In Barney Goes to School, Tina is lonely on a Saturday and she longs for her friends. She wishes and imagines that that Barney and her friends and her friends are in school with her. This video is mainly set in the classroom, making it easy to play school.

This video is much like the Barney television show and most other Barney videos in that there songs mixed in with skits and learning various things.

The songs on this video include:

"I Wish There Was School Everyday - Tina sings about all the fun things that she does in school and wishes that there was school everyday.

"Look Through the Window/Hello" - Barney and Tina welcome each of her classmates in song. Joining them are: Luci, Michael, Susie, Derek and Adam.

Grand Old Flag - the kids march in place and sing while Barney holds the flag.

"There are Seven Days in a Week"-this is the song that got my children hooked on this video since they sing this in their Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten classes. It is a very simple song that helps teach the days of the week.

"There are seven days,
There are seven days,
There are seven days in a week
Sunday - Monday,
Tuesday - Wednesday,
Thursday - Friday,
Saturday!"

Alphabet Chant - where they basically sing the Alphabet and as each letter is spoken, it appears on the screen.

"Weather Riddle" - the children sit in a circle and sing about the sun, rain, snow and wind. They each have props - cardboard circles with a cutout in the middle for their faces and decorated with the various weather patterns.

"The Number Song" - Barney counts to ten while fishing for cardboard fish. The numbers appear in the upper left hand corner of the screen as he says them.

"The Shape Song" - Barney, Tina and Derek sing about circles, squares and triangles, and show examples of each shape.

"Alligator Pie" - Amy and Luci sing a silly song about pies, soup and stew made from Alligators.

"Hug A Color" - is a song about combining colors to make another color. The children mix finger paints and combine red and yellow to make orange, blue and yellow to make green and blue and red to make purple.

What I Want To Be - is a song about what types of jobs the children will have when they grow up. This song features 5 children (not from the "Backyard Gang") dressed as a policeman, firefighter, doctor, ballerina and chef. It discusses how they will be responsible and do their jobs carefully.

Goodbye - Tina sings goodbye to her friends...

Goodbye, Goodbye
We won't be gone for long.
Goodbye, Goodbye,
This is our Goodbye Song.

Lemondrops & Gumdrops - Amy sings about the rain and "Oh! What a rain it would be!" if all of the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops.

I love You... - because it just isn't a Barney video without this famous song!

Between songs Barney and the children play school and talk about and visit the different "centers" where they play with blocks, paint, dress-up and learn about the world around them. Luci and Michael even put on a musical puppet show of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Also, Zippity the classroom hamster has gotten out of his cage, which explains why Barney felt a tickle across his foot and why there were tiny pawprints on some clay and across the tabletop. After a search of the classroom, Zippity is found and safely returned to his cage.

My children (ages 3 and 4) have recently been very interested in everything school-related. They are each in school programs now, but in the last month we have registered one for Kindergarten and the other for Pre-Kindergarten so it has been on their minds. They will both be moving from their small two room private preschool to the public elementary school in September so I am trying to make the transition as easy as possible.

The Barney Goes to School video only shows one classroom, rather than a large school, but I think that seeing that there are different classrooms out there that do look somewhat like the ones they are accustomed to has alleviated at least some of my children's fears.

This video features Barney and the "Backyard Gang." I do not believe that this title is given to the children who currently appear with Barney, but this is an older video. Barney himself is a darker color than he is today (more of a plum than a fuschia) and his voice is much deeper than in the current shows. This video takes place in the days before any adults could see Barney, so there are no teachers, parents, janitors or adults of any kind here.

Overall, Barney Goes to School is on par with other Barney videos and teaches children through song, so that they don't even realize that they are learning.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8