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.

Get fit with Sticky Kids

The Sticky Kids CDs are aimed at parents and young children who are looking for a fun way to keep fit together. The Sticky Kids CDs were originally produced as a resource for pre-school groups and now they are being used in homes across the UK.

The singing and dancing CDs are ideal for having fun and keeping fit with your children and your kids will soon become fans of the whole collection.

Your children will love:

* Singing

* Dancing

* Listening

* Laughing

Without even knowing it they will be:

* Improving their overall physical fitness

* Developing physical skills and the control of fine motor skills

* Enhancing their language and listening abilities

* Raising their levels of confidence

* Learning to express a range of emotions

* Expanding their imagination

Check out our market leading collection of educational music and movement CDs