Help! All I Want to Do is Skidoo to Steve's House!
Written: Jul 24 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Educational, warm, funny, makes kids feel good!
Cons: My daughter wants to buy everything with Blue on it
The Bottom Line: Watch it with your kids and use it as a springboard to help your children learn, grow, and become confident little people.
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| lizf's Full Review: Blue's Clues |
Oh what I wouldn't give to skidoo into my TV set and spend an afternoon with Steve Burns. Don't get me wrong... I am very happily married to my husband and I just can't think of Steve in those terms... but he has such an open, charming, and personal manor with the children. It just makes my heart go all warm and fuzzy and I would love to have a friend like Steve
Steve is the only human character in a wonderful and imaginative children’s show called Blue's Clues. Blue is a small blue spotted dog that belongs to Steve. They live in an animated world with their friends, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, baby Paprika, Shovel, Pail, Slippery Soap, Tickety Tock, and Mailbox (just to name a few...)
Every day the show starts with Steve asking Blue a question like, "What song game do you want to play today?" or "What science experiment would you like to do today?" Blue indicates that she will answer the question by playing our favorite game... Blue's Clues.
Blue leaves three clues for us to find. As we find each clue Steve records it in his handy-dandy notebook. Once all three clues have been discovered, we all rush back to the “thinking chair” where we try to solve the puzzle. Most of the time, the puzzles are pretty easy for me to solve… but then again I’m 39 years old and I have advanced degrees in math, computer science, psychology, and religion. If I couldn’t solve the problem something would be seriously wrong. But the level of difficulty seems to be just right for the little kiddies that love the show.
I suspect that children’s programming is a difficult thing to do well. It has to be educational and entertaining for the children and it has to be something that the parents don’t mind hearing in the background – or better yet actually watching with their children. I tip my hat to Blue’s Clues. This show has it all… fun and entertaining plots for the kids, lots and lots of educational material for parents to jump on and use as a foundation for more learning, and most importantly I don’t mind watching it. Frankly, I kinda like it. Given my daughter’s undying love for Blue, that’s a very, very good thing!
I am so impressed with the way that Steve talks to the children. Today we put so much emphasis on a child’s self-esteem. But I firmly believe the only way a child can develop real and lasting self-esteem is to feel the pride of doing a job well and knowing they have a reason to proud of themselves. Blue’s Clues helps the child do this. Steve doesn’t talk down to the children. He is always asking them for their help and getting really excited when they do something right.
For me as a parent, the best part of Blue’s Clues is the music. They use real music with real musicians. Ok – so the music is written just for the show, but it’s interesting and entertaining music. There are strong influences by some of the world’s greatest musicians. If you listen closely you can hear a riff from Charlie Parker’s Salt Peanuts and there is a song that harkens back to The Girl from Ipunima. I think good music is important for a child’s mental and educational development. Of course there is always a place for Mary Had A Little Lamb and other truly kiddy songs, but I think it’s great that the Blue’s Clues creators use music that is interesting and challenging.
Overall, I think Blue’s Clues is a great show for kids and I have no problems letting my 19 month old daughter watch the show whenever she wants to. And if Steve wants to give me a pat on the back and make me feel good about myself, too…. Well I’m not going to stop him!
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Program: Cartoon or Animated
Program Quality: Thought-provoking, original material
Best Suited For: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
lizf
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: VA
Reviews written: 124
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
A writer is a controlled schizophrenic. Edward Albee
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