Maurice Sendak on DVD

Posted on October 19, 2009 at 8:00 am

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Fantasy peril, no one hurt
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to DVD:	2008
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0016OKR70

If you saw Where the Wild Things Are this week and loved it — or if your children are too young for it but want to enjoy Sendak on film, try the Sendak collection from my favorite Scholastic Storybook series. It includes not only the title story but other Sendak favorites like “In the Night Kitchen” and the wonderful Nutshell classics that teach letters (“Alligators All Around”), numbers (“One Was Johnny”), and the months (“Chicken Soup with Rice”) to wonderful songs by Carole King. Our family favorite was the one about Pierre, who learned not to say “I don’t care!”

Parental Guidance on Web Videos

Posted on October 13, 2009 at 3:59 pm

The New York Times has an excellent article about the way children today are watching as much programming online as they do on television and DVDs, giving them an unprecedented bounty of choices and giving their parents an unprecedented range of challenges. It begins with an astonishing statistic — in the time it takes to read the article, ten more hours of content will be uploaded to YouTube.

For parents who grew up with only a few television channels, the idea of turning a curious child loose with such a vast amount of content can produce a fair amount of anxiety. YouTube has a policy banning children under 13 in its fine print. “YouTube is for teens and adults, not children.” said Scott Rubin, a YouTube spokesman.

Yet, according to Nielsen VideoCensus, more children under 13 watched videos in August on YouTube than on Disney.com, Nick.com and Cartoon Network combined.

YouTube has instructional videos on every possible skill from math to pumpkin-carving and wonderfully creative animated shorts from all over the world. It has videos made by other kids, with FlipVideos and iPhones and the popular Webkinz But it also has a lot of very inappropriate material both in the videos themselves and in the comments, which are often profane and offensive.
The article is must reading for parents of 4-12-year olds, especially its very sensible suggestions for navigating this often-rewarding but sometimes-treacherous world of online video content.

WordGirl Interviewed by Jim Lehrer

Posted on August 4, 2009 at 1:53 pm

Thanks to Siva Vaidhyanathan for sharing this delightful interview with the newest PBS superhero, WordGirl, who keeps the world safe from bad guys and poor word choices! Here’s to vivid and grammatically correct speech, and to PBS and WorldGirl.

Sid the Science Kid

Posted on August 3, 2009 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Preschool
MPAA Rating:	NR
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	August 4, 2009
Date Released to DVD:	August 4, 2009
Amazon.com ASIN:	B003C5FMM6

Preschool programs focus on words and numbers and there has not been much about science. But all children are inherently scientists, endlessly curious about the world around them and constantly performing experiments and asking “why.” The Jim Henson company introduces the “Sesame Street” audience to scientific terminology and method in this utterly engaging series filled with music, laughter, and the love of learning.

Chicka Chicka 123… and More Counting Fun

Posted on July 29, 2009 at 12:21 pm

First-time preschoolers can get a head start, kids returning in the fall can get a refresher, and everyone in the family can have fun with this terrific new DVD of counting stories from my very favorite series by Scholastic. I was especially glad to see that the stories include some very big numbers (this one may be useful to older kids and adults trying to understand the bailout and deficit figures) and one about money that makes it clear that counting is fun, money is nice, but “enjoying your work is more important than money,” and “making money means making choices.” Again, some good lessons for everyone.

The DVD includes:

CHICKA CHICKA 1,2,3 (By Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Lois Ehlert, sung by Crystal Taliefero) When one hundred and one numbers race each other up the apple tree, bumblebees come buzzing. Which number will save the day?

EMILY S FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL (Written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells, narrated by Diana Canova) School begins and as the days and weeks go by, Emily and her classmates learn new ideas and expand their world.

HOW MUCH IS A MILLION? (By David M. Schwartz, illustrated by Steven Kellogg, narrated by Bruce Johnson) Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician explains the concepts of a million, a billion, and a trillion.

IF YOU MADE A MILLION (By David M. Schwartz, illustrated by Steven Kellogg, narrated by Bruce Johnson) Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician explains various forms of money and how to use it.