Tot TV Watch

Since tomorrow is Independence day here in the US, I’m going to post this a little early so I can enjoy spending the day with my family. One of the best ways to get TV loving kids interested in United States history is by watching Schoolhouse Rocks clips. They may not give all the facts, but it is an entertaining way to get them thinking and introduce them to a little of our country’s history. In honor of the holiday, I thought I would post Schoolhouse Rocks “Fireworks” for your viewing pleasure.

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Sunday, June 17th, is the day that we all stop to celebrate the great things that dads do for us.  While we appreciate dads year-round, Father’s Day is a special day to let them know just how thankful we are for all the things they do.  So what is the best way to help Dad relax on his special day?  Keep the kids busy of course!  Noggin will help out with the entertainment by offering up some great episodes featuring dads, including a brand new episode of Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends.

Celebrate Father’s Day with your kids by watching a couple shows together and then discussing the importance of family and dad’s special day.  Just don’t forget to remind the kids how special they are too!

Following is Father’s Day marathon schedule (all times Eastern):

8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. - Dora the Explorer - “Boots’ Special Day”
Today, Boots gets to do anything he wants, because it’s his special day! Un dia especial. Boots most favorite thing in the whole world is to visit his daddy at work. To get there, Boots chooses a journey that includes all the special things he loves to do, like leading a Big Drum Parade and visiting Diego’s Animal Center. By the time Boots gets a big
hug from his daddy, he will have had the best day ever!

8:30 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. - Go, Diego, Go! - “Three Little Condors”
Diego and Alicia have found a Mommy and Daddy Condor for three little condors at the Animal Rescue Center. But condors don’t fly at night so they must hurry and find their new Mommy and Daddy before the sun goes down! Diego and Alicia head out with the three little baby condors. Along the way, they have to get past the Bobo Brothers and find a
golden butterfly that will lead them up to Condor Cliff. But we better hurry. The sun is going down!

1:30 p.m. - Pinky Dinky Doo - “Daddy’s Special Shirt”
SET UP: Tyler is frustrated because he’s having trouble making a paper
airplane. TALL TALE: Pinky has to pick up Daddy’s special shirt at the Laundromat in time for his important trip. But the washer is broken so Pinky and Mr. GP must do the washing themselves. The shirt comes out extra stiff and starchy the way Daddy Dinky Doo likes it. On their way home, Pinky and Mr. GP get lifted off the ground by a gust of wind that turns the stiff shirt into a glider and plops them back down in front of their building. But Daddy has already left for his trip! BIG IDEA: Pinky and Mr. GP ride the shirt like a glider all the way to Daddy’s appointment and deliver the shirt just before his meeting begins.

2:30 p.m. - Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends - “A Party for Pops”
Every year Miss Spider and the bug kids have a special “Thank-you, Dad” day for Holley. They send him out to do chores while they make him presents and treats for a surprise party that may no longer a surprise - but it’s a fun family tradition. However, when new poppa Spiderus finds out about it, he’s envious. He wants a special day, too. But he’s disappointed that Spindella and the buggy triplets don’t seem at all interested in “surprising” him with a party. So he decides to throw his own party and cajoles Holley into being his only other guest. After some un-fun festivities, Holley invites Spiderus back to the Cozy Hole to share his party, only to discover that Miss Spider and his buggy brood aren’t there. Now Holley’s disappointed - until the two dads find their families at Le Beestro with gifts and treats and hugs. Miss Spider and Spindella have pulled off the best surprise party ever!

5:00 p.m. - Franklin - “Franklin’s Father”
Franklin has a string of misadventures at the train station while waiting for his mom to return from a weekend trip. When Mr. Mole happens by, Franklin hears that his father’s childhood was full of mishaps too.

5:30 p.m. - Little Bear - “Father’s Day”
Little Bear and Father Bear are going fishing on Father’s Day - just the two of them. But then Hen joins them, and then Owl joins them, followed by Duck…and Cat! Two fishermen quickly turn into six, and everyone has a great time.

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May 13th is quickly approaching and mothers everywhere will be celebrating one of their most important roles in life. If you are still searching for a gift, you can check out the great lists here, here, or here. However, sometimes the best gift for Mom is letting her have some quiet time to relax. I suggest bringing her breakfast in bed (along with hand-made cards from the kids), then whisking the kids away for a while so that Mom can have some quiet time to read a book, peruse her favorite blogs, or just take a nice hot bath without any interruptions. If you need a way to entertain the tots while Mom is relaxing, you can always keep them busy with some of these Mother’s Day specials, new episodes, and activities:

• Dora the Explorer’s Mother’s Day Marathon will be airing on Nick Jr. Friday, May 11th, from 12:00-2:00p.m ET/PT, but you can always record it to a VCR, DVR, or TiVo and save it for the big day.
• Noggin will be celebrating by airing an all-day Mother’s Day marathon on Sunday, featuring an all new episode of Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends. The marathon will run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.
• Playhouse Disney will be airing new episodes of My Friends Tigger and Pooh at 10:00/9:00c and Handy Manny at 10:30/9:30c on May 13th. The Handy Manny episode will feature special guest Marion Ross as Mr. Lopart’s mother. Kids can also find some great Mother’s Day craft ideas on the Playhouse Disney web site.
• The PBSParents web site also has some great craft ideas and activities, as well as Mother’s Day breakfast recipes that are definitely worth checking out.

If those don’t interest your kids (but I’m sure they will) you can always watch their regularly scheduled favorite shows. Of course, you could just take the kids out to the park for a couple of hours. I’m sure when you return, Mom will be ready for some snuggly family time.

If you have any other great Mother’s Day tips you want to share, please leave them in the comments section below.

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Saturday, May 5th, is “Cinco de Mayo“, a day that Mexicans celebrate freedom and liberty. To help preschoolers celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Noggin is having a fiesta. Tune in to Noggin Saturday morning beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central to join in on the party. Dora, Diego, Blue, and all of the rest of your kids’ favorite Noggin pals will be there.

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Easter is coming up this weekend, so what better time is there to talk about two young bunnies?  The two bunnies I’m speaking of are Max and Ruby, a pair of siblings who are constantly at odds with each other.

Max is a 3-year-old bunny who, as most toddlers do, wants to get his way.  Whether it is playing with his trucks or putting bugs in a birthday cake, he wants what he wants when he wants it.  He is always trying to get his big sister Ruby to bend the rules just a little bit and often ends up getting in trouble.

Ruby is Max’s somewhat bossy 7-year-old sister who always seems to be in charge.  She tries to be responsible and keep Max in line, but sometimes it seems she has her own agenda.  Ruby is often frustrated by Max’s childish ways and that tends to result in quite a bit of sibling conflict.

Max and Ruby generally end up compromising and ending things on a good note.  Throughout their conflicts, they still manage to show each other a little bit of love and respect. Sometimes they even seem to enjoy each other’s company.

The draw of this show is that it shows sibling relationships in their truest form.  You could walk into any house containing 3 and 7-year-old siblings and see the same type of interactions.  However, you would also most likely see at least one parent breaking up the arguments, which seems to be missing from this show.  In fact Max and Ruby’s parents never have appeared on any episodes I have seen, although their grandmother is a regular fixture.

Max and Ruby was created by author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and is based on her Max and Ruby books.  It began airing as an animated series in 2002. 

You can see Max and Ruby on both Nick Jr. and Noggin.  Max and Ruby’s Easter Special will air on Nick Jr. Friday, April 6th, at 1:30 p.m. ET/PT. Brand new episodes will be shown the week of April 9-13 on Nick Jr. to jump start the new season.

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Valentine’s Day is only a week away and even though some adults may not be fond of the holiday, the kids will be filled with excitement. I remember decorating an empty shoe box, cutting a hole in the top, and anticipating the collection of cards and candy that would soon fill it up. There was nothing more exciting than watching that “special” boy or girl drop a card in your Valentine’s Day box and hoping that there was something even more special written on it. Those days are only memories now, but I can still enjoy Valentine’s Day with my little Valentine at home. And how will we be celebrating? By watching a few Valentine’s specials on TV of course!

PBS Kids will be running “Clifford’s Valentine’s Day Special: Love at First Bark”. You can also check out Arthur’s “Flea to Be You and Me” and “Kiss and Tell”, Cyberchase’s “Hugs & Witches”, and Maya & Miguel’s “Cupid” on PBS Kids Go!.

Nick Jr. will be airing three brand new Valentine’s Day episodes including “Sammy’s Valentine” on Go, Diego, Go!, “Special Delivery” on the Backyardigans, and “Mr. Valentine” on Wow! Wow! Wubzy!. There are also lots of fun Valentine’s activities and printables on the Nick Jr. web site.

If that doesn’t give you enough options, Playhouse Disney is celebrating the “Big Day of Hearts” by running Valentine’s Day specials of Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jojo’s Circus, and Higglytown Heroes.

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Remember when I wrote about Steve Burns having a video on Jack’s Big Music Show? Well, the time has almost arrived. Along with The Laurie Berkner Band’s song “Sneaks”, the Steve Burns and Steven Drozd video, “Hog the Ground,” will air on the February 2nd episode, Ground Hog Day. This episode may also be of special interest to parents because Jon Stewart from The Daily Show will be guest starring.

I have been pretty impressed with the new season so far. If nothing else, it has been really nice to hear some new songs. This episode looks like it will be a fun one for kids and will also teach them a little about the tradition of Ground Hog Day. If your kids won’t be home to watch, it is definitely one to set the TiVo or DVR for.

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The Christmas craziness if finally coming to an end at my house and hopefully I’ll get back to some regular posting here now. The holidays are enjoyable but always busy no matter how much relaxation time I attempt to schedule in. I did manage to find a few minutes here and there to sit with my son and enjoy some of the holiday specials that have been running.

Blue’s Clues has a wonderful holiday special entitled, “Blue’s Big Holiday”. In it the Blue’s Clues characters are creating patches for a memory quilt. They also learn about various holiday traditions from their friends along the way. I was particularly impressed with how they handled the explanations of other holidays and traditions. I don’t remember even hearing of some of these until I was in high school. We have seen this episode many times now and I haven’t tired of it yet.

In “Franklin’s Magic Christmas” Franklin, Harriet, and the rest of the family are traveling to spend Christmas at Faraway Farm where Mrs. Turtle grew up. Franklin grows increasingly frustrated with Harriet for always getting in the middle of things and then spilling the surprise that he and his grandmother have been secretly working on. When his grandfather gets hurt, Franklin takes it upon himself to find help and ends up needing a Christmas miracle to rescue him and Harriet. I really enjoyed the sibling dynamics portrayed in this episode even though Harriet does “baby talk” which is a big pet peeve of mine.

Dora the Explorer celebrates the holiday by bringing “A Present For Santa”. Dora and Boots venture to the North Pole to deliver a present for Santa on Christmas Eve. After traveling over snowy mountain and across and icy river, they finally reach Santa. The episode centers around the spirit of giving and even teaches Swiper a good lesson in the end.

There were many more holiday specials that I didn’t get a chance to watch. What did you and your child watch this holiday season? Is there anything I missed but should have seen?

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It seems like I missed the boat once again, but lucky for me I might still be able to catch it. If you didn’t watch Sesame Street’s A Christmas Carol when it premiered in November, it will air again on December 24th on Sprout. Check your local listings for times.

Personally, I was always a fan of Oscar the Grouch and I can’t think of a more perfect character to portray the grouchy Ebenezer Scrooge. I think the whole family will enjoy this version of the classic Charles Dickens tale. Pieced together from past Sesame Street holiday specials, this one is sure to please adults who are nostalgic for their old Sesame Street pals as well as toddlers who are just discovering the joys of Bert, Ernie, Elmo, and Big Bird.

As I was flipping channels lastnight I came across the Rugrats on Nickelodeon. I first stopped to watch for a minute because the Rugrats are a bit nostalgic for me. I spent many hours watching them when I should have been studying in college. It only took me a minute or two to realize that I was watching “A Rugrats Chanukah”.

In this day and age, when Christmas seems to be all around us, it is nice to see other religious holidays being recognized, especially in cartoons and children’s shows. I vaguely remember a recent Dora the Explorer that discussed the different religious holidays as well. Since my family celebrates Christmas I tend to focus on that but I think it is important to make sure that kids are knowledgeable about other religions and celebrations. What better way to begin those discussions than introducing it with their favorite cartoons?

If you are interested in “A Rugrats Chanukah” and you missed it, it is also available on VHS.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas airs tonight on ABC at 8:00 ET/PT. I’m not sure if I can get my hands on the TV remote at that time but I’ll be sure to set the TiVo so my son and I can enjoy this Christmas classic together as it is one of my all time favorites. There’s just something about that “Bah Humbug” attitude and the nice warm fuzzy feeling at the end that I can relate to.

Tonight marks the 40th anniversary of the animated special, but the story of the Grinch will actually celebrate it’s 50th anniversary next year. To mark that special day, Warner Home Video has already released a 50th Birthday Deluxe Remastered Edition on dvd with lots of special features. You can get your hands on the 50th Birthday Deluxe Remastered Edition here. I’ve just added it to my wish list.

Are you looking for something new for your kids to watch this holiday season? If you are, then tune in to Noggin on Wednesday, Dec. 13th at 5:00 pm ET. They are featuring a new holiday special by National Geographic Kids’ Entertainment called I’ll Be Home For Christmas.

The special follows characters Toot and Puddle on their holiday adventures. The characters are based on the best selling Toot and Puddle book series by author/illustrator Holly Hobbie.

For a sneak peak of the holiday special check out the trailer at tootandpuddle.com and click on the computer. The movie is also available on dvd from the Toot and Puddle website.