced at £8.99.
WE couldn't help thinking that the weather in the Red Centre had a big impact upon our enjoyment. The Red Centre is right in the middle of Australia and is one of its hottest places. Visiting during the Australian summer was a big risk as temperatures can reach the high 40's in centigrade but we got very lucky. We did a four day three night tour as we thought this was something we should see in our once in a lifetime trip and we are really glad we have done it. Once in a lifetime is however certainly enough!
The day we arrived in Alice Springs the temperature was 38c and we were very concerned as neither of us like the heat. Thankfully this turned out to be the hottest day and we could therefore enjoy the experience far more than would otherwise have been the case.
We arrived in Alice on Boxing Day when there are no organised tours. We therefore had to make our own way around the town. As it was so hot we took a taxi for the 5 minute ride into town. Our first stop was the Royal Flying Doctor Museum which we had both been looking forward to seeing. The Flying Doctors do a brilliant job of providing medical support (mainly evacuation) to the remote areas of Australia. Unfortunately their fantastic work isn't reflected in the museum. The film was informative but all of the interactive exhibits were broken and the rest a little repetitive. A new museum is being built so we are sure they recognise these shortcomings. We gave the reptile museum a miss and decided to explore the town. A mistake. Not only is there nothing to see but the Aboriginal locals were quite intimidating and appeared drunk. Maybe we just didn't understand their customs but we didn't feel safe. We were quite relieved to get back to the hotel.
The hotel staff advised us that Alice isn't safe to walk around at night and whilst suggesting a visit to Anzac Hill to see the sunset, advised us to take a taxi. The view was quite nice but again we were happy to get back to the hotel.
Next day at 7am we were collected on a big tour coach for our tour. Our first destination was to be Kings Canyon. We stopped at a camel farm which was just a commercial enterprise and not what we expected at all. The drivers microphone wasn't working and we missed out on the anticipated commentary. After a four hour drive through bare landscape we were pleased to be at the Kings Canyon transfer point. 4 of us left the large coach and were collected in a van for the one and a half hour journey to Kings Canyon. Undoubtedly Kings Canyon was the best part of the trip and something most people don't do. We stayed at The Wilderness Lodge, described as first class accommodation, although it was situated in the middle of nowhere. Our room was a permanent tent with separate sleeping and bathroom facilities. There was no Internet, mobile connection or tv. I was dreading staying here, as I don't do camping, but actually our stay was brilliant. The staff were very friendly and keen to share their enthusiasm and knowledge of the area with us. We were taken on a drive around the cattle ranch we were situated on, saw aboriginal drawings on stones and some of their utensils such as grinding stones. We then were taken to Kings Canyon, a rock formation and walked along Kings Creek. That evening 19 guests ate together outside and experienced Australian cooking under the stars. I gave the kangaroo a miss! After supper we were given a guide to the stars from one of the staff who was an amateur astrologist. She was really lively and made the talk very interesting. At the end she took us to where she had set up her telescope and showed us the moons of Jupiter and young (blue) stars and old (red) stars. With no light pollution the night sky was wonderfully clear, something we are not used to. An excellent end to the day.
The alarm had to be set for 4.30 am the following day as we were doing the Kings Canyon rim walk which could not be done in the heat of the day. Again there was just four of us and a guide on this three hour walk. The scenery was stunning and the natural history of the area very interesting. We were very lucky as there had been regular rainfall during the year and so not only was there greenery but some water pools - we stopped at one for a picnic breakfast. We returned to the lodge at 9.00 and with reluctance left to join up with the large coach party again.
We picked up the large tour where we had left off the day before although this time the microphone was working and the driver gave an interesting commentary on our journey to Uluru (Ayers Rock). The whole resort was a bit like a Butlins Holiday camp in terms of its layout. Basic accommodation and mostly basic food choices. The main hotel offered a restaurant but the prices were ridiculously high and the food didn't look great, they were clearly taking advantage of the limited alternatives.
In the afternoon we visited the cultural centre to learn about the aboriginal way of life. We then went to Ayers Rock for a close up look before joining many others to view the sunset. We took loads more photos than we could ever need of Ayers Rock as the colours altered as the sun went down. Sparkling wine and canapés rounded the day off at sunset.
4.30 am the following morning we were back on the coach to see the sunrise at Ayres Rock. More photos! It's amazing how you get caught up in the photo fest. Whilst a massive monolith, it is just a rock! We then visited another rock formation, the Olgas. All these places come with an Aboriginal creation story and our driver was excellent at recounting these.
It was then back to the hotel to set off for the airport and on to our most anticipated destination, Sydney. We did enjoy our few days in the Red Centre. We would gladly have missed out Alice Springs and spent the whole time at Kings Canyon. We are pleased we saw it but this is definitely not something we need to repeat.
Come and join the Musical Minis Oxford Easter Parade with an action packed event. Music, Movement, Bubbles, Parachute and an Easter story!
And how can any Easter event be complete without an Easter Bunny? Each child will be visited by the Easter bunny and receive an Easter egg!
‘Make and Wear an Easter Bonnet Competition’. 3 prizes will be given out at each event to the best made Easter bonnets at the end of the Easter parade!
All Events will run from 10.00am – 12.00pm.
Bodicote: Thursday 12 April 2012
Calvert Green: Friday 13 April 2012
Bicester: Saturday: 14 April 2012
Woodstock: Sunday 15 April 2012
Cost: £8.00 per child (to include entertainment, a visit by the Easter bunny, an Easter egg, Competition Entry and refreshments and snacks for each child). Hot cross buns and hot drinks will be available for purchase by the adults.
To book a place call Leena on 01296 738652 or email: leena@musicalminis.co.uk
ONCE again I'm shocked by a report published this week.
An online survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) reports that 62% of primary school staff have noticed an increase in the number of children wetting or soiling themselves during the school day over the past five years.
ATL surveyed 848 education staff working in state-funded, independent and academy primary schools in the UK during October and November 2011. Respondents suggested the main reason for the increase was a lack of toilet training.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said: "Having to deal with increased numbers of pupils who have not yet been toilet-trained puts extra pressure on education staff when they already have enough pressure on them."
A foundation stage teacher and member of senior management said: "Parents do not spend the time training their children - they feel it is the school's job." Another foundation stage teacher said, "Our parents just have no idea when and how to toilet train their children. We are having to put on a workshop to support them."
I find this report unbelievable. Can its findings be true? I know it was a long time ago but I managed to toilet train my 3 children before they started nursery. I didn't have to attend a course or receive a letter telling me I should be training them. 38% of schools surveyed said they do not provide written information to parents of school starters about making sure their child is toilet-trained before starting school. Surely parents today don't need everything spelt out?
I recognise that sometimes events in a childs life hinder toilet training. Indeed, 61% of the surveys respondents believe they have a good understanding of the reasons, whether medical, physical or psychological, that might cause children at their school to have continence problems.
As a parent I wanted to toilet train my children as soon as they were ready, as it is so much easier, after the initial few weeks. You don't need to drag around a changing mat, nappies etc. The cost of nappies mounts up, this provides an added incentive to toilet train. I'm unsure as to how to take this report, is it scaremongering yet again?
Perhaps some of the fault does lie with the school - not for not running toilet training classes for parents of new starters nor for not sending out letters stating children need to be toilet trained but perhaps they need to encourage children to go to the toilet. Often children are so busy they simply 'forget' to go to the toilet. Starting school is a big challenge for children, perhaps teachers of new starters should build in regular breaks into the day where pupils are encouraged to go to the toilet.
What do you think? If you have young children did you need help toilet training your child? Was your child toilet trained when they started nursery or school? Do you feel toilet training is the parents' or schools' job?
Photo by Flickr djwudi
VIOLENT storms shatter the peace of Christmas. This was the headline we read as we flew out of Melbourne to Alice Springs. When planning our trip to Australia we had imagined Christmas on the beach with barbecues and picnics. As it happened, this was the case but in the mid afternoon Melbourne was hit by five individual thunderstorms, gail force winds and a tornado. At the time we were wandering around the truly spectacular Royal Botanical Gardens and although we sheltered for a bit it was impossible to dodge all the storms and ended up absolutely soaked through. Our clothes were literally dripping despite having waterproof jackets on. The rain fall was three times the amount usually considered "heavy" rain! Some areas had a white Christmas with hailstones the size of golf balls. We suffered only marble sized hail stones - they still hurt and pictures the following day showed windscreens shattered by them.
Despite this soggy end to our five day stay, we really liked Melbourne. It was our first stop in Australia having flown in from Bangkok. It's a city easy to navigate and whilst there is not a huge amount to do in Melbourne, the surrounding area is a must see. We stayed at The Langham Hotel which is brilliantly situated on the south bank of the Yarra River. The standard of the hotel did not live up to its five star rating due mainly to inexperienced/poorly trained staff. However, as the India Cricket Team was staying there if it was good enough for them it was good enough for us!We did two trips. One to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. These are little penguins, 30 cm tall, that return to their nests at nightfall. They appear in their hundreds and it is really spectacular to see. The better of the trips was The Great Ocean Road, a whole day exploring the wonders of this stretch of coastline. We saw kangaroos, koalas and kookaburras, all in their natural habitat. The breathtaking coastline is topped off with sandstone formations, just off the coast, known as he twelve apostles (although only 8 exist and this number is reducing).
In Melbourne itself we went to St Paul's Cathedral, Flinders Station, Queen Victoria Market, the shops and went to the viewing platform of the Eureka Building (the highest viewing point in Melbourne). It is easy to get to these places as there is a free city tram that circles the main city. On the first day, still suffering from jet lag, both Rob and I managed to fall asleep whilst on the tram whilst it was describing all the main hot spots!
Christmas in Melbourne is really different to how we expected it to be. It's a lot less commercial than in the UK and the build up is really quite low key. There are a few Christmas trees scattered around but very few decorations. Christmas songs are played but they somehow seem out of place. The main sign of Christmas were people wearing Santa hats. In the Crown Casino (the largest casino in the southern hemisphere) there was a Christmas play on the half hour with a talking Christmas tree a giant umbrella and a carousel. We saw it twice and still didn't understand the story - Disney doesn't need to worry! Outside the casino on the hour there are fire balls coming out of eight columns. Sounds spectacular but was actually quite naff.
On Christmas Day before the storms we had taken a tram to St Kildas beach. Here we saw a penguin nest alongside the pier with a chick inside. Rob went for a paddle and there were groups around having picnics and even the odd barbecue. This is more what we had expected from Christmas.
We liked Melbourne. It reminded us of a city in England but perhaps a bit more buzzy. However, given the rain and despite the test match cricket due that day, we were not too sad to leave.
OVER the next few weeks I'm going to blog about various places we visited in our recent one month holiday to Australia. I went with Rob my husband on a 'once in a lifetime' holiday to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed it so much it may be more than 'once in a lifetime' now as we have the travel bug! We arranged our holiday with Bridge and Wickers and flew Qantas.
Bangkok was a city full of surprises. After a tearful farewell to our three grown up children we set off on our great Australian adventure. It all seemed a bit surreal and both Rob and I were left with the feeling of "what have we done?"
En route we had a three night stop over in Bangkok. We loved it - but what an unusual city. We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental which was very good. As Bangkok has just got over the floods and at the best of times has a mixed reputation, this hotel suited us down to the ground. We had less qualms about the water, food and sanitation although still only drank bottled water and had no ice. We were amazed to see people eating food from the street vendors. I am sure it's ok but it wasn't for us.
Highlights of Bangkok were the floating market (although this was outside of Bangkok), the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the night market and a Thai massage. We didn't buy anything at the floating market but it was interesting to see. We had to do this with a guide because it is impossible to do this yourself, being 1 1/2 hours outside of Bangkok. Most of the market is actually not floating and it is therefore the 20 minute journey in a "James Bond" style tail boat that zips through the canals that make this fun. It was possible to go in a boat through the market and if you want to do this check that your tour operates this way.
We took a ferry bus from close to the hotel to the Grand Palace. You need to be careful as there are tuk tuk drivers outside who will tell you it is closed for an hour to take you on a tour of the local shops. This will undoubtedly not be the case. You need to dress modestly but if you have forgotten to do so there are clothes to borrow. It was a little confusing going around the palace but we found everything in the end. The highlight is the Emerald Buddah which is housed in a great big room but is itself tiny.
A short walk from the Palace is the temple Wat Pho. This houses the Reclining Buddah which is absolutely enormous. It is incredible to think anyone would have thought of commissioning something so big! Inside the grounds is the Thai School of massage. Prices are very reasonable and Rob had a half hour back massage for about £5.00. We had both had a Thai massage in the hotel the previous day which was brilliant, an experience not to be missed. We had a suite with a bath and steam room prior to the massage. We put on special outfits and were then massaged in unison by two masseurs. The massage finished with a ceremonial tea.
The night market was a really fun experience. On one side there were stalls selling all types of tourist products. On the other side were people trying to get you to go into their sex shows - usually under the title of "ping pong show". We bought nothing and didn't go to a show!
We were quite sad to leave Bangkok. This is a city that you should not take seriously if you really want to enjoy it.
THERE is now a new activity download on the Musical Minis web site. It's our Winter themed download with songs and cooking and collage activities to do.
Click on this link and enter your details to instantly receive the pack.
We would love to see photos of the finished activities in the pack. Please email them to us at enquiries@musicalminis.co.uk
Let us know how you get on with this download and any ideas which you may have for future ones. Are there any specific activities you particularly enjoy doing with your children? As well as being educational we primarily really want both children and adults to have fun
Merseyside Work Experience Invitation
Coffee Morning Friday 10th Feb 2012 10 am to 12 pm at Stoneycroft Children’s Centre Scotia Road L13 6QJ. Learn more about Musical Minis Work Experience Programme
Musical Minis Merseyside in conjunction with Stoneycroft Children’s Centre and kindly sponsored by Liverpool Mutual Homes is delighted to offer training and work experience based on the popular music group for babies and toddlers. Participants will be invited to attend a day’s training followed by work experience at weekly one hour sessions lasting ten weeks. The final session will include a graduation where participants will receive a certificate of attainment.
The course will offer people the chance to gain valuable, transferrable skills such as interaction with children and families/presentation skills. It will also cover aspects of health and safety and inclusion. We hope that participants will gain confidence whilst also having fun with activities based on child development through music.
To find out more contact Cathie Flynn on 0151 486 4735 e-mail cathie@musicalminis.co.uk
LOOKING back on 2011 there was one post on the Musical Minis blog, Learning Made Fun, that had more hits than all the others.
On Saturday 9th July, the post on 'how to have a baby girl............or not' (originally published in 2010) had more than 3,500 hits. Since then the hits have continued, although at a slower pace. The success of the post was linked to the Beckhams' baby daughter, Harper Seven, being born after 3 boys. BBC news quoted the post as a feature on the health pages on Saturday. The article by Helen Briggs titled 'Sugar and spice and all things nice' was popular remaining as one of the most read articles for the whole day - even more so than the phone hacking and space launch articles, which were current at the time. My blog was a featured link and led to blog hits soaring.
The second most read post on the blog was my response to my experience of appearing in the Daily Mail also in July. The Daily Mail made up quotes and wrote a totally different article to what I had expected to be a positive piece on my 25 year marriage. If you missed it you can read my post 'Don't believe everything you read: My experience of appearing in the Daily Mail'
At number 3 in the most popular posts was the post published in June on Politically correct nursery rhymes. This seemed to strike a cord with many of the blogs readers.
Number 4 was a guest post by Linda Jones in September on Sarah Jessica Parker? I dont care how she does it. This post was in relation to her film and being a working Mum.
As a suprise the 5th most read blog post in 2011 was one in a series we had written about 'Where do nursery rhymes come from' and this one was in May about the song London's burning. This was also written by Linda Jones and at the time, although it was read, it wasn't a popular post. However, in the London riots last Summer, Londons Burning, was a popular search and a total new bunch of readers found the blog!
If you missed any of these posts at the time please read them and comment on them if you can. Thank you to everyone was has read, commented or shared a post on the blog in 2011. Anything you would like covered in 2012 just let me know.
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