With September Comes an All-New Season of PAJANIMALS on Sprout; a Brand New DVD "Meet the Pajanimals" and a New App on iTunes (Review and Giveaway)

As summer begins its transition into fall and children return to pre-school, kindergarten and other daytime routines, getting young ones back into healthy bedtime habits can be a real challenge.  But thanks to The Jim Henson Company and Sprout, we’ve got plenty of help for parents from the adorable PAJANIMALS.  

Get ready for an all-new season of PAJANIMALS on Sprout, which premiered on August 27th, and more adventures with Cowbella, Apollo, Sweetpea Sue and Squacky. This inseparable quartet takes young viewers on more exciting imaginary journeys with music and new friends on every adventure, modeling the skills preschoolers need to move through their days successfully, especially getting ready for and going to bed.  . PAJANIMALS can also be seen on weekends on the NBC Kids block.  

If your preschoolers love THE PAJANIMALS television show, they’re going to thoroughly enjoy the new MEET THE PAJANIMALS DVD (from NCircle Entertainment), which debuted on September 11th at retailers nationwide.  These four friends who snuggle together every night will sing sweet night time songs to their preschool friends at home in this wonderful program which can be viewed repeatedly. Through their journeys, these cuddly friends discover fun ways to transition from playtime to bedtime.  Parents and their young PAJANIMALS fans can join the magical adventure, encouraging a calm and happy nightly routine.   

And also BRAND NEW for PAJANIMALS!   The new PAJANIMALS “Light in the Sky” app, priced at $4.99, is another wonderful way for your young ones to experience the PAJANIMALS up close and personal.  Now available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, this app allows your children to play and sing along with this fully 3D, highly interactive episode based on the actual show.  Kids can poke, tickle and swipe as they discover all the fun toys they can play with in the Pajanimals’ room.  They can also feel the rhythm while tapping along with their favorite Pajanimals’ songs.  The PAJANIMALS “Light in the Sky” allows youngsters to blast off in a rocket ship to visit the moon, set off fireworks and shooting stars in the night sky, play kickball with the Pajanimals, make their own melodies with musical stars and clouds; tickle the Pajanimals to make them laugh; and match the Pajanimals with their favorite toys.  And of course they can help the Pajanimals “stick to the plan” by brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed.  Other features include the ability to turn subtitles on to read along with the story, and you can even gift the app to a friend from within the app.

There’s another wonderful way to get your child back into bedtime rituals -  help them to make their own unique dream catcher.    

Originally used by Native Americans, the Ojibwa tribe constructed dream catchers by tying strings in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow and then decorated the structure with beads and feathers. The dream catcher was then hung above the bed as a charm to protect sleeping children. The Ojibwa believe that a dream catcher changes a person's dreams, trapping bad dreams in the string of the dream catcher until they disappear in the light of day while good dreams pass through and slide down to the sleeping child below.

You can share the story of dream catchers with your youngsters while following the simple steps to make a dream catcher available at Sprouts online (http://www.sproutonline.com/crafts-and-recipes/crafts/squackys-nighttime-dream-catcher).

And keep an eye out for the all-new PAJANIMALS plush toys that will be available this fall just in time for holiday from TOMY.  The 9” and 15” plush versions of Sweetpea, Squacky, CowBella and Apollo, (with a SRP of $10.99 and $19.99 respectively), have already met with rave reviews and demonstrated that their hardy construction can stand up to the tugging, pulling and dragging of typical preschoolers and still remain as soft and as cuddly as when they first come out of the box.

Just as a reminder, PAJANIMALS fans can access a number of fun and FREE ageappropriate activities and downloadable games at http://www.sproutonline.com/shows/pajanimals.

Stay Informed:

Follow The Jim Henson Company:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hensoncompany 
Twitter: @hensonparents

Follow Sprout:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sprout
Twitter: @SproutTV

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My Thoughts:

I was sent a copy of "Meet the Pajanimals" on DVD to watch with Savannah.  She didn't need an introduction to these lovable characters, as she is a fan of the show and doesn't miss a night of their animated series on Sprout.  This DVD, which has a run time of approximately 45 minutes, includes the following four episodes:

1.  Blankie in the Laundry

2.  Home Sweet Home

3.  A Colorful Problem

4.  Puppy Love

Each of the above episodes not only entertain young children, but they also help to transition them from playtime to nighttime.  In addition, they also teach valuable life skills like sharing with friends, teamwork, and taking responsibility, along with ways in which to overcome separation anxiety.  

Savannah's favorite episode was "Blankie in the Laundry."  She could relate to this as she has a favorite blankie and on occasion, I have had it in the wash while she was playing, only to have her want to take a nap and need her blankie to comfort her.  Even though I have bought additional matching blankies for when I am laundering her favorite one, she still seems to know that the others aren't her "real" blankie.  With the help of this entertaining episode, Savannah was able to see how she could still go to bed without her blankie -- even though this hasn't happened yet. :-)

Overall, this was a great DVD to share with the girls, especially at bedtime.  We have made the Pajanimals on Sprout a part of our bedtime routine, and thanks to this DVD, on the rare occasions we lose cable, I will have a backup episode ready to play. :-)

So, if you have a Pajanimals fan in your house, this new DVD, which retails for only $6.99 and is available at major retailers nationwide, would make for a great surprise.  And, with the holidays around the corner, I can't think of a better stocking stuffer idea. :-)

--GIVEAWAY--

One (1) lucky reader will win a copy of Jim Henson's "Meet the Pajanimals" on DVD, to enjoy with their little one.  To enter, please complete the entries on the Rafflecopter form below.  Good luck!

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Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of the DVD from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.