This is one of Madison’s new favorite shows. It is on Toon Disney, and I swear it is one of the weirdest cartoons I have ever seen. However, Madison absolutely adores it.  She actually goes around singing the theme song all the time for this show.

You can tell from the title that this is not about Alabama land for sale. Instead, Pucca is the main character. I think she is in love with Garu, and she spends the entire cartoon chasing him around trying to kiss him. Garu is trying to become the ultimate ninja and like any boy does not want anything to do with Pucca. He spends a lot of time hiding from Pucca. Abya is Pucca’s friend. Bill calls him the Bruce Lee wannabee. He is always trying to do ninja moves, but something funny happens like his pants fall down. Ching is Pucca’s other best friend, and she walks around with a chicken on her head.  The show is basically about these friends and their adventures together (and Pucca trying to give Garu a kiss on the check).

If you want a fairly cute cartoon for your kids to watch, this is a good one.  It is cute even though mommy doesn’t really get the point of it.

Do you have a DVR yet? I’ll warn you — once you start recording your shows, you’ll never want to stop. To be honest, I no longer even know when some of my favorite shows are on anymore. I set my DVR to the shows that I like, and it does all the hard work and recording for me. There are several brands out there like TIVO, but they all pretty much do the same. The only notable exception is that TIVO makes suggestions for you. It looks at what you record and then records things it thinks you will like. Personally, I never watched anything under my suggestion list. Most cable and satellite companies do charge a monthly fee for this service (on top of the cost of the DVR). However it isn’t anything you are going to be need a cash advance for. I think DirecTV charge us $5.98 and Dish Network is charging us $5. However, it is well worth it. I don’t have to watch commercials when viewing my recorded shows. I am able to watch the shows that Madison can’t watch (I just watch them after she’s sleeping). I am able to record cartoons for Madison, so when Noggin goes off for the day, she can still watch cartoons. I am also able to use those cartoons for a bargaining chip.

I love my DVR. It is something I could live without, but I would be completely miserable.

You seriously cannot go wrong with the Leap Frog videos. Leap Frog - Talking Words Factory is another awesome video. This video is geared towards 3 - 6 year olds. It teaches vowels and consonants, word building, rhyming, and vocabulary. Another cartoon with a plot, and it holds my interest. Madison watches this and sounds out the words with the video. She may not be reading herself yet, but I see this helping her tremendously. I am so glad we got these videos for her. They seem to be a great stepping stone towards reading.

This is another awesome DVD we got Madison. Leap Frog - Letter Factory has to be one of my favorite Leap Frog videos. It is geared towards ages 2 - 5. The learning goals for this video are letter, phonics, and listening skills. Since we have watched this, Madison goes around singing: “A says ahhh, A says ahhh, Every letter makes a sound, A says ahhh.” This is a song right from the video. She does not know what a lot of letter sounds are yet. She’ll sing the song, and Bill and I will fill in the sound for her. If she has learned that already (we only got the video at the end of last week), I cannot wait to see how much more she absorbs in the coming multiple viewing sessions. I also like this, because even though it is in cartoon format, it does have a story and plot line. I give this video 2 thumbs up!

I ordered the DVD Leap Frog - Math Circus for Madison last week. The DVD came today, and we have already watched it.

I like this video. It did not drive me nuts as some children’s programming can. It is a cartoon with an actual plot. This video teaches numeration, problem solving, and creative thinking skills. In other words, she is learning counting, addition, subtraction, and so much more. This video held her attention (which is somewhat amazing since nothing holds her 3 year old attention span!). This video is designed for children ages 3 - 6.