Our New Blog

We've had a new blog added to our site, you can find it at www.chelltune.co.uk/blog. If it looks a bit bare here on Blogger then that because lots of posts have been moved to the new blog and deleted them from here.

New Arrivals!

It has been a while since I blogged (again!) but I’ve got a good excuse this time. Baby Mara was born on 7^th August weighing a dinky 6lb 9oz. In a few months time we’ll be introuducing her to sign language so there should be lots to report and hopefully photos to post of her in signing away.

We’ve had a couple of new products added to the site. TinyTalk now has a second CD, Let’s Sign Again! It contains over 40 songs. It is sung solo with no background music and at a pace that young children can follow.

Learn to Sign and Cook with Olli is a fabulous new book written by Garry Slack. We’re giving you a chance to win a copy of this book on our competitions page. The draw ends next week, 6^th October, at the beginning of Learn to Sign Week 2008.

Win a Something Special DVD

Following on from my last post about Justin Fletcher being awarded an MBE I decided to run a competition to mark the occasion. To win a Something Special DVD just answer the simple question and email the answer to us using the online form. Closing date is 3rd August 2008.

Warning – careful with your answer, there has been a lot of incorrect enteries!!!

Baby Signing

On Sunday we had a stand at the Evening Telegraph Parent and Child show at Wicksteed Park. The event was a flop due to the lack of advertising by the organisers. Although sales were few and far between we were able to give out lots of flyers about baby signing and answer queries from parents/parents to be.

I was asked several times if baby signing prevents speech and also is it too late if a baby has started to talk? The answer to both questions is no. On Chelltune.co.uk you’ll find the answer to these questions and other frequently asked questions about baby signing.

The local Sing and Sign and Tinytalk tutors were also there promoting their classes. Details of their classes have been added to our baby signing class directory on Sign Together.

I entered a competition to win a free Tinytalk course, fingers crossed I win. I’m due my third child in August. I used baby signing with my first two children but never actually attended a class. When my son was born in 2003 there wasn’t any classes in Northamptonshire. That was one of my reasons for setting up Chelltune, to provide information and resources for parents who wanted to learn baby signing but for whatever reason couldn’t attend a class. I’d like to pop along to a class just to see what they are like.

Make a change, make a difference - Child Safety week 23-29 June

Press release - 14 April 2008

‘Make a change. Make a difference’ is the message for this year’s Child Safety Week running from 23-29 June.

Organised by national children’s charity the Child Accident Prevention Trust, Child Safety Week is marked by thousands of local events where families can have fun and learn about safety. There will be quizzes and competitions, safety demonstrations and checks, in-store promotions, advice from local experts and free information to take away. Fireman Sam will also lend his support to the Week with appearances at safety roadshows.

While accident rates are falling, 2,000 children are still admitted to hospital every week. Katrina Phillips, chief executive of Child Accident Prevention Trust says: “Many serious accidents could be prevented by parents making simple changes – whether it’s driving more slowly where children are out playing, fitting and checking smoke alarms, getting their gas boiler serviced, keeping electrical items out of the bathroom, or moving hot drinks or cleaning products out of children’s reach.

“If parents know what’s likely to injure their child and are reminded how risks change as youngsters grow up, they are in a better position to avoid a harrowing trip to hospital.”

The charity is encouraging families to look out for Child Safety Week events locally and to visit its website www.capt.org.uk for useful safety hints and tips.

Parents can also obtain a set of safety advice leaflets by sending a stamped addressed envelope (27p) to Child Safety Week Leaflets, Child Accident Prevention Trust, 22-26 Farringdon Lane, London EC1R 3AJ, stating the age of their child/ren in the bottom left-hand corner.


Child Accident Prevention Trust is a national charity committed to reducing the number of children and young people killed, disabled and seriously injured as a result of accidents.

Further information can be found at www.capt.org.uk or by calling Amanda Pritchett on 020 7608 7361.


Nearer the time you'll find promotions on the 'People who help us' flat glove puppets and teaching mitts from Chelltune.co.uk - watch this space!

Talk to your Baby

Talk To Your Baby is a campaign run by the National Literacy Trust to encourage parents and carers to talk more to children from birth to three.


Babies love to communicate. They are born sociable and come into the world with a
willingness to communicate and learn. Their experiences in their early years shape their future social, communication and learning skills. Books can be a great way of helping babies and their carers during this period of discovery.

Seventy-five per cent of brain development occurs in the first two years of life and babies need stimulation and attention to make the most of this opportunity. This is not as daunting as it may first sound, as stimulation comes from simple, everyday activities such as talking, listening, singing and sharing books together.

A language-rich home helps a child to develop in many ways. Talking to babies helps them learn to listen, and gives them the chance to respond and be listened to. Over time, their coos, babbles and smiles will move on to first words and sentences. Interaction helps this natural process along.

Storytelling and book-reading are an easy way to have regular, additional talking time. Storytelling introduces structure and language patterns that help form the building blocks for reading and writing skills. Reading aloud combines the benefits of talking, listening and storytelling within a single activity and gets parents and carers talking regularly to young children.

Reading to children on a daily basis gives them the best start to life. It is never too early to start communicating.

Why reading is good for talking

• Sharing books with babies and young children is a fun way to share talk. Adults and
children will both enjoy the experience, which means there is a strong chance it will
become a regular activity.

• Talking and listening to young children develops their social and literacy skills and
reading aloud is a good way of encouraging two-way communication.

• Babies love the sound of their parents’ voices and reading aloud to them can be
calming during times of distress or unease. Coupled with the appearance of their
favorite book and/or character, it can be a very soothing experience and help build
the bond between carer and child.

• Books introduce children to the exciting world of stories and help them learn to
express their own thoughts and emotions.

• Songs and rhymes are especially good for children as the rhythms and repetitive
language make it easier for babies to learn language skills.

• The majority of brain development occurs in the first three years of a child’s life.
Reading to babies and young children, and giving them time to respond, will help
make the most of this opportunity.


Tips for parents

Sharing books with babies and young children is a great way of helping them learn to talk, and a wonderful opportunity to share a cuddle at the same time.

Win a Sign Language book of your choice

I was about to post about the first competion on our forum then remembered that I'd not mentioned the new forum on the blog. We recently took the forum off of the Chelltune domain and put a brand new vBulletin forum on www.SignTogether.co.uk

The first competition on www.SignTogether.co.uk has now been launched. The winner can chose a Sign Language book from this page of Chelltune.co.uk Whether you fancy teaching your little one baby signing or learning some basic Sign Language then there is a book for you. If you don't fancy learning yourself then you could donate it to your local school to add to their library.

This year Deaf Awareness week is 5th - 11th May. If you are organising or taking part inan event then we'd love to hear from you. Perhaps you could add a comment to this blog post or mention it on our forum.

World Book Day March 6th 2008

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day – a tradition started over 80 years ago.

World Book Day 2008 in the UK and Ireland will take place on Thursday 6th March. Please note that this date applies to the UK and Ireland only. Most other countries hold World Book Day on 23rd April every year.

You can visit the World Book Day website to find printable sheets to downloads, details of events happening in your area and more.

Do you have any events or activities planned for the day? My son is in the reception year at Primary School. He has been asked to dress up as a character from his favourite book. He has decided that he would like to be the fox from the Gingerbread Man, He has chosen a costume from Blush Fashions that he’d like and will have a gingerbread man puppet to complete the look. At times like this I wish I could sew, luckily a wide range of costumes can be found at affordable process on the High street or from internet stores.

Songs and Rhymes

Sarah Neville, Registered Childminder, has produced an e-book all about songs and rhymes, with a section devoted to following the EYFS curriculum while planning activities relating to popular children’s songs.

I'd like to thank Sarah for sharing her experiences with us:

'All children love singing – partially hearing and deaf children particularly benefit from hearing or feeling the rhythms of music and it is excellent for children in wheelchairs or those who use walking aids to practice their directional and steering techniques by moving rhythmically to songs and rhymes.

I have some lovely teaching mitts for popular children’s songs such as ‘5 Little Ducks’ and finger puppets for songs and nursery rhymes such as ‘Baa, baa black sheep’ and ‘Dingle, dangle scarecrow’, ‘Humpty dumpty’, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle little Star’ and ‘Incy Wincy spider’. All of these encourage song, dance and movement and I have found children love interacting with them. I put them in a bag from which the children can self-select. They choose a puppet and we sing the song and during the song they take ownership of that puppet, showing the other children in the group how to move or jump or dance. It encourages children’s self-confidence, raises their self-esteem and helps them make relationships with others in the group, thereby fulfilling many of the EYFS ‘Personal, Social and Emotional Development’ learning and development criteria, in one fun activity.'

National Year of Reading

2008 is the National Year of Reading and to celebrate this, we have, in stock, some individual finger puppets for popular traditional stories such as ‘the Gingerbread Man’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. In our traditional story sets range, you can also find full story sack contents for these two books, plus ‘3 Little Pigs’ and many more. There is also a page of information about story sacks which I hope will inspire you to make these with the children and their families.
Sarah Neville, a Registered Childminder, has also been working on ideas for the National Year of Reading and has produced an e-book which offers 12 popular children’s stories, fully planned for the Early Years Foundation Stages... one story for each calendar month of the National Year of Reading. The stories tie in with the puppets on my site, which would make a lovely addition to any reading corner. ‘Children’s Favourite Books 1’ is available from Sarah’s website - www.knutsfordchildminding.co.uk

Something Special DVD - Stock update

It has come to my attention that customers are finding this blog before the Chelltune website for some searches. This is leading them to think that some DVDs are out of stock from reading old posts. Please view this link to see our full range of DVDs.

In with the new and out with the old.

I am seriously slacking again, it is almost three months since I last blogged. I will blame the Christmas rush!
Since October several new products have been added to the site. We now stock flat glove puppets that are suitable for both babies and young children. There is also a new range of books, these can be found under ‘other books’ in the product menu of our store. I’ll tell you more about these another day.
We have recently noticed that members of our forum are having trouble logging in. If this affects you then please email us and we will reset your password. In the next few weeks we plan to launch a new website with a super dooper brand new forum. The new forum will be more user friendly than the present one.
If you are after a bargain then visit our end of year sale, you’ll find Joseph Garcia's baby signing books from just £3.85.