I REALLY don't like for my kiddo to watch tv, but I'm loosening up a little, and we let her watch carefully selected dvds (and Noggin at Guh-guh & Grandpa's house). Guh-guh let us borrow the Letter Factory, since O is really into reading these days. O LOVES it! She'd watch it over and over if we let her. She's learning a lot, too, which makes me feel less guilty about letting her watch tv.
O recieved The Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics and Treasury of 20 Storybook Classics for Christmas. (I found both sets for 47 dollars and couldn't resist the deal since we were planning on starting a weekly family movie night after Christmas). O and I love the dvds, but Elliott thinks they are a little boring :)
We've also been watching Signing Time videos on youtube, and I am amazed by how much BOTH of us have learned. So, I guess tv isn't all bad afterall :) I never thought I'd say this, but I may put a few dvds on her birthday wish list (Signing Time and The Little Travelers).
I think little tv is fine. We normally just watch videos but I do limit the time kids spent watching. I like the short videos but sometimes they watch long ones. (1hour and over)
ReplyDeleteMy son has that video and it taught him the sound of every letter of the alphabet. He loves that one! I can also recommend the "Meet the Sight Words" series. They seem boring (to me) but my son loves them and I know he's learning from them!
ReplyDeleteThere is actually a lot of good programming out there. If you ever get a chance, check out Word Girl and Sid the Science Kid on PBS. We love those, too. We're big tv watchers in our house. I'm not afraid to admit that! :)
we love letter factory! we also love the scholastic book dvd's its great to see your fave scholastic book come to life!
ReplyDeleteWe are fans of selective TV and video watching. Zara's current favs are "Super Why" & "Sid the Science Kid", both on PBS. I'm amazed at how much she picks up from quality shows and don't feel much guilt about letting her watch. We use DVR to avoid commercials and limit total screen time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion! We are ordering it right now!
ReplyDeleteMy 1 and 2 year olds love:
Sid the Science Kid
WordWorld (awesome!)
SuperWhy
all great learning shows with no negativity in them...
We love Letter Factory and Signing Time. If you get cable TV, the usually show Signing Time on PBS. We would record those, since you can watch the same "episode" over and over and still learn :)
ReplyDeleteI think Word Girl would be a little too old for O (it's a little violent too). I would recommend Super Why and Word World.
We DVR all our shows too. I try not to record only shows on PBS, Disney & Nick Jr. Sometimes the commercials on the other channels are awful!
I Love Signing Time! BTW, we don't have TV and didn't have much in the way of DVDs until just recently, but I must say that my 22-mo-old daughter's vocab has increased amazingly since she's started watching more DVDs in the past two months. I'm not refuting studies and saying TV is marvelous for kids, but I do know she's picking up stuff I would never have thought to spend time with her on.
ReplyDeleteSince he turned 2 a few months ago, I have let my son watch a movie or part of a movie every day. I actually prefer a good narrative story that inspires the imagination to most of the "educational" stuff out there though I may check out the letter factory on your endorsesment :)
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for suggestions for family movie night I can not say enough good things about _My Neighbor Totoro_ and _Kiki Delivery's Service_. These are from the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki.
Really amazing imaginative stuff without the violence, action, or dumbing down that characterizes a lot of American kids movies.
My son is 19 months and has no to little TV until about 1 month ago. A friend suggested the letter factory to us and we allow him to watch it a few times a week. He already can says almost all of the sounds. It is a great DBD. The only other DVD we have is the Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales. It is a very nice (and short) DVD. Thinking of adding a few more "educational" DVDs to the rotation.
ReplyDeleteI know many parents fall into the all or nothing concerning TV watching. My own experience is the TV is tool that you can use to your benefit -- or destruction.
ReplyDeleteOur own Teen Queen was exposed to many different programs on TV (with supervision, of course) because we believe in a well-rounded education. To this day she keeps her High School teachers on their toes. Not a week goes by that they don't ask her how she knows something they are presenting to the class. She's our snarky sponge. Teen agers!
The Leap Frog ones taught my kids so much! There is a set of four including that one that is excellent! I never mind them watching those!
ReplyDeleteWe love Signing Time!
ReplyDeleteWe love "Signing Time". Check you local library for the dvds. It is the only show we allow our 16 month old to watch. He has learned so much from it already and I am amazed.
ReplyDeleteI have nominated you for a Lemonade Award. :)
ReplyDeleteSee my post here:
http://ladybugsdandelions.blogspot.com/2009/02/ive-been-given-award.html
WE have loved the Letter Factory for years. As a former teacher, I say it is a must have. All LEAP Frog products are great! My son learn his sounds from the DVD combined with Leap Frog frig phonics. He is in grade K and already reaing at a 2.0 level! My daughter is three and she has learned her sounds from that DVD too...
ReplyDeleteArin learned how to recognize all of her upper case letters from watching Super Why on PBS and she learned how to count to 10 in Spanish from Dora. I never thought I'd be a fan of tv either, but it is amazing what Arin has learned from it - which of course means I have to really watch what she sees on tv because she is a sponge!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that O is so interested in reading. I will have to look into getting that Leap Frog video too.
I became convinced that all TV and movies aren't that bad when Aidan learned her alphabet in just three weeks from "Meet the Sight Words"! So, I admit I use them more than I should but man has she learned a lot! Right now she's working on sight words from the "Meet the Sight Words"
ReplyDeleteI used to think I wouldn't let my daughter watch tv until she was 3 but I didn't do that. We have the "Teach Your Baby To Read" DVD's. I don't praise them for teaching her to read (she doesn't) but they are so great for teaching other things. She loves them so much she refers to them as "Her Happy Show".
ReplyDeleteWe also think that TV rots brins, so to speak, but when our second child was tow we started our Leap Frog DVD collection. We would turn on Letter Factory on repeat because he wouldn't sit in front of the TV for the entire video anyway. He would go play and then come back later and do this contiuuously throughout the day, hardly stopping to watch more than five to ten minutes at a time.
ReplyDeleteHe was reading by age three. I was teaching my older daughter, but I was not including him really. One day he walked up to the bulkiten board as we were working with hissiter to sound out words and he just said it before we even asked what the word was. It was "through."
I lve the Leap Frog DVDS. And now our third child is two and she is really enjoying them and it has encouraged her to speak more often and more clearly since she started watching them a month ago.
WE love Sid the Science KId, Word World, and Super Why.
Word Girl is geared towards a little older group I think because of it's mild violence.
I think the some Christian parent might have problems with Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away. Mainly because the Japanese are not monotheists and the movies have spirits, witches, and goblins. My family has watched them and we enjoyed them. Totoro is the best for the kids in our opinion because of it's focus on a childs need for imagination and love.
I have to apologize for the typos above... there are so many. I am nursing and typing at the same time. Sorry
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ReplyDeleteSigning Time is awesome! My kids LOVE it and learned lots of words early on and spoke very early because of our use of signs...my observation anyway!
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