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As a parent, there is enough to worry about out there, what your children watch on TV shouldn’t be one of them. One of my tried and true stations I always turn to with my children is PBS. I love that the kids can be entertained by a variety of shows and they learn plenty in the process. And when children’s programming can’t be on all the time, we turn to our PBS Kids DVDs. Lucky for us, PBS has released some new fun titles recently.
“CAILLOU LEARNS TO SHARE”
“That’s Mine!”
Caillou learns that accidents happen sometimes. When Rosie accidentally scratches Caillou’s bike, he’s determined to take back all of his toys and keep their things separate…until he accidentally breaks Daddy’s guitar string. After breaking the guitar string and talking with Daddy, Caillou forgives Rosie and decides to share his toys once again.
“Copycat Clementine”
Clementine is being a copycat – and Caillou doesn’t like it. When Clementine copies his artwork at preschool, Caillou thinks this is the last straw…until Clementine admits she’s copying him because she really likes his artwork! With help from Miss Martin, Caillou realizes this is a compliment and he feels much better about Clementine’s copycat ways.
“Caillou’s Poster”
Caillou is excited about the opportunity to draw a poster for his friend Ted, at the grocery store. When Caillou gets his friends to help him with the poster, but doesn’t share the credit, Leo is upset. Caillou realizes he needs to make things right – and he has the perfect solution: he includes his friends in a photo shoot with their collective “masterpiece.”
“Playhouse Play Date”
Caillou and Sarah work together to decorate Caillou’s new playhouse. They even plan a playhouse play date for all of their friends! When the big day arrives – and Sarah is sick – Caillou decides to go ahead with the party…but soon realizes it isn’t the same without Sarah, especially since she contributed so much.
“Caillou Conducts”
The preschool has a visitor – Liz, a musician. She shows the kids all sorts of instruments and Caillou is excited when he’s chosen to be the orchestra’s conductor. In fact, he’s so excited, he can’t stop conducting those around him – at preschool and even at home! When Caillou refuses to share his conductor’s baton he soon learns how easy it is to hurt other’s feelings – and how it feels better to give others a turn.
“Caillou’s Song”
Caillou wants to learn to play a song on his little keyboard…only Rosie won’t leave him alone. She keeps distracting him, trying to chime in with her drum, and pots and pans, and silly singing. When Caillou sees his sister playing on a pretend keyboard – just like Caillou – he decides to let Rosie join in his music fun.
“Where’s Caillou?”
Caillou wants someone to play with, but he doesn’t want to play dollies with Rosie…again! In an effort to get away from his pesky little sister, Caillou hides. As Rosie searches around the house for Caillou, her efforts soon turn into a fun game of hide-and-seek…giving both siblings something fun to do!
Lovable four-year-old Caillou has a boundless imagination that makes every experience an opportunity for fun and play. By sharing in his incredible adventures, children can “make believe” along with Caillou and find new ways to understand and enjoy the world around them. CAILLOU is designed for preschoolers and focuses on role-playing and “make-believe.” CAILLOU airs weekdays on PBS KIDS (check local listings) and is produced by DHX Media.
And one of my favorite series is captured on a new compilation!
NEW READING RAINBOW DVD “MISS NELSON IS BACK” FEATURES FOUR CLASSIC EPISODES FROM THE ICONIC SERIES
READING RAINBOW aired on PBS from 1983-2009. Hosted by LeVar Burton (“Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Perception”) for its entire 26-year run, the program encouraged a love of literature in millions of children and garnered more than 200 awards, including 26 Emmys and a Peabody Award.
“Miss Nelson Is Back” – Reader: Ruth Buzzi
Illusions appear in abundance in this episode. As part of his birthday celebration, LeVar gets made-up like a movie monster, and then gets involved in Harry Blackstone’s magic act. Ruth Buzzi reads “Miss Nelson Is Back,” all about a group of rowdy students who try to take advantage of their teacher’s absence when she’s out sick, and how she gets revenge on them by pretending to be “the meanest teacher in the world, Viola Swamp.”
“Our Big Home” – Reader: Naomi Judd
LeVar visits the United Nations building to learn more about how different countries of the world try to work together. Naomi Judd reads “Our Big Home,” a poem about how everything in the world is connected and how we all must work together to make it succeed.
“How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World” – Reader: Helen Mirren
LeVar and a friend point out that following recipes and cooking foods tend very much to be science experiments. They work on recipes which include lasagna made with rice, a marinara sauce, and apple raisin muffins. Helen Mirren reads “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World,” a tale about a lady who goes to elaborate lengths to get all the ingredients to make a pie after she finds her local grocery store closed.
“Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express” – Reader: Brian Dennehy
LeVar takes a train ride in this episode. Along the way, we learn about trains and how the transcontinental railroad came to be. Brian Dennehy narrates the true story of how a young teen named Kate Shelley saved the engineers of a train that crashed into a river when the bridge near her home collapsed, and how she got word to the nearest station to alert them to stop the express train.
NEW ODD SQUAD DVD “DANCE LIKE NOBODY’S WATCHING” FEATURES SIX MUSICAL MATHEMATICAL STORIES
From listening to Delivery Doug sing about egg salad sandwiches to hearing Agent Olaf’s potato song, this DVD is filled with laugh-out-loud tunes. In the story “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching,” Agent O’Duffey forgets the code for the alarm system at headquarters. To turn it off, Olive, Otto, Oscar, and Ms. O must make their way through several booby traps by following the correct pattern. In order to beat the final trap, Otto dances his way between numerous flashing lasers while listening to his favorite band – Soundcheck. The band is also featured in the story “Soundcheck.” Utilizing the Mathroom at headquarters, the agents uncover that the band’s new hit song “Take Away Four” is causing four items related to its listeners to be subtracted – four tires, four bagels, four chairs. Because a musical problem needs a musical solution, Olive and Otto change the song’s lyrics to make things right.
“Dance Like Nobody’s Watching”
When the alarm system at headquarters is triggered, Olive, Otto, Ms. O, and Oscar must avoid a series of booby traps in order to shut it off. They use their shoes to test the various patterns of the booby traps.
“Soundcheck”
Olive and Otto must figure out how and why things are disappearing around town when all Otto wants to do is listen to a song by his favorite band, Soundcheck.
“Soundcheck Part Deux”
When the members of Soundcheck go missing, Otto and Olive must bring them back together in time for their big concert. Otto uses his special superfan closet to help collect data to solve the case.
“A Case of the Sing-Alongs”
When Mayor Macklemore catches a case of the Sing-A-Longs, Olive and Otto must discover the cause before the Mayor sings his way out of his job!
“O is Not for Old”
The agents throw a surprise party for Ms. O and are having trouble making decisions about the details. They send O’Malley to delay Ms. O by various means while they try to figure them out.
“Mystic Egg Pizza”
With the help of Odd Squad, Delivery Debbie and Delivery Doug must figure out why their food is disappearing.
Keep an eye on PBS Kids because I can assure you many more fun and educational DVDs are on their way. You can also stay up to date on Facebook and Twitter. Which PBS program is your child’s favorite?
PBS has a lot of great children’s shows! These are some good ones!