Childminders and children love our Sticky Kids CDs

Our Sticky Kids Fun and Fitness CDs for children are widely used in the UK in nurseries and at home. One keen fan of the CDs, which are aimed at pre-school youngsters, is childminder Helen Wardrop.

Helen is an experienced childminder of more than 20 years and usually cares for three children in her home. She's an energetic childminder who also takes her care and work very seriously.

One of her favourite activities with the children is music and movement – and she loves our Sticky Kids Fun and Fitness CDs.

Recently she took some of the CDs along to one of her local childminding meetings. A group of nine childminders and 26 children get together regularly for social fun and chat.

At the end of one of these sessions, Helen introduced the adults and children to a Sticky Kids fun and fitness session. Here's what happened in Helen's words:

She says: "Our gentle weekly song session turned into chaotic fun! We marched around the room to a song called Ready Steady Go (from Warm Up with the Sticky Kids CD). The children absolutely loved this.

"Of course, the grown ups joined in too but after five or six songs they were exhausted! The children have so much energy!

"Everyone joined in the exercises on the CDs with such enthusiasm and we all laughed so much.

"One of the other childminders made a great point, saying: 'Gosh, you don't have to go to a keep-fit class when you've got this do you?'.

"We've used the CDs a lot since and the children still scream with delight when they hear the introduction to Can You Run as Fast as Me (from Work Out! with the Sticky Kids)".

Helen continues to use the Sticky Kids Fun and Fitness CDs 2 or 3 times per week.

She says: "The CDs are great, with songs to encourage a range of physical skills. They are perfect for early learning goals with a focus on movement, sense of space, health and body awareness.

"But it is not only physical skills that are covered - language skills, listening skills, communication skills and social skills are all there, too.

"The CDs come with 'user notes', which are very helpful for suggesting what actions to do with the songs. Just choose the songs you need and press play."

* There are now more than 10,000 pre-school groups (including childminders) throughout the UK using Sticky Kids Fun and Fitness CDs. Have you tried one yet?

Christmas is coming at Sticky Kids...

The Christmas decorations are going up in the shops and although it is still a while away schools are also getting ready for their Christmas celebrations.

We're delighted to report that one of our Sticky Kids Christmas Shows has sold out already. If you want to find out about Christmas shows in your area then check out the Sticky Kids Show website. Children love the lively singalong shows that include popular characters Old Mac and Molly Muddle. Our shows have been growing in popularity in recent years so schools should book early to be sure of securing enough seats for youngsters.

Our Christmas Party CDs are also selling well so everyone should be in fine voice by the time Christmas comes!

Plans for our new Sticky Kids CDs

In a previous blog I mentioned various ideas for our future CDs. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us your ideas. We are hoping that the Sticky Kids Parent and Child CD will be our next one and we are also working on the Nursery School Musical.

We have seen the first draft of the new Go for Gold CD sleeve and we think it looks great. We are still on track to release this CD in January 2011.

Here are just a few of your comments about Sticky Kids:

I am addicted to Sticky Kids - Dundee

The kids go crazy for it - West Dunbartonshire

Fantastic resource. We use Sticky Kids on a DAILY basis - Greenock

The children absolutely love dancing and singing. They remember the actions and have fun. We use Sticky Kids a lot - Hinckley

This gives us a lot of encouragement for the future succes of Sticky Kids. Thanks for your your suport, parents, teachers, childminders and, of course, the children.

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.

Fun and singing on the Sticky Kids Summer Singalong Tour

Wow, this summer is busy for the Sticky Kids team. But it's also a great deal of fun. The Sticky Kids Summer Special tour, with Molly Muddle and Old MacDonald, offers an action-packed singalong show for 2-6-year-olds. The action songs are all favourites from our popular range of CDs, such as The Beach Ball Song, Wheels on the Bus and Let’s Go Driving.

There's lots of audience participation, which the kids love! If you like things live and fun-filled then this is for you.

Lots of fun at Perth Concert Hall

Molly Muddle and Old MacDonald had a great time at the Perth Concert Hall last month. The audience loved our Sticky Kids Singalong Show and they enthusiastically joined in all the songs.

It was wonderful to hear the children singing to all their favourite songs – and it was so lovely to see their faces light up when we invited some of the children to join us on the stage.

We have to thank the Perth Concert Hall for looking after us so well.The changing rooms were really something else. So often at other venues we get changed in cleaning cupboards or similar (we don't mind really). But at Perth Concert Hall we were treated to proper changing facilities resplendent with fluffy white towels, leather couches and ensuite showers. Ooh the decadence of it all!

Perth Concert Hall have already asked us back next summer, this time to do two performances, as well as the year after! We can't believe we have booking two years in advance - it's so exciting. In 2012 we will be performing Ready Steady Sing, which celebrates our Olympic CD coming out next January, to tie in with the London Olympics year, and which will be full of brand-new Action Songs.

Choir sing on Go For Gold CD

Talking of which, the children's choir were in recording this week for our new Sticky Kids Go For Gold CD. We told you about this exciting new fun and fitness CD in last week's blog.

Our Sticky Kids Singalong Show line-up

* Molly Muddle and Old MacDonald were also in Dumfries in the Scottish Border recently. The Sticky Kids Singalong Show sold more than 500 tickets. It's be great to meet the grown-ups and kids at our fun show.

* We were also in Moffat performing at the town's brand new school.

* Then we'll be touring England with our summer show. Just last week we played a lovely little theatre in Whitehaven called Rosehill. Because we sold so many tickets for the morning show, we decided to do an afternoon performance as well.

* The following day we performed at Stockton for the first time - and then we returned to one of our favourite venues, the Ace Centre in Nelson.

If you want to find out more about our popular Sticky Kids Singalong Show then please see our website. You'll also find a selection of CDs that you can enjoy at home including the Sticky Kids Show CD.

What's new with the Sticky Kids team?

On your marks: Our new Sticky Kids

fun and fitness CD is being made

We’re having fun at Sticky Kids HQ in the Scottish Borders. Just recently the musicians got together to put some keyboard and guitar parts on to our new Go for Gold CD.

The Sticky Kids Go For Gold CD is out exciting new CD that will be coming out to tie in with the London Olympics in 2012. It will be available to buy from January 2011.

Next we will be working with a children’s choir, which will feature in this fun fitness CD. And then we’ll be writing the booklet that accompanies all our popular health and fitness CDs.

We will be sending the CD out to lots of parents and schools before it’s launched to see what they – and all the children – think of the fun fitness songs.

We will also be giving the Olympic Committee a sneak preview of our Go For Gold CD. We wonder what they will make of the CD that encourages youngsters to enjoy more fitness activities?

We're hoping it will be a big hit among parents, schools and, of course, children. Keeping fit doesn't have to be dull and boring - just try one of our wide range of Sticky Kids CDs for lots of fun ways to stay healthy and fit.

Keep an eye on this blog to find out more about the Go For Gold CD in future months.

What the grown-ups think about Sticky Kids CDs

Warm Up with Sticky Kids

Helen is a childminder from Renfrew in Scotland. She uses the Sticky Kids CDs once a week with the children that she cares for. Helen even gives the parents a list of the skills the children have been learning from the Sticky Kids CDs.

Helen usually starts her Sticky Kids sessions with the Circle song (find this on the Warm Up CD) to encourage all the children to get involved.

Helen’s other favourites are Funky Monkey (find this on the Bend and Stretch CD) and Can You Run? (find this on the Work Out CD).

Helen says: “The Sticky Kids CDs are great for all young children and every one of the children that I look after loves our Sticky Kids times.

“They all have their favourite songs and all of them like the really fast songs. The children really do have their own opinions on the songs that they love the best.

“I have found that the children’s balance, co-ordination and listening skills have all noticeably improved.

“I recommend the Sticky Kids to all my parents and other childminders because I’ve found them to be such a great resource for children.”

Latest news: The Sticky Kid Shows

Sticky Kids at Bathgate

Our Sticky Kids shows have been very popular across Scotland. In May we played to a sell-out audience of parents and children at Bathgate's Regal Theatre. Molly and Mac – that's the characters who present the Sticky Kids Singalong Shows – had a great time on stage and everyone in the audience enjoyed the action-packed singalong show.

We were delighted when the manager of Park Road Pre-School Playgroup in Broxburn, West Lothian, told us: "We brought our children to see your show and they all loved it. The ones who were up on stage with you for one of the numbers talked about it all the next day. Thank you for giving the children a wonderful experience. We will be watching to see if you are performing at a venue near us again."

Sticky Kids at Tain

Molly and Mac then travelled up to Tain in the Highlands for another sell-out Sticky Kids show in the Duthac Centre. All the local nurseries were there and so were the local papers. We had a lot of fun.

Sticky Kids in Hamilton

Gosh, we have been having a busy time with the Sticky Kids shows! After Tain Molly and Mac headed to a school in Hamilton in Lanarkshire for more action-packed fun with their young pupils.

Final rehearsals for the summer singalong tour

Molly and Mac - played by Anne Butler and Alan Windram – have been busy with final rehearsals for the Sticky Kids super-duper summer singalong tour, which starts in The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, on June 15. On June 16 we'll be in the Eastgate Theatre in Peebles. We're really excited about our summer tour and we can't wait to meet all the children who will be coming along to have fun with us.

Review: The Sticky Kids Warm Up CD

The original and still the best-selling CD, our Sticky Kids Warm Up CD was been awarded five stars by the Nursery Education magazine.

The Warm Up CD was compiled by our professional gym coach Kate Wright and produced by the Sticky Kids team.

Children love the Warm Up CD because it includes a wide range of fun fitness moves, actions and singalongs.

Parents and teachers love the Warm Up CD because it ticks so many fitness and educational boxes.

The songs on the Warm UP CD cover a wide variety of physical skills from high kicks to fine motor skills, as well as listening, vocal and memory skills.

Some of the songs you’ll find on the Warm Up CD include:

• The song Ready Steady Go is a fun-filled aerobic work out

• If You’re Happy and You Know It is an old favourite that has new actions

• The Circle song is all-inclusive and great for encouraging listening skills

• Stand Up Sit Down does what it says in the title – it’s exhausting but masses of fun!

Rave review of the Warm Up CD:

A PE teacher was amazed to discover a group of nursery school children with physical skills that were very developed for their age. The reason why? The nursery teacher had been using the Sticky Kids Warm Up CD three times a week!

A great idea for teachers and parents:

If you are a teacher or in charge of a group of children why not get them to play this fun game before you put on the Sticky Kids Stand Up Sit Down song?

Sit the children in a circle with their legs in front of them. Then start the game yourself. Say: “I can do this…” then do an action such as tapping your head or hammering your heels on the floor. Say again “I can do this…” , and then pause. In all groups there will be a child who then suggests anther action, such as balancing on their hands and feet in the sitting position. Repeat the “I can do this…” until all the children have had a go.

Sticky Kids tried this recently at a nursery in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and the youngsters loved it.

The game helps children to start thinking.. then a wee pause… before the song starts.

Where to buy the Sticky Kids CD:

The Warm Up CD is available on the Sticky Kids website and as part of fun and fitness pack, which has 76 songs and rhymes.

The Warm Up CD is ideal for home fun with parents and children.

Singing is great for your children’s health

The Sticky Kids collection of health and fitness CDs include lots of fun and singing. Did you know that singing in itself is great for your children’s education and physical and mental well-being?

What is singing good for?

Singing is great for your physical health because it:

* Increases circulation

* Both energises and relaxes the body

* Strengthens the immune system (it’s been shown that people in choirs are less prone to illness)

* Releases body's pleasure hormones, known as endorphins, into the brain and body.

* Encourages deeper rhythmical breathing.

Singing is good for you memory because:

* Songs and music are very evocative and therefore tap into emotion-linked memory centres

* Songs assist longer-term recall. When information is joined up with music and movement, there's a greater chance that the brain will transfer it to the long-term memory.

Singing is good for you mental well-being:

* Being involved with an activity such as singing is more likely to improve your behaviour than if you are emotionally detached

* Music stimulates the limbic system, which is the part of the brain that manages emotions

* Singing has been shown to develop emotional literacy, such as recognising, naming and managing our emotions and those of others.

Singing is good for your soul:

* Songs remind you that you are not alone

* Songs keep you connected to other people

* Singing in a positive environment gives you a sense of power and responsibility.

3 great ways to encourage children to sing

1. Around the home, try songs for tidying up. Kids will love the tidy up song on the Sticky Kids CD Rattle and Shake.

2. In the car, play singalong songs. Start with one of our Sticky Kids CDs songs such as Fabby Dabby Dee and Munch and Crunch

3. Go to the theatre for a singalong show. Sticky Kids Tour the UK with their Singalong Shows all year round. Singing in a big group is a fun experience.