Time to Say Goodbye

Due to the arrival of baby Harry, along with other changes in personal circumstances, I have come to the very difficult decision to sell my Jo Jingles franchise. I have had an amazing 3 years and have loved starting and building up my own business. I know that some of you have in fact been with me since my first ever term and I have had the privilege of watching your little ones crawl, clap hands for the first time and take those first steps and I am very grateful that I have been able to share in such precious times with you all.

The only thing that has made this decision any easier is knowing that my business will be left in the very capable hands of Charlotte Baker who I am delighted to say is buying the franchise. Charlotte has been my teacher since Christmas 2006 and has been a fantastic asset to Jo Jingles - she works tirelessly to ensure that all the children (and adults!) in her classes have a fantastic time each week and her dedication has been second to none.

I can assure you all that Jo Jingles will continue to be the very best music and movement experience around in the very capable hands of Charlotte! For those of you who do not know her, Charlotte will be visiting all classes between now and the end of the summer term when she will be officially taking over. I hope that you will continue to be as loyal customers to her as you have been to me over the years.

I will miss the business terribly but fully intend on bringing Harry to my local class as soon as he is old enough!

I hope to see you all to say a personal farewell before the summer term ends - and who knows I might be sitting next to you in the circle with Harry singing along to Jo Jingles songs in the Autumn term!!

Introducing Charlotte

I’ve been coming along to Jo Jingles with my little boy Ollie since he was 6 months old and we were one of Alison’s first customers. I found becoming a full time Mum very rewarding and a pleasant change from working for a demanding boss in a corporate environment. When the vacancy for a Jo Jingles class teacher was mentioned in class, my first thought was “that would be a great job for someone” soon followed by “..why not me?”.

I’ve now worked for Alison for 16 months, covering classes in Garston, Abbots Langley, Bushey and Rickmansworth – which fits in brilliantly with home life, giving me a little break from my 3 year old and a chance to entertain other children two days a week. I am very excited about starting my own business as I am truly passionate about everything Jo Jingles stands for – not something I could say hand on heart about the world of advertising and marketing where I came from. If my name is new to you, I hope to meet you over the coming weeks & hopefully reassure you that Alison is leaving her much loved business in safe hands.

All that leaves me to say is “Thank You” to Alison for being a wonderful boss and for inspiring me to get involved with Jo Jingles in the first place.

So what do we do at Jo Jingles?

Jo Jingles classes are lots of fun as well as including an educational slant for pre school children. They are age specific and are typically offered for babies of 6mths to walking, walking to 2 years and 2 to 4 years or 3 to 5 years (please note age groups may vary slightly depending on the demand in any given area).

Classes run for 45 minutes and are generally held during term time only, although we have run some very popular “summer fun” sessions in the holidays. Classes are interactive and we build on a repertoire of old favourites and exciting new songs.

Jo Jingles himself plays a vital role in all classes, teaching the children and becoming a good friend to them all!

As well as action songs, nursery rhymes, sound and rhythm games, we also have a variety of props and visuals to make things fun and to aid learning of the songs and the classes follow a different theme each week.

We introduce the children to a wide range of child-sized percussion instruments including drums, tambourines, maracas and triangles. Each child is given their own identical instrument to play in the session and we cover 2 different instruments each week.

Some children will take to classes straight away but for others it can take some time. If you can, please persevere – over a period of time children will get used to the structure of classes and what is expected of them and will soon be having lots of fun! As a general guideline, by week 3 or 4 most children are joining in nicely, but for others it could take a little longer – please feel free to talk to me if you have any worries.

Adult participation is very important – the more enthusiastic you are, the better it is for your child’s confidence. It does mean lots of active involvement for parents/carers but it is great fun!!

The Benefits of Music for Young Children

Music has an enormous part to play in a child’s early development and there is growing evidence that music can even help at a later stage with subjects as diverse as mathematics, foreign languages and scientific problem solving.

“Singing songs to your child widens their vocabulary and improves listening skills, both of which make learning to read easier.” Professor John Sloboda, Keel University.

“A child is more confident and usually speaks early and gains an early grasp of the rules of communication if started early in clapping games, group activities and musical games.” Dr Miriam Stoppard, Child Psychologist.

Why not go to our customer comments section to hear what our parents say about Jo Jingles.