please recommend some better-than-average kids' shows

[Halcyon]

We recently got cable and I would love to learn about some reasonably educational programs that my 4 yo and 7 yo can watch for their 30 minutes a day. We've found cyberchase, which is annoying but relatively innocuous!

 

Thanks!

[creekmom]

Not an educational one, but my kids LOVE the Penguins of Madagascar. Even my husband and I crack up when we watch it!

[LibraryLover]

Oh, oh, oh....what is the name of that adorable Britsh cartoon with the sweet little siblings? It's so sweet and endearing it makes me weepy. My youngest has outgrown it....Lola and somebody.

 

ETA: Charlie and Lola. They are bestest friends. :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeEy9GDluU8&feature=PlayList&p=51A375A5F650F0C9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

 

Actually, it looks rather slly now. But I remember it fondly. lol

Edited February 11, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Jumping In Puddles]

Not educational, but these are better than average: :D

 

Phineas and Ferb

 

Avatar, The Last Air Bender.

Edited February 11, 2010 by Jumping In Puddles

[Pink Fairy]

Our absolute favorite of all time is "Shaun the Sheep." It's short, maybe 7 or 8 minutes, and you can find it on the Disney channel.

 

 

It's made by the same people who make Wallace and Gromit.

[Stacia]

Maybe not your usual 'little kid' shows, but...

 

Unwrapped (on the Food Network)

How It's Made (on the Science Channel)

[4kiddies]

My kids love Word Girl.

[smrtmama]

Avatar: The Last Airbender. I like the morality of the show AND the writing is top notch.

[myfunnybunch]

My children enjoy Time Warp Trio and Magic Schoolbus.

 

Cat

[BigMamaBird]

My 4 year old loves Martha Speaks on PBS. The writing is quite clever, the animation in charming and in each episode they introduce new vocabulary.

 

We also like Word World, also on PBS. It can be a bit annoying for parents, but it's saturated in letters, sounds and spelling. My dd has picked up a lot.

[Bug's Mom]

Word Girl on PBS.

[Jen in PA]

My 4 year old loves Martha Speaks on PBS. The writing is quite clever, the animation in charming and in each episode they introduce new vocabulary.

 

We also like Word World, also on PBS. It can be a bit annoying for parents, but it's saturated in letters, sounds and spelling. My dd has picked up a lot.

 

:iagree: My 6 year-old also really loves Nova.

[Mommyfaithe]

Phineas and Ferb! Maybe not educational...but smart and funny. We love it here...

 

Faithe

[EmilyK]

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman

[OnTheBrink]

Hannah Montana

iCarly

Suite Life of Zach and Cody

Raven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding. :lol:

[Rhonda in TX]

If you want strictly educational, you might want to pre-screen anything from Disney. Your 7 year old might enjoy How It's Made or Modern Marvels. We love those.

 

Our favorite kid show right now is Phineas and Ferb, but my kids are older than yours. I wouldn't call it educational at all, but it sure is fun. :)

[Michelle My Bell]

Well my 9 year old LOVES Good Eat's on Food Network with Alton Brown.

[Amy+2]

Bindi the Jungle Girl (she is the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwins daughter)

Peep

Magic School Bus

 

These are all faves of my boys!

[Stacie]

Another Phineas and Ferb fan here. My boys and I love the show!

[teeleigh2000]

Hannah Montana

iCarly

Suite Life of Zach and Cody

Raven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding. :lol:

 

 

You really had me scared for a minute!!

[homeschoolally]

If you get Qubo they have a great lineup. My kids enjoy almost every show on that channel, especially 3,2,1 Peguins. I haven't run across any of the rude attitude issues I see on so many kid's shows on that channel yet.

 

I also like some of the Discovery Kids programming in the morning, like Magic School Bus.

 

This thread has me curious about Pheneas and Ferb (I know I spelled it wrong!)-- we will have to check that one out.

[courtney.byrum]

My kids favorites are:

Magic School Bus

Dinosaur Train (PBS)

 

Hmm.. I guess that's it right now, in the past they've loved Super Why and Word World on PBS as well.

 

I need to find out when Word Girl and Cyberchase are on as they do like those when we catch them.

 

Of course they won't give up any of their old favorites either so I have to delete them when they aren't around, lol.

[ChrisB]

When we catch them and all on PBS:

 

Dinosaur Train

World World

Martha Speaks

World Girl

Fetch: Ruff Ruffman

[s.z.ichigo]

I second Martha Speaks and Dinosaur Train. Also, Curious George is good and quite educational. Sid the Science Kid gets on my nerves with the singing, but apart from that it's decent. Word Girl is also good, but might fly over a 4 year old's head. I would NOT suggest Word World, unless you want to experience your ears and eyes ripping themselves from your head and running away (it's THAT irritating).

Also...Pocoyo. I don't know if this appears on tv anywhere, but you can find it online, and Netflix has it. It is ADORABLE. It's for pre-schoolers, but my eight year old and I both love it. It's just too cute.

[Laurel]

Both 4 and 6 yo really enjoy How It's Made.

[Jumping In Puddles]

Maybe not your usual 'little kid' shows, but...

 

Unwrapped (on the Food Network)

How It's Made (on the Science Channel)

 

My kids love How Its Made and Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe!

[JWSJ]

Myth Busters

SurviorMan

Dirty Jobs

 

My kids love these.

[Closeacademy]

My kids grew up on PBS but now that they are mid-elementary they are loving the DiscoveryKids channel. The shows are fun and educational. They like:

 

Magic School Bus

Peep--for the preschool crowd but still a fun science show

Tutenstein--the inspiration for my youngest to pursue ancient Egyptian history

 

Kenny the Shark--is just fun but you learn a lot about sharks

Grossology--my kids don't watch it but it is a good science show

Time Warp Trio--history

The Future is Wild--history, science

Dinosapien--a bit soapy but good

Saddle Club is on this channel

Bindi--looks cute but my kids don't watch it.

 

We spend a lot of time in the winter watching TV because it is so nasty outside. Once summer hits the TV will be abandoned in favor of outdoor activities.:001_smile:

[mom31257]

We love Phineas and Ferb. It may not be an educational show, as is most of Disney, Nick type stuff. But you would not believe the things my ds will know, and when I ask where he learned it, he'll say that show or others. The entertainment stuff does increase their vocabularies!

 

Non-kid shows they enjoy are Pet Star on Animal Planet; Unwrapped, Good Eats (lots of chemistry in this one), and Iron Chef shows on Food Network; Man vs. Wild, Cash Cab, and Destroyed in Seconds on the Discovery channel; and Ruff Ruffman on PBS.

[gandpsmommy]

When my kids were four years old, Little Bear was a great favorite. It's not blatantly educational, but it's based on the books by Else Homelund Minarik. The creators said that their goal was to see how quiet they could make the show amid a world of kids' shows that were so loud and busy. They succeeded brilliantly. It remains one of my favorite shows for kids. The themes were so sweet and positive-- friendship, family, adventure, imagination, and childhood curiousity. It used to be on Noggin, which I think is now Nick Jr.

 

Currently, ds6 prefers science and nature documentaries. One of his favorites is Prehisotric Planet on Discovery Kids. He also enjoys River Monsters on Animal Planet (about different species of freshwater creatures, mostly large fish, I think) and MonsterQuest on The History Channel (about crocs, sharks, giant fish, Sasquatch/Bigfoot, etc.). He also really likes National Geographic for shows like Reptile Rulers and Be The Creature. Our whole family finds the Planet Earth series on The Discovery Channel very fascinating.

 

My kids also have really liked Dragon Tales on PBS. They used to watch it as preschoolers, and then suddenly revived it last year for a few months (when they were 5 and 7). It teaches a few Spanish words and emphasizes working together, treating others fairly, accepting people who are different (physically disabled, new to town, etc.), and persevering. There are a few things that might be a bit annoying to adults, but the songs they sing in the interlude between stories are quite catchy and endearing.

[Chris in VA]

Some that have already been mentioned--we don't have cable; these are PBS and one Qubo

 

Word Girl

Martha Speaks

Magic Schoolbus

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman (this is very, very good--for the 7yo mostly)

Jane and the Dragon (tho we don't do dragons for other reasons, the writing is good, the animation is beautiful)

 

I've heard Charlie and Lola is sweet and funny, and who can resist those charming accents?

[BigMamaBird]

Some that have already been mentioned--we don't have cable; these are PBS and one Qubo

 

Word Girl

Martha Speaks

Magic Schoolbus

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman (this is very, very good--for the 7yo mostly)

Jane and the Dragon (tho we don't do dragons for other reasons, the writing is good, the animation is beautiful)

 

I've heard Charlie and Lola is sweet and funny, and who can resist those charming accents?

 

Oh wow! I forgot about Jane and the Dragon! You're right, that is a very cute show. DD never got into it but I enjoyed it.

[Heather in WI]

My boys' favorite two shows are The Electric Company and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman. Both are on PBS.

[runamuk]

My son (age 5) really likes many of the PBS shows: Dinosaur Train, Word Girl, Super Why, Sid the Science Kid, and Between the Lions. He also likes Magic School Bus and some of the cooking shows on Food Network.

[ktmo]

My girls LOVE Between the Lions. My oldest likes to watch How it's Made with DH.

[BikeBookBread]

We don't have cable, just a digital antenna which pulls digitally broadcast local stations. We get FIVE different PBS stations: standard PBS, Ve Me (Spanish-language PBS), Create (This Old House, cooking shows, crafting, etc...), World (documentaries, travel shows) and Kids. The five of these stations comprise about 50% of our viewing habits.

 

While not strictly kids shows, we love travel programs. There is a great show that shows up on both World and Create called Equitrekking. It's a travel type show which gives background history, culture, food, etc. on horseback. We love it! Last week the show was in Cappodocia (Central Turkey) exploring the caves in which early Christians took refuge. I had NEVER heard of this bit of history. We also love Europe Through the Back Door with Rick Steeves, and the many other travel shows.

 

We love lots of the shows already mentioned, but especially Word Girl (I just can't help dancing when I hear her theme song...("Word up, It's Word Girl!"), Ruff Ruffman and CyberChase. They used to watch Zula Patrol, but it disappeared :( My girls just love science I suppose!

 

A bit of a hijack, but has anyone seen the disappointing new Angelina Ballerina? I suppose they couldn't get Judy Dench back to voice Miss Lilly...it's 3D computer rendered, not ballet-specific and just lame. Wahhhh. I know, I know, the original AB was kind of mean and snarky sometimes, but I loved it...who couldn't help but smile when they heard Dame Judy Dench saying, "Alright my Dahlink Mouzlinks...." in her best over the top Eastern European accent...

Edited February 11, 2010 by BikeBookBread

[cougarmom4]

Berenstein Bears on PBS

Little Bear on Nick, Jr.

Signing Time (haven't seen it for awhile though...might just be a local thing as they are produced nearby)

[6packofun]

My 3yo is obsessed with The Upside-Down Show on Noggin/Nick Jr. SO funny and silly.

[RobinF]

My older boys like alot of the shows on Discovery and APL.

 

One that they enjoy that hasn't been mentioned is Challenge on FoodTV. They have to create different cakes in a set amount of time. It is pretty cool to watch.

 

We prefer noggin/nickjr for the little ones (no commercials) so they like Diego, Dora, Little Bear, Franklin (pretty much the entire line up).

 

We also like all the PBS shows mentioned.

 

I just found Drive Thru History on TBN that I record and my older ones enjoy it (it is Christian based).

[*Jessica*]

My four-year-old's favorite show is Man vs. Wild. If Nate ever gets dropped in the middle of a rain forest he might be able to survive just from the things he's learned watching the show. :tongue_smilie:

 

My six-year-old likes to watch Cities of the Underworld.

 

Super Why is their favorite cartoon, in case you were wondering what kind of strange children we're raising. :lol:

[HSinPeru]

I don't have a tv anymore, so I might be a bit out of date. My kids loved "Liberty Kids" and "How It's Made". They also love to watch Mythbusters whenever they can. I know it's not very educational, but it does make science guys look cool!

Heather

[Hockey Mom]

Oh, oh, oh....what is the name of that adorable Britsh cartoon with the sweet little siblings? It's so sweet and endearing it makes me weepy. My youngest has outgrown it....Lola and somebody.

 

ETA: Charlie and Lola. They are bestest friends. :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeEy9GDluU8&feature=PlayList&p=51A375A5F650F0C9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

 

Actually, it looks rather slly now. But I remember it fondly. lol

 

I love Charlie and Lola. :)

 

There was one episode where Charlie and Lola were going to the Zoo. They were taking "pocket money" to spend. The story was really cute. At the time, DS7 was about 4 or 5 y/o, and because of the accent, he thought they were saying "bucket money". So we get ready to visit OUR local zoo, and DS keeps asking about "bucket money". I have no idea what he's talking about. Then he says, "you know...like Charlie and Lola had when they went to the zoo!" Ever since then, we refer to 'pocket money' as 'bucket money'. ;)

 

What I really like about Charlie and Lola is the way they interact with each other. They treat each other kindly and with respect (as opposed to Max & Ruby).

 

WRT the OP:

 

My boys are into National Geographic & Discovery Channel shows that focus on weather situations (tornados, hurricanes, lightning) and space/planets. Unfortunately, most of those shows come on after their bedtime, so we PVR them.

 

They also really enjoy watching episodes online of: WordGirl, Aurthur, and Lego videos (a new obsession LOL).

[newlifemom]

My 3yo is obsessed with The Upside-Down Show on Noggin/Nick Jr. SO funny and silly.

 

Thank you. All my kids love this show. They don't see it often so maybe that is why. I find it hilarious!

[RobinF]

We found a new one this week that I liked, Animal Atlas, the only thing is it had one line of evolutionary content. We just talked about it and moved on.

[Parrothead]

It's Me or The Dog on Animal Planet is one of dd's favorite shows. We like Animal Cops too, but that might be a bit too graphic for the younger set.

[ktmo]

Team Umizoomi is good. It has a math focus.

[babysparkler]

My son (age 5) really likes many of the PBS shows: Dinosaur Train, Word Girl, Super Why, Sid the Science Kid, and Between the Lions. He also likes Magic School Bus and some of the cooking shows on Food Network.

:iagree:with all of these... and I only wish Reading Rainbow was still showing at a decent hour... that was another favorite of ours.

[Hyzenthlay in Pa.]

The Most Extreme, I think on Animal Planet, was our favorite science show when the girls were younger.

[stripe]

My library has Reading Rainbow shows on CD available to check out.

 

I find some PBS shows to be obnoxious and show a lot of fighting / sibling rivalry, which irritates me (or Caillou, who is very whiny).

 

My kids like Zula Patrol (which has a science/space theme) and It's a Big, Big World actually shows animals getting along (animal themed).

[spradlin02]

Get rid of it, get it out of your home.