Videos for Preschoolers

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I have to put the little ones in front of the TV to keep them occupied while we work uninterrupted. If I have to do it, I at least want to give them something educational. No Disney movies during the school day. (We're not watching TV all of the time, I promise! We don't have cable though, so when they do watch something, it's a DVD. At least they don't see any commercials!)

Here are some of the things I allow them to watch:

1.The A to Z Symphony by Classical Fun Music. Even my 9 year old likes this DVD! I even enjoy listening to it in the background, because it's just wonderful classical music! I often find the kids dancing in front of the TV when this one is on!
Directly quoted from their site:

The A to Z Symphony Video. Music Appreciation 101 - For Ages 0-5! “The A to Z Symphony” consists of 26 independent, one-minute videos set to the melodies of some of history’s greatest composers. Each letter's vignette is preceded by a written and spoken introduction of the title and composer of the music, so they become associated with the video, and memorized naturally by young minds!

Video images were selected specifically to complement the mood of each masterpiece. Children will learn the music, and name titles by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky! It's college-level music education - as easy as A-B-C!

Here you can watch previews!!


2. The Letter Factory, The Talking Words Factory, and others from the Leap Frog series:
I have been really impressed with how well these videos do at teaching the kids the basics of letters. Nick (who is almost 3) has been noticing letters where ever we go. "Mom, that's a B, it says ba, ba, ba!" These worked with Lexie also and she is reading pretty well for a soon-to-be 5 yr old. I am by no means saying that this is a replacement for reading to your children and teaching them phonics, but it has been a good introduction for the kids and it's something educational for them to watch while I'm busy!


3.The Magic School Bus
Oh, why can't I be a cool teacher like Ms. Frizzle? I always wished I could pack the kids in a Magic School Bus and take off on a fascinating field trip to outer space or up someone's nostril. Alas, I don't have what it takes...

Amazing Animals

4.Various Foreign Language DVDs - My theory is that if it's in another language, then it's educational! My kids can count in many different languages :) I remember a period of about 6 months when Kate (then about 2 or 3) was absolutely enthralled with Chinese. It was a bit hard on my ears, but she loved it!


5. Little Einsteins. I know that I said no Disney during the day, and Little Einsteins is technically Disney, but I really do love this show. Famous paintings, classical music, musical and dance terms, geography - what's not to love?