I’ve blogged about it elsewhere, but thought I’d do a brief summary here of things I wish I’d known.

• a door open time of 3pm does not mean the auditorium opens at that time. Try to get there half an hour beforehand and you wont be packed into a small area!

• driving is better than going on the train if your naptimes wont work. A cranky toddler at a Wiggles gig does not work. A refreshed toddler ready to jump around for an hour or so does.

• Watch those DVDs yourself, as don’t think you’re getting off scotch-free parent. At least learn the dances, it helps. Your child will have less of a disappointed look towards you when you know how to ‘Do The Monkey’ (and so on)

• Take food for yourself too. You’ll forget and take snacks for your little one then end up stealing their Pom Bears (if you don’t already). Take water too.

• Don’t forget to make a bone for Wags and a flower for Dorothy. If you’re really lucky you may even meet a Wiggle in the process.

• They really don’t have time for photos, but you can stand in line and take a photo of them collecting things which is much nicer.

• You don’t need earplugs if you have to wear them for gigs like I do. Toddler-volumed gigs are the way forward. Bring it on.

• You can take posh cameras into the show. Having said that, the two or three song rule like at regular gigs goes right out of the window. No flash though please!

• If you want to meet a Wiggle, then we found the aisle seats were the best ones, or seats where there’s a gangway. Failing that, they do eventually come out of the building. You can convince your kids that in a few more years they’ll be doing it on their own for the latest teen heartthrob pop star (or band or whatever).

• The merch stands are there to lure you in. If you’re lucky they’ll be cash-only but if you’re unlucky then they’ll take cards. It’s all lovely and bright and colourful and quite expensive too (for some things). There’s also some great bargains at a fantastic price – we love the Eco bags – at £2 that’s a really good price too. Can’t wait to do the weekly shop…

I think that’ll do. Did you see The Wiggles? Do you have any top tips? Let us know!

Very soon H and I are going to see The Wiggles live. We’re very excited about it as we only really got to know The Wiggles when we visited the in-laws in Australia in 2010 – with the new (but not as new as the New new) yellow Wiggle. However, we got back to the UK to find that The Wiggles Show was on Nick Jr every morning, so with the V+ programmed we got used to the old (proper) Wiggles with the original yellow Wiggle, Greg.

So soon ‘our’ Wiggles became the original Wiggles as it was meant to be. Just to add to the confusion Nick Jr started to show ‘Wiggle And Learn’ which featured new yellow Wiggle, but we were used to Greg.

So it was with a bit more excitement from us mums than actually from our kids when we found out there’d been some goings-on with The Wiggles, with original yellow rejoining the group, and new-now-old-yellow Wiggle (are you keeping up here?) no longer a Wiggle – and they were going to do a tour. I’d felt H was too young last year, so snapped up tickets the day they became available, rather excited to see the original line up. (n.b. see the following image, it’s not the original-original line up, as there’s only four of them these days)

I mentioned to a friend how this felt like a final tour, and that I suspected something would be announced, and OH LOOK. Three Wiggles are retiring – so now there’s a New new yellow, a new purple and a new red – which makes me look forward even more to the shows coming up as it’s our first and last chance to see them. H, being almost three probably wont remember a thing.

One thing I do want her to remember if she does hold any memories in later life of it is that she still has her hearing.

Which brings me to my question – how loud is a Wiggles concert? I have to wear earplugs because of my tinnitus, and I’m bringing H up with a healthy attitude (I hope!) to protecting her ears. We own some KidProof ear defenders – am I being over the top to take those with us, or are the volumes at a Wiggles show much lower than your regular gig? (I’d hope so!) Which of course, in turn, may mean I don’t need earplugs either! Bonus!

Please let us know, anyway – I’m hoping it wont be too loud!

I wish I’d known about Monkey Music before now – this sounds right up our street! Check their site for a class near you, and read on – they’ve just released a download which is available to buy with all proceeds going to Nordoff-Robbins, a specialist music charity.

Performed by young children, aged 7, 8 and 9, and written especially for Monkey Music, the Anthem, ‘The Day is Here!’, tells the exciting story of a running race.

‘The Day is Here’ will not only provide a fun sporting interlude during Monkey Music classes across the UK but also, by selling it online to the families and friends of Monkey Music’s 10,000 children, Monkey Music also aims to raise much needed funds for music therapy charity, Nordoff Robbins.

Nordoff Robbins is a national specialist music charity, delivering 50,000 music therapy sessions a year to a broad range of people in schools, hospitals and care homes across the UK. Their qualified music therapists specifically help people with a range of challenges including autism, dementia, mental health problems, stroke, brain injury, learning difficulties, depression and in some cases clients have threatening or terminal illness, such as cancer.

Angie Coates, Founder of Monkey Music, said;

“Both Monkey Music and Nordoff Robbins offer children fresh opportunities and life changing experiences through music. We believe that by working together we can raise awareness of the benefits of music for everyone. It’s lovely to use 2012 and the summer of sport to engage the very youngest of children in the excitement of sport and the joy of music.”

Jo Carter, Director of Fundraising & Communications Nordoff Robbins said:

“We are delighted to be working with Monkey Music, to be sharing our mutual believe in the power of music and to help raise funds to continue transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults across the UK. As a charity we rely entirely on voluntary donations, so the Monkey Music song released this summer is a great way to raise funds and awareness.”

Monkey Music classes learnt ‘The Day is Here’ during their classes and now ‘The Day is Here’ is officially released and available to buy online with all profits going to Nordoff-Robbins.

Monkey Music : Nurturing a Lifetime Of Music.

About Monkey Music

The Monkey Music curriculum was written by Guildhall School of Music & Drama graduate Angie Coates, now Monkey Music’s Managing Director. Classes first opened in London in 1993 and Monkey Music’s popularity led to the company being franchised in 1998. More than 50 franchises currently operate in nearly 300 locations across the UK.

Specialist teachers are carefully chosen for their natural ability to communicate with and entertain young children and their carers, gently encouraging social and musical skills within a fun, stimulating and friendly environment. The company’s Head Office is in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Monkey Music and Learning

The ear is the first organ to develop fully in the womb, enabling babies to take comfort in the music of their mother’s voice at just 11 weeks. All children are born with instinctive musicality but only if this is encouraged early enough will a child fulfil their full musical potential.

The benefits of music for very young children, particularly when taught within a group, go much deeper than this. Early exposure to singing, listening to and playing music can sharpen up a whole range of educational skills. Language and numerical skills flourish through action songs and rhymes; fine motor skills are refined through playing hand held percussion instruments, while an awareness of space and one another is developed through movement. The children’s confidence and self-esteem grows rapidly as their involvement in the group increases.

Monkey Music Classes

Rock ‘n’ roll – from 3 months

Designed specifically for Mums, Dads and very young babies to share together.

During each class the babies and adults are engaged through gentle songs, fascinating sounds and absorbing activities.

Heigh ho – from 12 months

Young toddlers love being up on their feet so lots of dancing and moving encourages the children to explore the space around them and express the music they hear.

The children thrive on the ‘steady beat’ and are very enthusiastic young members of the Monkey Music band. Themed classes and bold colourful props captivate the children and encourage everyone to get involved.

Jiggety jig – 2 & 3 years

By this stage, children can really express the joy that music brings them. They sing, dance, play, move, tell stories, speak, and listen to music together.

Monkey Music teachers make sure that the children develop their sense of rhythm whilst playing in time to Monkey Music songs and games. Hoops, parachute games and circle dances are always popular Jiggety Jig activities.

Ding dong – 3 & 4 years

Up until now the children have been listening and responding to music they hear. Now that their ears have been ‘finely tuned’ Monkey Music teaches them what music means when they see it written down.

Reading simple traditional musical notation comes easily to Monkey Music children as it is integrated into the final part of our interactive curriculum.

Nordoff Robbins

Nordoff Robbins is a national specialist music charity delivering music therapy and other music services to transform the lives of vulnerable people of all ages, right across the UK.
Established in the UK in 1974, they are the largest private provider of music therapy in the UK. No other organisation uses music to reach so many people, in so many contexts, with such consistently high levels of expertise.

Since 1974 music therapists have been trained to diploma level at Nordoff Robbins and in 1994 a Masters degree programme was implemented now recognised as a leader in its field. Nordoff Robbins also has a world-renowned training and research programme to ensure work is delivered to the highest standard.

Many thousands of people are helped each year and suffer from a range of challenges including autism, dementia, mental health problems, stroke, brain injury, depression and, in some cases our clients have a life-threatening or terminal illness, such as cancer. All of these people have one uniting factor – music dramatically improves their quality of life.

Delivering over 50,000 sessions per year in centres, units, schools, day centres, hospitals and care homes their work is expanding to meet the vision of reaching as many people in as many settings as possible.

The Nordoff Robbins centre in north London is the largest specialist music therapy centre in the world. As well as London, units in Croydon and Newbury are able to accept referrals from any source and offer a musical ‘lifeline’ to anyone who needs it. Nordoff Robbins also collaborate delivering music therapy services with over 100 national organisations across the UK. As one of our service users recently said, “I simply couldn’t live without this music every week.”

Through music, Nordoff Robbins gives individuals the ability and confidence to express themselves and communicate where they may have not been able to do so previously. The results have a profound impact on individuals and their families and all those around them.

Music therapists at Nordoff Robbins are trained professionals, regulated by the Health Professions Council. They are skilled in using music to help all kinds of people, in all kinds of places.

Nordoff Robbins receives no statutory funding and the organisation is reliant on fundraising income to support their work.