Don’t wanna hear about

Christina or Charlie Sheen

Wanna celebrate Theodor Geisel

By using my bean

Gonna read with the kids

‘Bout the Things and the Zax

Horton, that famous Cat,

And of course the Lorax!

Oh the Places We’ll Go,

As we read and we rhyme

‘Bout oobleck and green foodstuffs

It’s all just sublime.

‘Cuz it’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday

Tell Mayzie and Marvin K Mooney

Get your Fox and your Socks

And read like a badaloony!

*An old blog post about Dr. Seuss and Read Across America can be found here.  Happy reading, Everyone!

If your kids are like mine, they love listening to music!  My boys like all sorts of music, from the plethora of kid-bands to popular music from the radio.

Recently the boys have been asking if I would add videos by some of their favorite singers onto their YouTube playlist.  Now, I like Lady Gaga as much as the next person, but I don’t think my kids are ready to see her video for Telephone…or some of her other songs, for that matter!  Luckily, a bit of YouTube-research turned up several videos that only have the lyrics, including this one of the boys’ favorite Lady Gaga song:

(And, as an added bonus, my 6-year-old can practice his reading while hearing the lyrics at the same time!)

Some other quick searches turned up lots of other songs with the similar format.  Of course, use your discretion — sometimes you might find the thought of your child(ren) reading the actual lyrics WORSE than them seeing the video in question!

Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with these time-lapse videos (see here and here).  What can I say?  They are really cool to watch!  It helps that both of my kids are really into science, and these videos are a great way for them to see — in action — some of what makes up the vast realm of the scientific.  I also think that videos such as these can help any child become interested in the world around them.  Just one more reason to watch them with your children!

This week I want to highlight two videos, both of which show the potentially darker side of that natural world.  The first is a time-lapse video of a thunderstorm.  Fear of thunderstorms is relatively common in young children (older ones, too, not to mention the occasional household dog or cat!).  But this storm — seen from a distance — shows the power of nature in a particularly non-threatening way.  Watching those thunderclouds move from one side of the horizon to another is down-right hypnotic.  And several cameo-making shooting stars just serve to add to the visual experience.

The second video is of the Simi Valley fire, which consumed several thousand acres (Wikipedia says 7,000; the YouTube note says 25,000) outside of Los Angeles in late September of 2005.  Parents definitely need to use their discretion in deciding whether or not this video would be a good one for their particular child.  Obviously, children who have experienced a fire or a fire evacuation will be much more sensitive to this video than other children.  But older kids who follow the news may have heard of recent fires in Colorado and California (or in other places), and might be interested in this video.  For those with an interest in the dramatic, the music accompanying this video adds a great touch.  Budding astronomers will also enjoy seeing stars, planets, and the moon rising over the flames.

Oh, OK, I can’t resist adding one more video.  This one is of the Aurora Borealis.  (Here’s a good link for info about the so-called “Northern Lights.”)  No warnings on this one.  Just…enjoy!

I have two more cool, time-lapse videos for you today.  Any child who is interested in space will be captivated by these videos.  For that matter, so was my space-loving husband!

The first one is a total lunar eclipse, which occurred on February 20, 2008.  The filmmaker, Pete Herron, writes about the video:  “The image shakes because the moon moves during the night, obviously. It’s hard to keep the moon in the exact same spot of the frame while it’s constantly moving. The sound was from video that I recorded for the purpose of giving the timelapse a more real-time feel to it.”  Check out Pete’s website for other cool videos.

(Did anyone else get an ad for the new Twilight movie when they watched this video?  I, for one, found that quite amusing.  But don’t worry, no ads on KidDesktop.)

The second video shows the earth rising and setting, as seen from the moon.  Those images would be interesting enough, but this filmmaker actually introduces the earth-rise/earth-set with video taken from astronauts aboard Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968.  Having just made the first human passage around the moon, the astronauts are amazed to see the earth-rise.  The remainder of the video comes from 2007, and was taken about the Japanese Kaguya satellite.

Today’s a rainy day here in Washington DC, and I can’t stop thinking how happy everything that grows must be about all this moisture.  (We’ve had a hot, dry summer!)  This made me think how cool it would be if the kids and I could actually SEE the plants growing amid all this wet stuff coming down.  And that led me to the miracle of time-lapse videos and YouTube.

Here’s one of fast-growing corn plants:

And another one of fast-growing bush beans.  Also cool, but lacking the fun music of the corn plants.

Last one for now is here.  Few kids would say that radishes are their fave foods, but the music is back and it’s really hypnotic to watch these roots grow, even after the stems and leaves have slowed down.

There’s some very cool time-lapse videos out there (as well as a lot of meh ones).  They make a great teaching tool, in addition to a fun way to keep the little guys entertained on a rainy day!

We love OK Go, and the new OK Go video is another wonderful one for adults and kids alike!

Like their previous videos — including Here It Goes Again and This Too Shall Pass — White Knuckles includes catchy music and deceivingly simple visuals.  But this one also features a classic kid-favorite addition: cute animals.  These dogs* are absolutely adorable, from the way they jump, run, and walk around the set to the way they bob their heads in perfect rhythm with one another and the musicians.  If your children haven’t seen this video yet, trust me, they’ll love it!

Oh, and for anyone who’s wondering: yes, OK Go did make this video with their trademark “one take.”  No pieces of film sliced and diced together here.  And, yes, it was verrrryyy challenging!  Gizmodo did a great piece on the problems the musicians, trainers, and animals faced, and the excitement of knowing that it all came together perfectly.

* PS Did you see the goat around 2:50?!?!?

I’ve written before (here and here) about some of the great Muppet videos that are available on YouTube.

Then, yesterday my 2nd grader came home talking about how they learned “The Cat Came Back” in music class.  His singing and humming naturally took me back to the Muppets skit of that song, and I just had to add it to my kids’ YouTube playlists.

Apparently versions of this song are often used to teach children about rhythm and tempo.  It has a strong, well-defined beat pattern: one weak beat, one strong beat.  Plus, the silly words make it fun for kids and anyone else to sign along.  Still amusing — and educational! — after all these years!

…On the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational…

Most of us know and love that song, and know the next line: “This is what we call The Muppet Show!”

The Washington Post Celebritology 2.0 blog did a great post today on The Muppet Show and some of their favorite bits.  Here’s a link to the post, and I’m also re-posting their 6 favorite characters/skits.  (Some of these also showed up on my other Muppets blog post from a year and a half ago.)  Great additions to your child’s YouTube playlist, and a fun stroll down memory lane for the grown-ups as well!

The Swedish Chef — Meatballs:

Beaker -- Ode to Joy: (My kids LOVE this one!)

Janice:

Sam the Eagle:

Link Hogthrob (from Swinetrek):

Lew Zealand (the fish-throwing guy, here with Leslie Uggams):

By now, everyone has seen the great Rube Goldberg machine in the OK Go video, This Too Shall Pass.

In fact, you might have even seen the Colbert Report’s take on a Rube Goldberg machine the night OK Go appeared on the show!

But have you thought about adding one or more OK Go videos to your child’s YouTube playlist?  Kids are as intrigued by this band as adults, and — even though I can’t really classify this as educational — they’ll definitely get a kick out of it!  In fact, “mesmerized” is the word one friend used to describe the songs’ effect on her children.

This Too Shall Pass is great, but so is Here it Goes Again.  They’ll like it both for the catchy music and the fun visuals!  Let us know if there are other music videos that your child(ren) enjoy!

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.