Elmo’s World: Favorite Things!

La la la la. La la la la. Elmo’s World.

I bet almost every child (and parent) knows how that song goes. All I have to do is see a picture of Elmo and that tune immediately starts playing in my head. Elmo’s World debuted in 1998 and regularly plays during the last 15 minutes of each Sesame Street episode. Each segment follows a familiar pattern in which Elmo introduces his pet fish Dorothy and the topic of day. It’s then followed by a skit by Mr. Noodle, real life children giving their take on the topic, video of a child in a real life setting, Dorothy imagining Elmo playing out various roles relating to the subject, as well as “Computer” sending emails to Elmo and a counting segment. All of this is shown in a computer animated crayon-drawn room imagined by Elmo himself.

In Elmo’s World: Favorite Things! we’re entertained with 4 segments dealing with:

• Dinosaurs
• Building Things
• Birthdays
• School

Our favorite episode was Birthdays because we were able to celebrate Dorothy’s special day. The kids on the show explained how they wrapped gifts for her – like a new rock for her fish tank and fish food. They also presented her with a tiny cake for this special occasion. We also saw the hilarious Mr. Noodle try to wrap a tiny gift box with a huge piece of wrapping paper only to have him get tangled up in the tape. Kaila even tried to blow out the candles on the screen after counting them on the cake.

What we really like about Elmo’s World is that not only does it teach educational content like counting and enumeration but also social skills including self-confidence, friendship, and conflict resolution. In Elmo’s World: Favorite Things! the emotional development and cognitive reasoning curriculums are reinforced for preschoolers as they have fun discovering and exploring new and exciting activities.

Elmo’s World: Favorite Things! is a great addition to any family video library. In fact, we’ve watched it a few times already and even Kiana (6) still enjoys it. Elmo’s world is and always will be a classic.

Purchase your copy of Elmo Worlds: Favorite Things at Amazon.com for $11.99.

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HBO’s A Child’s Garden of Poetry (Giveaway)

A Child’s Garden of Poetry is absolutely lovely! The new video from HBO and The Poetry Foundation uses art, words, and passionate children to bring to life the world of poetry!

The artistry used in creating the whole experience captures the beauty of poetry, the children in the video are engaging and delightful (my favourite I think is the very articulate British child, Finn)! The whole experience brings poetry alive on screen. The video keeps children’s (and my) attention by going back-and-forth between children explaining their thoughts on poetry to different stars and authors reading the poetry, to moving animation and art on screen.

One of the many things I like in this video is that the stars and authors just read, they do not actually appear in the video, the real “star” is the poetry, as it should be. The children in the video are “real” children, their thoughts and ideas do not sound like they are being read off a script, they are an important part of the production.

Even if you are not passionate about poetry, you might be after watching. You can see and feel the importance in it. I believe it will inspire young people to bring out their creative side and give it a go!! While the video is probably the perfect length for children (27 min), it was so much fun that I could have watched more!

I certainly recommend this video for children of all ages and find it a much needed educational tool for inspiring our children.

Poems read by Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Carl Sandburg, E.E Cummings, Dave Matthews, Ziggy Marley, Carrie Fisher, Claire Danes, Josh Hamilton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Merchant, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Jeffrey Wright.

• Finn, age 7 says “I think it is a very important thing to learn about…it is a very big chunk of life”
• Stephanie, age 9 “…words have power…words produce feelings”
• Ariana,  age 7 “A poem is a  piece of art, it is a piece of music it is a piece of joy”

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Start To Read! Early Reading Program (Level 1) Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commentor #43: mframe!

Kacie knew her alphabets by the time she was 18 months old. In Preschool, she was always ahead of the class and since then has been reading at least 2-3 grades levels ahead of everyone else. Kiana, on the other hand, has found reading a little more challenging. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for product that will make reading fun for her.

Emergent readers need lots of help from parents, caregivers and teachers to succeed, but thankfully School Zone Publishing has harnessed their over 30 years of educational experience to create the Start to Read! Program. Originally developed by educator and School Zone co-founder Dr. James Hoffman, the updated sequence-based series, which consists of storybooks and complementary materials across three progressive reading levels, is designed to build a solid literary foundation for any child while teaching kids that reading is fun!

The multi-component Start to Read! Program uses a tried and true, 3-step approach to reading: listen, read, review. The 6-book set for each level contains five beginning reader books, a read-along and songs CD, a comprehension workbook and a parent guide. Each of the components provides children with a fun learning experience while working together to teach budding bookworms – as young as four – to read successfully. In addition to teaching basic reading concepts, the three-level series also accelerates learning and develops reading skills and vocabulary.

We received the Start To Ready! Level 1 Kit which is aimed for kids ages 4-6. The kit ($24.99) included the following:

• Parent Guide Sheet
• Comprehension Activity Book
• Read-Along & Songs CD
• 5 Books – Get Lost, Becca, I Want a Pet, Jog Frog Jog, Beep Beep, & Nine Men Chase a Hen

The first step was to listen to the Read-Along CD. Having Kiana listen to the story being told helped her to understand the story and the meaning behind the words. It also gave her an idea of how the words flowed together to form sentences. Kiana enjoyed this step because it allowed her to hear a different voice (as opposed to mine) reading the stories to her. The catchy songs on the CD were also a great way to get her in the mood to have some fun!

The second step was for Kiana to read the books herself. We liked that the stories were simple with only 1 sentence to a page.

This made reading less overwhelming and more manageable. The accompanying illustrations also helped with understanding the storyline.

The third step was to see how well she comprehended the story by answering questions and completing activities in the Comprehension Booklet. In addition, we talked about how the story relates to her, if she would do anything different, or other words that have the same meaning.

In the end, Start To Read! gave Kiana the positive reinforcement she needed to learn that reading can be fun! It also gave her a sense of accomplishment each time she finished a book. In fact, she even asked if we could get more books just like these for her library. Thanks to Start To Read!, Kiana is loving books and reading again!

WIN IT!

School Zone has generously donated a Start to Read Series for (1) lucky winner! To enter:

• Just stop by School Zone before midnight, Aug 25th and check out their products.
• Then come back and mention which one is your favorite. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.
• The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to An Island Life’s feed.
• Follow An Island Life on Twitter.
• Tweet this giveaway (once daily).
• Like School Zone on Facebook.
• Already “liked” An Island Life on Facebook.
• Already a “fan” of An Island Life’s Facebook Fan page.
• Place our button in your sidebar.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

This giveaway is open to US addresses. Good luck!

This post was written for School Zone who provided the item for review & giveaway. By entering this giveaway, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree to our disclosure policy.

Barney 123 Learn DVD

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commentor #24: Randi!

Just in time for back to school season, an all-new Barney™ DVD is a great way for your kids to learn their numbers, shapes and letters! Count on everyone’s favorite big purple dino in Barney™: 1-2-3 Learn ($11.99) released on DVD, Digital Download and On Demand July 12, 2011 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment. With his signature colorful combination of music, dancing, and lessons to last a lifetime, Barney and his playground friends celebrate the joy and ease of learning, and surprise! – it’s also fun!

Trusted by moms and adored by children, Barney displays sharing, caring, imagining, dancing and learning on television, online and through live events, home entertainment, toys and publishing. The Emmy® award-winning series, Barney & Friends™ is one of the top-rated preschool shows today, airing on PBS KIDS® and Sprout®.

SYNOPSIS

Come along with Barney and his friends for a tee-riffic adventure filled with shapes, numbers and letters! Join Baby Bop™ as she discovers that counting can lead to hidden treasures and that there’s a carnival of shapes and colors for all to enjoy. And BJ™ uses the alphabet to help Riff™ get ready for his music concert in the park. Barney can’t wait to show you that shapes, numbers and letters are the ticket to fun and friendship!

OUR REVIEW

Barney has always been a family favorite ever since Kacie was a baby. Now that Kaila (1.5) is beginning to recognize various characters, we’ve found that she’s taken a liking to Barney as well. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s just so purple, the catchy songs, or the way they encourage imagination.

In Barney 123 Learn, Kaila saw that shapes, colors, and numbers are all around us if we just know where to look. It helped bring the concept learning to her everyday life and made her realize that it can also be fun! Even Kiana (5) enjoyed this DVD even though the lessons taught were something she already knew. She likes all the singing and dancing and wishes she could one day be one of the kids on the show.

And of course, I always enjoy the traditional last song that’s played on each and every episode . . . “I love you.” It’s the easiest way to get my kids to hug and kiss me! Works like a charm every time!

WIN IT!

Hit Entertainment has generously donated a copy of Barney 123 Learn for one lucky winner! To enter:

• Just mention in comments before midnight, July 27th who your favorite Barney character is. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.
• The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to An Island Life’s feed.
• Follow An Island Life on Twitter.
• Tweet this giveaway (once daily).
• Already “liked” An Island Life on Facebook.
• Already a “fan” of An Island Life’s Facebook Fan page.
• Place our button in your sidebar.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

This giveaway is open to US addresses. Good luck!

This post was written for Hit Entertainment who provided the information and item for review & giveaway. By entering this giveaway, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree to our disclosure policy.

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