TV Mom Returns!

I want to first apologize to my readers for my extended blogging absence. Life gets in the way, and any parent can understand that.

I have a whole new CHANNEL to review, guys! Disney Junior has launched and has provided me with a long list of new children's programming to talk about. Unfortunately for some, it isn't available in all markets yet, but their website is up and running with lots more fun activities and videos for your child to enjoy regardless of whether or not you receive the channel.

I am also planning on expanding my writing to include shows on the popular channel The Hub, as my son has proven himself to be quite the Brony as of late. (For those of you unaware, a "Brony" is a dude who likes the new My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series.)

Nick Jr. has also recently changed its format, and I have plenty to speak on regarding that transition.

All of that and more is coming to Confessions of a TV Mom! Stay tuned!

Word World

Word World is one of the most clever ways I've ever seen to teach reading. It's an adorable animated series where each character and many of the things they encounter in the world are made up of the letters used to make that word. Take a look at the character Duck in the image above (they only have the name of what they are, which helps to make it less confusing for kids)... he is made up of the letters D-U-C-K. Sheep is made of the letters S-H-E-E-P, and so on. There are tons of recurring characters on the show, referred to as "Word Friends": Frog, Duck, Sheep, Pig, Bear, Bug, Ant, Fly, Cat, Robot, Shark... I could go on and on.

The great thing about this program is that it really helps foster the idea that all words are made up of letters. In fact, several times during the program, your child is invited to "build a word" with a cute little song. Then the characters show them how the letters come together, make sounds, and form words. 

 

There are also fantastic companion toys available, many are stuffed Word Friends, whose letters actually come apart so your child can build the word and make the friend whole again. Endlessly clever I tell you! I have a feeling that I would probably just find disembodied Word Friend parts all over my house, since my son just enjoys the destruction.

Word World currently airs on PBS stations, which are free over the air. There are also lots of DVDs available, as well as the toys I mentioned.

Toddler and preschool children will probably get the most out of this show, although babies may enjoy the bright colors and cute animated friends on screen. Older kids will likely be bored with the show itself, but may still benefit from some of the supplemental materials, like flash cards, for spelling and reading comprehension.

What your child learns:

•  Reading Readiness: Learning that words are made up of letters, letters make sounds (phonics), spelling, capital and lowercase letter recognition, rhyming, vocabulary.
• Problem Solving: Choosing the right word or letter, filling in blanks, arranging letters in a certain order.
• Social and Emotional Development: Cultivating friendships, being helpful, social diversity awareness, knowing when to ask for help.

There is also a great site for parents and educators wishing to use this program in a more instructional manner, Word World for Parents and Teachers. There is also a bar across the top where you can bring your child to play online Word World games with their favorite characters from the program.

As a parent watching, I will admit that hearing the "It's time to build a word" song a few times in a row might be grating. However, I can't really think of any other major flaws. Some parents think Duck's voice is kind of annoying, but I think he sounds like Don Knotts. (Hey, it could be worse... he could be voiced by Gilbert Godfreid. I swear that guy does nothing but voice-over work these days. His voice makes me want to stick a sharpened pencil in my ear.) My son loves shouting out the words as they turn into the object. It actually makes me wonder if he knows more about reading than he lets on at two and a half.

I can still never get over just how clever of an idea this program is. I highly recommend it, especially for parents of pre- or early readers. It's an enjoyable way to teach phonics and other early reading skills. And it's just downright adorable!

Super Why

Here's a super hero team that any parent can get behind... although I'm still partial to Spidey and the X-Men, don't get me wrong! Super Why, also known as Wyatt, is a story book character who comes to the rescue of his story book world friends by using books with characters who are experiencing similar dilemmas.

Now, you're probably thinking, "I don't know of any story with a character named Wyatt in it," and you would be right. However, when I tell you more about Wyatt's family, you might recognize him... or at least his older brother. They reside in a giant beanstalk house, and his older brother's name is Jack. Jack is now a teenager (recently headed off to college, in fact), and Wyatt has taken over the job of being the rambunctious boy of the family.

Wyatt's friends, also known as The Super Readers, are also popular storybook characters. There is Red, who roller skates to and from Grandma's house now. Pig is the smallest of the famous three, and loves to build things. Finaly, there is Princess Pea, who is known for her sensitivity to a particular legume beneath her mattress. All four have special Super Reading powers: Pig turns into Alpha Pig, who is well versed in the alphabet. Red becomes Wonder Red, who loves to rhyme and find similar sounds. Princess Pea becomes Princess Presto, with super spelling powers. Wyatt becomes the titular Super Why, with the power to read using his Why Writer, which highlights words as they are read, and helps him zap the right word to complete a sentence.

In more recent episodes, a new character named Woofster has been added. He's Wyatt's new pet dog, and he has Dictionary Power, to help define words that are new to the Super Readers. What kid doesn't love a cute puppy?

Viewers are also encouraged to watch for "Super Letters", which Wyatt plugs into his Super Computer to give them the answer to their dilemma. The letters tend to pop up throughout the story, and are sparkly and red. My son gets quite excited when he spots them, and loves "yelling to Super Why" to "alert" him to their presence.

Super Why currently airs on PBS, a free over the air channel, and PBS Sprout on certain cable network providers and satellite services.

Suggested ages for this program are toddler to about age 6 or 7. I think older kids may find the reading lessons a bit below them, but may still benefit from spelling and sentence completion lessons. Younger viewers may not enjoy the reading aspect as much, but rhyming and finding the Super Letters will be a lot of fun for the 2-3 set.

What your child learns:

• Reading Readiness: Identifying letters (both upper and lowercase), completing sentences with the correct word, context, rhyming words, spelling.
• Social and Emotional development: Helping others, compassion, friendship, following directions, listening to others.
• Critical Thinking: Identifying and solving problems, using context to answer a question, finding similarities between parallel situations. 

As a parent watching, you might find the pauses to allow your child to answer to be a tad on the long side, and some of the situations may be overly basic. There is a little humor thrown in for the adult crowd, in that some of the story book characters the Super Readers meet are obviously neurotic, but aside from that, there isn't going to be much you'll enjoy other than watching your child respond to questions.

It's a cute little show, without loud and obnoxious characters. That's always a plus in my book. The reading aspect of this show, I find, is almost unparalleled in other programs. Your child will love having a super hero of their own to identify with, and seeing characters they recognize from some of their favorite stories on screen is a special little bonus.

Dinosaur Train

So your child loves dinosaurs. They also love trains. But never in a million years could you figure out how to combine the two interests. How about a few HUNDRED million years? Well, the folks at Jim Henson studios have remedied your problem with Dinosaur Train. Yes, it's dinosaurs who ride on a train. How simple!

The show is about the Pteranodon family, and you get the basic synopsis in the opening credits. Mrs. Pteranodon has four eggs in her nest. Three hatch, and she names them (from left to right in the picture above) Tiny, Shiny, and Don. Then the last egg hatches, and surprise! It's a baby T-Rex (who exclaims "what am I doing in a Pteranodon nest?!" in the short retelling). She names him Buddy, and promises they'll take a vacation to travel the world and meet all of the other dinosaur species.

 

The Dinosaur Train itself has a Troodon for a conductor, aptly named "Mr. Conductor", who calls out before the train enters a "time tunnel", which allows it to travel between the different periods/epochs/eras of the dinosaur ages. He's also a wealth of knowledge about dinosaur species, as he was the one who helped Buddy figure out he was a T-Rex based on his features.

Each segment of the show is divided by a visit from real-life paleontologist, Dr. Scott (Dr. Scott D. Sampson, a current curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History), who gives the children more facts about the dinosaurs they met in the animated segment of the show. He always closes with "get out, get into nature, and make your own discoveries!", encouraging children to explore for themselves to learn more about the world around them.

Dinosaur Train broadcasts on PBS, which is a free over-the-air channel. Check your local listings for times and channel lineups. There are also DVDs, books, and toys available to further your Dinosaur Train experience.  The program is also fairly new, so expect to see new episodes for a while yet. In fact, they just premiered "Dinosaur Train, Dino Big City" this past Monday, an hour long special with Dr. Scott actually appearing in his home museum instead of the usual green screen with dinosaur pictures. I'm sure that will come out on DVD soon, if not already.

Suggested ages for this program, I would figure preschool and up. The dinosaurs are brightly colored and friendly faced, but some youngsters might still be afraid of them. There are a lot of big words and science-y stuff being thrown around too that much younger children may not be interested. There isn't a lot of singing or music either. I think the appeal could extend well into the elementary years, if not even into middle school for budding paleontologists, especially with a real life role model such as Dr. Scott.

What your child learns:

• Dinosaur species: Names of dinosaurs, their features, when they lived, where they were found, how they lived, how big they were.
• Vocabulary: Words like "carnivore", "herbivore", "mammal", etc. and their meanings.
• Science: How paleontologists work in the field, how fossils are made and preserved, features of the ancient planet, differences in animals, how to categorize animals based on features.

As a parent watching, you might learn some interesting facts that you never learned in school science classes (I never knew America was once two separate pieces of land! See that map Mr. Conductor is pointing at above? That was the US a few million years ago. Interesting!). The characters aren't too obnoxious. Sometimes when Mr. Conductor's mother rides along, you can see him get all flustered, just as many of us do as adults around our parents, especially when they visit us at work! As I said before, there isn't a lot of singing going on either, so the show doesn't get that obnoxious. Personally, I think Dr. Scott needs some pointers about how to not be so strange on camera and to not have dead-eyes, but that's just me.

I do want to add that this is a great program for families with adopted children, as that topic is often mentioned in reference to Buddy's role in the family. Mrs. Pteranodon often tells him that even though he's not the same species, and that someday he'll be much larger than all of them because he's so different, that they adopted him and love him just the same. No matter what, he's their child and they love him. They also take him to see a T-Rex family often so he can learn about himself and what he will grow up to be. This may be a great way for families to integrate their own adoptions into conversation with their children in a loving manner, and I really do love their treatment of the topic.

It's a cute concept that combines the two often-favored topics of trains and dinosaurs into one adorable little program that is also educational. Can't go wrong with this one!

Little Einsteins

Little Einsteins is a unique concept for a children's show, but one that I think many parents will appreciate more than others. You might be familiar with the Baby Einstein DVD series, which exposes your infant to classical music and art. Little Einsteins takes that concept a little further into childhood. Each episode focuses on one famous piece of music and one famous artist/art style/painting. Then they integrate the music and the art into the episode's story line.

There are five main characters in this program: Leo (red-headed boy), June (brunette girl), Quincy (African-American boy), Annie (blonde girl), and Rocket, their sentient rocket ship. Each child has a special skill they bring to the team. Leo likes to conduct music, and therefore he's also mostly in charge of the group. June likes to dance, and as such she wears a tutu and ballet slippers. Quincy likes to play instruments. Annie likes to sing. According to the Wikipedia Page, each of the characters is named after someone famous in a similar field: Leo after the famous composer Leopold Stokowski, June after famous choreographer June Taylor, Quincy after famous musician and composer Quincy Jones, and Annie after famous Jazz singer Anni Rossi.

The plot of the show is usually the same in that they are given some sort of mission to complete at the beginning (winning a race, saving an animal, helping a friend, etc.). The music piece is integrated in a number of ways, while the art piece(s) generally show up in the background. Children are encouraged to participate by clapping, dancing, patting their laps, singing, and answering questions. They are also introduced to music terms such as piano, pianissimo, allegro, and so on.

This program, while no longer being made new, plays on the Disney Junior block of the Disney Channel. Disney is a subscription channel, so cable or satellite will be required, please check your local listings for times and channels. There are also lots of Little Einstein DVDs and toys on the market to extend your child's experience.

As for age appeal, the characters on the show range in age from 5-8, but I would guess the appeal wouldn't last much past second or third grade for most kids. Since there is nice classical music, younger children would probably like it, especially since they are encouraged to dance and sing along with the characters. Normally, with something with so much music, I would recommend it for even infant exposure, but the characters do tend to shout a bit in this program, so it might startle a baby who is getting into the groove of the calm classical music.

What your child learns:

• Music: Instruments, classical music, famous composers, music terms, singing, tempo and time, rhythm, reading music notes.
• Art: Famous artists, famous artwork, colors, shapes.
• Mathematics: Counting, fractions (counting time and tempo in music), simple addition and subtraction.

As a parent watching, you might get bored with the pauses the characters take to allow your child to answer their questions. The plots are simplistic, for obvious reasons, but it won't give you much to enjoy other than watching your child participate.

Overall, it's a neat concept for a kids show. However, it's simplicity and niche subject were what caused it to be cancelled. Your child may or may not mesh with the program, but it's worth a try to expose them to some culture that they otherwise won't see from children's television.