Latest MAD Academy News
MAD Academy comes to Devon
Gemma Williams is the latest
franchisee to join the MAD Academy network and she is bringing MAD Academy
magic to the children of South Devon for the first time. As of January she
will be opening classes in Torquay and Paignton and will also
soon be starting new venues in Newton Abbot and Brixham. This
December she will also be holding FREE trial classes, so book your
place quickly to try the MAD Academy experience yourself. Find out more
details by visiting
Gemma's classes page.
Singing for our health
The BBC have reported
today that singing is being used to help medical conditions. Experts believe
that singing communally in choirs can benefit patients with a number of
illnesses from respiratory problems to Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Hanox runs Skylarks, a choir for people with Parksinon’s and he is
convinced that music can have implications for people’s health. Speaking at
a conference of the Royal Society for Public Health in London last week,
Professor Hanox claimed singing with others can really help patients. He is
now conducting research into the benefits.
Helen Harrington, founder of MAD Academy, welcomes the news that more
studies are taking place into the effects of music. ‘Anyone who teaches
singing knows how uplifting and beneficial music can be for people. I have
seen so many children who have blossomed through learning to sing, gaining
in confidence, verbal skills, self-control, not to mention the feeling of
happiness they get. The more we can understand how music affects us for the
better, the more we can harness those benefits for the good of everyone.”
To find out more, visit the
BBC website>>>
Come and see us as Brighton BabyExpo
Do
you live in Sussex or within driving distance of Brighton? Do you also love
music and dance, enjoy working with children and have a desire to run your
own business? If so, then why not come and see us for an informal chat at
the Brighton BabyExpo this Sunday. We are keen to find self-motivated,
enthusiastic and confident communicators to join our team of existing
franchisees by opening the doors of MAD Academy along the south coast.
You can find us on the “MUM and WORKING” stand in the Flexible Working Zone
at the American Express Stadium in Brighton.
MAD Academy Big Hit At Jimmy's Farm
Festival
Ralph
and Hannah, from MAD Academy Norwich, entertain hundreds of children at
Jimmy’s farm festival!
This was the third year that Jimmy’s farm had organised the huge harvest
festival, celebrating music and food in Suffolk.
As part of the festival, there was a dedicated children’s line-up of events,
which included MAD Academy classes throughout the weekend.
Hannah Falgate, who had only just taken over MAD Academy Norwich,
entertained hundreds of children, with the help of Ralph the bear!
“We got a brilliant response from all the families at the festival. We had
children of all ages joining in throughout each day and they really enjoyed
themselves. It was a great feeling to see all their little smiling faces,
dancing and singing to all our songs - reminded me of why I took MAD Academy
on in the first place!!”
MAD Academy weren’t the only ones to entertain the children on the farm. The
much loved Mr Tumble from CBeebies also made an appearance to the delight of
children and adults alike. He had them all enthralled on the big stage and
then spent a long time meeting the children.
Ralph, who is a massive fan of Mr Tumble, even got the opportunity to meet
him and have a photo. He was so excited!
Hannah said: "It was a very tiring but
amazing weekend! The next day I went into my first term teaching as the new
owner of MAD Academy Norwich. I was on such a high from the wonderful
weekend that I don't think I could have asked for a better way to start my
new classes!"
Summer
Holiday Classes
Want something to do with the
children this summer holiday? Then come to our fun holiday classes. They are
being held in Ashtead, Caterham, Selsdon, Earley, Bicester, Cheam, Sandhurst,
Finchampstead, Dorking, Reigate, Redhill, Merstham, Maidenhead, Charvil,
Marlow, Windsor, and Ascot,
find out more >>>
Good
Bye to Abigail, Grace and Holly
Abigail, Grace and Holly
have been attending MAD Academy Basingstoke since they were just a few
months old. Now they are all five and are off to school in September. How
time flies!
Cathy is very sad to see the girls leave. She says, "these
wonderful little superstars have been avid MAD fans since they were a few
months old and I am very sad to see them leave. But they have a new
adventure to begin at school and I know they are going to be the best at
singing and dancing!"
Good luck girls, Ralph will miss
you!
Babies and toddlers need more exercise!
New government guidelines are issued this week
advising that all under-fives should be exercising for at least 3 hours
everyday.
This is the first time advice has focused on babies and toddlers.
For toddlers the government are advocating walking every day for at
least 15 minutes, along with long periods of physical play. For babies
who are not yet mobile, they should be given the opportunities for
playing, rolling and crawling on the floor.
The advice has been issued in the light of recent research which
predicts that by 2050 two thirds of children could be overweight. With
only 30% of under-fives currently thought to be doing the recommended
daily amount of exercise, health concerns are high on the government’s
agenda. However, just as concerning, lack of exercise and physicality in
young children is also linked with delayed mental development.
There are lots of things parents can do to increase the opportunities
for physical fun for their youngsters. Getting children out of the pram
when walking to local amenities; playing in the garden or local park;
turning the television off and dancing to music instead; going swimming;
and of course going coming to a physical toddler activity like MAD
Academy.
MAD Academy was founded on the principle that movement was fundamental
to the way young children learn and develop. Our physical activities,
high energy dancing and free-spirited ethos all allow children to do
what they love most – move around! Helen Harrington, our founder
commented on the new guidelines. “Children need the opportunity to run,
crawl, jump, skip, spin! They do it all the time, given half the chance,
and this is all the government advice is really saying. It's not rocket
science, its just about letting children be children and letting them
play physically.”
Delayed Motor Skills On The
Increase
Nursery World has today published
an article highlighting the worrying trend of under-developed motor
skills among children starting school.
Recent research has suggested that a lack of opportunities for movement
and physical activity in the early years is hampering children’s
development. The results are a growing number of children starting
school with poor co-ordination, balance and control. This immaturity in
motor skills has a knock on effect on behaviour and learning. It can
hinder reading and writing and often results in children finding it hard
to sit still in class.
Sally Goddard Blythe director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological
Psychology says; 'Every parent needs to know the importance of movement
to children's development.’ She goes on to warn; 'We're in danger of
turning our babies into couch potatoes.'
To read the article in full,
click here>>>
Congratulations to General Day
Nursery
Another
nursery has joined the MAD Academy accreditation scheme and is
now sharing the joy of MAD Academy with the children in their care. All
the staff at the General Day Nursery in St Helens have now been fully
trained and accredited and are already having fun with music and
movement, MAD Academy style! We wish them every success and know they
will love all the new material that will be coming their way over the
next few years!
If you would like to find out
more about General Day Nursery,
click here>>>.
If you would like to find out more about MAD Academy's training
solutions, click here>>>.
Babies’ Brains Boosted By Music and Dance
Singing and dancing with very young children has again been endorsed by a range
of child experts. A recent article in the Guardian by Ameila Hill highlighted
the benefits that singing can have for early speech development.
The article sites the work of Sally Goddard Blythe, a director of the Institute
for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, who has concluded in a recent book that
early singing is "an essential precursor to later educational success and
emotional wellbeing." Blythe explains that singing simple nursery rhymes to your
child prepares their ear and brain for learning language, as well as helping
them to develop neural connections across both hemispheres of the brain.
But Blythe’s book, due to be published on 8th June, not only stress the
importance of singing, but also the essential role which movement plays in
healthy brain development. Blythe has argued for a long time that physical
stimulation is crucial for babies and young children to develop their full
potential and has highlighted the importance of environments and activities
which enable movement to take place.
Patricia Maude of the University of Cambridge agrees with the importance of
movement for young children. Maude has explained at a recent conference that
movement is the primary stimulus for connecting brain cells in babies and
toddlers. ‘Physical activity is thus the crucial stimulus to brain development
in the early years and to brain maintenance throughout life.’
‘Physical activity and exercise are thus paramount for the optimum development
both of the brain and of well-coordinated and controlled movement competence.’
So when we next see the smiles on the children’s faces as they sing and dance
around in class, we can feel good that they are not only happy, but are helping
to develop their unique potential too.
To read the full Guardian article,
click here
To read Patricia Maude’s paper on Physical Literacy and the Young Child,
delivered at the AIESEP Conference 26 October 2010,
click here>>>
NEW Classes
Opening
NEW classes starting in Banstead and in Sutton Town
centre. Find out
more>>>
FREE EASTER PARTIES
As an Easter gift The new
MAD Academy Guildford team would like to invite you to our FREE ‘Bunny Hop’
parties being held 11th, 12th and 14th April.
Mon 11th
9.45 2-4 years,
10.45 Walkers to 2yrs
11.40, Babies
Merrow Village Hall Epsom Rd Guildford GU1 2QY
Tuesday 12th
10.30 Walkers to 2Yrs
Jacobs well Village Hall, Jacobs well Rd GU4 7PD
Thursday 14th
9.45 Walkers to 2Yrs,
10.45 2Yrs to 4yrs,
Godalming Masonic Hall, Ockford Rd, Godalming GU7 1RQ
fun and frolics guaranteed!
Booking is essential, contact Debs on 01252 326413 to secure a place.
Prestigious WO4LO Award Nominations
Awards success is one step closer as MAD Academy goes through to the voting
stages of the What’s On 4 Little Ones Awards. MAD Academy has been nominated in
both the Best National Baby and Toddler Development Activity
category and the Best Children’s Party Entertainment category. Two
of our wonderful class instructors,
Emma Lelliot and
Maggie Duerden, have
also been recognised in the Most Outstanding Activity Leader for the Under
5s.
This is the 5th year the site has run their awards and the third time we have
been nominated. Helen Harrington, founder of MAD Academy, is particularly proud:
“It is so brilliant to know that parents feel so passionately about their MAD
Academy classes that they nominate us for these awards each year. It’s
particularly rewarding to be nominated in the developmental category. Every
element of our classes is designed to be not just fun and exciting, but to also
focus on developing key skills. I’m really pleased parents recognise and value
this too.”
We now need your votes! Please go to the WO4LO’s website and register your vote
in each of the relevant category. You can vote until Friday 6th May. Remember to
tell your friends and family too! Go to
www.whatson4littleones.co.uk/awards-voting.asp to vote now!
Nomination for a WO4LO Award!
Debbie Mason,
Pauline Llewellyn, and
Emma Lelliot have all been nominated for a prestigious, What's On 4 Little
Ones Award! Now they need your help. If you enjoy their classes, please back
their nomination. They will need at least 5 nominations to go through to the voting
stage in March. You can nominate by visiting the WO4LO's website and
completing the nomination form,
click
here>>>
Please show your appreciation for all these amazing class instructors do to make your classes special
and support them in this exciting opportunity!
FREE Taster Class
Come to a free taster class in Epsom on Friday 25th March,
more>>>
FREE Taster
Classes
Join us on 8th January for a FREE session in Norwich,
more>>>
Snow, Snow,
Snow!
The recent snowfall is causing disruption for classes everywhere.
Please contact your class
instructor before leaving home to ensure the class is able to run.
