Welcome to 2013..

Hello and Happy new Year. We hope it's a great one all round!

Firstly, what a great year 2012 was. 'Meet the Bumblejums' continued to receive good reviews from Parents and Teachers throughout the year and we've been amazed by how far and wide the music and book seem to reaching.

You can of course continue to download here!

Here are a few quotes from reviews. Thank you to all who have taken the time to review and post comments to the shop.

"I love the concept of an eco-friendly set of characters who teach their young readers about respect and responsibility to the natural world. The characters are warm and friendly with ‘toddler appeal’." Parents Panel, UK.

"I have just found your cd on itunes and love it. I am an early childhood teacher in Australia and we are doing gardening/ the environment as our theme, so the cd fitted perfectly." Taryn, Perth, Australia.

"The songs are great. My kids love them. I'm so glad the Bumblejums help us to celebrate the outdoors and our world!" Wendy Mc Donnell, CFRU Radio, Canada.

"I put the CD in the car to listen to on our travels and on the school runs. Myself and the kids (10 years, 8 years & 23 month old Jack) have really enjoyed it - my 10 year old smiles every time it comes on - he desperately tries not to but just can't help himself!" Helen Jessup, Crazy Kitchen.

We also took The Bumblejums brand to Asia for the first time and exhibited at the Mega Fair in Hong Kong in October. Retailers and manufacturers from across the Globe attended so it was a great showcase for us. Here's a picture of some merchandise samples from the exhibit. We are pleased to say that this event and related discussions have resulted in some very exciting conversations for The Bumblejums which should make 2013 an interesting year!

 

The Bumblejums.

Summer 2011 Update

Greetings from Bally Bo!

I hope you are having a lovely summer, spending plenty of time outdoors and getting plenty of fresh air!

It's been a busy Spring continuing to promote "Meet the Bumblejums" Music CD and Book and we are pleased to say that "Meet the Bumblejums" is still getting plenty of positive feedback from mums, kids and of course not forgetting dads too, we hear good things from Dads hoping for peaceful car journeys!

You can read a small selection of reviews from the last few months by clicking on the links below;

The Crazy Kitchen
BDT Media
Red Ted Art
Mummy Mishaps
2 Stars and a swirl
The Parent Panel on New Mummy's Tips


We have also been really pleased with the continuing success of the "Meet the Bumblejums" album on itunes and have been amazed by how far and wide the music seems to have reached :) Gardening continues to lead the charts, being our most popular song. We thought we's post this little % chart to show you where the audience is coming from as we found it fascinating!

There have also been kind messages and enquiries from a number of countries about how the music is fitting with Environmental messages in the classroom. This is a real thrill as it shows examples of where the music is being used for the purpose it was originally intended, which is to engage children in the wonder of nature and the outdoors. Here's one from Australia;

"Hi

I have just found your cd on itunes and love it. I am an early childhood teacher in Australia and we are doing gardening/ the environment as our theme, so the cd fitted perfectly.

Taryn, Perth"

As a footnote to this post, I am pleased to say that the Bumblejums have begun to rub off on me their creator in that I have, after years of threatening to do so, started a vegetable patch of my own in the back garden! I  look to forward to eating the fruits of my labour over the coming weeks and months as we enter the harvest season! I have to say it's harder work than it looks but highly rewarding :)

Have a great summer...

Studio time...

Well it's been a few months since we've checked in. Christmas has come and gone and we are now well into 2011! How time flies... Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and enjoy whatever delights 2011 may bring.

We write with news of our recent return to the studio in January which has resulted in our latest musical offering,  "The Way to Bally Bo"!

A fun filled, earl grey fueled weekend spent at Norbury Brook Studios, kept our toes tapping and attention focused on producing an upbeat and distinctly Irish flavoured popsicle, which hopefully provides an insight into the journey required to find "The way to Bally Bo"

We'd like to thank our guest producer, Master Corey Shanahan for his brief but inspirational appearance in the directors chair and to Marcus Cliffe for his constant and critical guidance throughout the process.. can you tell I'm writing this while trying to watch the BAFTA's!

Feel free also to visit itunes to listen through our last album "Meet the Bumblejums" and thanks for checking in.
Here's to a successful 2011!

The Bumblejums.

Exec Producer Corey Shanahan

Marcus at the helm





October updates

Autumnal greetings from Bally Bo!

Well, October is turning out to be an exciting month, continuing 2010 as a good year for the Bumblejums! We are delighted with the response to our competitions in August and September and congratulations to all of our winners. Notifications have been posted to our shop.

We have also been featured in Kent Mama Magazine (recently renamed Kent Family). Sian gave an interview with some background to the Bumblejums and the journey so far. The full article is available at kentfamilymagazine.co.uk Pictures below.

A section from the article.

Front Cover of this months Kent Family.

In addition we have been having some exciting discussions with some education experts about other Bumblejums themed products which we will be developing in 2011. Following our review earlier this year in Early Years Educator magazine we have had some good conversations about teaching aids to engage and entertain!

We hope you are getting out and about and enjoying all that Autumn weather!

The Bumblejums.

July/August Competitions

July/August 2010

We ran two exciting competitions in Kent last month, one at the Kent County Show and secondly at the Herne Bay Green Fair, offering entrants the chance to win a "Meet the Bumblejums" Book, CD, Sickers and bookmarks.

Bumblejum Bookmarks were part of the prize, alongside
a copy of "Meet the Bumblejums" Book and CD!

We were overwhelmed with the amount of entrants on both days, testament to strength of The Bumblejums eco-friendly message reaching parents and children!

A big thank you to the Kent Messenger for running the competitions and and even bigger thank you to all who entered.

We are pleased to announce the following winners have been selected at random to receive prizes which have been shipped by 16th August 2010.

Georgina Seager, Sturry

Georgina Andrews, Canterbury
Bailey Hand, Molash
Chanotte Wadey, Maidestone
Sam Cook, Ashford
Gemma Scotcher, Ashford

Congratulations to all our winners and keep checking back for more competitions later this year.

Bumblejums Interview Broadcast on Canadian College Radio Station

Following some airplay "Gardening" received in Cananda on World Water Day back in April, Gardening is now our most downloaded track on itunes. We were also recently invited to guest on a show about Raising Global Citizens and of course we jumped at the chance!

An inspirational lady by the name of Wendy McDonnell hosts the Family Matters show on CFRU 93.3 FM which is a weekly show whose listenership comprises mainly families, eco-aware parents, teachers and staff within the college and local areas around Guelph, Ontario and anyone who has access to the internet!

The broadcast is available to listen to on the Family Matters site here and you can read more about Wendy on her site.

Wendy McDonnell
Certified Family Communciations Coach &
Host of Family Matters on CFRU 93.3FM

The interview covers the inspiration for the Bumblejums and discussion around leading by example as parents. We discuss how spending more time in the great outdoors with our children can instill a sense of respect and respnsibility towards the environment, something the Bumblejums agree wholeheartedly with.

"Meet the Bumblejums" recommended in Early Years Educator Magazine.

The Bumblejums have received an enouraging review in the May issue of ‘The Early Years Educator’ (EYE), the number one magazine for educators of 0-5’s.

“This is an ideal eco-friendly resource and will appeal to children and eco-aware parents, early years practitioners and teachers.”
Denise Reardon.

Denise is the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) Programme Director at Canterbury Christchurch University. She has published several highly regarded books about the importance of EYPS, covering meeting EYP standards and highlighting ways to model, support and promote good outcomes for children.

You can read more about Denise Reardon on her website. The Magazine is available on subscription at the EYE website and the May edition book review listing here.

The Bumblejums make Featured Artist on Wiggle Nation!

The nice people at Wiggle Nation have seen fit to extend us the honour of being their featured artist this week so needless to say we are quite pleased and honoured to be featured!

You can check out the Wiggle Nation site http://www.wigglenation.com/ and just in case you get there after the feature period, here is a direct link to our profile.

Happy listening and why not download some tracks from itunes while you're browsing and get hooked on The Bumblejums!

See you soon,

The Bumblejums