Who are The Octonauts?

The Octonauts is a British children’s television series which is produced by Silvergate Media for BBC CBeebies and animated by Brown Bag Films in Ireland.

The series was created by Vicki Wong and Michael C. Murphy of Meomi Design Inc.

                                                   

The Octonauts came on the television the other morning, my grandson watched the first couple of minutes then ran off to play with his truck, leaving me to watch it as usual!

I found it to be very informative, the show explains what the different sea creatures like to eat, hide or live, and is done in colorful animation which looks great.

The Octonauts are a team of underwater explorers led by Captain Barnacles who is a Polar Bear. They live in an Octopod which is their underwater base.

Their mission is to Explore, Rescue and Protect.

My favourite character is Kwazii the cat, he wears a patch over one eye and he’s not scared of anything he likes the adventures.

The Ship’s Cook and Gardener made me laugh. He looks like a Vegetable and is called Tunip! Can you guess which vegetable he is?

It’s worth watching, very informative for children. 

My final thought: this series explains underwater species very well and is very educational.

What do you think?  

Let’s Play Dressing Up?

I watched Let’s Play with my grandson which is a fantastic dressing up programme, it teaches a particular profession which is great for children to know. It encourages children to dress up and play along.

                                     
Let’s Play is a children’s dressing up television programme, shown on CBeebies.

The show has 2D-illustrated backgrounds the animation was created by Studio Liddell in Manchester, the Foundation in Maidstone.

Sidney Sloane and Rebecca Keatley are the actors and presenters for the children’s programme, they are fun to watch and work well together.

The “What do we need to know?” part of the programme is very informative and shows what the character can do or use in situations.

The theme tune is very catchy, you will probably sing along to it like me.

I cannot choose my favourite character both Sid and Rebecca are good at play acting and dressing up and they are fun to watch. 

When they sing “Let It Be Me,” the facial expressions always make my grandson smile I’ve even tried doing the actions myself.

It’s definitely worth watching, the children will love it. 

It’s a brilliant dressing up programme, fun to watch, informative and child friendly.

What do you think?  

Is Everything Rosie?

I watched “Everything’s Rosie,” with my grandson which is an animated programme for children aged 3 to 6 years.

The series was created by Victoria Corner for V&S Entertainment Ltd, and is shown on CBeebies.    

The series is about a little girl called Rosie which shows her adventures and friendship with her friends Will, Holly, Big Bear, Oakley, Saffie, Raggles, Blue Bird and some annoying Acorns.

Rosie lives with her friend Raggles in a wonderful playhouse that is on a hill overlooking a playground.

My grandson likes watching the programme he stands in front of the television smiling at the characters and dances when the theme tune starts playing. The first time I heard it I thought it sounded a bit dated, however that has not stopped me from singing along to it each time it comes on.

The character Rosie is very kind always thinking of her friends, helping them when they are sad making them feel happy again.

My favourite character is Holly, a cute little girl who is gentle, very helpful and loves big bear.

In my opinion the friendship and helping others element in this programme are very strong which is important for our children to learn.

It is definitely worth watching, your children will like the colorful animated stories.

My final thought: we should all follow Rosie’s example, be more friendly and helpful to our friends and to new people we meet, or does that only happen in animation?

What do you think?  

Buzz and Tell or Buzz Off ?

Buzz and Tell is a new programme that is shown on CBeebies for pre school children, created and produced by Jon Doyle of Impossible Kids.                      

The show features a panel of puppets some glove and some on sticks, they answer questions asked by a walrus hand puppet named Walter Flipstick.

In my opinion this programme is more suited to CBBC than CBeebies, as pre school children will not understand the humour or the questions because they speak too fast.

I am surprised to see the quality in children's programmes are slipping back to hand puppets.

If this is the best we have to offer our pre school children then I say bring back "Basil Brush," at least he was funny.                     

My final thought: if you want to make it work try it in animation!

What do you think?  

What is a Numtum?

The Numtums are based on a creature called a Numbat they are found in Australia and are also known as a marsupial anteater, they like eating termites.

The original series “The Numtums,” is a basic numeracy programme for children, shown on CBeebies it was first shown in 2012 animated by Beakus, a London based animation studio. Barry Quinn created the show, the stories are written by Katie Simmons.

                                                   

The new series is called "The Numtums Adventures," which is produced by the CBeebies and animated by A Productions.

The original series is great, my grandchild likes watching the bursts of short colorful pictures with the catchy music which gives it much more energy.

The counting method used is very good, counting up to ten, with each episode concentrating on one number.

It’s a great programme for children who are starting to learn their numbers.

This programme will help children recognize a number, count up to the number shown in the episode using pictures of flowers, animals or other objects, which change position.

The new series of Numtums is a story. It features counting but do not have the short bursts of fun, colorful pictures that keep a young mind from straying.

In my opinion it is more suited to older children, than the younger ones as they have a shorter concentration span.

I would definitely recommend watching the first series.

My final thought: the new series should be shown on CBBC not CBeebies.

You decide, watch both series and tell me what you think?

Who invited the Tiger for Tea?

I read the children's story book called "The Tiger Who Came To Tea."

The book was written and illustrated by Judith Kerr.

This story is about a young girl called Sophie, her mummy and a tiger that comes for tea.

When a hungry tiger knocks on the door and wants to join Sophie and her mummy for tea, they get more than they bargained for!

As an adult I found this to be a lovely story but I would never let a child open the door just in case a tiger showed up!

If an adult opened the door to a tiger then I'd say. "Start running, you're probably going to be it's tea."

In fact I'd say don't open the door when you're having your tea!

It's a lovely story well worth reading, the children will love it.

My final thought: what's going to happen when daddy comes home.

What do you think?