Lucy's blog

Like everyone else, I was shocked and saddened to read about Amy Winehouse yesterday. With hindsight, looking back at that footage from the Belgrade concert a few weeks ago, it was pretty clear that something was definitely not right - even more so than over the past few...

On January 8th 2000, I opened my first Perform class. Me, a teacher and four children. It went pretty well - all things considered. But, afterwards, when I was talking to the parents about my plans to eventually open Perform all over London, one of the mums said that my...

I remember being very small and really not wanting to go to my ballet class (isn't it weird how certain childhood memories just stick?) I was standing at the top of the stairs and my Dad (a bit of a softie) was quite happy to let me skip the class. But my Mum told him...

Louisa was five when I first met her a year ago. She turned up looking small and terrified. In fact, I'd never seen a child so nervous before. Children often get a bit teary at their first session but Louisa was distraught. Her mum was in a similarly panicked state...

It seems impossible to pick up a newspaper or lifestyle magazine without coming across a reference to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua - Law Professor at Yale University and author of two heavyweight books on economics and politics. From the moment her...

Before I had my own children, I had very clear ideas about the way in which I was going to bring them up. Having taught so many and seen so many parents 'parent', I thought I knew it all. Hmmm... The reality, of course, has been very different. There are so many...

It's probably no surprise to you that I'm a big believer in the power of song. So I was really pleased to read this Guardian article that a friend forwarded to me this week; http://bit.ly/moqAbc. It's about a new book written by Sally Goddard Blythe, a...

Behaviour has been at the forefront of my mind this week. After the sugar-fuelled highs of Easter and the tantrum/headache-inducing lows of 'back to school', I've been considering how to regain some routine, balance and harmony into my family life. Ok, so...

My 3 year old is at that stage where he can be quite inconsolable when he wants something and isn't getting it. Frequently, this is for the most trivial of reasons - such as the fact that his sister has the toy he wants to play with. But whatever the cause, when it...

Goodness - hasn't August just flown by? I do hope you've all had a wonderful time over the Summer. At Perform, we've been super-busy preparing for the Autumn term and getting plans in place to open new schools. Plus, following a new piece of research from Save The...