We all know The Baby Einstein Company as a fantastic company with amazing new ideas. With several videos, a great deal of CD’s, books, and toys, this company is an all-around educational phenomenon! My daughter has all of the Baby Einstein DVD’s, including “Baby Newton: Discovering Shapes.” This DVD is actually my three-year-old nephew’s favorite video in the Baby Einstein series. With a lion as the video’s host, this episode teaches your child all about five basic shapes — triangles, circles, squares, ovals, and rectangles. With accompaniment from music by Vivaldi, this video is a fun shape-fest for the whole family to enjoy.
The beginning of this video starts with a song called “I Know My Shapes.” It features crayons jumping out of their box to draw a clown made of the shapes mentioned. This catchy little tune is sung by a male vocalist on the DVD that my daughter has, but my sister said that the one she purchased has a female. The song is also a bit different. I have heard both, and I prefer the male version. My sister was disappointed because they previously owned the VHS which had the male version, but it got worn out for my nephew watching it so much. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell which one you are getting when you buy it. In the song, each part of the clown is made by a different shape and once the drawing is finished, the clown comes to life and dances. “I know my shapes, oh yes I do. I know my shapes, and you can too, ” is sung at the end of the song, along with a review of the different shapes. The animated clown continues to introduce each shape throughout the video.
Not only does your child learn about what each shape looks like, but the shapes are applied to everyday life. For example, a triangle is shown as a sail from a boat or a square is shown as a box. An oval turns into a mirror used by the animated clown, and the rectangle turns into a door. The circle becomes a toy for the clown as he uses it for a hula-hoop. In one segment, the lion is looking at a square made by four straight pieces of wood. When one of the pieces falls, it is up to him to fix it. He grabs his tool belt and safety glasses and begins hammering. Out of a cloud of dust, we see that the shape is once again a complete square. The lion turns to the camera and chuckles. My nephew always bursts into giggles when the lion chuckles because it is almost like a “Yeah,” of satisfaction.
“Baby Newton” is a perfect way to introduce shapes to your child. With upbeat, catchy music and fun animations and real-life video, your child will be engaged from beginning to end. The recommended age for this video is one year and up, but my daughter has been watching this since she was nine-months old.
In addition to the DVD or VHS, there are toys, books, and other educational supplements to this video available for purchase from The Baby Einstein Company. Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, and other retailers also sell Baby Einstein products.