I Wish I Would Have Thought of it...

My daughters don't watch a lot of movies, but will usually let them pick one out at our library during our weekly visit. My four year old, Lucy, zoomed in immediately for a DVD entitled Word World: Where the Words Come Alive. I had heard briefly of this PBS show, but Lucy informed me that its "really creative and makes you think differently. You would really like it, Mommy!" With an endorsement like that how I could not watch it with them? I loved it! It goes along so well from my years of teaching kindergarten and teaching kids how to read. Each character in the show is made out of letters. Its entirely animated and the characters face challenges which helps them form new words.

For example, the character Ant (made out of the letters a-n-t) was feeling left out because he was so small. With the addition of a "g" and an "i" to him, Ant became a Giant. Clever huh? Well...of course things are always what they seem, and Ant realizes that it is better off to be who he really was.

There are so many learning opportunities here! Phonics, sound boxes (a reading strategy that helps kids recognize letter shapes and sounds), segmenting, whole language...the list goes on! The reading teacher in me (and entrepreneur) wishes I would have come up with this idea. Way to go WordWorld! In case you are wondering it airs on PBS at 10:30 AM central time.

Click here for an intro to WordWorld and download a free episode!