For some odd reason (okay, it's all Eli's fault!), the television has been on a lot more often than normal lately. I'm awfully glad that Miriam likes to dance and sing along with the characters and answer all of their questions and even play with her other toys rather than just sit and stare. If that were the case I might be rethinking our routine. But as it is, I'm aokay with it. STILL, here are some random comments about the PBSKids morning lineup.
*Did you know that Curious George is narrated by William H. Macy? And produced by Ron Howard? No wonder it's such a quality show! It's honestly one of my favorites.
*The only thing I'd change about it, in fact, is when they cut to the "kids" part, the narration is "George is a monkey, so he can do things you can't do." I wish they'd change it to "you don't do." Cause quite frankly, most of the things George does I COULD do if I wanted to, but I just don't. It also might be part of my focus-on-abilities-not-disabilities background.
*And speaking of disabilities, there is a dog with three legs and a girl in a wheelchair on Clifford. There's a boy with one arm on Maya and Miguel. And a dragon in a wheelchair on Dragon Tales. I'm not sure if they're really trying to make disabilities more approachable, but I find it incredibly entertaining.
*Ziggy Marley, Bob's son, does the theme music for Arthur. Just an interesting tidbit.
*It bugs me a bit that Clifford and his friends talk with each other when there are no humans around, but as soon as humans show up they can only bark. I know I'm getting picky, but gosh can't the rules stay the same? They do for Curious George!
*On Word World, all of the animals talk. Except for Dog. He has a huge house and can spell, but he can't talk. He's not a pet, either. He just can't talk.
*Sid the Science Kid goes to kindergarten and there's only four students in his class! What state does he live in, anyway!? And the teacher always bases her lesson on the question that Sid asks that morning. Is it luck? Did she already have it planned and was just relieved that Sid asked the question he did? Or is it kind of like a Montessori situation where it's student-guided? And does the teacher really have everything for every lesson there every day? I'm impressed.
*Barney isn't purple. He's magenta. Which in my book is much closer to pink. I would just say they're going with a different purple, but when they have all the kids wear purple to Barney's birthday party, they're not wearing magenta. They're wearing purple. And even lavender. But not magenta. And when they sing "purple is the color of fun fun fun," the crayon that Barney holds up is not the same color as him. And it really bothers me that they speak-sing a lot of the song. Even if you know the tune, it's really hard to sing along.
*I still love Sesame Street. And I recently found out they have podcasts that you can download to your ipod! Miriam loves to watch these and she's awfully adorable when she does it, too.
*Between the shows on PBS, they have a little preschool class with a teacher and students. Miss Lori was the teacher last season and she was absolutely wonderful. Now they have Miss Rosa. Miss Rosa I'm sure is a wonderful teacher, but she's awfully awkward in front of the camera. And her interactions with her students just doesn't feel natural. Miss Lori at this point does the Reading Time segment and nothing else. I hope that was a promotion for Miss Lori and that they didn't just demote her because Miss Rosa is younger and flashier and bilingual. I highly prefer Miss Lori.
*Mr. Steve does their music section. Last season (the ones where he's wearing a long sleeved red shirt and sitting down) I thought he was a little awkward. But he's come a long way. This season's takes (on the playground wearing a red polo) are quite a lot of fun and I find myself singing his songs throughout the day. He's a boy-next-door kind of a guy and I just want him to do good.
*I highly prefer the weekday lineup to the Saturday cartoons. It's not even worth turning the tv on on the weekends any more! But it just feels like a good morning to know that after George and Sid, Super Why will come on.
That's all for now. I'm sure that I'll wake up in the middle of the night with an insight that I forgot to share, but until then... may all your tv watching be happy!
7 comments:
I was so curious about Curious George's missing tail. Apparently so are multiple other people. I couldn't find a story to fit my little memory of a tragedy happening, but here's what I DID find....
Someone's family discussion:
there are a few tail-less animals that are still taxonomically monkeys, such as the Barbary Macaque. the two words in question are best understood as names for kinds (or groups of kinds) of primates, and the diagnostic anatomical features listed may have occasional exceptions, often with fascinating evolutionary stories behind them.
Wikipedia:
In each of the books, Curious George is identified in the text as a monkey, though in the illustrations he does not correspond exactly to any non-fictional species of monkey (and has more of the characteristics of an ape, especially a chimpanzee
USATODAY
The classic Curious George storybooks, from the late illustrator H.A. Rey and his writer wife, Margret, referred to George as a "little monkey" even though the drawings of the mini simian never had a tail. (Monkeys have tails, but chimps do not.)
The makers of the new animated film, set for release Feb. 10, decided to keep George without the tail. (Related story: Get your first look at Curious George
"We decided not to mess with that," says director Matthew O'Callaghan. "Maybe he had an accident and lost his tail at some point."
Whether a tail-less monkey or misidentified chimp, George is an outcast among other animals because of his mischief-making.
I guess most people love him enough to just accept the discrepancy... we may never know :)
I did NOT ever notice that curious George was narrated by William H Macy, but it makes me very happy that it was. About the "things you can't do", I have always interpreted that as meaning "things you MAY NOT do". Meaning that little kids watching might not get a more subtle hint. Just my point of view, however:). I do recall that when I first heard it, I consciously made the decision that that is how I would interpret it rather than the more literal "can't".
I also never noticed that George doesn't have a tail! Hmm. Who knew...except of course for all those people Kelsey found:)
When I tried to find the Kohl's monkey to give Miriam, they were out so I found one in my favorite thrift store. Bringing it home and sharing it with Adelle and Marse they noticed the tail. THEIR George from Kohl's at Christmas didn't have a tail. We had a lengthy conversation that perhaps he was a chimp instead. So, glad to have Kels' clarification. FYI, swinging a monkey around by his tail is alot of fun.
I was thinking about the different stages of life. Did you ever think you'd be such an expert on children's television programs???? So, enjoy it because this too shall pass.
Wow, that is a lot of info! I think that Sid is annoying but other then that, I like the line-up as well. Our tv watching is mostly DVD's that Jake had when he was younger. What would I do without kids shows when I'm trying to get something done? Love them!
So funny! Until a few months ago we've had friends and grandmas record children's programs for us. Now that we TV access . . . I totally agree with you about the Saturday line-up being nothing in comparison to weekdays! And, we liked Miss Lori better also. Just a few days ago Lil was watching one of her recorded shows and went nuts when she saw Miss Lori. You know, something about her always reminded me of your sister Erin...
Happy Watching!
Ginger! That makes me so happy! Now I am going to have to watch for Miss Lori because I don't know who she is. I love to be remembered, however, so THANKS! And have a great day:)
Kelsey, THANK YOU for your information skills! I have been wondering about that since mom brought Eli's tail-less-George blanket Miriam a tailed monkey named George. I have always wondered a bit why PETA people don't make a big deal of a monkey plucked from the wild and put to live in New York. And I've always wondered how he gets to just go in and out of the zoo like he's not an animal. Maybe the non-tail helps both causes. If there was an accident, then he couldn't have lived in the wild. And if he's not a real animal, then the zoo can't keep him.
Mom, Miriam spent about twenty minutes the other day "changing diapers" on her monkey. She'd lay him on the couch, go through the motions of changing, say "PU DIAPER!", and walking to the garbage to throw said pu diaper away. The monkey with a tail is a hit here!
Ginger, I'm so glad you like Miss Lori and that she reminds you of Erin!
Erin, That's a huge compliment! Miss Lori is great!
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