As founder of UK-based children’s music and singing franchise Musical Minis I have welcomed a report that says children who take part in activities such as singing nursery rhymes, are likely to be happier, with better developed social, motor and speech skills, than their TV watching counterparts. The report entitled ‘Happiness and Development in Very Young Children’ by Oxford University and the Open University, states that toddlers who spend a lot of time watching TV or looking at picture books are less likely to be happy than those who take part in activities. Television was actually found to have a... Continue reading

Are you wondering what to do in the Easter Holidays? Join Musical Minis for an Easter Party in West Yorkshire for just £6 per child and £2 for an additional sibling. (Booking and payment required in advance). **Tuesday 8th April 10 am. – Colton **Wednesday 9th April 10.30 am.– Micklesfield **Thursday 10th April 10 am. – Garforth Thursday 10th April 1.30 pm. – Mothercare My Space Friday 11th April – 10.30 am. - Seacroft Little Bees Saturday 12th April 10.30 am. - Mothercare My Space ** £6 per family/childminder subsidised by Children’s Centre. Includes: A visit from the Easter Bunny... Continue reading

I'm outraged by British Airways inflight customer service. Rob, my husband and I recently went to New York with our 3 Grown up kids. Rob and I were travelling premium economy whilst our kids were going economy. Rob's screen wasn't working so he couldn't watch a film. Actually our steward was lovely and after a few attempts to reset it said he would call the chief steward over to discuss options. The chief steward had a problem talking to both Rob and I and would just talk to Rob. I found him quite rude and dismissive, I'm unsure if it... Continue reading

I was delighted to be interviewed by More than Mummies for the series they have on mums running a variety of businesses, they hope these interviews will inspire you as well as answer some questions you may have about what it’s like to be a mum in business. http://www.morethanmummies.com/2014/03/an-interview-with-karen-sherr-musical-minis Continue reading

Guest blog by Jo Weaving, the South Wales Musical Minis franchisee. I’m not Welsh but I have lived in Wales for over half my life. Until I had my children I didn’t realise that the Welsh language is taught from pre school level upwards and I didn’t realise quite how much effort is put into celebrating St David’s Day. Schools hold their own Eisteddfods which include poetry, music, creative writing and art. My own children have always gone to school dressed up on St David’s Day - our costumes have ranged from rugby players to leeks and miners. Playschools, nurseries... Continue reading

At the end of October Rob and I travelled to India. The sole purpose of this trip was to see the Taj Mahal, which is in Agra but in addition we visited Delhi and Jaipur too. Driving into Delhi from the airport we found familiarity in travelling on the left hand side of the road with three lanes clearly marked. However, the cars were five abreast, some cars were heading towards us on our side of the road and every driver had their hand firmly planted on the horn. We were shocked by the sheer number of cars, motorbikes, tuk... Continue reading

Oxford Musical Minis will be hosting a series of events for pre-schoolers (birth – 5 years) during the Easter holidays. Come and join in with the fun at one of 5 locations: Monday 7 April 2014, 10am–12.00pm CALVERT Monday 7 April 2014, 2.30pm–4.30pm BICESTER Tuesday 8 April 2014, 10.00am–12.00pm ARNCOTT Wednesday 9 April 2014, 10am–12.00pm 12.00pm WOODSTOCK Friday 11 April 2014, 10am–12.00pm ADDERBURY Music, dancing, Easter parade, bubbles, parachute fun and an Easter story! A prize for the best decorated Easter bonnet/mask as well as an EASTER EGG HUNT where each child will receive a full size EASTER EGG! Places... Continue reading

Musical Minis, are exhibiting on stand F23 at the Work and Family Show (Excel, London, 21st and 22nd February 2014) and are delighted to report that three of our business owners have recently celebrated 10 years each in business. Musical Minis in South Lincs, South Wales and Bucks and South Northants have all held parties for parents and their children in their local area, to mark the occasion. Musical Minis is a music class for children aged from 0-5, designed by franchisor and child psychologist Karen Sherr, to help children’s cognitive, physical and emotional development through the use of music,... Continue reading

The Work and Family Show 2014 provides a great opportunity to find out more about becoming a Musical Minis franchisee and enjoying a better work/life balance. The Show takes place at Excel London on Friday 21st February and Saturday 22nd February 2014. Please visit us on Stand number F23 and we will be delighted to tell you more about becoming a Musical Minis franchisee. We do have some complimentary tickets available so get in touch if you would like to meet us at the show. Continue reading

Following on with our tradition of analysing names for the children attending Musical Minis classes, the list below is for the children who attended during 2013. It isn't necessarily children who were born in 2013. Furthermore, it doesn't include children who attend Children's Centre sessions or nursery sessions. The numbers in brackets following the name are the position for the name last year in 2012. Top 10 Boys Names:- 1 Harry (=2) 2 Oliver (1) =3 Charlie (=4) =3 Henry 5 Jack (=2) =6 James (=6) =6 Ethan (8) =8 Thomas (=4) =8 George (=6) 10 William (=9) The only... Continue reading

The Taj Mahal was the reason I wanted to go to India - I really wanted to see it and they refused to move it to another country so I had to go to India! We had travelled from Delhi to Agra by car on a near empty toll road. The scenery en route was quite beautiful. People were working in the paddy fields, there were areas popular for brick making as they harvested the straw and hay and we saw antelope and monkeys. The contrast when we arrived in Agra couldn't have been greater. The roads were just dirt... Continue reading

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I used to love going to Sketch restaurant in London. My son had his 21st birthday celebration there, we had been to a private party and for supper too. However, in September the restaurant was shown to be misleading and not interested at all in customer care - not what you would expect from a supposed top restaurant. I am on Sketch's mailing list and in September got sent an offer for London Fashion Week. Sketch had partnered with Josh Wood, a hair stylist, to offer guests a dry-style blow dry and a file and polish together with a Sketch... Continue reading

We are delighted to announce that Caroline will be taking over Musical Minis Teesside and South Durham from Katherine at the end of this term. We would like to thank Katherine for firmly establishing Musical Minis in the Teesside and South Durham area and for all the help and training she has given Caroline to ease the franchise transfer. We wish Katherine all the best for the future. Caroline was first introduced to Musical Minis when she attended a class in Teesside with her daughter, Cora. Caroline saw how much Cora benefitted from the classes over the two years she... Continue reading

In July I went to a event which paired Castello Cheese with wine. It highlighted how cheese wasn't just for the cheese board and could be used in various canapes. Chef Ronnie Murray, Group Head Pastry chef at Hix restaurants, was there as he had created some great canapes from the Castello cheese range. Matt Day, a top London Sommelier, was there too to suggest wine pairings that complemented the cheese. The Castello cheeses there were: Pineapple Halo, Jersey White, Creamy White, Creamy Blue, Danish Blue and Danish Blue Extra Creamy. More about the range of cheeses can be found... Continue reading

I was delighted that the Musical Minis franchisees are a happy bunch according to the results of our latest franchisee satisfaction survey. The Smith & Henderson survey was completed anonymously by our franchisees and contains 29 questions. Our overall Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark was 89% compared to the 2012 national benchmark average of 69%. The survey broke down the benchmarking into 6 main areas; Training & Support, The System, Culture & Relationships, Stewardship, Value & Rewards and General Satisfaction. We scored 100% in 12 categories including, Head Office Support, initial training and support, communication and work life balance. Musical Minis franchisees... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

For Halloween we have devised a few not too scary but fun ideas for you to do with your children. There is now a new activity download on the Musical Minis web site. It's our Halloween themed download with songs, cooking and colouring to do. Click on this link and enter your details to instantly receive the free pack. We would love to see the pictures that you make. Please email them to us at enquiries@musicalminis.co.uk I would love to hear from you as to how you get on with this download and any ideas which you may have for... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

Musical Minis South Wales are celebrating their 10th anniversary this Autumn. Musical Minis South Wales was set up back in 2003 when Jo Weaving, franchisee, was looking for an alternative to going back to work after the birth of her first baby. 10 years on, and over 1000 children have attended classes, and parties, which run across South Wales including Barry, Bridgend, Pontyclun and Sully. To celebrate, Jo, and her team, are holding a very special fundraising party on Saturday 12th October from 3pm at The Highlight Park Community Centre in Barry. The main event will, of course, be Musical... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

As the founder of Musical Minis, pre-school children’s music classes and as a Child Psychologist I have found that music classes can be valuable for any parent finding it hard to bond or communicate with their child. There was an article by Mark Hudson in the Daily Mail where Mark says he fears he has stunted his daughter’s development because he was unable to ‘baby babble’ with her, encouraged too much rough and tumble and failed to fit in with others at a children’s music class. Mark Hudson indicates that a number of his problems are linked to him being... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading