Tot TV Watch

Go Diego Go! - Moonlight Rescue is the latest DVD featuring the Nick Jr. Go, Diego, Go! show. It is also one worth buying if your kid(s) like the show because it contains one new episode never before shown on television. The episode is even a double length one, but I would not call I a movie like the sticker on the box claims.

This double length episode is called “Tuga Saves the Moon.” This episode is Diego telling a story about him and Tuga, a turtle, trying to find the pieces of Luna the moon, in order for her to return to the sky and guide the baby turtles to the ocean. This is a fun adventure with Diego and perhaps you can start your own Moonlight Storytelling tradition inspired by this episode.

The two regular length episodes on this DVD are called “Rainforest Rhapsody” and “Rhea is an Animal Rescuer.” The first is about Puma accidentally scaring away the animals who are to perform in a concert. Diego thus ends up on an adventure to find the animals and tell them that Puma did not mean to scare them, but just wanted to sing with them. The second is about a Rhea with low self-esteem because he cannot fly and Diego helping the Rhea discover he has other talents and that as a animal rescuer he can help Diego save some animals.

Overall I love this DVD release because it actually provides a great episode that you cannot just Tivo instead and thus is worth purchasing not just for on the go entertainment in portable DVD players, but also at home entertainment for those that like the show. I continue to be disappointed, though, with Nickelodeon’s lack of good special features on their DVDs. It is time they start using the capabilities of DVDs and offer more than just the same stuff you would get back when things were released on VHS. Sorry, but the song selection special feature does not add much although it may be fun for some kids you might as well just watch the episode again to hear the songs. Maybe, I am just too spoiled with watching VeggieTales DVDs (still debating with myself if they count as TV on DVD, there is a tv show, but the show is kind of DVD on TV) that have a lot of special features to entertain the kids (and adults!) beyond just the movie.

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Beyond Watching the Show, where I give some ideas of activities for kids that enjoy a particular show that go beyond just watching the show. If you have more ideas of activities for this show please comment and share your ideas. Also, please comment here if you have a request of a show to feature in an upcoming edition of Beyond Watching the Show.

Usually if I do not get a request of what to do for the weekly Beyond Watching the Show topic, I pick randomly from a pile of slips of paper of shows I think would be good to share activities to do related to the show. Well, this week that was not how I decided. Instead I was inspired to choose Go, Diego, Go while at the Washington Nationals Opening Day game. I know it seems weird, but in between innings one of the things they do once a game is to have a player come on the big scoreboard saying a little about themselves. One of the questions they answer is what their favorite cartoon is. The player doing it during this game said his favorite was Go, Diego, Go! Thus I decided that just had to be the show for this week’s edition of Beyond the Show.

Go, Diego, Go! Coloring Pages: These coloring pages are great for kids to enjoy coloring. It includes coloring pages of Diego and other human characters, as well as some animal coloring pages.

Go, Diego Go! Printables: This is the Nick Jr. site for all the printable activities they have related to the show. It includes some more coloring pages, as well as things like song lyrics, a hippo mask, animal riddles, and a weather tracker.

Go, Diego, Go! Books: It looks like Nick Jr. has a decent selection of books based on the show. They could be great ways to get kids interested in learning to read if they like the show.

The Blue’s Clue show has many different DVD collections of episodes available these days. None of them are bad choices, as they all have several episodes of this interactive show that is always a fun clue finding hunt for preschoolers that like the show. It depends on the interests of those who are going to view the DVD, as to which DVD is their favorite. Below is a brief review of two of my favorite ones I have personally seen.

Blue’s Clues – About Jobs: This DVD contains four episodes of Blue’s Clues all interconnected with the theme of jobs. Two of the episodes feature Steve Burns as the host and the other two feature Joe (Donovan Patton) as the host. These episodes are a great way for kids to be exposed to a variety of occupations, as the household characters play pretend showing different occupations. The names of the episodes on this DVD are “Occupations,�? “Blue Goes to the Doctor,�? “Mechanics,�? and “Playing Store.�?

Blue’s Clues - Get to know Joe!: This DVD also contains four episodes of Blue’s Clues. The episodes start with just Steve and Joe being introduced as his brother near the end of the first episode. The next two episodes feature both of them as hosts with Steve leaving for college at the end of the third episode. The fourth episode is Joe for the first time hosting the show on his own. This last episode features the characters making a Big Book About Us and is a great inspiration for a craft for kids to make their own book about them or their family. This DVD also has a the 100th episode of Blue’s Clues, which features both Steve and Joe and is a look back at some of the more memorable moments on the show.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Beyond Watching the Show, where I give some ideas of activities for kids that enjoy a particular show that go beyond just watching the show. If you have more ideas of activities for this show please comment and share your ideas. Also, please comment here if you have a request of a show to feature in an upcoming edition of Beyond Watching the Show.

This week’s show is Blue’s Room. This show is a spin-off of Blue’s Clues and shows on Nickelodeon.

Blue’s Book Club: This Book Club listing of books is updated monthly on Nick Jr’s website. Each month there are five new recommended books. On the site there is a parent’s guide to doing the book club from a printable membership card for kids to a play date spinner for choosing which book to read to printable certificates for giving the kids for reading the books.

Blue Games: This part of the Nick Jr. website has several online games featuring Blue and other characters from the show, although it is more Blue’s Clues related, they still fit in pretty well with Blue’s Room as many of the characters are the same. This site also has several off line game ideas including outdoor, indoor, party, and car games.

Blue’s Banana Pops: This recipe is a fun healthy recipe for kids to help make. The recipe prints out on a page and is very colorful with images for the ingredients making it easier for kids with minimal reading skills to follow along.

Make Your Own Blue’s Room Calendar: This is a fun calendar for preschoolers to keep track of their activities and when their favorite shows are on television, such as Blue’s Room. There are printable calendar pages with a special Blue’s Room image. There are also printable date and event stickers that are Blue’s Room themed.

Dora the Explorer - Animal Adventures DVD contains four episodes of Dora the Explorer. This collection is themed on animal adventures Dora goes on. This makes it a good choice for preschoolers that do not just like the Dora the Explorer show, but also like animals. Of course, all episodes have animals in them. These episodes just have a little more focus on them.

The first episode is called “Save Diego.” In this episode Dora follows the Map’s directions in order to save Diego and Baby Jaguar goes along on the adventure. The second episode is called “Baby Jaguar’s Roar.” In this episode Dora and Diego go on an adventure with Baby Jaguar to find Baby Bear on the mountain. The third episode is called “Click” and in it Dora goes on a photo safari to find and photograph specific animals. The fourth episode is called “Hic-Boom-Ohh” and is about Dora and Boots trying to figure out what is making a strange noise.

The show is good and thus the DVD is good in that respect, but it is kind of disappointing that it does not have any good special features. The only special feature is a really short music video. This makes it not much better than just watching the show on television and nowadays a lot of people Tivo episodes, so a DVD really need something interesting added to make it worth purchasing besides being used as entertainment when on the go in a portable DVD player.

Activity Idea

Watch the Click! episode and then have the kids go on their own photo safari. Set up stuffed animals and/or pets around the house or yard and have the kids find them. Let them use a digital camera to photograph them or have them draw the animals as they find them. Hang their photos or drawing up and have a photo exhibit of their safari. Perhaps even award them a blue ribbon like Dora got in the show.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a relatively new Nick Jr. show for preschoolers (~ages 2 to 5). It was originally supposed to start back in October 2007, but it did not first air until earlier this month on February 7, 2008 (Chinese New Year’s). The main character in the show is Kai-lin, who is a 5 year-old Chinese-American girl. The show presents Chinese culture as well as incorporates some Chinese Mandarin words. The show encourages viewers to interact and help develop their problem solving skills by helping the characters find solutions to their dilemmas. This show builds on Nick Jr.’s other shows that show multicultural children (Dora the Explorer and Go, Deigo,Go) and presents it in a new context of Chinese American culture. This show focuses a lot on emotions such as understanding emotions and how to control your emotions. This emphasis is based on the Chinese cultural tradition that it is a good thing to be calm and content. The context of the show’s characters being preschoolers and the episodes events being relevant to preschoolers today makes it easy for preschool viewers to relate to the characters and learn about emotions and relevant social skills.

The Nick Jr. website for this show also has some great activities to do with your preschooler to have fun beyond watching this show, such as Paper Lantern templates and a Paper Dragon craft.

The show airs weekdays on Nickelodeon at 11am Pacific and Eastern time.

Episode List as of 2/15/08:

Episode 1: Dragonboat Festival
Episode 2: Twirly Whirly Flyers
Episode 3: Tolee’s Rhyme Time
Episode 4: The Ant Playground
Episode 5: Wait, Hoho, Wait!
Episode 6: Kai-lan’s Campout
Episode 7: Happy Chinese New Year!

Yo Gabba Gabba! hasn’t even started up yet and it is already invading my head. When I first heard of the show, I pretty much decided it wouldn’t be one that would be shown at my house. However, since Noggin and Nick Jr. started showing the video clips of “Party In My Tummy” I can’t seem to get the dang song out of my head. I may or may not have even been caught singing it to my son - out loud. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the video clip below and tell me that it doesn’t get stuck in your head.

Yo Gabba Gabba, Party In My Tummy, YouTube, Nick Jr., Noggin

This week on Nick Jr. you can catch watch all of Ming Ming’s Musical Misadventures. When Ming-Ming tries to branch out and be a solo rescuer, things don’t really go as planned. Fortunately, Linny and Tuck are never too far behind. Watch all of the Wonder Pets save the day this week. Episodes will air at 8:30 a.m. each day as follows:

• Monday, July 30 - Save the Ducklings/Save the Kittens
  It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Linny and Tuck coming to Ming-Ming’s rescue after she ventures out solo to help a baby squirrel. There is a kitten floating down a Venetian canal. It’s the Wonder Pets and a gondola to the rescue!
• Tuesday, July 31 - Save the Mouse/Save the Panda
  Trapped inside a toy saxophone is a baby mouse, so the Wonder Pets must perform an instrumental rescue mission. Then the team heads to China to save a baby panda who can’t get down from the top of a bamboo tree.
• Wednesday, August 1 - Save the Pigeon/Save the Dinosaur
  They want to be a part of it, New York. The team goes to the Big Apple to save a baby pigeon at the Statue of Liberty. Then they travel to prehistoric times to help a baby triceratops stuck between a rock and a hard place.
• Thursday, August 2 - Save the Crane/Save the Caterpillar
  The crew travels into a Japanese Sumi-e painting to save a baby crane from a hotheaded neighbor–an erupting volcano. Then they go to Greece to help a caterpillar that is transforming into a butterfly.

The Wonder Pets, Ming Ming, Linny, Tuck, Musical Misadventures

This Fall, Nick Jr. is introducing a groundbreaking new animated series for the preschool crowd. Ni Hao, Kai-Lan will introduce children to Chinese Language and Culture during the half-hour interactive series. It will teach Mandarin words and phrases, as well as explore social-emotional skills.

Kai-lan Chow is a young Chinese-American girl who speaks both English and Mandarin (much like Dora and Diego speak English and Spanish). Viewers experience the Chinese culture along with Kai-lan and her family. The show mainly centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather, YeYe, and her animal friends. YeYe is a big part of Kai-lan’s life and helps to guide her to her own discoveries. Kai-lan is a very thoughtful and caring girl, who has a gift for helping her friends. Her friends include: Rintoo, a rambunctious five-year-old tiger who loves to play, Tolee, a five-year-old koala who always puts his friends first, Hoho, a three-year-old monkey full of boundless energy, and Lulu, a happy six-year-old pink rhino.

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan focuses on social and emotional issues such as taking turns, disappointment, and jealousy, while also highlighting cause and effect thinking. There is no shortage of music either as the show introduces simple coping strategies through playful songs that teach valuable lessons. In each episode, Kai-lan and her friends explore their emotions and stop to consider the feelings of others.

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan will premiere on Nick Jr. on Monday, October 22nd. My family and I will definitely be looking forward to watching the premiere episode.

Ni Hao Kai-Lan, Nick Jr., Chinese-American, Chinese culture, Mandarin, bi-lingual, language, culture

It’s been a little bit harder getting back into the groove of things than I expected. Part of that has to do with the condition I left things in and the other part has to do with a certain two year old who seems to be quite off schedule. He doesn’t want to go to bed at night, which means I don’t get my precious computer time and then he doesn’t want to get up in the morning. All of this is really throwing me off and not allowing me to bring you the latest Tot TV news.

Thanks to my routine being all out of whack, I’m a bit late bringing you the information about Nick Jr.’s four week long Dance Party. The big party started on Monday, the 23rd, but it will continue through Friday, August 17th. During the Nick Jr. Dance Party, you can catch music and dance themed episodes from Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, Blue’s Clues, and The Backyardigans. Each week, Nick Jr. will also be premiering one never-before-seen music video from the upcoming new series Yo Gabba Gabba!, which will debut in August.

The Nick Jr. Dance Party episodes will air as follows:

– Monday, July 23 - Friday, July 27 - Five music-themed Dora the Explorer episodes everyday at 9:00 a.m., beginning with the premiere of “La Maestra de Musica” on July 23.

— Monday, July 30 - Friday, August 3 - Five episodes of The Wonder Pets! featuring Ming Ming’s greatest musical adventures will air everyday at 11:00 a.m.

– Monday, August 6 - Friday, August 10 - Five episodes of Blue’s Clues featuring Blue’s biggest musical moments will air everyday at 10:00 a.m.

– Monday, August 13 - Friday, August 17 - Five episodes of The Backyardigans featuring some of the best dance moves from the five backyard pals will air everyday at 10:30 a.m.

Kids and parents can also log on to the Nick Jr. website to vote for their favorite music video of the week. Each Friday, Nick Jr. will announce the results of the favorite video votes on air.

Nick Jr. Dance Party, Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, Blue’s Clues, The Backyardigans, Yo Gabba Gabba!, video, music, dance

As I was surfing through the web tonight I came across a site that made me stop and go “huh?” The site is titled “Backyardiknits” which quickly drew me in. You see, knitting is one of my favorite hobbies these days. I love it so much that I have even created my own knitting blog to track my progress and share my current projects. Coincidently, The Backyardigans just happens to be one of my favorite kids shows on the air right now. So, when I stumbled on this site it grabbed my attention.

Backyardiknits is an unofficial knitalong for folks who love the Backyardigans. Beth, Brandy, and Laura are knitting lots of fun things Backyardigans style and are encouraging others to join in. If your little tot likes to dress up like their favorite Backyardigans characters and you have a knack for knitting, you should definitely check out Backyardiknits. I can only imagine how their eyes would light up for a hand-made Tasha or Tyrone Halloween costume.

The Backyardigans, Backyardiknits, knitting, knitalong, Novice Knitting, costume

Diego is getting wet this week on Nick Jr.  All week long, Nick Jr. will be featuring Diego’s Wet and Wild Adventures.  Diego will be rescuing some underwater friends and having a little fun as well.  Catch a different water themed episode each day Monday through Thursday, then tune in for a marathon of Go, Diego, Go! on Friday from 9:00 to 12:00.  The episodes will air as follows:

• Monday, July 9 - Diego Saves the Humpback Whale
  “Aroo ah! Aroo ah!” A baby humpback whale is beached on a rocky island and can’t get back into the ocean! Diego sets off to save the humpback whale, running through a rainforest obstacle course, then swimming with Tuga the Leatherback Sea Turtle past jellyfish and sharks. When Diego reaches the baby humpback whale, he leads the other humpback whales to make really big waves to lift the beached humpback whale into the ocean and back to her mommy!

• Tuesday, July 10 - Rescue The Sea Turtles
  Diego’s whole family is at the beach cleaning up garbage so that their friend Tuga, the leatherback sea turtle can come back to lay her eggs! Mommy remembers meeting Tuga when she was just a little girl. Daddy and Alicia remember how Tuga helped them when their boat broke down. And Diego remembers riding on Tuga and keeping away from the stinging jelly fish!
• Wednesday, July 11 - Diego and Baby Humpback to the Rescue
  King Humpback Whale has tail caught under a sunken ship! Diego and Baby humpback set off on an ocean journey to rescue King Humpback Whale - by jumping over nets, splashing their tails fast to get away from the orcas, and diving down to the bottom of the ocean. Last, they must blow
  giant bubbles with their blowholes to make the ship float up, up, up, and release the trapped whale. Hooray!

• Thursday, July 12 - Giant Octopus to the Rescue!
  Diego is out exploring volcanoes when suddenly, Alicia calls him on his Video Watch and tells him underwater volcanoes are about to blow!!! There are some trapped animals we’ve gotta save before the volcanoes
  blow! Giant Octopus can help Diego find the trapped animals and volcanoes in the deep ocean! Along the way we follow Giant Octopus through an underwater ocean garden, squirt purple ink to get away from the Sperm Whales, and dig, dig, dig the animals out of the coral caves so they can swim up, up, up, just before the Ocean Volcanoes blow!!!

Go Diego Go!, Diego, Diego’s Wet and Wild Adventures, Nick Jr.

Are you looking for a way to celebrate the Fourth of July with your little munchkins?  How about throwing a Blue’s Clues Independence Day party?  Nick Jr.’s web site has lots of ideas, including printable invitations and activities that you can enjoy with your kids.  That Stars and Stripes cake sure does look tasty!  Go on, check it out.  Then invite your family or the whole neighborhood over to celebrate with you and Blue.

You can also tune in to Noggin beginning July 2nd at 1:00 p.m. to celebrate the holiday with all of the Blue’s Room gang.

4th of July, Independence Day, Blue’s Clues, party, Nick Jr., Noggin, Blue’s Room, celebration

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite kids’ TV shows?  Gwynnne Watkins, an editor over at Babble, was invited to spend an afternoon at Little Airplane Productions, the studio behind the Wonder Pets and Oobi.  During her visit, she was able to speak to several of the Wonder Pets creators as well as take some pictures.  Gwynne got to see how the show is all put together, plus got the scoop on what is in store for the next season.  To find out more about her visit, check out Babble’s new Field Trip column.

Babble, Wonder Pets, Oobi, Gwynne Watkins, Little Airplane Productions

Nick Jr. is kicking off summer with four new episodes of your favorite preschool shows. New episodes of Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, the Backyardigans, and the Wonder Pets will air during Beach Party Week Monday, June 25th through June 29th. Catch a new episode each day during Beach Party Week, then watch them all again in a mini-marathon on Friday from 9:00-11:00 a.m ET/PT. The episodes will air as follows:

Monday, June 25 (9:00 a.m.) - Dora the Explorer “Baby Crab”
* Dora and Boots are having a blast at the beach when they hear a call for help. A baby crab is stuck in a net! Dora finds a pair of scissors inside Backpack and frees the crab, but as he scurries off, he realizes he forgot which way to go. Dora and Boots take him through the Squishy Squid’s Musical Sand Castle, over a mountain of rhythmically snapping clams, and across the ocean to his Mami on Crab Island.

Tuesday, June 26 (9:00 a.m.) - Go, Diego, Go! “An Underwater Mystery”
* Diego and Alicia are exploring the ocean in the Rescue Center Submarine when they hear a cry for help. Using Click, the duo find a mystery fish named Lucy who has lost her way. In order to bring her back home, Diego and Alicia must determine what kind of fish Lucy is by finding clues. They discover Lucy has 3,000 teeth, skin with spots and stripes and a tail she wiggles from side to side. What could she be?

Wednesday, June 27 (9:00 a.m.) - The Backyardigans “Into the Deep”
* In their incredible submarine, deep-sea explorers Tyrone and Pablo, plunge to the deepest part of the ocean to discover a rare mermaid. Meanwhile, mermaids Tasha and Uniqua will do anything to protect their mermaid garden from intruders. Set to a Bollywood soundtrack, an exhilarating underwater chase ensues until the mermaids realize that all the scientists want to do is capture them — on film!

Thursday, June 28 (9:00 a.m.) - The Wonder Pets! “Save the Goldfish”
* The Wonder Pets fly to a child’s bedroom where a pet baby goldfish in an aquarium is trapped inside a bubbling treasure chest. The trio dive into the aquarium to search for the goldfish and encounter a toy mermaid and toy statue of Neptune, King of the Water. They finally reach the trapped fish and try unsuccessfully to use Neptune’s trident to lift open the treasure chest. The Wonder Pets then find a set of keys hanging on the toy pirate and use teamwork to unlock the chest and save the baby goldfish.

Nick Jr., Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Backyardigans, Wonder Pets, Beach Party Week