Search Results for: blog pbs kids sprout

Parental No-No: Bedtime TV for Kids

My preschooler needs 12 hours of sleep per night… or we all pay for it. That said, it should come as no surprise that her bedtime routine gets underway no later than 6:30 p.m., to ensure that she’s in dreamland by 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. if she’s had an afternoon nap). Dinner, bath, brush teeth, pajamas, bed—-the process has been ingrained in her since she was a baby, with one slight deviation. Up until about 18 months ago she was able to choose between watching “goodnight TV” (e.g. part of an animated movie or some kid’s program) and reading two … Continue reading →

PBSParents.org

I was watching PBS Kids Sprout with my daughter yesterday when I saw an ad for PBSParents.org. Of course, I had to check it out. It has all kinds of advice for parents, and it contains activities, games, and even recipes that relate to your children’s favorite shows. There are nine parents guides, as well as six tabs across the top of the page to help you navigate the site. Each section relates to parents and their children. There are tips on child development, how to talk to your children, and even a place where you can pose questions to … Continue reading →

PBS Kids Sprout

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“Hello, Sproutlets! Welcome to PBS Kids Sprout. We’re so glad you could join us. Use your mouse and find what you can play and do!” This is the greeting that you and your child will receive when you visit Sprout online. You know about PBS Kids, right? Well, do you know about Sprout? Sprout is PBS Kids for pre-schoolers. Just like many other network websites, Sprout has activities for many of its shows. There is a television schedule for Sprout, as well as games and videos from many programs. Like NOGGIN, in our area, Sprout is only available if you … Continue reading →

Too Much TV

How much TV do your kids watch? What do they watch? I remember when I was first divorced, sometimes the TV was my lifesaver. Being the only parent of an only child meant that not only was I the only one doing housework and laundry, cooking and paying bills, I was also the only other person in the house to entertain her. I hate to admit it but many times I parked Hailey in front of the TV when she wanted me to play a game with her or read a book with her, anything, she just wanted my time … Continue reading →

Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman

“Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman” is one of my children’s favorite shows, and it’s one I certainly don’t mind letting them watch. It’s a game show and a reality show wrapped up in one, but it’s educational, too, and I really like that. Fetch is an animated dog who talks (just what every game show host wishes they could be) and he’s a little sassy. He interacts with real children in his studio and asks them various questions based on stunts or experiments he assigns them. They earn points based on the things they have learned, their ability to complete the … Continue reading →

Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)

The “Thomas the Tank Engine” books have been delighting children everywhere since they first came on the scene in the 1980’s. I guess movie makers felt they had a surefire hit on their hands when they decided to make Thomas into a full-length feature film, but I think the poor producers were a little bit deluded in their dreams of grandeur. In “Thomas and the Magic Railroad,” Mara Wilson stars as Lily, an eleven-year-old who is going to visit her grandfather (Peter Fonda). Taking a wrong turn along the way, she ends up in the town of Shining Time, and … Continue reading →

Bob the Builder

Can he fix it? Yes, he can! “Bob the Builder” is a wildly popular children’s television show. First appearing on Nickelodeon, and now a regular on PBS, “Bob” is a claymation creation about a building yard and the owner (who would be Bob) his helper, Wendy, and all the machines they use every day. Each of these machines is alive and has a personality all their own. Scoop is a yellow digger truck with a scoop on the front. He’s the first truck Bob ever bought back in the day, and they’ve constructed a lot together over the years. Scoop … Continue reading →

Counting the Years with Merchandising

Writing up yesterday’s blog entry started me thinking about the other kinds of “merchandise” that I’ve bought over the past few years since my boys were born, and you know what? There’s quite a lot of it, and it’s not just the Disney workforce that I’m helping to keep employed! First of all Peter Rabbit moved into our home. Ok, so I didn’t actually pay for this as my sister’s baby had outgrown it and she needed somewhere else to put it at a time I had a need for nursery linens, but it was the introduction of merchandise to … Continue reading →

Playhouse Disney Mini-Shows

If you found my blog about PBS Kids Sprout mini-shows informative, then this one will be just as interesting for you to read. Playhouse Disney also has quite a few mini-shows that they present in between their regular programming. They have had some regular ones for a while and recently they have added a few more. My daughter loves all of them, so I figured it would be nice to share them with my readers. Go, Baby! This is about a little baby boy and his discoveries of the world around him. For a while, they just showed the same … Continue reading →