Childminders give Sticky Kids CDs the thumbs up

We're finding that more and more childminders are buying our Sticky Kids CDs for use in the home with the children that they care for. They tell me that the CDs are ideal for a fun fitness session and that all the children love the action songs and games.

I am delighted by this news. It was actually during my time as a childminder that my husband Steve and I first started recording the Sticky Kids CDs. I found the CDs were very useful for me in my work - and it was then that I had an inkling that the fun and fitness CDs would be a hit with school, parents, childminders and children across the UK. This has been shown to be the case!

Added to all this I've now been asked to speak at a childminders conference in Birmingham next year about all the benefits of our CDs. If you attend you'll receive one of our free sample CDs in your delegate bag. We'll keep you posted about the event nearer the time.

So thank you to all our Sticky Kids child-minding fans. We really appreciate your support.

Autumn brings a new Sticky Kids Show tour

The Sticky Kids Show autumn tour is now under way. Recently we enjoyed a great Funky Monkey Singalong in the Churchill Theatre in Edinburgh. Masses of thanks go to all the children who came up on stage to show off their moves. We had a huge laugh!

We really love the atmosphere of the theatre but don't forget we also like to come out to VISIT YOU IN YOUR SCHOOL. Prices for a school visit start from £200 so if you can't get along to the theatre because of the cost of buses etc, then why not contact us on 0141 416 1846 or use any of the contact details on the Sticky Kids Singalong Show website.

New Sticky Kid CDs in the pipeline

We are currently considering ideas for future CDs. Suggestions have included:

* Action songs for 0 to 3-year-olds.

* Fitness songs for 6 to 10-year-olds

* At home fitness CDs for parent and child

* A musical for nursery children.

If you have any other suggestions or if you want to comment on any of the above you can email me on anne@stickykids.net

Sticky Kids go out and about

It's at this the time of year that the Sticky Kids team go out and about travelling around the UK hoping to meet up with our fans and introduce our products to new people.

Just recently we were in Glasgow at the Scottish Learning Festival where we met lots of Sticky Kids fans. Thanks so much for singing some of your favourite Sticky Kids songs to us. We really enjoyed that!

We had welcome news from a PE teacher, too. He travels around lots of primary schools in the UK and he claims he can tell which schools use the Sticky Kids fitness CDs in the nursery. He says he can spot the children who do Sticky Kids CDs because of the skills that they had already developed by the time that they reach primary school. This is music to our ears.

It really is lovely to hear about how much good work our Sticky Kids fun and fitness CDs can do for the development and skills of young children.

Thanks to the Glasgow event we sold many more Sticky Kids CDs, and even sold out of the Fun and Fitness Pack, which has over 70 songs and rhymes on four CDs.

Our next event was the ChildcareExpo in Coventry. I have also been busy doing a workshop with some children from a local nursery. It is so nice to meet the children and adults who use our songs for fun and fitness.

New Funky Monkey Video

Children will be delighted to hear that Old Macdonald and Molly Muddle from the popular Sticky Kids Show have started filming a short video to go with the Funky Monkey song. What a laugh we have been having seeing Old Mac dressed up in his monkey suit!

We will post the video on the Sticky Kids website just as soon as it's ready. Then all children will be able to join in with the fun actions at home, as well as at nursery school.

We hope you'll keep following our blog and we'll be sure to regularly update it to tell you more news about the Sticky Kids team.

Get set for lots of fun on the Sticky Kids autumn tour

Wow, we have had a busy summer with our Sticky Kids Live Summer Tour. And we hope that you had as much fun as Molly Muddle and Old Mac did. After a wee well-earned rest we are now busy rehearsing for our new Sticky Kids Live Autumn Tour. Click on our website link to find out more about dates and venues and to discover when we'll be performing near you.

The Sticky Kids Live Show includes a host of entertainment from your favourite characters, Molly Muddle and Old Mac. We have also been having fun dressing up as the Funky Monkey and the Skeleton Twins, both of which will feature in our autumn tour.

Aimed at children aged two to six, the Sticky Kids Live Show boasts a wealth of action-packed sing-along songs and lots of audience participation. Children love our Sticky Kids Live Shows.

Our first date is:

* Churchill Theatre in Edinburgh on October 1, 2010.

Followed by:

* Eastwood Park Theatre, Giffnock, Glasgow, on October 6, 2010

* Penicuik Town Hall, Penicuik, on October 7, 2010

* Deans Community High School, Livingston, on October 8, 2010.

Come along to meet us in September and pick up a free Sticky Kids CD

But before we head off on tour, the Sticky Kids team will be at the Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC in Glasgow on September 22 and 23. Then on the 28th and 29th we will be at the Childcare Expo, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

If you are coming to either of these events please do visit us at our stall. We will even give you a free taster CD of our fabulous up-and-coming resource for the 2012 Olympic games, GO FOR GOLD.

We're really looking forward to the coming months with Sticky Kids - and we hope to meet all of you, too.

Here comes summer!

So, just as the kids get their "summer" hols in Scotland – the rain starts! There's nothing new there, I hear you say. Well, it just means that you all need to get out your Sticky Kids Warm Up CD and enjoy some indoor exercise.

Sticky Kids CDs make a great change from the TV and you can do your exercises together. That's older children, mum, dad, granny and grandpa, too! Now how's that for a healthy bit of quality time together?!

In England, the children have been counting down the days until their summer holidays. And, boy, has there been some fun and games as the end of term approaches. I couldn't get through to folks on the phone because they were all on the sports field. You will all be so fit from doing your Sticky Kids sessions throughout the year.

It works out brilliantly for us at this time of year because we get to do Sticky Kids Singalong end- of-term treats in June for Scottish Sticky Kids – then we go to England for the first few weeks in July and do end-of-term treats for English Sticky Kids.

And what a treat we had last week in Alnwick Playhouse. Almost all the children ended up on the stage at our fun show. It felt like a great end-of-term party!

Have a fabulous summer holidays boys and girls. And don't forget to get mum and dad to put on your favourite Sticky Kids CDs for some fit and healthy fun and games.

Love from,

Molly

Win a Sticky Kids CD

Are you looking for fun ideas for your youngsters this summer? As the long holidays start most parents will be keen to keep their kids fit, active and occupied. So why not check out our great range of Sticky Kids CDS?

Better still you could be in with a chance of winning one of three Three Cheers CDs that we are giving away. The Three Cheers CD is a great collection of eight lively songs from across the Sticky Kids range. There's a special label on the reverse side so that you can personalise your CD.

Perhaps you and your child are already familiar with Sticky Kids through pre-school care and education. Sticky Kids CDs are designed to cover the key elements of the curriculum for under-sevens – from counting and the alphabet, to our world, music and movement. The Sticky Kids songs are lively and catchy – and promote fitness and health in a fun way.

The Sticky Kids CDs are also ideal for fun and active games in the home. Whether you are looking for an energetic movement session or simply to listen to rhymes and music with your kids there's a CD that will suit you. Sticky Kids have also created a CD called In The Car with a mix of funky tunes and short stories with car journeys in mind. Perhaps there'll be less "are we there yets"!

Because many of the songs are specially written by the Sticky Kids team, you can enjoy learning new songs alongside some more traditional favourites (but always with a Sticky Kids twist). Each CD comes with suggestions for the actions and notes on how to get the most out of the CD.

Competition time

To win one of three Three Cheers CDs you simply need to be the first to correctly answer the following question:

What are the names of the two main characters in the Sticky Kids Summer Singalong Tour? (Clue: check out the Sticky Kids website.)

To enter simply Tweet your answer to @stickykids or reply in a comment to this blog. We can then Direct Message each other or use email to find out your address so that we can send out your prize.

The rules are straightforward: the first three tweeters/commenter to give the correct answer win a Three Cheers CD. This blog editor's decision is final.

CD review: Work Out

The Sticky Kids Work Out CD is the follow up to the Warm Up CD. This innovative CD is aimed at children up to the age of five and includes 22 action-packed songs and rhymes for a really fun fitness work out.

The kids will love the Work Out CD because they can do lots of running, jumping, spinning and stretching. Children enjoy moving to the music and songs and some favourite songs on this Work Out CD are Can You Run as Fast as Me?, the Seaside Song and How Does a Butterfly Go?

The grown-ups will love this Work Out CD because it:

• Offers a mix of imaginative songs and physically challenging action songs to keep children fit and healthy.

• Includes a circle song to encourage children’s co-operation with each other.

• Helps children to explore a variety of ways to move their body.

• Is tried and tested in nursery schools.

• Has a full set of lyrics and user notes.

A great idea for the Can You Run as Fast as Me song

Ask the children to show you their pointy finger and get them to draw an imaginary spot on the floor. Then you can start colouring in your spots. You can start by saying: “My spot is blue, tell me what colour your spot is.” Then say: “We do this song by staying on our spots.”

Before you play the song you can ask one of the children to show everyone how fast they can run on the spot or how high they can jump – this will encourage the others to really push themselves and get a great work out.

During the song you can remind the children to stay on their spot. This song is hard work for the grown-ups!

A great idea for the Seaside Song

Why not use this song as the focus for an end of school concert? We heard about a nursery school that did this. The parents enjoyed watching their children perform songs and rhymes about the seaside. And the kids loved dressing up and using seaside props.

A great idea for the How Does a Butterfly Go song

How does a Butterfly Go? This song could be used during the exploration of a theme about mini beasts.

The Sticky Kids Work Out CD is also part of our Fun and Fitness Pack. To find out more check out the Sticky Kids website.