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Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
It's getting harder and harder to find quality television for our son. He loves the completely age-INappropriate shows and is drawn towards the aliens/superhero type shows. There is one, however, that promotes good values and has stood the test of time in our house, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
On February 3rd, they released a DVD with six great episodes from the show that airs on both Nick Jr. and Noggin, A Little Help From My Friends. When I received the package in the mail to review from MomCentral, I informed our son that this was HIS review to do. So we sat down, popped in the DVD, and watched. And watched. And watched. I let him watch all the episodes, including the bonus ones. They were all episodes we had watched before, but he took them in as if it were the first time. The great part about Wubbzy and all of his Wuzzleburg friends is that they all work together to discover true values, confidence, cooperation, teamwork and above all, the meaning of friendship.
Parents can get involved to a http://wubbzy.com/by signing up for a newsletter, reading the Wubbzy blog (how cute is that?!), listen to Wubbzy podcasts, and print out cool coloring pages. You can buy the DVD here at the BBM Review Store.
For its positive values, great lessons, and engaging stories, TKDDaughter (and her son) give Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! A Little Help From My Friends, a :
Power Training by Morio Higaonna
I recently had the pleasure of watching "Power Training" by Morio Higaonna. It gave me a lot of food for thought when it comes to classical karate training.
"Power Training" is all about the different methods Higaonna uses to create strong and powerful karate practitioners. Higaonna himself is renowned worldwide as a skilled karateka and strong individual. Many people marvel at his archaic methods of training and wonder how he has achieved his famed abilities.
The video begins by exploring Higaonna's stretching methods. Although this sounds pretty mundane, it is interesting to see the the ways he integrates karate style breathing into his routine. Sometimes odd looking and sometimes a bit confusing, Higaonna's stretches leave you with something to add into your own workout.
Furthermore, Higaonna shows us how to do two man warmups and exercises.
This is probably just the westerner in me talking, but these drills are a little too up close and personal with your partner for me. Higaonna is practically climbing on top of his student half the time when helping him stretch. Personally, I prefer a little breathing room.
Next in the video is something for which Higaonna Sensei is famous – Hojo Undo. Hojo Undo is the usage of old style tools and methods in order to make the body tougher and stronger. Bells, rocks, and iron bars are just a few devices used to turn the body into a fighting weapon.
Shown here are ishi sashi, nagiri game, ch’ishi, and kongo ken.
This portion of the video was very interesting, and anyone who has dabbled with the idea of including Hojo Undo in their training would benefit from seeing Higaonna Sensei at work.
Shown next is kata and various two man drills. Higaonna and his assistant Tetsuji Nakamura show different ways of using pads to improve strikes, but also demonstrate ways of using body-to-body contact as yet another way to strengthen the body.
One drill I found particularly interesting was called Kakie. This is something I have trained a bit in the past, and Tai Chi practitioners would recognize it as quite similar to "push hands". This is an excellent drill to practice spontaneity and different strikes and joint locks.
Overall, I thought this video was very well produced and contained great information. Many martial arts dvds lack a certain production quality – "Power Training" does not follow that mold. Interesting, well edited, and insightful, I would watch this again to gain further insight into Higaonna's methods.
Ikigai108 gives "Power Training"…
Barbie and The Diamond Castle DVD
When you review a movie, you're supposed to be able to watch it in order to review it. But when a certain video gets put into the van DVD player, and when two little girls enjoy said movie so much that they want to watch it every second of every car ride. . . well, Mommy doesn't get to watch the movie.
However, I have heard the movie plenty. I've also heard the singing. I've heard the song "Connected" sung at the top of a certain 3-year olds lungs while being pushed through endless aisles as Target. I've heard both of my girls sing all of the songs in a perfect little girl duet from the back seat.
In fact, despite the fact that I haven't actually seen the movie, I pretty much know it word for word for word because my girls do too.
When I asked my daughter what she thought of the movie, her answer was simple and to the point. "Well Mommy, I just love it. It's the best Barbie movie."
When you ask my 3-year old what she thinks of the movie, she'll break out in song and demand that you join her. We've been singing a whole lot of "Connected" around here lately.
If you're looking for a movie for your girls that will help them get along in the car and make them sing beautiful duets together, look no further.
"Barbie and The Diamond Castle" is your DVD.
BBM's girls give "Barbie and the Diamond Castle". . .
diamonds, hearts, butterflies and sunshine.
BBM gives the movie. . .
Will I ever get those songs out of my head????
Create-a-Tale: Funny Fairy Tales DVD
When I was little, I absolutely loved the books that allowed you to choose which direction the story takes. Every time you read the story, you created a new outcome or a new route to get there. I could spend hours reading those books.
Enter 2008.
Yesterday my kids spent about an hour playing with the Create-a-Tale: Funny Fairy Tales DVD, creating new stories each time. The DVD is pure fun. The stories are unique and funny. The choices are intriguing and interesting; and the stories that are created made both of my girls giggle. The DVD was controlled easily by my 7-year old as she used the remote to make story choices and her little sister was more than happy to watch the results.
The DVD is geared to kids aged 3-6, but my kids are just out of the range on either side and I felt it was appropriate for both of them. The stories feature fun music that I actually liked too. No parental torture has been inserted into these stories whatsoever.
There are five different stories to choose from including: "The Teeny Weeny Genie," "The Monster Song," "There’s a Fly on My Soup," "The Three Big Pigs," and "The Witch’s Stew." If you’d like to watch a sample, you can do so here. These are not your ordinary fairy tales.
While watching the DVD with the girls, I couldn’t help but think about what a cool learning device the DVD can be. For an artistic 7-seven old who likes to tell and draw stories, she was able to see different ways to construct a story while watching the DVD. For my 2-year old, it was pure entertainment.
The DVD is priced at $14.99 and is worth every penny. TV is an inevitable thing in most households; but Create-a-Tale makes that time interactive and fun instead of a total zone-out time period. If you’re interested in purchasing this DVD, you can do so directly from the site or on Amazon.
It’s just pure interactive fun, and I can’t help but give it a. . .
Trip Flix
In just a few days, my family and I will depart for our seven hour drive to the beach. While I am very excited about our vacation, the trip to and from leaves a little to be desired. I’d like to say that it’s traveling with my four-year-old, but quite frankly, I get a little testy in the car myself.
I recently watched a new creation called TripFlix. This is an interactive DVD that helps buffer the "Are we there yet?" question. My son and I popped the DVD in at home and while he, at only four, was not very interested, I was fascinated.
You start by choosing what region you are coming from and what region you are traveling to. Then, a super cool teen pair, Alex and Emily, help you navigate your destination. What I loved about this DVD is how informational it is without feeling like a documentary. A lot of the information is not the typical travel book sort, either. I loved the part where they learned to build a boat (and finding out that I can, too, if I wanted to!).
I think that you’ll like this DVD to help in-car traveling boredom, but you’ll also enjoy using it on a rainy day with the kids to plan future excursions. You can check out more information at TripFlix. You can purchase the DVD for only $20 at either the TripFlix site or at Amazon.
For the older child and inquisitive parents, I give this a
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