WordWorld

I could read by the time I was M. Edium's age, but it's not his fault that he can't yet. He doesn't have the same resources that helped me get such an early start. Sesame Street is nothing but Elmo and celebrity cameos these days, Electric Company is long gone (and Electric Company 2.0 seems a long way off), and Mr. Rogers is dead.

Not only did I have those kids' shows, they were the only kids' shows. Preschoolers have more shows and channels today than there were on the whole TV schedule around the clock when I was little. Kids can learn about wilderness survival from Dora the Explorer, endangered species from WonderPets, and the sad state of human rights in China from Ni Hao Kai-Lan. But since they're all marketed to international audiences, it's hard to find something that'll teach kids to read.

So we're trying out something called WordWorld. It's a computer-animated series in which letters not only spell out but actually embody objects, places, and even characters. The animation is pretty good, especially by the standards of my childhood, when television animation was considered state-of-the-art if you saw a character talking and moving his head at the same time.

As for whether it can actually help teach a kid to read, the jury's still kind of out. But it had better hurry, because the irritating character voices are starting to get on his parents' nerves. The race is on, WordWorld!

TAGS:
POST TOOLS:

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· Pampers targets Dad with a cool Brees
· Top 5 Valentine's Day gifts for Dads
· Top 5 Worst TV Dads

[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

rabrab said:

Jeff, have you considered the "Sesame Street: Old School" collections? There are two volumes out now.

The Electric Company also has two "Best of..." Volumes on DVD.
Schoolhouse Rock is also out on DVD -- the complete set.

And don't sell "Between the Lions" short -- it's on the PBS schedule, although you might want to record it for him, since it's on at 6:30 am (too early!) and 6:30 pm (probably dinnertime.)

Posted at 01:46 PM, on August 22 2008

2

stacey said:

ah, yes, I know of this WordWorld of which you speak. My 21 month old niece watches it avidly, and loves Pig and Sheep and Duck. And I wholeheartedly agree about the character voices. We all love the episode where they put on the show underwater so Shark can dance, but darn if we don't turn the volume down everytime!

Posted at 11:03 PM, on September 1 2008

WordWorld

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.