If you’re new to the blog, you might not know this, but… our family watches very little TV. Especially the kids. My son didn’t watch ANY until he was about two and a half.
So I am super picky about when, where, what and why we allow our kids to watch videos.
However, I’m not living in a bubble. I think there are many constructive ways to watch a TV show as part of your routine. I’ve just discovered The Official LEGO® Channel on YouTube, and I, personally, found it quite entertaining. It made me wish I had played with LEGO® sets more as a child, because there are so many great aspects to this building toy!
AND… I’ve discovered several ways we have / can / will use The Official LEGO® Channel videos for our toddler – and I think these would work for other TV-watching moments as well!
1. Introducing new concepts: It’s winter. And I think our son was really too young to remember the picnics we went on last spring/summer. So, we watched the LEGO® DUPLO picnic video, then had our own play picnic in the living room. The video beforehand set the stage for me to remind our son about what happens at a picnic!
2. Entertain him during long waits: The last time we went to the doctor’s, we waited about thirty minutes past our appointment time. This was well beyond even MY prepareness level, so next time, I will make sure I have our playlist ready with some of the videos from The Official LEGO® Channel.
3. Encourage storytelling: I discovered several “silent movies” that showcase items like the LEGO® City Mining sets. I let our son watch them, then he tells me what happens in the “story.” He gets to make up his own story, and I love that they are QUIET!
4. Modeling pretend play: I loved watching the LEGO® Creator videos, like Mr. Snail Visits the Lighthouse, because they perfectly illustrate how kids can involve themselves in pretend play with their building sets! The scenes are cute!
5. Think Outside the Blocks: When I saw this LEGO® DUPLO® video where the bunny traces the blocks, I thought “Perfect!” We can this video and then create LEGO® block designs we can trace here at home! What a great art project that will be, right? So always look for ways to let videos inspire creative expression.
What are some other ways you’ve used DVDs / videos with your preschoolers?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LEGO. The opinions and text are all mine.
Meg M.
Monday 4th of February 2013
Very cool! My two year old is VERY into Duplo right now, and he would love this.
Currently, he has only seem Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street reruns, along with some music videos on YouTube. So far we've used videos mainly to supplement his interests. For example, we have a book about fire fighters that he was really into for a while, so I found some Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street episodes that involved fire fighters. He liked seeing his interests represented in different ways.
Meg M.
Monday 4th of February 2013
Very cool! My two year old is VERY into Duplo right now, and he would love this.
Currently, he has only seem Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street reruns, along with some music videos on YouTube. So far we've used videos mainly to supplement his interests. For example, we have a book about fire fighters that he was really into for a while, so I found some Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street episodes that involved fire fighters. He liked seeing his interests represented in different ways.