2014 Schedule

Starting February 18th, here's the new program schedule. Times are EST.

The Absolutely Mindy Show: Monday-Friday 7am
The Absolutely ANYBODY Show: Monday-Friday 10am
The Wiggles Radio Show: Monday-Friday 12pm
The Animal Farm with Kenny Curtis: Monday-Friday 3pm, 8pm
Live From the Monkey House: Monday-Thursday 5pm
Story Pirates Radio: Fridays 5pm

1/25/2014 Grammy Nominees Concert

Nominees on stage for the finale

Wow! What a great show today in LA featuring The 2014 Grammy Award Nominees for Best Children's Album! All five nominees came up on stage to play songs from their nominated album. The concert aired at 6pm EST/3pm PST today and will repeat tomorrow at 1pm EST/10am PST on SiriusXM 78. Great performances!

Bart, Kenny, Rocky Alvey, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Mindy

Radio Special Playout:

• Opening Jingle
• Intro from Kenny and Mindy
• Beth Nielsen Chapman and Rocky Alvey interview
• "Rockin' Little Neutron Star" - Beth Nielsen Chapman
• "Test Re-Test and Verify" - Beth Nielsen Chapman
• Kids: Margot and Zoe interview
• Jennifer Gasoi interview
• "Little Blue Car" - Jennifer Gasoi
• "Throw A Penny In The Wishing Well" - Jennifer Gasoi
• "I'm A Bubble" - Jennifer Gasoi
• "Happy!" - Jennifer Gasoi
• Alastair Moock interview
• "When I Get Bald" - Alastair Moock
• "B-R-A-V-E" - Alastair Moock
• "This Little Light of Mine" - Alastair Moock (with Elizabeth Mitchell)
• Elizabeth Mitchell and Daniel Littleton interview
• "Kooks" - Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower
• "Arm in Arm" - Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower
• "Blue Clouds" - Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower
• Justin Roberts interview
• "Check Me out, I'm at the Checkout" - Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players
• "" - Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players
• "Recess" - Justin Roberts & the Not Ready for Naptime Players
• "Turn Turn Turn" - Elizabeth Mitchell, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Justin Roberts, Alastair Moock, Jennifer Gasoi
• Closing from Kenny and Mindy

Book Hour - The Spiderwick Chronicles

Today on the show, Mindy interviewed Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, the co-creators of The Spiderwick Chronicles. They talked about how they work as a team to create the books, coming up with the story together and going back and forth as they split off the write the story and draw the illustrations. They discussed the movie and their inspirations for the Spiderwick books.

On today's show, Holly and Tony discussed their latest book The Wyrm King by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.

How to Make a Terrarium

You will need:

A clear 2-liter bottle with bottle cap
Potting soil (or dirt from your backyard)
Rye grass seeds
Clear packing tape
A spray bottle filled with water
Scissors or an Exacto knife (and your caring adult's help/permission)
Ladybugs! (or any bug you find and would like to observe for a while)

How to Assemble:

1) Rinse out an empty 2-liter bottle
2) Have your adult help you carefully cut the top off of the bottle. Make the cut about three inches down from the lid of the bottle (see picture). Be sure to keep this part all in one piece!
3) Fill bottom of container with about 4 to 5 inches of potting soil
4) Sprinkle a few teaspoons of rye grass on top of the soil and cover with a little bit more dirt-- just a quarter of an inch or so
5) Wet the soil and spray the walls of the bottle with water
6) Add bugs if desired
7) Place the top back on the bottle and tape it together with packing tape.

Ta-da! You have a terrarium! The grass should start to grow in just a few days. Every week or so check the moisture level, unscrew the bottle cap and add a few teaspoons of water as needed. If you put bugs in there make sure they have the food they need (like aphids for ladybugs). Remember that bugs don't live very long, so this won't be a forever pet. You can also make this bug-free and have fun watching how tall the grass will grow. You could also add stickers or other decorations to the bottle, just make sure some sunlight can get through. Enjoy!

Alyssa's terrarium was made about seven weeks ago and although the cricket has passed on to The Great Terrarium in the Sky, the grass is still growing!

Theme Song Winner announced!

Was it because he was the first to send in an entry? Was it because Mindy went to see him at Jammin' Java this weekend? Was it because it is just an incredible theme song? We'll never know, but ....

The winner is ....

JUSTIN ROBERTS!

We are very happy with her choice, of course. And hope that we enjoy hearing his entry every day :)

Scrap Metal Space Rocket Roller Coaster Ride

This is a drawing Danny made of a scrap metal amusement park ride. Mindy is talking about rides today, so Danny invented this one. We also have a pet field cricket and rolly polly for the night. They both like eating apple peels.

Peter Glassman from Books of Wonder

Peter Glassman from Books of Wonder was on the show today talking about all these great books!

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Gannett
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Newbery Winner)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (Newbery Honor Book)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newbery Honor Book)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Newbery Winner)
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Newbery Winner)
The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain Book 1) by Lloyd Alexander

Book Hour - Lunch Lady

On today's show, Mindy interviewed Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of many books, including Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute.

Camille and I both loved the idea that the lunch lady has super cool spy tools, like a spork that is really a phone and a spatula that is a helicopter. I know we'll be keeping our eye out for the books.

Even more, our pals Recess Monkey has written a Lunch Lady Theme song that is available on the website www.lunchladycomics.com/.

Pepperoni Stick, Eh?

Mindy,

 

I knew it!  My Go-Tart did not break Frankfurter's heart!  The crazy Pepperoni Stick that's been sighted everywhere is actually running around with a Chewy Dipps granola bar, not my sweet Go-Tart.  The look-alikes have been showing up everywhere my Go-Tart and her Hot Dog BOY-Friend have been, pretending to be them.  These PepperDipps imposters are nothing but trouble.  Meanwhile my poor Go-Tart and Frankfurter are being hounded everywhere they go.  Kids are yelling, "There they are!" and chasing them all across the country.  They're scared, they're lost, and I'm afraid my sweet Go-Tart and her Hot Dog BOY-Friend will never get home.  If you really love Frankfurter, you'll stop spreading rumors about my poor sweet Go-Tart and help these two young processed foodstuffs find their way home.

 

Your pal,

ScribbleJim

The Absolutely Mindy Theme Song[writing] Contest!

Have you heard???

Kids Place Live
***presents***
The Absolutely Mindy Theme Song[writing] Contest!

WHAT!?! The Absolutely Mindy Show on Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live is in big time need of an official theme song!

WHO’S GONNA WRITE IT?! Anybody but Mindy. That means YOU! Civilians welcome, artists welcome, Wilco welcome…

HOW LONG’S IT GOTTA BE?!? I don’t know…how long are theme songs? How bout 30 seconds to one minute long?

WHEN DOES IT HAFTA GET IT DONE BY?!? All entries must be snail mailed and postmarked by August 14th.

DOES IT GOTTA BE ON A CD?!? Yup! MP3’s and all that kind of techno interweb stuff doesn’t work for airplay. Just an ol’ fashioned compact disc will do the trick!

WILL I GET TO HEAR MY SONG ON THE RADIO?! Yup again! Mindy will try to air all entries received throughout the week of August 17 to the 20, and a final song will be chosen on Friday, August 21!

WHAT’S THE PRIZE?! The winning songster will be interviewed "LIVE" on The Absolutely Mindy Show, and have their winning song played every afternoon, from coast to coast on Kids Place Live UNTIL WE GET TIRED OF IT. Plus your kids will be so proud!

So what are you waiting for?! Unleash your inner songbird and…wait, no scratch that. Songbirds shouldn’t be leashed in the first place. You know what we mean.

All songs become property of the Sponsor, SIRIUS XM and XM Radio. See Official Rules for details and how to enter by going to www.sirius.com/kidsplacelive or www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelpage.xmc?ch=116.

Submissions should be mailed to:

Mindy Thomas-Kids Place Live
Sirius/XM Satellite Radio
1500 Eckington Place, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Young Love

If you haven't been following along on the Absolutely Mindy show, ScribbleJim took care of Mindy's pet hot dog "Frankfurter" while Mindy was away at camp. But then Frankfurter went missing...only to be found again snuggling with a Go Tart. (Hope I got that almost right.)

Thanks to ScribbleJim for sending along the photos!

Lunch Money in the Rumpus Room

Today we were thrilled to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC after over a month and see Lunch Money perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We always love to hear Lunch Money live, and while we heard a couple of the new ones in NY, we heard another couple of new songs and think they rock! We cannot wait for the next CD!

We had a fabulous time in the Rumpus Room. The KPL "minion" Ali does a great job keeping everyone entertained and organized. Mindy and various family members were there for the show.

For various reasons, the band was not planning on playing their KPL hit "It Only Takes One Night To Make a Balloon Your Friend," but a kid requested it. Then there were some technical difficulties, so the band played it, not for airing, but as filler while the connections/wires were being fixed. At the end of the show, someone gave Molly (I think) a red mylar balloon, and guess what happened?? It flew away! Red ones go to Paris, don't they?

Go check out the Lunch Money concert schedule and get out to see them live if you can!

Hope We're Ready to Rock

I Want A Dog

Tricycle

Rollercoaster

Ate Too Much of My Favorite Food

Yes, We Have Rhythm

Stop and Go

Dizzy!

It Only Takes One Night To Make A Balloon Your Friend

I Like To Push Buttons

Spicy Kids

Come Over To My Dollhouse

Tiny Dinosaurs

I Love My Library

Cookie As Big As My Head

Brady Rymer at XM - 12 Jun 2009

Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC and see Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen them a couple times before, once in Georgia, and love his enthusiasm, music and smile.

We spent a bit of time in the upstairs waiting area. The kids were asked if they would like to make some recordings for possible use on the station, and they all loved it -- they had to say "Sirius/XM Kids Place Live!" Camille ran around chasing one very fast little toddler who feels right at home at XM, wandering down this way and that.

We finally got to head into the performance theater. Brady in the band wandered in before Mindy got to play her "joke" on them. Brady jumped right into playing, starting off with the logical choice "Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could." The band members at this show were Brady on lead, Seth Farber on keybaords, Liz Queler on mandolin and vocals and then Chris Roselli stuck over in the drum box.

The concert was fantastic. Great energy, great selection of songs (though I would have loved to hear 15 more, of course). The audience really got into "I Found It!" Brady played older songs along with songs from the latest CD and even a couple new tunes, which we can't wait to hear on his next CD! He finished up on a high note with the popular "Road Trip." What fun!

We had a great time hanging out for a long time after the show. I can't believe that we won't get to go back to XM for at least a month! A whole month! How will we make it that long?

Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Smile

Jump Up!

Dilly Dally Daisy

Better Days Are Coming

Keep Up With You

Look At My Belly

I Found It!

One True You

Shine Your Little Light

Road Trip

Dresser Drawer Dining

The pictures are of Miles and Ella of Soutch Carolina. Mindy did a little Sneak Attack call on them this afternoon and told them that they were going to be eating dinner while sitting in dresser drawers. They did it! Miles thinks it’s pretty funny that Mindy is stuck in a drawer, so she thought it was important that he knew how it felt ;)

Absolutely Mom

Noah, the original FOAM, played a trick on Mindy's mom. He called her and told her that she has her won show on KPL!! Absolutely MoM is so super excited to have her own show -- in her pantry.

Visit KPL Fans to vote on whether she should have her own show.

If you vote "Depends," please elaborate in the comments below.

Randy Kaplan at XM - 28 May 2009

Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC for our third time in May! It was so great to see Randy Kaplan perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen him a couple times before, but never for a full show, and it was great! We love his sense of humor and way of blending song and outrageous stories.

While we waited in the lobby for Mindy to come get us and bring us upstairs, weren't we surpised to see Robbie come down. And then Mindy. And then Kenny and Jinx walked in too! Wow! I don't think I've ever seen all four of them in one place! After we went up to the waiting area outside the performane studio, Mindy sat down to rad a story. And Robbie sat on the floor right in front of her. And Kenny sat in his lap. What a silly crew they are!!!

Chloe was thrilled that he did "Shampoo Me" and I was so happy that he played the "Grape Juice Hesitation Blues." He got the audience interacting on songs that they had never heard before. Everyone had a blast, but the loyal KPL listeners were quite anxious for him to get to the two songs that KPL has been playing (over and over) lately. After the show, he hung out with the fans until he had to run to catch his train. Camille and I found it amusing that Randy had the "Ladybug Without Spots" verse order taped to the guitar.

Good Morning Blues

Grape Juice Hesitation Blues

Mosquito Song

The Fire Engine

Shampoo Me

The Lady Bug without Spots

Michael Finnegan

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Loquat Rooftop

Roaches

Over the Rainbow

No Nothin'

Tomorrow

Gotta Get Gone

Books of Wonder - Peter Glassman

On yesterday's show, Mindy interviewed Peter Glassman, the owner of Books of Wonder, "New York City's oldest and largest independent children's bookstore, as well as the city's leading specialist in children's literature both new and old."

They talked about a number of great series for kids to read. One series that he mentioned is the Oz Series books. Camille has read all 14 books in the original series, however, what was very interesting was to learn more about the history of the books, like that one came out every year right before Christmas, and giving these books turned into a Christmas tradition.

Another favorite of Peter's was Half-Magic by Edward Eager. Camille and I have enjoyed many of the books in this series as well. Even though the books were written in the 1950's, they are timeless in some sense.

Another series he talked about was Sluggers, which Chloe thinks sounds pretty awesome.

Camille and Chloe can't wait to get to NYC and visit Peter Glassman's Books of Wonder store!

Interview - Sally Ride

While we only caught part of the interview (we were up in the mountains where we had "shadows") with Sally Ride, my girls were left with a very lasting impression. I think that Mindy and Sally talking together is one of the absolute, very best things that we have ever heard on Kids Place Live, no kidding. While we love the music and book interviews, and even more the interviews with people with cool jobs (like that LEGO design guy), this one topped them all. Sally has been into outer space. And she shared it with the kids. The awesome, so called "immature" fun of being in space -- like juice balls in space.... along with her mom's fear of Sally's mission. I am always so happy to hear when adults with extremely interesting, high-pressure jobs can still find the fun and relate that fun to the kids.

So thank you Sally Ride and Mindy, for one of the most awesome KPL interviews ever.

Book Hour - Jennifer Ward

On Mindy's show today, she was joined by Jennifer Ward author of I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature.

The activities sound pretty interesting, although basic. My kids (who are likely older than the target) love to get outside and do their own thing and really don't like for me to direct them, so I'm not sure it would work for us. The advice given on the show is mostly "natural" to us already. But I will likely put it on my library list to peruse further before deciding on whether it would be useful to us.

Mindy made a great point : Kids can help us slow down and we need to be sure to slow down for them instead of asking them to speed up for us.

Again, so natural for us: Don't inhibit the play. Who cares if the clothes get dirty? My kids are almost never sick, and I have never been germ-wary. They have built up some great immunity, I believe.

Visit Authors for Earth Day
and Jennifer Ward's site.

Her newest book is for pre-teens Let's Go Outside.

Book Hour - JDRFI Doggie Treat Cook Book

Today Mindy interviewed j. Bernard Ralph, author of The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Doggie Treat Cook Book.

He described many of the doggie treats in the book and talked about how he will write many more ....