Learning made fun

Musical Minis Discovery Days 2014

If you would like to find out more about the Musical Minis business opportunity come along to one of our discovery days during 2014.

At our discovery day we will be providing you with an overview of the business, what happens at the classes and what it means to be a Musical Minis franchisee. You will have the chance to ask questions and fully explore the business opportunity.

These are informal meetings with no strings attached! Musical Minis is a family friendly business and you are very welcome to bring along your partner, children, other family or friends.

The dates organised so far are:

January – Watford – Saturday 18th.

February – London – Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd.

March – Birmingham – Sunday 2nd.

April – Brighton – Monday 7th.

Please let us know if you wish to attend or if you would like more information by telephoning 020 8868 0001 or e-mail your name, address and telephone number to [email protected].

Celebrating 10 Years Of Musical Minis In South Lincs

This Autumn saw the 10th anniversary of Musical Minis operating in the South Lincs area. Over the years more than 1,000 children have attended classes and sessions in Children’s Centres and nurseries in the area.

Hazel Morgan, the South Lincs franchisee, took over the area a year ago and has continued the success started in 2003 by Janie McCormick, the former franchisee.

Hazel is currently running classes in Bourne, Corby Glen, Market Deeping, Morton, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.

If you would like to attend a Musical Minis class in the South Lincs area, to book them to come to your child’s birthday party or to entertain the children at a wedding or other occasion, please contact Hazel by ringing 07752 270 700 or emailing her [email protected]. Hazel is also happy to run regular or one off sessions in Children's Centres and nurseries.

Musical Minis 10th Anniversary Party In South Wales

Musical Minis South Wales raised an amazing £500 to help support one of its members, whilst celebrating its tenth anniversary with a party extravaganza.

About 300 people, including children, mums, dads and grandparents, came together for the celebration and raised the impressive sum for Brainwave, a charity that provides support and therapy for two-year-old Ffion Harrison, with £100 going directly to her.

Ffion attends classes in Barry and was born with a rare genetic arrangement, shared by only a handful of people in the world, which means she has significant developmental and learning disabilities. South Wales Musical Minis franchisee, Jo Weaving, said: “Ffion thoroughly enjoys Musical Minis. It’s wonderful to see her face light up when she hears the music and plays the instruments. Brainwave is a therapy centre that Ffion attends to help with her development. With their support and expertise she is continuing to thrive and remains a very happy little girl.”

Rob and I went to the Musical Minis South Wales ten year anniversary party and it was wonderful to see so many people joining in with the songs, parachute, instruments and of course the Hokey Cokey. There was also a visit from Mickey Mouse. It was lovely to meet so many past and present Musical Minis members. A special thank you to Jo who planned the day brilliantly and made it so enjoyable for so many people.

Jo said: “We had a fab party. I really love running my Musical Minis business. It’s a privilege to work with the mums, dads and children of this area. I particularly enjoy seeing how individual children develop after they’ve been coming to our classes for a while, the difference can be quite dramatic. I’d like to thank my team of teachers and assistants, I really couldn’t do it without them and they should be very proud of the job that they do, they’re first class.”

If you’d like to attend a Musical Minis class in South Wales, book Musical Minis to come to your child’s birthday party or entertain the children at a wedding or other occasion, please contact Jo Weaving on 01446 733 788 or email [email protected]

4 of the children at the party had attended the first South Wales Musical Minis class 10 years ago!

Happy 10th Birthday Bucks And South Northants Musical Minis

The start of this term is the 10th anniversary of the launch of our Musical Minis Bucks and South Northants franchise.

Amanda Perkins, who is the local franchisee for Musical Minis, said, “I am delighted that so many children have passed through Musical Minis in this area. I am really pleased that parents have chosen to give their child’s early development such a boost by coming along to our classes.”

Amanda has owned the franchise since 2010, when she bought it from the existing franchisee, whose circumstances had changed. Amanda was a Mum attending the class when she heard of the business opportunity and decided that this would be an ideal job for her. Since Amanda took over the franchise she has built up the number of classes run each week, she won the EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) Young Franchisee of the Year Award 2010 and has given birth to twin girls.

As Musical Minis franchisor I am delighted to have Amanda as part of our franchise network. She has a great business ethic and is keen to follow the Musical Minis programme to enable the children attending to benefit from the programme. I am certain that the Bucks and South Northants will grow from strength to strength under her guidance.

Musical Minis Bucks and South Northants has had over 1.000 children attending since it started in September 2003. This is in addition to the many children who benefit from the sessions in local nursery schools and Children's Centres, where weekly sessions are run. Amanda has seen how the programme has helped her own children, Niamh who is 4 years old and Rosie and Martha 1 year old twins, who have all attended classes.

Bucks and South Northants Musical Minis classes are run during the week in Buckingham, Grange Park, Kingsthorpe, Loughton Lodge, Monkston Park, Stony Stratford, Winslow and Weedon Bec.

Amanda Perkins can be contacted on 01908 259914 or by emailing [email protected]

We would like to thank all the children, parents, carers, staff and everyone involved in supporting Musical Minis in Bucks and South Northants for the past 10 years. We look forward to welcoming many more children in the coming years.

The NSPCC Underwear Rule

The NSPCC has devised a campaign, Talk PANTS to help parents and carers talk to their children about keeping safe from sexual abuse. Musical Minis is delighted to support this campaign which aims to give parents and carers of children  the confidence to talk to their children in an age appropriate way about keeping safe using the Underwear Rule.

They believe that everyone has a role to play to help prevent the sexual abuse of children.

The Underwear Rule is a simple way to help parents keep their children safe from abuse by teaching them that:

• their body belongs to them

• they have a right to say no, and

• they should always tell an adult if they’re upset or worried.

The NSPCC know that talking to your child about their private parts and staying safe can seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be scary.

Working closely with parents, they’ve created a free, easy-to-remember guide Talk PANTS to help them explain and children understand the key points of the Underwear Rule.

Simple conversations can help protect children from abuse.

The NSPCC have devised ‘talk PANTS’ as a handy way to remember the ‘Underwear Rule’:

• Privates are private

• Always remember your body belongs to you

• No means no

• Talk about secrets that upset you

• Speak up, someone can help

Talk PANTS and you’ve got it covered. Learn the Underwear Rule at nspcc.org.uk/underwear where there is more details about the campaign and guidance to help parents and carers.

 

What’s in a name?

Guest post by Emily Sherr, my 20 year old daughter, who is at Durham University studying Education with History.

Like most people, I was shocked and appalled when I first saw and heard of the recent interview with Katie Hopkins on This Morning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZjdgU0asM). She claimed that she would not let her children play with other children who had certain names, such as Tyler, Chardonnay, Brandon or children who were named after geographical locations (ironically, one of her own daughters is called India, but evidently that’s not a geographical location!!). This was because she said that a name was much more than just a name. Tyler was not just a boy in the class, he was a disruptive boy who turned up late, wearing untidy uniform and with his homework not finished. Obviously this is a huge generalisation as can be seen through individual personal experiences, as well as the wealth of influential and talented people with so called, ‘bad’ names who have contributed to sport, music, academia, science, charity, government and many other sectors.

This case, along with the current hype over the naming of the newborn Royal Baby Boy, (you can vote in our poll of what you think the baby will be called here), has got me thinking about the importance of a name, and whether a name is really just a name. Being only twenty and not having a child myself, the issue of naming a baby isn’t one I have personally had to deal with. However, it has come up in discussion with my friends over what names we would potentially like to call any future children. Similarly, I imagine that the majority of parents look into the meaning of their chosen name, or think about nick names or teasing that may result from the child’s name. Rarely is a name just a name.

Similarly, their are social, psychological and scientific studies that do link certain names with higher attainment and success. Names can reveal a lot about a person including their ethnicity or heritage. Research even claims that your name can effect what job you go in to with people choosing employment that sounds similar to their name (Lauras’ go into Law, Dennis’s go into Dentistry). Whether any of this is actually true or based around mere coincidence is questionable, but there does often seem to be a link.

At the end of every year I am set the task of going through the Musical Minis database and analysing the names of all children who have attended classes through the year (last years results can be seen here). I really enjoy this and find it very interesting analysing the most popular names and how this varies year on year and between different locations.

Thinking about it, names are incredibly important; most people have them all of their lives and evidently they can have huge implications on our achievements, love life and where we are going to live in the future, they can even decide who will be friends with us or not if Katie Hopkins has anything to do with it. Choosing a name can consequently be life changing for some. Whether it is right or wrong that a name plays such an important role, and whether or not we believe that personality, character and ability should have more of a decisive impact, I think I have come to the conclusion that it is an inescapable fact that a name is more than just a name.

Any thoughts and comments are very welcome. For more evidence on the implication of names see http://sciencefocus.com/feature/psychology/names.

Musical Minis Discovery Morning - Milton Keynes

If you would like to find out more about the Musical Minis business opportunity come along to  our discovery morning which is being held this Saturday, 29th June at The Holiday Inn, Milton Keynes – East, London Road, Newport Pagnell, MK16 0JA (by junction 14 of the M1).

At our discovery mornings we will be providing you with an overview of the business, what happens at the classes and what it means to be a Musical Minis franchisee. You will have the chance to ask questions and fully explore the business opportunity.

This is going to be an informal meeting with no strings attached! Musical Minis is a family friendly business and you are very welcome to bring along your partner, children, other family or friends. What's more, we have a special offer for everyone who attends one of the discovery days and goes on to buy a Musical Minis franchise within 6 months. Musical Minis will pay the VAT which represents a 20% saving on buying the franchise.

Please let us know if you wish to attend either of the discovery mornings or if you would like more information by telephoning 020 8868 0001 or e-mail your name, address and telephone number to [email protected]. If you are interested in considering a Musical Minis franchise, information can be easily obtained through the Musical Minis website. To download information about becoming a Musical Minis franchisee, click here.

Where Does Fathers' Day Come From?

Guest post by Emily Sherr, my 19 year old daughter, who is at Durham University studying Education with History,

Last year I wrote a blog on the origin and superstitions associated with Friday the 13th. Continuing the theme of looking at the history of certain days in the year, I’m going to look at Father’s Day.

The idea originated in 1909 due to Sonora Smart Dodd after she attended a Mother’s Day service. Sonora’s mother had died in 1898 and her father had brought her and her 5 brothers up. She noted that all of the things that mothers were being praised for on Mother’s Day had been done by her father. She recognised that fathers should be celebrated in the same way and campaigned for Father’s Day, with the first service taking place on June 19th 1910 in Washington, America. She originally wanted the date to the 4th of June, her father’s birthday, but this could not be organised in time.

Another claim for the first Father’s Day is said to have taken place in 1908 in West Virginia as a commemoration for over 200 miners who were killed in a mining disaster in 1907. This was a day celebrating the fathers who had lost their lives and the importance they had had in the lives of their wives and children. This view is less popular.

Unlike Mother’s Day, celebrations on Father’s Day did not take off and were not widespread in the first half of the 20th century. It was not until 1972 that it became recognised as an actual holiday. This delay was largely due to the fact that people just saw Father’s Day as being a commercial holiday and an excuse for companies to sell cards and gifts, in contrast to the ancient and religious association connected with Mother’s Day (I’ll save the details for another blog!).

To be honest, this may well be true, and Mother’s Day has similarly lost most of its traditional roots and is another reason for shops to treble the price of flowers and for restaurants to do special menus. But to me, this really isn’t a problem. Everyone knows that, like most of the holidays such as Christmas and Easter, Father’s Day is commercial, I’m not going to deny it. But so what, what does it matter? It’s a gesture and a demonstration from children that they appreciate their dad, something that probably isn’t shown as much as it should be throughout the year. People should embrace the commerciality and give their dad’s a day, whether that means phoning him up, taking him out for dinner or just spending time together. Father’s Day is celebrated on different days and in different ways around the world so it really doesn’t matter what you do, or the origins behind why you’re doing it, just show your dad, or another male influence in your life, that you care.

So Musical Minis would like to wish Happy Father’s Day to all Musical Minis Dads, and all dads for that matter. Enjoy the day and let your wives and children spoil you!

EWIF Awards 2013

The EWIF, Encouraging Women Into Franchising, Awards are now in their third year. EWIF Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of women in franchising. The 2013 EWIF Awards ceremony will be held at RBS in London on 16th May 2013.

Musical Minis are delighted to be sponsoring the New Woman Franchisee of the Year EWIF Award.

There are 7 EWIF awards:

• New Woman Franchisor of the Year,
• New Woman Franchisee of the Year,
• Woman Franchisor Employee of the Year,
• Woman Service Provider of the Year,
• Woman Franchisee of the Year.
• Woman Franchisor of the Year,
• Outstanding Contribution To Women In Franchising Award.

All the finalists in each category have now been announced and you can see them here.

The finalists in the category Musical Minis are sponsoring the New Woman Franchisee of the Year are :

• Karen Burdett / TruGreen
• Janet Green / Original Poster Company
• Hayley Charlton / Bright & Beautiful
• Christina Gray / Rosemary Bookkeeping

EWIF's aims are very close to those of Musical Minis. Musical Minis has attracted an entire network of women franchisees. We have no problems taking on male franchisees but there must be something about our franchise and philosophy that appeals to women.

EWIF has a mission statement:
1.To encourage women to consider buying a franchise operation
2.To encourage women with existing businesses to franchise them
3.To help existing franchisors to attract more women into their franchise.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Musical Minis franchisee click here.

In 2010, the Musical Minis Buckingham franchisee, Amanda Perkins, won the EWIF award we are sponsoring. It was then the Young Woman Franchisee of the Year where entrants had to be under 25 years old. Now the award is the New Woman Franchisee of the Year and is for women who have taken on a franchise after January 2011.

We would like to wish all of the finalists the best of luck. If you would like to attend the awards ceremony contact [email protected] .

Please Vote For Musical Minis In The What’s On 4 Awards

Please spare a minute and vote for Musical Minis. Voting closes at 5:00pm on Tuesday 28th May.

The What’s On 4 Little Ones Awards recognise the best activities for children throughout the UK as nominated and voted for by parents, so Musical Minis is delighted, for the fourth year in a row, to have received multiple nominations in the 2013 awards.

Musical Minis is proud to have been nominated in the following four categories:  

• Best National Pre-schooler Development Activity (2 to 5 years)

• Jo Weaving our South Wales franchisee, has been put forward for Most Outstanding Activity Leader for the Under 5s (West & Wales).

• Debbie Caygill our Newcastle franchisee and Claire Rowland our West Yorkshire and Harrogate franchisee, have both been put forward for Most Outstanding Activity Leader for the Under 5s (East).

• Best Children's Party Entertainment.

From now until the 28th May 2013, you can log onto the What’s On 4 Little Ones Awards voting page to vote for Musical Minis. You can only vote once but in as many categories as you would like. If you submit your vote you will also be entered into a competition to win two tickets to the awards. Click here to vote.

Thanks in advance.