Shows We Love
I have provided my own comments on television shows my children enjoy. I will be adding to this page as time goes along, so please send me your suggestions! At present, I have divided the shows by the following headings: ARTS AND CRAFTS, LANGUAGE ARTS / READING, MATH, AND SCIENCE / NATURE. If you click on the TV show title, it will take you to additional information about the show (often via wikipedia). I hope you find many shows here to share and enjoy with the children in your life.
Full Disclosure: The links at the end of each entry below are through the Amazon Affiliates Program. The first link (Canada) is to amazon.ca, the second (United States) to amazon.com. If you buy a DVD (or book!) through a link, I get more DVDs (but probably books!) from Amazon to sate our desire to learn.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Crazy Quilt. Each half-hour episode involves the human host Maggie and raccoon puppet Jackson creating crafts (usually animals) out of common household items, and then using their creations to tell a story. This Canadian show is no longer in production, but older episodes air regularly on Treehouse TV in Canada. The book I Touched the Moon: Stories and Crafts for Kids was published in conjunction with this TV series. More here (Canada)
Mister Maker. A fast-paced British BBC art show for preschool and elementary-aged kids, with human host Mr. Maker. Includes a wide variety of art materials and techniques. Still in production. There are some books based on the series now available. More here (Canada)
LANGUAGE ARTS / READING
Reading Rainbow. An American PBS show aimed at getting children to read more books, hosted by LeVar Burton. Each episode focuses on a theme (e.g., bugs, sports), with one longer reading from a relevant book, other segments related to the theme (e.g., in the bug show he visits with an entomologist at an insect museum), and suggested titles for additional reading. This final segment is given by children, who provide their own reviews of the books they recommend. There are several DVDs from the series available. More here (Canada)
Super Why! Superb American-Canadian animated show focussed on early literacy skills and folk-and-fairy tales. There are four main ‘super-hero-like’ characters, each with their own power: Pig has ‘alphabet power’, Red Riding Hood has ‘word power’, Princess Pea has ‘spelling power’, and Whyatt has ‘the power to read’. The characters have a problem to solve, usually from a traditional fairy tale, and along the way they use their literacy skills to meet surmount various obstacles. They often solve the problem in a unique way, breaking from the traditional telling of the story. DVDs now available. More here (Canada)
Wishbone. Award-winning, quirky American live-action PBS show in which Wishbone, a talking Jack Russell dog, imagines himself in classic works of literature. The story lines revolve around the family Wishbone lives with, and finds parallels between their current situation(s) and that of a classic book, such as Ivanhoe, Tom Sawyer, or Oliver Twist. This series does not dumb down or soften the rougher, more violent, scary, or sadder parts of these classic works, so may be unsuitable for younger or more sensitive viewers. DVDs and books available. More here (Canada)
Word World. American animated PBS show aimed at helping children learn to read. The characters in this show are animals, and like everything else in this world, these animals are made out of the letters than spell them. So pig is made of a morphed P-I-G, dog a morphed D-O-G, etc. These characters can create items for their world simply by combining letters in the right way—e.g., to make a birthday cake, simply take the A-K-E from a rake and change the first letter to a C. The letters then morph into a cake shape. DVDs available. More here (Canada)
MATH / LOGIC
Cyberchase. American animated PBS show in which 3 friends—Matt, Jackie and Inez—use their math, logic and reasoning skills to solve problems and defeat the evil Hacker in Cyberspace. Many of the settings will be familiar to children, as they are based on either real world locations. The show ends with a live-action segment, “Cyberchase for Real”, in which either a male or female young adult applies similar math / reasoning skills to a real world problem they are having. DVDs available. More here (Canada)
SCIENCE / NATURE
Acorn the Nature Nut. Delightfully playful live-action Canadian nature series from the late ‘90s, often focussed on lesser known critters such as bugs, reptiles, and water creatures. Hosted by John Acorn, the “Nature Nut”, a guitar-playing entomologist, university professor, field guide author, birder, in-demand speaker, and research associate of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Acorn’s enthusiasm for all forms of life comes through, as does his humour, particularly in the original song segment in each episode. DVDs and CDs available through his website; also check your library. A show that is enjoyable for all ages.
Beakman’s World. A fast-paced live-action American science show for kids with three main characters: Beakman (sort of a mad scientist type), Lester (a man in a giant rat costume) and a female lab assistant (who varied during the series). Segments include puppetry, experiments that can be done at home, questions from viewers, and history of science montages in which Beakman would dress up as a famous scientist (e.g. Galileo, Newton). Despite the zany environment and teasing between the three characters, this show has solid science in it, and explains complex scientific principles using actual scientific terminology and in ways that do not patronize kids. Based (loosely) on Beakman and Jax comic strip. Only a “best of” DVD available, but still plays widely in syndication on TV (check your listings). More here (Canada)
Bill Nye the Science Guy. Another fast-paced, humourous, live-action American show for kids, with 100 episodes, each focussed on a particular topic (e.g., Dinosaurs, Cells, Erosion, etc.). Most episodes include a science song and music video—think Weird Al doing songs with science themes. Similar in content covered to Beakman’s World, yet different enough in approach that both shows are worth watching. DVDs available, and often found in libraries as they are widely used in schools. More here (Canada)
The Magic School Bus. Animated American show about a class of 8 kids and their wacky, science-loving, teacher Ms. Frizzle. They take field trips on a magic school bus to learn more about science topics. The bus can time travel (e.g., to the time of dinosaurs), change in size (becoming microscopic during its ride inside a human body), change in shape (becoming a submarine to go underwater), etc.—whatever will allow the kids to experience science up-close on their ‘field trip’. DVDs and books available. More here (Canada)
Zoboomafoo. Humourous American live-action animal show for kids, hosted by brothers Chris and Martin Kratt, and lemur puppet Zoboo. Incorporates animated segments, puppetry, and interaction with live animals at ‘Animal Junction’, as well as clips of animals in the wild. Each episodes features a “mystery animal”, about which clues are given during a song. DVDs available. More here (Canada)
