Favorite Educational Show/dvd

I would suggest Clifford, Blues Clues, and Little Einsteins. My youngest got introduced (at school) to something new on PBS Kids and I don't remember the name of it -- OH! it's WordGirl !! I wouldn't have guessed without looking it up! LOL

My kids loved Blues Clues, Little Einsteins and Dora! They are all adorable little shows and are quite educational. =0)

In addition, PBS has Sid the Science Kid (great science concepts for preschoolers) and a decent cartoon all around. It's only 30 minutes which is about perfect for my daughter's attention span...

I'm a Baby Signing Time instructor and I teach ASL to little kids through the Signing Time program. The little girl I babysit for is 14mo and she's at 40 signs and is able to put 2-3 words a sentence. It will teach your kids ASL in a fun interactive way. You can also rent the DVDs at the Library...you should check it out...I'm sure your little guy would LOVE it

Hi Brenda,

I have 4 kids and I have fibromyalgia too. I have found many other ways to occupy toddlers than with tv or videos that keep them occupied longer and better than any tv show.

For example, get an old sheet and give him a bowl of flour, a bowl of rice, a bowl of sugar and a bowl of milk or water. Let him go. Then when he is finished a wonderful bubble bath will take up another half hour or 45 min. There is 2 or 3 hours right there.

Another thing. Put him on the back porch with sidewalk chalk and a bowl of water. Don't ask the logic of that but for toddlers it is fasinating.

I have tons of weird ideas that keep toddlers busy. I was pregnant with my kids (who are 18 months apart) I needed lots of creative things to keep them busy because my 4th baby was a very painful and difficult pregnancy. Just think of anything that you wouldn't normally give him and give it to him in a protected manner.
You will have lots of 'rest' time and a happy toddler who is learning about things rather than just disappearing in tv land.

My son and I love "Sid the Science Kid" and "Super Why" on PBS kids.
Sid obviously teaches about science things and Super Why focuses on reading and English. Both are great shows for little ones as they are both animated and they think it's fun. Hope that helps. Might I also suggest checking out the other programs on PBS or whatever channel it might be in your area. Have fun, I know we do.

Hi Brenda,
I am really late in responding!!! Sorry!!!
My DD just turned 3 and left Elmo like a bad habit!!! It breaks my heart. I only got to scroll down a few posts so I hope I am not repeating.
She likes Dora, Diego and Team Whats there faces. She really seems to like Ki-Lan. You know, the go go go girl. Backyardigans are also a fave.
Yo! Gabba Gabba, unfortunetly are another fave. (my husband thinks the guy looks like Roger off of Whats Happenin')
I hope that you feel better...I know that sometimes being ill can REALLY effect your life with loved ones.
I hope you find your answer and feel better.
No matter what, NEVER feel like you are letting your kids down...you are doing the best you can. Just posting tells me that you are a terrific Mom!!!!
Margaret :)

Ok, my girls are now teens, this is their reply
Blue's Clues
Clifford the Big Red Dog (friendship and manners)
The Wiggles (gets them up and moving)
Dora the Explorer
Lazy Town (teaches about healthy habits)
Ni Hao, Kai Lan (teaches colors, shapes, and animals and Japanese culture)
Zoboomafoo (teaches kids about animals)

My son too loved Super Why and Curious George. But he also like Clifford the Big Red dog and they talked alot of being a good friend and sharing. PBS is great if you have to use the telly for babysitting. Just remember books and free play work too.

My son at 2 1/2 enjoyed the "Meet the Colors" and "Meet the Shapes" DVD's.

My son loved Super Why and Curious George at that age. I liked them because Super Why focused on reading and Curious George focused on math, science, and problem solving.

Word World has been a big favorite in our house lately. It's on PBS, and I'm sure there are episodes either via PBS.com, YouTube, etc.

My kids also love NickJr - some are more educational than others. I personally like the lessons from WonderPets, don't mind the variety from Yo! Gabba Gabba.

SuperWhy on PBS is great also!

my kids love nick jr. especially yo gabba gabba and olivia and wonder pets.

Our favs are:
Peep
Big, Big World
Caillou

Letter Factory is great!

If you get the disney channel, they have preschool programing in the AM including Mickey Mouse Club house, and Tigger and Pooh, and Little Einsteins. My 3 year old loves these and they teach logic, colors, shapes, music, geography, math, etc. You can also get episodes on DVD.

I am fond of Super Why on PBS. My daughter's speech therapist has recommended Signing Times.

My son is now four and still likes Super Why.

My 2 year old daughter loves Barney and Friends, we have several of the dvd's and it even comes on PBS daily. She has learned numerous things from watching these and even though Barney can be a little annoying there is always a positive message being taught.

Letter Factory by Leapfrog is great for learning sounds of letters. The sequel, Word Factory, is also very good.

My daughter's first favorite & only show she would watch for a while is Signing Time. It used to come on PBS, but not anymore :( I think Nick is showing some of the song videos at random times during the day. But you can only buy them online from http://www.signingtime.com

It is a great series that teaches kids American Sign Language. I believe this show helped tremendously with my daughter's vocabulary (both in ASL AND spoken English)!

Other than that, I like for my daughter to watch the shows on PBS. They are very educational & she loves them! She also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins.

'

You can go to Walmart and get educational dvd's. Leapfrog Letter Factory and Let's go to School are OK. You can also check out dvd's from the library.

My kids loved Baby Einstein videos and Veggie Tales at that age.

Anything on NickJr is AWESOME! The channel doesn't have commercials, so even if you allow him to watch more than one show, the "in between" time is also educational! My son (2.5 also) LOVES Go Diego Go, Dora The Explorer, and most recently, Team Umizoomi.

Here are suggestions and there are more at the link that follows:

http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2009/06/22/...

Here are some recommended for children as young as 2 years old.

READER RABBIT TODDLER
Ages 2 through 3
* Listening Skills
* Fine Motor Skills
* Matching Letters
* Matching Animals Sounds
* Counting
* Rhyming Words
* Patterns
* Shape Recognition

My kiddos are big fans of Word World (PBS) and Super Why (PBS). Word World is my favorite. Both are good in terms of early reading. They also like The Little Einsteins from time to time and can actually recognize some classical music pieces as a result.

My favorites are Super Why, Dinosaur train, and Sid the Science kid.

PBS gears most of there kids shows as educational. My son is really into dinos and the " Dinosaur Train" show is cute. Some times I just let him watch Sponge Bob just to get a thirty min break. Even the old movies have educational value. Think moral of the story. Peter Pan while its fun to be a kid there are still times when you need to be serious. Even the movie Cars teaches kids not to be so full of yourself.

Noone suggested "Between the Lions" on PBS. In the San Antonio area, it's on PBS at 2:00pm. The first time I liked it, I thought it was weird, but it's grown on me. I like it a lot now. My son (a week till he's two yrs) loves it and it helps teach reading/phonics.

But I did see others suggest Signing Time videos. I rent them from the public library for free. My son signed "helicopter" 30 minutes after we watched the video for the first time. The theme song will get stuck inyour head, so that's a little warning for you. I'm singing it as I type this. Uggh. But a good show.

Dora the Explorer and Diego are great for that age. Also, anything on PBS (Dinosauur Train, Curious George, Word World, etc...).

My son loves Super Why and World World on pbs. He's 2 and half and he can spell and read over 40 words. We keep several alphabet puzzles around the house so that he can always "build a word!" There are so many high quality educational shows on pbs. Those two are just his favorite at this point.

What about "Blues Clues" or "Barney"?

We like Clifford, Super Why and Leap Frog DVDs. I feel "good" about these options. My son's FAVORITE movie is Baraka - it's geared towards adults but contains only music and images from around the world. We both love it actually. Good luck!

We like the leapfrog DVDs that teach letter recognition, phonics and word formation. I like them because they are not very long (about 30 minutes) and keep my kids engaged.
We laso like Super Why which is all about words and reading but again very engaging.