October is full of spookiness for Sean Harper of the Just For Fun Holiday Club

OCTOBER is on its way. It’s Q4 and one of the key business moments is, of course, Halloween (or at last for some businesses).

Up today is Sean Harper, from the Just for Fun Holiday Club. Based in Swindon, the Just for Fun Holiday Club provides affordable childcare for children during the school holidays between the ages of 4-13 years. With a huge range of activities to participate in, the children never have an opportunity to get bored.

What’s coming up for your business/organisation in Q4?
This month we have our October holiday club coming to 3 venues. The theme is Halloween which is a great one for allowing the children to be creative. We have a range of themed days including slime making, Halloween party, baking and pumpkin carving. 

I’m really looking forward to this one as it will be the first holiday club where I have had time to plan well in advance, after leaving my full time job to focus on Just for Fun Holiday Club. I hope the extra effort is noticed in the activities planned. 

Did you know October 10 is World Mental Health Day – how important is this subject in your business and in your life?
Mental Health is something which is important to everyone of all ages. We address this daily at our holiday club. It's an area of conversation which is getting better so by making it a part of our conversations at holiday club, we hope it will make it easier for children who may want to talk as they get older or if they find themselves not in a good head space. 

Maintaining a positive mental health and treating any poor mental health conditions is crucial to stabilising behaviours, emotions, and thoughts. Focusing on mental health care can increase productivity, enhance our self-image, and improve relationships.

Some real positives to looking after our mental health include.

• Improving our mood
• Reducing our anxiety
• Creating an enhanced sense of inner peace
• Thinking more clearly
• Improving our relationships
• Increasing our self esteem

‘No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted’ - aesop

Some ‘quirky’ moments happening for you this month are:
Pumpkin Day - Parents can’t thank us enough for having this as part of our themed day during the holidays. It’s so messy and you find pumpkin seeds for weeks after. The children create some very good designs for their pumpkin, but these are at times difficult to translate to the pumpkin. We try though. We support the younger children scrape and cut the pumpkin to look as funny or spooky as they want. 

If I can give one bit of advice, please go for the smaller pumpkins. There is so much less mess and scrapping required and therefore less wastage from the middle.

We tried it one year with a pineapple. We got mixed reviews from parents, but the children loved eating/trying pineapple and the waste was so much less. 

If anyone has any good recipes for leftover pumpkin please let me know. We have bags full by the end of the day. 

Clocks go back this month and we get an extra hour in bed. How do you see ‘time’ in your business or organisation? 
Time is something I was chasing for the last 6 years. I was working 2 jobs and this was difficult to manage as the business grew. I have now left working in the secondary school and have time to focus on just one business. The change has been incredible. I have more flexibility to be able to do things I either have put off or declined in the past.

I see my children more and have the bonus of being able to take them or pick them up from school occasionally. I have time to make changes to the business in the working day and have time to look after myself in the evening, whether that be going to the gym, going for a run or spending time with my family. 

I have been able to start using my time more effectively and the productivity has been much better due to 1 sole focus. To have finally put myself in a position where I have time freedom has been one of my biggest achievements. I used to say I would retire at 40 (I was 21 at this point) and as I got older, I changed it to I want to have time freedom by 40. I’m certainly on the pathway to having this become a reality. 

My partner often says to me that it's not the gifts that they will remember as they get older but the memories we have made by giving them my time to play, watch tv, have dinner together, holidays etc. 

And finally, tell us one thing you love about the autumn/winter months?  
I love sitting in the lounge, listening to the rain hammer down on the window. It screams staying in and relaxing with a coffee and a book. 

I am also a huge lover of Christmas. I love the family get togethers. All year we generally struggle to get our diaries to match but I know come Christmas we can all come together. Its not the presents or gifts that excite me but who I will be spending my time with. I love the excitement of counting down to Christmas day with the children and keeping the dream alive. And how can I not mention the food. December is a month I take off from trying to be healthy and enjoy all that Christmas food. 
 

For more information visit www.justforfunholidayclub.co.uk