ZUMBATOMIC HOLIDAY CLUB

I ran my first Zumbatomic holiday club in collaboration with Sports Coaching North West last week. I was expecting less than 10 so was pleasantly surprised when I ended up with 16 in the class.

The ages ranged from 5 to 11 years, in Zumbatomic terms this should have been split into 2 age categories so I wondered how it would go but all the girls enjoyed it thoroughly and had a fantastic time.

If you would like to book for the next holiday club at Sandbach Girls School email info@sportscoachingnw.co.uk for multi sports and Zumbatomic sessions or 'like' the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/SportsCoachingNW

EASTER BREAK

                                    

(Luke and his friend Lewis at Nantwich Museum Easter Crafts Day)

Hope you all had a fantastic Easter break, I dropped a reluctant boy off at school this morning but after having 2 weeks off, who could blame him? I managed to have Good Friday and Easter Sunday off to be a mummy and a wife, it was bliss.

On Good Friday, we visited the Reaseheath Zoo for the first time, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours and there were more animals than we expected. My favourite had to be the meercats.

Easter Saturday, I entertained over 50 children at 3 parties, it was a challenge getting between each party but  I managed it and the reward is always seeing the children's happy faces. I really do have the best job in the world, I mean, who else manages to do the Gangnam Style 3 times a day in public?!

Nantwich is host to the Jazz and Blues Festival over the Easter Weekend, it is more a 'Drinkfest' for visitors to the town now (I'm showing my age), you would avoid town with small children due to the amount of drunks but on Easter Monday, The Residence Bar and Grill held a Family Fun Day with a bouncy castle, supplied by Letts Bounce, Hair and nail art, character appearances and of course facepainting. It was a busy affair and people had waited for an hour for their children's faces to be painted.

Being a presenter on 'Toddler Talk' I get to find out what activities are on offer in the area for children during the school holidays. Luke and his friends enjoyed activities at Nantwich Museum, Lego Club at Crewe Library and the Family Movie Event held at Malbank School. No wonder he didn't want to go back to school today!

CELEBRITY VET - STEVE LEONARD

(Me with my famous guest, he is actually a lot taller but had to crouch down for me)

I'm not one to drop names or anything....honest, but I had a very special guest last week...... it was only blimmin' Steve Leonard, Celebrity Vet off of the telly! (Google if you don't know him)

Ever since I heard his brother, Tom on Redshift Radio last year, I have been thinking of ways to get either Tom or Steve onto my show, so when I found out it was National Puppy Week, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get in touch with the practice in Wistaston and invite them onto the show. I was absolutely beside myself when they told me Steve was coming along.

He gave some fantastic advice about puppy selection for families, puppy training and advice and also his practice 'Leonard Brothers Veterinary Centre'.

If you know me, you know how enthusiastic I am about babies and children, but I am also dog mad too. I love my dog like a member of the family and can give good advice about raising a child with a dog.

It was difficult to cram all the questions into my one hour show but we managed it and Steve was a fabulous guest, very down to earth and I would have loved to have spoken to him for longer and about his tv work. There's always National Puppy Week 2014!

If you would like to listen to the interview, please click on the link:- http://www.mixcloud.com/sharon-burrows/steve-leonard-celebrity-vet/

KOOL 2 PLAY

When I heard of a new business starting up in South Cheshire called 'Kool 2 Play'  I had to know more about it and wanted to share with my listeners on' Toddler Talk' too.

It's always tricky to decide what to do for your child's birthday parties, whether to hire a play barn and get them to do the hard work ie/ catering, entertaining the children and providing party bags, or hire a hall, do your own food and arrange some entertainment yourself. Obviously, budget comes into it too and limit on numbers, there are many many things to consider when arranging your child's party. I know! I'm a party entertainer but my fussy child doesn't like facepainting or dancing!

Debra Sloan from Kool to Play came on Toddler Talk last week to tell us about her fabulous mobile soft play hire business. It's suitable for children from 0-4 and caters for all occasions:- weddings, birthday parties, christenings, toddler groups and garden parties. The equipments consists of soft play cubes, slides, shapes and ball pool. Themed packages are available for your little Thomas The Tank engine fans and Pink Princesses too.

'Listen again' will be added later this week so please return to the page to hear Debra on Redshift Radio.

ZUMBATOMIC

At the end of February, I completed an instructors course for Zumba for children called 'ZumbAtomic', I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was great to meet other Zumba Instructors. They all loved the idea that I was running a daytime Zumba class with creche class too! Good to throw some ideas around too.

ZumbAtomic is a high energy class with specially choreographed routines. It's aimed for 2 age groups 4-7 years (Little Starz) and 8-11 years (Big Starz)

Classes are now running at Shavington Leisure Centre on Tuesdays 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
Also, on Saturday 13th April, I will be starting a new class in Nantwich at Stapeley Community Centre at 10am.

Please get in touch if you would like to come and join a class!

COMPLIMENTARY THERAPIES

Its not painful.....honest!!

I'm a week behind writing my blog posts but better late than ever, I say!

It was Acupuncture Awareness Week last week, so on Toddler Talk we raised awareness by having Katy Hollinshead, an acupuncturist on the show to talk about how it works as a complimentary therapy, and the other treatments she uses. Katy is based at the Navitas Centre, Shavington and also has her own practise in Sandbach.

Alongside Katy, I also invited Rebecca Sutton from Rebecca Sutton Hypnotherapy to share her knowledge of hypnotherapy and the benefits.

I am a big believer in complimentary therapies, and last year I completed Reiki Level 1 with Simon and Katie Bailey from the Navitas centre, this enables me to treat friends and family so if you're on my 'friends' list you may be eligible for a treatment!

To listen again to the interview please click on the link below which is sponsored by Cheshire Stair Design.
Acupunture Toddler talk 

Next week, I have Debra Sloan as my guest sharing news of her new business 'Kool 2 Play' mobile soft play provider. Be sure to tune in!

BIRTH OF TASTE

(Thanks to model Marcus Wright - as above)

As a mummy, one of the hardest things is to give your child the best upbringing, teaching them right from wrong and having a healthy lifestyle plus much much more.

In my opinion, I gave Luke the best start in life by breastfeeding him until he was 15 months, he was introduced to solid food at 6 months and we made everything for him, I used organic products even though we never bought them for ourselves. I can honestly say hand on heart Luke only ever had 2 or 3 jars. I am not condemning jars, they are convenient if you're out and about but for me, personally, I wanted to puree my own food and know every ingredient going into his food.

By the time he was a toddler, he had an amazing appetite and ate everything in sight, he was a pleasure to take to restaurants as he enjoyed his food so much. He even eats olives, I know many adults don't even eat them!

However, it all changed when he started school last year, obviously I'm not blaming school and I know his tastes will have changed and peer pressure from his school friends, but he came home the first week saying he didn't like peas and other vegetables that he had always eaten. He had never said he disliked a food so it took us by surprise.

One day while I was surfing the net, I came across a post by Jo Dodsley mentioning her company 'The Birth of Taste'. She offers tips and advice and recipe ideas to give children a balanced and healthy diet, she also offers techniques and strategies to help with food challenges. I knew I had to get in touch with Jo to invite her onto Toddler Talk, I had to find out how to overcome these challenges with Luke and share with listeners who are also going through the same.

She gave lots of advice about how to win the food fight and we had a great rapport on air. You can listen to the interview by clicking on the link below. I'm sure all parents will find her tips and pointers useful.

http://www.mixcloud.com/sharon-burrows/birth-of-taste/