While we do try to limit television in our house (my daughter is going on a week of absolutely no electronic media whatsoever for refusing to clean her room).
Having said that, I think that there are some shows that are our go-to shows, when the kids do watch television. They are each about 20-30 minutes long, and have some educational value. When all of the homework is done, and the kids need to wind down a bit, I click over to the on demand feature and select one of the following shows.
I Spy
Ages 3-4
A weird little guy with a tennis ball head. along with his friends, need your child’s help to spot the hidden objects in several scenes from a story. Just like the I Spy books, this show encourages pre-reading and early reading skills, as well as visual and spacial recognition. I still prefer the books, myself, but the kids seem to enjoy watching the same episodes more than one time, even when they know where are of the objects are hidden.
Mickey Mouse Club House
Ages 4-6
Who doesn’t love Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and the whole gang? This show is colorful, upbeat and cheerful. Kids have to help the characters with some creative problem solving. For example, what object would be useful in helping to get a baby bird out of a tree?
The show is so well crafted, that parents can watch along and encourage their children, without finding themselves going comatose. Parents will also appreciate all of the positive social reinforcement of working together, sharing and caring for others.
Crash Box
Age 7 and Up
Out of the three, this show gets the best marks for being clever. It is set up in different “modes,” or in the case of the story, computer chips, that represent different puzzles. Reading and vocabulary, math, history, art, spacial skills, logic, mapping and more are taught through clever problems that must be solved quickly.
This is a fun show to watch with a smart kid, because you might be surprised when he solves some of the problems before you do. The puzzles are presented in fun ways that appeal to kids and kid humor, such as the slob who illustrates word meanings, a talking long-dead pirate who mixes up his bones to form math problems, and a rastifarian who lives in a fish tank challenging viewers to make logical conclusions before all of the water is drained out of the tank.