<< Back to previous page
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2008 Newsletter
|
|
|
Spring!
|
|
The country had been battered by winds this week but isn't it lovely to see the Spring flowers out and know that the warmer weather and longer days are not far away now!
WO4LO is 2 years old this month - a huge thank you to everyone involved and our visitors for your support! Happy Birthday to us!
Spread the word by simply forwarding our newsletter to a friend with young children or even a Mum-to-be!
Happy Easter to you and your families! | |
 |
|
|
| Survey reveals that classes for the under 5s are no pressure and fun! |
|
Did you take part in our on-line survey about the activities you go to? Over 2000 of you did and here are the results! Congratulations to Sally from Doncaster who wins £50 of leisure vouchers in the prize draw for taking part in this survey.
Here is an extract from an article about our survey being published next month:
"The general media sometimes would have us believe that we are pushing our children too much and too young. 
But a recent survey conducted by the on-line directory of activities and classes for babies and young children, www.whatson4littleones.co.uk , has revealed that the top 3 reasons for going to classes is socialising, development and fun!
The same parents also overwhelming disagree that they feel under pressure to go to these classes.
And it's not all about spending a fortune either as over 30% of those asked attended community baby and toddler groups run by volunteers that usually cost around £1 and the free storytelling and music groups held in local libraries. Most parents spend between £3 and £10 a week on activities and think this is about right.
Although many would like more activities in the afternoon particularly as the day and time of the activity was one of the most important factors when choosing a new class or group, above even a friend's recommendation. When asked what the "ideal" class would be the most frequent comment was it would be one with a different activity every week and with social time for parents and this probably explains why the traditional baby and toddler group is still so popular." |
| Work Life Balance Survey |
| Our new online survey is all about your work life balance. It's such an important element of family life and something we take very seriously at WO4LO. We try and help our team by giving them truely flexible hours at home, they can even have the school holidays off if they want to! We hope we help in some way but realise that no family has it easy.
Tell us how you feel about your work and family life balance and you will be entered in our draw to win £50 of leisure vouchers to enjoy a day out with your family.
|
| Local Focus... parenting news from around the UK |
| We're introducing a new regular feature picking up parenting stories from across the UK. If you have a story from your region that would be interesting for other parents please contact us.
More than a Mum Event
A special event for Mums takes place at the Merchant Adventurers Hall in York on Friday 18th April 2008
The free event aims to give mums of all ages time to investigate a range of opportunities, products and services that can change their lives for the better. These include:
· Pampering
· Learning
· Coaching for confidence
· Self-employment
· Career Change
· Healthy eating
· Childcare
· Children's activities
The day starts at 10am and ends at 4pm. Participants can choose to pop in for a few minutes or to stay for hours.
The event is the brainchild of two York Mums who have overcome adversity to find the right balance in their lives.
Catherine Holmes comments:
"When I finally overcome post-natal depression and workplace bullying there was no one place where I could access all the positive things life has to offer. This event aims to showcase a varied menu for being more than a mum"
Carole-Anne Melia says:
"As a disabled mum with a disabled child, I know the importance about thinking positively about every aspect of your life. More than a Mum is about giving you the tools to change things for the better as a mum and as a woman"
Join us and whilst celebrating being a Mum, recognise that you are much more. More than a Mum is still keen to hear from potential stall-holders and workshop leaders although there are very limited spaces left"
|
| And the winner is ... Baby Sensory |
|
Each month we feature one of our 2008 Award winners. To start the ball rolling Baby Sensory tell us what it has already meant to them to be one of our winnners.
"When I heard that Baby Sensory had been awarded the whatson4littleones award for Best Baby Development Class I was absolutely thrilled", says Dr Lin Day, founder of the innovative and exciting sensory development activity.
Lin has been running Baby Sensory classes in Salisbury for 5 years and has worked with babies and young children for more than 30 years. She started to offer franchises 15 months ago. There are now 13 franchisees running classes in more than 40 locations throughout the UK and Ireland.
"This award means so much for our business" continues Lin. "Parents now have such a great range of activities to choose from and I am sure many will be keen to attend the Best Baby Development Class. This will help our class leaders, who are already enjoying success with their classes, to become even more successful and will attract new franchisees to Baby Sensory."
 Asked what makes Baby Sensory a winner Lin replied, "Baby Sensory has been designed such that it is fun for both parents and babies. We feel it is essential that parents enjoy the sessions and that their participation with their babies provides a positive environment for the babies to develop. Parents regularly tell us that they anticipate each session with excitement as every week is different."
To find out more about Baby Sensory visit www.babysensory.co.uk
**STOP PRESS ** Baby Sensory franchisee Juliet Booker, who has been running classes in the Bath area for just under a year, commented "following the announcement of the award I have already been interviewed by local radio and the TV cameras have filmed my session for a feature on the local news. This is a really exciting time for me." |
|
Under 5s Book Club ... Dinosaurs, Princesses and Fairies |
|
Pop Up Dino IQ
This has just been published and is a great book for dinosaur mad children.
It is full of information and has a pop up dinosaur on each page.
Published by Priddy Books RRP £4.99 Offer Price £3.99
Dinosaur Stickers with CD
There are loads of things to do in this book, scenes to decorate, a flying reptile to make, lots of stickers plus a CD with even more ideas. Great value for money!
Published by Priddy Books RRP £3.99 Offer Price £3.19
 Princess Poppy Playground Princess
At last, a new Princess Poppy book! For anyone who hasn't seen this series of books, the covers attract little girls (and their mums!), they have a letter in an envelope inside and the stories always have a moral to them In this book, Poppy wants to join a popular playground gang but, when they start bullying her friend, she has to decide whether she wants to be popular or a good friend. Published by Picture Corgi RRP £4.99 Offer Price £3.99
Fairy Stickers with CD
It has over 150 stickers to use in this fairy book. There are instructions on making a fairy wand, decorating your bedroom and press outs to make a fairy scene - and lots more!
Published by Priddy Books RRP £3.99 Offer Price £3.19 |
| Walk for Skin |
|
In its third year, the Walk for Skin is a series of nine sponsored walking events (organised by the British Skin Foundation) taking place throughout the country to help raise vital funds for research into skin disease.
The 2008 walk promises to be even bigger and better than in 2007 (which raised over £170k for skin disease research). With support from TV presenter Tania Bryer and a Walk for Skin 'village' at each event, including live music, entertainment, fun activities and catering making it more than just a walk but a fun day out for the whole family. The first walk, which Tania will be taking part in, sets off in Regent's Park, London on April 27, 2008 and the last will be held in Cardiff on June 29.
Tania Bryer said "Skin disease affects around 8 million people in the UK, but is an area that is perhaps less known or understood. So, I'm getting involved to help raise awareness of the Walk for Skin and the need for vital funds for such a good cause!"
Skin care expert Sanex understands your skin and how it works and has been working closely with research charity, the British Skin Foundation (BSF), since 2005 to help promote the importance of healthy skin. All walkers will also receive a walker's pack including a Walk for Skin bag, Sanex healthy skin goodies for the whole family and fun stuff for kids. More information can be found at www.walkforskin.org.uk. |
|
Mums in Business |
So here I am with my daughter now two and a half and I recently launched my new Rhyme-Time and Sign course in the Basingstoke area. If someone had said to me three years ago this is what I would be doing I'd of laughed as having a baby was quite enough for me to think about let alone embracing motherhood and being so involved in the whole new world that opened up to be as a mum. 
I was interested in was baby signing and started reading more about the benefits. One of the first things we teach our children is how to wave so it seemed natural to use gestures to reinforce important words. Research had also shown that baby signing does not prohibit speech but enhances it as you are slowing down your sentences and picking out important words as well as always speaking as you are signing to them. Singing is also a fun and great way to teach your children.
Sophie had now arrived and we enrolled on a course. I loved the classes and started signing at home and was thrilled when Sophie signed back to me at 10 months old saying she wanted milk, of course everything was then milk because she knew I understood her!
I taught baby signing for another company but felt I had more to learn and wanted to give to other parents wanting to learn about baby signing.
I love singing and have spent best part of the last year researching effective teaching methods for children, completed a course in British Sign Language and developed my own course for baby signing which I launched in Bramley. I decided on the name Rhyme Time and Sign as I incorporate as many traditional and well known songs as possible, as well as using some specially developed songs to support the signs I am trying to teach. Children love music but I use props and musical instruments throughout the class too which keeps the children captivated. Not all children will sign but I can't remember seeing a child that didn't enjoy the singing and social time with their parents. The classes last for an hour with about 35 minutes singing followed by social and play time with refreshments. |
| Class Discount Directory |
We're starting to build a directory of discounts and offers from many of the classes running across the UK and some will be exclusive to WO4LO. Just quote WO4LO to receive your discount. Have fun!
You can also view these discounts and more as we receive them on our new discounts page. |
| Mummy Me Time update - 10% discount |
You may have read the Mummy Me Time article last month about Sam's visit to Ragdale Hall Health Hydro. Ragdale Hall are now offering anyone that mentions WO4LO 10% off any of their packages! So grab yourself some Mummy Me Time and visit www.ragdalehall.co.uk for all the details.
|
| Find us on Facebook |
 If you're a fan of Facebook you can now become a fan of WO4LO as we have our own page on Facebook!
Just click the link below and become a fan! Tell your Facebook friends too!
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
