Movies/Television

My Baby Can Talk!  This is a really sweet series of DVDs that teaches young children baby signs.  My little Monkey still loves watching these videos (which he calls “rainbow stars!” because of the images in the opening credits), even though he is past the age of really needing baby signs.  He still loves to do them, though, and also enjoys the gentle pace of the images, which are all of things of interest to him – bears, cats, balloons, and so on.  I love that he is essentially learning another language, plus it is not at all frenetic like some kids’ shows can be.  And we both love the classical music!

There was a time when the only television I watched was Pocoyo.  Luckily for me (and my little Monkey!) this is a really great series for little ones, and it is entertaining for grownups, too.  The graphics are great, and the stories are entertaining enough to keep you from wanting to pull your eyes out after watching the show again…and again…and again…  Many of you will be familiar with Pocoyo from the Spanish-language Univision channel, but it is also available online and on DVD in English (as well as European Spanish, vs. the Mexican Spanish version on Univision).

A more recent discovery is Pingu, which my husband found on Netflix.  This is another series that is entertaining for parents as well as kids.  Seriously, there are some episodes that have me laughing out loud!  And my little Monkey is now fascinated with anything related to penguins.  Thanks to the fact that he sees Pingu eating fish, he even gave it a try himself – and liked it!  (Okay, he had fishsticks, not regular fish, but still!)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Thomas the Tank Engine and Dinosaur Train.  Just because they’re popular doesn’t mean not good for your kids!  All those toddlers must be on to something, after all.  My little Monkey hasn’t reached the stage of memorizing the names of all of the engines (and other vehicles) on the Island of Sodor, but he begs us to watch the Thomas movies and read the books over and over again (especially the parts involving crashes).  He is also fascinated with dinosaurs, which is what makes Dinosaur Train so genius – two of his favorite things, together at last!  Great series for kids, and educational, too!