At last, my long-awaited LEGO post!

You can start by putting the LEGO website on your little enthusiast’s KidDesktop.  Of course, this is a huge site with lots of pieces to explore.  So, here are a couple of activities that my boys particularly enjoy:

• The City Police Chase game, where your goal is to bump into the villains’ getaway vehicles.  I have it on good authority that the helicopter is the hardest!

• They also like LEGO City Coast Guard, where you literally get to pluck errant swimmers out of the water and pull them up into your Coast Guard helicopter.  Naturally, you have to avoid obstructions such as birds and sharks, and stay aware that your helicopter can only carry so many people at once.

• There are dozens of other games, sorted into creative, exclusive, preschool, and puzzle categories.  Let me know your favorites!

• They also enjoy “shopping” for new LEGO toys.  The site helps them find age-appropriate sets, and when they find something they like, they put it on their wish list.  (They can also sort by theme, category, etc…those clever LEGO folks make it easy for the little people.)  When a gift-giving opportunity comes around, I can check out their wish list for something I know they want.  A warning, though: you (or your kids) can shop directly from the site.  So make sure you don’t leave your payment information in when the kids are playing.  Unless, of course, you WANT an untold number of LEGOs charged to your card and delivered to your door…

Last thing.  My kids really got a kick out of this YouTube video.  It’s in the “Oh no, Mr. Bill” tradition.  Very amusing for both kids and their parents to watch the poor LEGO man attempt to fly.

I know I said I’d post more about Legos, but — with Cub Scout Pinewood Derby season — the official BSA Pinewood Derby site was just too tempting for this post!

I should start by saying that my Tiger Cub really enjoyed building his actual Pinewood Derby car!*

But leading up to his first race he also enjoyed surfing the Pinewood Derby site for ideas, pictures, etc.  Building a virtual car was a particularly favorite activity.  The graphics on the site are pretty cute, with each new phase of the “build” taking place behind dramatically closed garage doors.

Kids can also virtually build a space derby or a sailboat for a Rain Gutter Regatta.  And, no, this site isn’t just for boys, and it isn’t just for Cub Scouts.  Any child (and many a parent) will enjoy playing around here.

*Just a quick second of bragging rights: our Tiger Cub’s car won 2nd place among all the Tiger dens in his pack!  I don’t think his success had anything to do with surfing the Pinewood Derby website.  But spending time on the site and familiarizing himself with the cars, the race, etc, DID seem to help him enjoy the actual derby a bit more!

OK, my boys are officially addicted to watching model trains on YouTube, with a definite leaning towards LEGO trains.  I don’t know if  this latest obsession is leftover from the holiday season or just kids and trains, but in either case they love it!

Here is a cute one from the Great Western Lego Train Show:  (Soundtrack courtesy of The Dandy Warhols, and it doesn’t even make me nuts when they watch it 3 times in a row!)

Here’s another example, this time with music from Futurefunk.  Not quite as good as the first one, but pint-sized train or LEGO enthusiasts will like it.

More LEGO to come next week…

This weekend I took the kids to the Holiday Magic Exhibit at the US Botanic Gardens.

First, let me say it is an amazing exhibit, and if you live in or will be visiting the DC area before January 4 you should definitely check it out!

Second, it gave me a great idea for some new YouTube videos for my kids!  Since they loved watching the trains at the exhibit, I found these clips from previous years:

Also, older kids (early elementary on up) will enjoy this “behind the scenes” Voice of America video about how the magic comes to life.

Choo, choo!

For the remainder of the summer, my kids will be attending “Camp Mommy” with yours truly acting as Camp Director, Head Counselor, Sports Coach, the entire cafeteria team, and just about every other role you could imagine.  Luckily, there are tons of interesting activities to keep all of us busy; luckier still, some of these interesting activities are leading me to new blog topics!

Today I took the kids to see back-to-back performances by Cathy & Marcy & Christylez Bacon and Hobey Ford.  The three performers each have video pages on their websites, and my kids had a blast re-living the shows by watching the videos.  All the videos are on YouTube, including my boys’ favorites:

(Human Beatbox)

and (Hip Hop Humpty Dumpty).  They also particularly enjoyed seeing Jubilation.  Note to Christylez, Kathy, and Marcy: we’d love to see a YouTube version of the “spoon-off!”

Hobey Ford’s puppet creations are a hit as well, especially

(Peepers).  El Coqui and Happy Feet (or Tin Man, as my boys call it) were not part of today’s show, but the kiddos absolutely loved them anyway.

I hope your kids enjoy these videos as much as mine do.  Cathy & Marcy’s CDs, washboard, and other items are available on their website, as are some coloring pages.  Hobey Ford’s site includes some PDF downloads about puppeteering that adults will find interesting, and you can buy his “peepers” here.

Christylez’ site includes info on his upcoming shows.  If you are in the DC area, you should definitely try to attend a show.  He’s incredible!

Almost from the moment we launched our YouTube playlist, one video remained steadfastedly in the Popular Videos list: The Elephant Song by Eric Herman.

So, when I was asked to listen to Eric’s newest CD, What a Ride, I happily obliged.  I have to say that I like the CD just fine.  Whereas some kids’ music makes me want to drive nails through my eardrums, Eric’s music is catchy and fun without being obnoxiously repetitive or mind-numbing.  Even more important, though, my kids love the CD!  It helped get my 4 1/2 year old through a week-long bout of fever-induced confinement in the house.  His favorite track is “How to Move a Monster,” a really cute song about a monster who moves from the school to City Hall when a brave little girl kindly asks him to do so.  I giggle at “Carseat Snack,” too.

A couple of quick words about Eric.  Like many musicians who cater to kids, he involves his whole family in his music-making.  His wife Roseann and his daughters Becca and Evee perform with him at festivals and events.  Kids of all ages will enjoy his music, but it is directly towards those 4 to 8 who have mostly outgrown The Wiggles and other songs for preschoolers.  He also blogs about kid music.  (This website isn’t directed towards kids, more towards grown-ups looking for kid music.)

Although the videos from What a Ride aren’t yet available, much of Eric’s older songs are on YouTube, such as The Tale of the Moon and the Sun (a lullaby):

and Crazy Over Vegetables (a funny kid-pleaser that parents will also like because of the eat-your-veggies message):

As you know, I spend a lot of time researching kid-friendly websites and YouTube videos, both for my kids and for all of yours!  Now, I want to suggest another great blog for parents of young children.  Tech Savvy Mama describes her site as “my way to help the parents of the world navigate an overwhelming world of technology and provide the best that exists for their children.”

Tech Savvy Mama has information about toddlers and preschoolers, elementary-aged kids, and tweens & teens.  She writes about technology, websites, YouTube, cyber-bullying, and the technological interests and exploits of her kids, Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer.  Her posts are well-researched, informative, and fun to read.  Since Memorial Day she has begun Virtual Field Trips including one to Monticello, which is great for those of within or beyond driving distance of Thomas Jefferson’s Charlottesville home.  She is one of the original City Editors for Being Savvy Washington DC and contributes to DC Metro Moms.

Check her out!

My 6-year-old loves ice-skating, and like many kids (and adults), he has a well-rounded zamboni obsession.  So naturally, I looked for and found zamboni-related YouTube videos for his YouTube playlist.  His favorite is this one of Stuntman Stu driving the zamboni:

But here are several other good ones:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkJbvv3pHg –  I wanna drive a zamboni
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ba0z54iO4U – Zamboni dumps ice
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU7Z_NV9v14 – Zamboni donuts

I hope that all the other zamboni-enthusiasts enjoy them as much as my kids do.  Oh, and be prepared to hear the song MANY times!

Have you ever heard of Rocknoceros?  (It rhymes with “rhinoceros,” but with a lot more rock!)  This three-man children’s band is huge in the Washington, DC area.  Coach Cotton, Williebob, and Boogie Woogie Bennie perform two dozen shows a month, host a bi-weekly video podcast, and just released their third CD.  Their newest album, “Pink,” follows “Rocknoceros” and “Dark Side of the Moon Bounce.”  We readily confess to owning a few of the 10,000 CD’s they’ve sold over the last 4 years!

Like many children’s bands, Rocknoceros has several videos on YouTube.  A few to check out are Pink (seen here):

along with Seven Days a Week and The Cannoli Adjustment.  There are dozens of other YouTube videos showing both live performances and various children dancing, imitating, or singing along with Rocknoceros.

Although my kids love Rocknoceros and Robbie Schaefer — and I’m pretty sure yours will, too — your child might have another favorite performer.  If that band or individual isn’t already on YouTube, ask them to add some YouTube videos.  (You don’t have to mention KidDesktop and our YouTube Playlist, but we wouldn’t mind if you did!)  Let us know who your child listens to, and what YouTube videos they like to watch!

Yes, you read the title correctly.  This YouTube video is entirely safe for kids, especially kids like mine who like the movie WALL-E.  (For more about WALL-E, read the post below this one.)

By way of background, for the last three years the Washington Post has sponsored a Peeps Diorama Contest.  The contest is open to anyone, and can feature any famous scene or event; the only rule is that every character in each diorama must be a marshmallow Peep.  People from the Washington, DC area and beyond get incredibly clever, creative, and crafty assembling dioramas.  This year’s winning dioramas were featured Easter Sunday in the Washington Post’s Peeps Show III.

This year, one of the featured dioramas was a depiction of the great kids’ movie, Wall-E.  (It’s #29 on Peeps Show III.)  Even better, since the diorama features moving parts, the artists made a 42-second long YouTube video showcasing their creation!  Very cute.

If your kids get a big kick out of the Wall-E video, they might also like this one of the functioning Wheel of Fortune from The Peep is Right (#28 on Peeps Show III.)