New TV show

Blue's Clues plays at 11am everyday on Nick Jr. Since we're at work and Todd's at school during that time, I typically record it and let Todd watch the day's episode that night during dinner.

Today the routine started as normal-- rewound the tape in the VCR, hit "play" and settled back, awaiting the familiar intro notes of the show with the belove blue doggie. To our surprise, something new entirely played: Nick's new show "Ni Hao Kai-Lan", making its debut on Chinese New Year.

I wondered how Todd would react to seeing something else besides the expected Blue, but he didn't seem to mind, and halfway through the episode, it became clear that Kai Lan was a big hit! Not just with Todd, but with Mommy and Daddy!

Among Todd's favorite shows, each one provides a unique educational element. Blue, Dora and Diego all provide academic-type learning: letters, numbers, shapes, colors, critical thinking, etc... and Dora and Diego provide a bit of a language element with some Spanish words. Caillou, on the other hand, portrays the everyday life of a 4-year-old-- stuff Todd can relate to and emulate.

Kai-Lan, we've found, teaches life/social skills-- manners, courtesy, and how to deal with everyday situations. And of course, it splashes in a bit of Chinese!

So, all in all, Todd's favorite programs provide a nice, well-rounded smorgasbord of learning activities, and most of them are interactive, too! And although I'm a bit miffed that they've replaced Blue's Clues with Kai-Lan in the daily programming array, I'm pleased that Kai-Lan is a worthwhile replacement. Let's hope they'll someday start broadcasting Blue again! :)