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CBeebies' favourite Sarah-Jane Honeywell bounces back onto the channel this week with an action-packed new series, Mighty-Mites, a sports and activities show for pre-school children, encouraging young children to give new things a try from pond-dipping to skiing and circus skills.

Each episode, Sarah-Jane and her puppet sidekick Go-Joe meet two youngsters – the Mighty-Mites – and together they head off on an adventure to try something new.

Sarah-Jane is keen to get children out, about and interested in all kinds of activities from a young age. She bubbles: "I was really lucky as a child and started doing gymnastics and dance when I was two, so I'm really passionate about encouraging children to be active. We spend a lot of time educating children's minds but less time encouraging them to be active, trying out new things. I'm in my thirties now and really lucky as I'm still pretty fit as I've kept up the sports I loved in childhood – I can even still do the splits!

"I think we have to make the most of the gifts you are given when you're born and use your body and fitness as well as using your brain. I was given a great opportunity – with no pressure from my parents – but it's been totally rewarding."

Mighty-Mites tours the length and breadth of the country with 25 different sports and activities showcased during the series. And lucky Sarah-Jane got to try them all! She admits: "I did try lots of new things that I'd never done before while filming the series. One of the biggest challenges for me was swimming as I can't even swim a width of a pool before I start to sink and I thought I'd hate pond-dipping as I'm quite scared of tadpoles but actually I really learnt loads and enjoyed doing both things.

"Or there was the day we did kite flying, when my heart was sinking thinking 'oh no, really?', but it was such a lovely, freeing thing to do. Even sports where you think you're going to know exactly what to do turned into a learning experience. For example, the tennis was excellent – I learnt loads of really important basic techniques. I think sometimes when you try sports like tennis at secondary school they already assume you have a basic knowledge but I certainly didn't, so I learnt something new that day. And although I've been dancing since childhood, whilst doing ballet for the series I picked up things I'd never known before."

However, it wasn't always a bundle of laughs. Sarah-Jane admits: "The worst one was go-karting as we filmed it in February, in the snow; that wasn't fun! Although I surprised myself by loving rugby; that's one of the best things about doing this job – trying something new all the time. It was a shame because the crew were desperate to join in, but filming was so tight they didn't get a chance while I was having all the fun!"

However, Sarah-Jane isn't the only star of the show; each episode, two different children between four and six years old are invited to become Mighty-Mites for the day and get active, trying their hand at something new for the first time. Sarah-Jane confesses she got a great thrill from seeing the youngsters rise to each challenge and have new worlds open up before them.

"It was wonderful to see the children trying things they never would have thought possible," she says. "In the circus skills session both the children were really reticent, especially of the trapeze, but the tutor was wonderful and just kept encouraging them to try a little more and they really loved it in the end. We all got to try tightrope walking too and the little boy was an absolute natural at stilt walking – he just got up and did it which was excellent.

"And again, the children who tried the horse-riding were really nervous to start with but the teacher kept encouraging them and it was amazing. After the session the little boy just beamed, saying 'this was the best day of my life.' It almost made me cry. He'd never been on a horse before but he'd grown in confidence so much even over the space of a morning. He'd really found something that excited him and I'm sure he'll be going back for more.

"Even pottery painting was really inspiring for those children. I think as an adult you can forget the thrill of trying something new for the first time and just take it for granted. The youngsters were enraptured by it even though it might seem like something very straightforward.

"But I think my favourite was the dog agility. The children were so caught up in what their dogs were doing, they completely forgot the cameras were there and were utterly absorbed in learning with their animals. It was brilliant to watch."

The series also features Sarah-Jane's sidekick – puppet Go-Joe. Sarah explains: "Matt Lyons who operates Go-Joe is one of the world's best improvisers – which is crucial when you're working with children as you never know what they're going to say! And the best thing for a presenter working with a puppet is you're not the one who has to act dim!

"All the children loved him. When you have a really great puppeteer, they totally forget that he is there and just talk naturally to the puppet. Bless him, Matt was virtually invisible. If he didn't have Go-Joe with him then none of the kids talked to him but I was very jealous that he was a better ice-skater than me; especially as I would just love to do Dancing On Ice!"

And it wasn't all a case of Sarah-Jane being the expert: "We went to Manchester to film climbing and skiing on the same day so time was really tight. At the skiing, I never really mastered the art of stopping, so when I had to do my piece to camera, the only way I could stop as I whizzed by was to crash into the barrier. That kind of thing happened lots of times!"