Lyricos Learning

<a href="https://www.idealabkids.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=idea-lab-kids-franchisee-offers-idea-lab-plus-program-to-support-children-enrolled-in-remote-learning-2714379" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">IDEA Lab Kids</a>, an after-school education franchise that specializes in S.T.E.A.M-based (S.T.E.M + Arts) programs for students ages 4 to 14, introduced a new program last month —<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/idea-lab-kids-launches-new-program-to-help-parents-during-the-pandemic-idea-lab-plus-2713933#brand-latest-stories"> IDEA Lab Plus.</a> To accommodate the changing needs of students and their parents as many schools across the country shift to virtual learning, IDEA Labs Plus offers parents a “concierge service” that consists of two components: e-learning facilitation and hands-on S.T.E.A.M enrichment. The main goal of IDEA Lab Plus is to aid parents who are looking for helpful ways to coach their children through virtual learning. Now, as the brand’s franchisees begin to roll out the IDEA Lab Plus program, it is clear that it is appealing to both parents and children. IDEA Lab Plus is offered in-person as well as through “learning pod support.”IDEA Lab Kids franchisee Kosal Chea<a href="https://www.ballantyne.idealabkids.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=idea-lab-kids-franchisee-offers-idea-lab-plus-program-to-support-children-enrolled-in-remote-learning-2714379" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> owns and operates the ILK Ballantyne location in Charlotte, North Carolina</a> and has seen major success with IDEA Lab Plus. “I have 19 years of experience in public education as a teacher,” said Chea. “We were looking for supplemental education for our two-year-old son and couldn’t find anything as comprehensive as IDEA Lab Kids. After discovering the brand on the internet, we loved the concept and<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/how-idea-lab-kids-supports-its-franchise-owners-2711758%2523franchisor"> flew out to the headquarters in Houston</a> to discuss bringing the brand to Charlotte.”&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/why-idea-lab-kids-is-an-ideal-franchise-opportunity-for-passionate-mothers-2713062#brand-latest-stories">Chea signed on as IDEA Lab Kids franchisee in December 2019 and opened his location in mid-June</a>. “We initially had a huge grand opening event planned for June 6th but we had to cancel due to COVID-19,” said Chea. “After a soft opening, the first two weeks were a lot of work as we started with our Summer Camp program.”While Chea notes that the Summer Camp program was successful, a lot of parents in the area were still reluctant to sign up. Once the announcement came about remote learning and IDEA Lab Plus, more and more parents started calling.&nbsp;“We pivoted from summer camp to full remote learning for families with IDEA Lab Plus in mid-August,” said Chea. “With our remote learning support program, some kids come for two days, some come for five, and we help with their Zoom calls, help them access their assignments and help them with tutoring as needed to get their work in. In addition, we’ve extended our hours to fit in with the school day, which means we have<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/forbes-how-to-get-your-kids-interested-in-steam-2712015%2523franbuzz"> more opportunities to teach our S.T.E.A.M.-based curriculum</a> in between Zoom classes. Once students are finished with their online classes and independent projects, the center offers supplemental projects in areas like coding, robotics, drone engineering, culinary arts and visual arts. We are able to offer one to three S.T.E.A.M lessons per day and integrate that with school classes.”With parents signing up for IDEA Lab Plus on a monthly basis, Chea’s center has seen every single family return for October. “We’ve done a bit of marketing, but the program’s success has mostly been through word of mouth,” said Chea. “With social distancing, we’ve decreased our capacity so we can keep kids six feet apart, and all five of our classrooms have been filled everyday. The parents of our community have been extremely grateful to have a place where kids can come and interact with their peers safely, and they have been recommending us to their friends and neighbors.”As a parent himself,<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/why-passionate-parents-make-great-idea-lab-kids-franchisees-2710888%2523franchisee"> Chea notes that his primary mission with IDEA Lab Kids is to serve families and strengthen his community</a>, and IDEA Lab Plus has played a primary role in his ability to do so during COVID-19. “It has been so gratifying to create this service, and kids love the environment of being with other kids and being able to take breaks and socialize with hands-on projects like cooking, baking, visual arts, robotics, 3D printing and more,” said Chea. “Having a variety of options to intrigue kids and get them interested in remote learning has been great, and we’ve seen a positive response from the students, parents and teachers.”Looking ahead, a lot of the center’s families have children returning part-time to school in November and are already reserving spots for IDEA Lab Plus on the days when the children would be home.&nbsp;“This has been a challenging time for everyone, and it is important that we all work together to support each other,” said Chea. “We opened our center in the middle of a pandemic, and this has certainly been a learning experience. Now, parents trust us with the safety of their loved ones, and they know we take their safety very seriously. Even though it has been hard work, it has been incredibly satisfying to provide kids with a strong educational experience during this time and to provide parents with a service that makes their lives a little easier.”&nbsp;Each of IDEA Lab’s 20 locations will tailor its programs to best align with surrounding school districts’ curricula to fit the ever-changing needs of the community. Students will be enrolled into small learning groups — or pods — based on age, grade and school district.&nbsp;“Our schools have parents who need support and who are struggling to keep up with their children’s virtual learning and their own work-from-home commitments,” said<a href="https://1851franchise.com/idealabkids/idea-lab-kids-appoints-devina-bhojwani-as-chief-executive-officer-2712493%2523franchisor"> President of IDEA Lab Kids Devina Bhojwani</a>. “We launched this program to help alleviate some of that extra stress for parents as well as to help get students out of the house and into a safe, school-like learning environment. As everyone navigates the challenges of virtual learning, IDEA Lab wants to be there to offer as much support as we can.”The startup costs for an IDEA Lab Kids franchise range from $160,500 to $373,000. The franchise fee is $35,500. To learn more about franchising with IDEA Lab Kids, visit https://www.franchise.idealab kids.com/.

IDEA Lab Kids Franchisee Offers IDEA Lab Plus Program to Support Children Enrolled in Remote Learning

1851 Franchise

IDEA Lab Kids franchisee Kosal Chea, who owns the ILK Ballantyne location in Charlotte, North Carolina, has had major success implementing IDEA Lab Kids' new program, IDEA Lab Plus. 

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IDEA Lab Kids Franchisee Ryan Baker Is Filling the Gap for STEAM in Edmonton, Where Schools Are Seeing an Enrollment Boom 

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Edmonton, Canada, has seen a&nbsp;<a href="https://edmontonglobal.ca/news/canadas-fastest-growing-metro-the-edmonton-region/">sharp population increase</a>, growing 3% from July 2024 to July 2025, the fastest rate in the country. The pressure is also evident in local schools, where enrollment has&nbsp;<a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/school-space-cant-keep-up-with-growing-edmonton-public-student-population">risen by 50% over the past 12 years</a>. With more students in classrooms, STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) can be harder to fit in, which is part of the reason supplemental programs like&nbsp;<a href="https://franchise.idealabkids.com/">IDEA Lab Kids</a> have become a resource for local families. That growing demand for enrichment is what led local entrepreneur&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-baker-048a2065/">Ryan Baker</a> to get involved.&nbsp;“We never had IDEA Lab Kids in the Edmonton area,” said&nbsp;<a href="http://linkedin.com/in/devina-bhojwani-3452053">Devina Bhojwani,</a> president and co-founder of IDEA Lab Kids. “Now, all of our classes are at capacity or running close to it. Our franchisee is running such a strong, quality program.”&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lyricoslearning/info">IDEA Lab Kids</a> in Edmonton is led by Baker, who spent more than a decade working in the oil and gas sector before moving into more corporate, business development and M&amp;A-style work. Several years ago, he decided to resign from that career and start his own series of businesses. He wanted to invest in a franchise as one of those businesses, while also starting his own company and eventually acquiring other businesses. When he began looking at franchise opportunities, he came across IDEA Lab Kids by chance.&nbsp;“We were in Houston visiting some good friends of ours who had relocated there from Alberta, and went to an IDEA Lab Kids birthday party at one of the locations in the greater Houston area,” Baker said. “Coincidentally, I happened to be in the market looking for something to invest in and it aligned very nicely with some of my business guiding principles. I love the concept and really felt that it would fill a gap here in our community.”Baker opened the Edmonton center in July 2024 after seeing room for a different kind of enrichment option. At the time, many local programs were centered on technology and STEM. IDEA Lab Kids expanded that focus through STEAM, bringing the arts into the mix.One of the biggest areas of adoption for the program in this region has come from its ability to support schools. Baker explained that STEAM is highly inclusive, allowing IDEA Lab Kids to offer a wide range of experiences.“We have four or five different rooms that serve different programs, like a coding room, which holds tech robotics classes. We have a cooking room that's more like a kitchen,” said Bhojwani. “There's a wide variety, and there's something for everybody. So, a family with two different kids and two different varied interests can almost find anything that they're looking for at the IDEA Lab Kids Edmonton.”<h2>The Ways IDEA Lab Kids Supports Schools in Edmonton</h2>In a classroom of 30 or more students, it can be challenging for teachers to provide the kind of small-group, hands-on engagement that deeper STEAM exploration requires. And when school systems are stretched, teachers are often expected to take on a wide range of responsibilities, particularly in early elementary years, where the primary focus is on reading and math. Rather than viewing it as a gap, Baker sees it more as a resource challenge that makes it difficult to fully empower each child to explore topics in depth.“We’ve had tremendous success in the Edmonton area partnering with schools to support curriculum,” Baker said. “That includes opportunities to work alongside educators, offer unique in-school field trip-style experiences and launch in-school residency programs. We’re running lunchtime STEAM clubs and have already completed a full in-school residency where IDEA Lab instructors were present every day for several weeks, supplementing science curriculum for grade four, five and six students during class time. It’s not extracurricular, it’s fully integrated and aligned with the provincial curriculum.”When funding is available through schools or parent associations, these partnerships can help enhance subject areas and give students more opportunities than they might typically receive in a standard classroom setting.One approach IDEA Lab Kids uses is bringing in trained staff to lead hands-on STEAM instruction directly in schools, allowing educators to supplement their curriculum with interactive experiences. Another option allows schools to license IDEA Lab Kids’ curriculum for their own teachers to use. The curriculum is designed to make implementation easier through a video-based format.&nbsp;“It’s kind of like a Netflix for education,” Bhojwani said. “The facilitator plays the video, but it’s not passive. Every minute or so, there’s a pause built in where the facilitator asks questions and keeps the class engaged, and then it moves into the hands-on portion of the activity.”Baker wants more children to have access to hands-on STEM learning, even if their school or neighborhood has fewer resources. He has also worked with local schools on giveback programs. When families use a partner school’s code to sign up for camp, part of the fee goes back to the school’s parent association.<h2>IDEA Lab Kids is Growing in Edmonton</h2>IDEA Lab Kids is in an exciting phase of growth, with several new initiatives in St. Albert and Edmonton. The biggest one is the upcoming launch of IDEA Lab STEAM Preschool this fall.&nbsp;“This will be a fully licensed preschool with a dedicated STEAM focus, which is something we believe is a first for our area,” Baker said. “Most local preschool options are tied to childcare centers, with only a small handful of independent niche programs, so this represents a meaningful step forward in early learning here.”&nbsp;In addition, Baker is launching an after-school STEAM Academy this fall, which pairs structured, instructor-led enrichment programming with direct school pickup three to five days a week.“To my knowledge, this is a first-of-its-kind offering in the St. Albert and Edmonton area,” Baker said. “While school pickup and transportation are typically limited to childcare centers, we are redefining that model by using it to give families access to meaningful, skills-based after-school experiences without having to be a daycare.”<h2>How Franchisees Like Ryan Baker Make a Difference</h2>One of the reasons Baker has done so well in his market is his involvement in the local community. Rather than approaching marketing in a traditional sense, he views it as an extension of relationship-building.“I would say marketing success has come from connecting with the families and getting familiar with the schools,” he said. “We're in a business that provides educational enrichment for children. Your primary market is the schools. Those are where all of your potential customers are. That's where all of your potential families are. So I have focused a lot of time and attention on making sure that we cater to the schools.”Trust is very important in a children’s enrichment business since parents are deciding where to send their children and invest time and money. As a parent himself, Baker understands the importance of feeling confident and safe in those decisions.“Ryan is very aware of his customers' needs,” Bhojwani said. “I think that speaks to how strong a franchise should be, just being aware of the needs in your environment in your market. Edmonton might be different than Calgary or Calgary might be different compared with Toronto. All our markets serve a different niche and Ryan is definitely doing a great job.”ABOUT LYRICOS® LEARNING, LLC:Lyricos® Learning, LLC is the home to IDEA Lab Kids and is also the creator of STEAM on Demand, a leading provider of streaming interactive content and tools for planning and leading standards-aligned, engaging and fun TK-8 STEAM hands-on lessons.ABOUT STEAM ON DEMAND®:STEAM on Demand® is a technology platform that offers science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) interactive lessons “on demand” which are designed to be used in a collaborative classroom setting or online. Hundreds of interactive video lessons have been developed as part of the platform’s core content. These kid-tested videos spotlight topics that align with national and state level curriculum standards across all STEAM subjects and guide teachers and students through hands-on projects. Also included is access to a variety of coding pathways for students of all levels. The platform provides all the content and tools needed to plan and conduct entire afterschool programs.ABOUT IDEA LAB® KIDS:IDEA Lab® Kids was founded as a way for kids to explore their love of science, technology, engineering, art and math subjects. The award-winning Houston-based education franchise system offers after-school classes, camps, birthday parties, open labs and much more to children. The brand has positioned itself to be a leader in the growing STEAM education space with franchises in the U.S., Canada and internationally. IDEA Lab Kids franchises are only offered or sold in states where they are registered or compliant with applicable franchise laws.The franchise fee of $35,500 provides an assigned territory for establishing a location and for offering IDEA Lab On-the-GoSM. The startup costs for an IDEA Lab Kids franchise can range from $163,000 to $465,000. To learn more about franchising with IDEA Lab Kids, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lyricoslearning/info.">https://1851franchise.com/lyricoslearning/info.</a>&nbsp;

IDEA Lab Kids Franchisee Ryan Baker Is Filling the Gap for STEAM in Edmonton 

IDEA Lab Kids has seen an overwhelming response in the Canadian city where franchisee Ryan Baker has built partnerships with schools and families to expand access to hands-on STEAM education.

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IDEA Lab Kids - Jennifer Bellamine - Union County, North Carolina - 1851 Franchise

How Jennifer Bellamine Brought STEAM Education to Wesley Chapel with IDEA Lab Kids

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Professor and Mother of Three Wants to Empower Local Youth Through STEAM Education with IDEA Lab® Kids

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IDEA Lab® Kids to Expand in Alberta, Canada with Former Geologist, Ryan Baker

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IDEA Lab Kids Franchisee Offers IDEA Lab Plus Program to Support Children Enrolled in Remote Learning

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