Popular kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba!, with over 40 million downloads from Nick.com is coming to the big screen. The series producer, Wildbrain, has big plans for Yo Gabba Gabba including toys, books, and a feature film. In the meantime your toddler can get their Yo Gabba Gabba fix from the web site which includes video clips from the show, simple games, and other diversions for preschool aged children. If you haven’t seen the show, but the characters look vaguely familiar it may be that you’ve seen them dancing with Elijah Wood in the popular YouTube Numa Numa dance.
cast of the upcoming web & TV series Team Smithereen
The creator of Yo Gabba Gabba! is at work on their next project Team Smithereen, which will initially be a series of web videos of daring puppet stunt men. The series looks to be an interesting fusion of puppeteering and computer effects, geared to school aged children.
Apple has done a great job building a mobility device that anyone can use. I’m just not sure that Apple realize’s that in this case anyone includes toddlers. Though, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this technology is perfectly suited for toddlers. The iPhone is small and light enough for young children to hold. The touch display means that children are encouraged to investigate and touch the objects on screen that capture their attention. For any parent that has sat their child down at a computer, they’ll have the finger prints on their monitor to prove the value of touch screen displays for kids.
Now, I’m not the only one that has realized the iPhone can be a great toy for their children, Macworld* recently reviewed several games for girls. Reader ibeetle is concerned that leaving an iPhone in a preschooler’s hand would result in an early demise of your phone, stating “Wait until you are distracted for two seconds and your 18 month old leaps up off the sofa and launches your iPhone into the toilet”. Which really comes down to knowing your child, for example my daughter—a two year old—shows no interest in putting things into the toilet, so my only fear with giving her the iPhone is that it may end up momentarily lost in her toy box. Which is easily addressed by giving the phone a call to track it down in the house.
In addition to the three games reviewed by Macworld I’ve found 3Dal’s PreSchool Adventure for iPhone an enjoyable game to share with my daughter. The game provides several different activities that keep her interest, while teaching her basics like colors and shapes.
For those with preschoolers Crayon Physics Deluxe for the iPhone is a great tool for introducing your children to Newtonian physics or falling short of that, entertaining them for a few moments. Crayon Physics (App Store) is not just for your children though as it recently won the grand prize at the Independent Games Festival, so you may just find yourself enjoying a level or two as well.
*Special thanks to Mark McCormack over at The Narrative for alerting me to the Macworld article.
My Daughter and I recently discovered the joy of watching YouTube together. It wasn’t long after watching our first video that we stumbled upon one that at first glance appeared perfectly suited to a toddler, but turned out to be crude and offensive. So, when I came across Totlol I knew they would greatly improve our YouTube experience by eliminating those surprises. Totlol in their own words:
Totlol is a video website designed specifically for children. It is community moderated. It is constantly growing. It is powered by YouTube.
All videos were submitted, screened and rated by parents. The selection is huge and if you like, you can participate too.
So, you can safely watch videos on totlol without fear of accidentally running into something inappropriate.
To give you a feel for the videos, here are a couple of my daughter’s favorites: Gummy Bears and Clay Play’s Elephant, and now it’s time to end this post as she’s asking for the clay elephant video again.
I previously mentioned how some toys might contain toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, or chlorine and may end up possibly hurting your children. So, as we ring in the new year it is worth while to point out GoodGuide as a resource to help us find safe and healthy products. GoodGuide provides easy to understand benchmarks for making safe, healthy, and green buying decisions.
GoodGuide is great when considering toys for toddlers or other children’s products—take a look at their Holiday Guide to Safe Toys. But, since GoodGuide covers all kinds of products you can use it as a resource for everyday purchasing decisions.
For on the go users, an iPhone app is available as well.
John Lennon wants you to change the world, all you need to do is help educate a child in a developing country. The Lennon advertisement isn’t actually asking that you go teach in a developing country, but rather participate through the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) non-profit initiative by donating a laptop. The XO Laptops, created by OLPC, are built and designed for children in developing countries. These laptops quickly charge using a solar battery charger, they standup to water, and come with unique software aimed to encourage learning. The exciting part of the program is that for the next few weeks you can get one of these laptops for your child through the Give One. Get One. program.
If the One Laptop Per Child initiative is completely new to you, I recommend watching the short video below to get a better sense of their mission. A longer video that really shows Nicholas Negroponte’s passion behind the OLPC and showcases the laptop can be watched at the TED conference.
Earlier this month, Nicholas Negroponte flew to Colombia, along with a team from One Laptop per Child, to deliver bright-green XOlaptops to schoolchildren in territory once held by guerrillas. TED came along to film as part of a new, occasional feature called “TED in the Field” that offers updates on TEDTalks speakers and the initiatives, ideas and products they announced. Negroponte talks with TED about OLPC and what he’s learned along the way — and invites TED viewers to take part in the Buy One Get One program.
He liked “I Can Garden” so much he kept saying, “bee, bee, bee” so he could play more.
Tech Talk for Moms
A colorful app that will appeal to young toddlers.
The iPhone Mom
My Daughter and I recently discovered the joy of watching YouTube together. It wasn’t long after watching our first video that we stumbled upon one that at first glance appeared perfectly suited to a toddler, but turned out to be crude and offensive. So, when I came across 
