NOGGIN--One of the BEST T.V. Channels for your Little Ones.

     Those of you who have toddlers and pre-schoolers are probably already Privy to the wealth of amazing shows on Noggin, but for those of you who may not know about this wonderful television station, please allow me to discuss it with you. Noggin is a television channel developed for your little ones (from birth to preschool ) that is designed to be a virtual preschool for your children. EVERYTHING on Noggin is SAFE, EDUCATIONAL, and FUN! What I love the most (coming from both a mom and a teacher's standpoint) is the fact that prior to every show they list the EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS that each show focuses on. For those of you who aren't familiar with "Educational Standards" , they are an outline that educators use when formulating their lesson plans. When a teacher writes up his/her lesson, they are expected to include one or more of a state's required "Educational Standards"; this is done in order to make sure that educational goals are met by all students. Noggin lists each educational standard that its shows meet prior to the show. For example, prior to showing "The Upside Down Show", Noggin will announce that the particular episode helps children learn opposites such as up and down, right and left, etc, and enhances children's learning through imaginary role play. I find the shows on Noggin to be the next best thing to my child being in preschool (he is still to little to actually go), and I know that he is learning many useful and many necessary skills, behaviors, and attitudes that he will need to be successful in the future. I also love the fact that Noggin is all preschool ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. They used to cut the preschool shows at 6 p.m. and begin teen shows, but they apparently had a great demand to change to the younger audience, because earlier this year, they became a 24 hour preschool station. I love the fact that I can turn Noggin on and not worry about my kids hearing words they shouldn't be hearing or seeing behaviors that I don't want them to pick up. I have found that even some Disney movies are not worthy of praise as quite a few of them have characters calling each-other names like: "You moron" or "You Nerd". Other shows have the kids getting into jams and various scenarios that I would not want my kids replicating. I know they aren't horrible words, and very bad behaviors depicted in some shows but when you are trying to teach your child to respect others, these words and behaviors can prove to be stumbling blocks on the road to respectfulness. Some of my favorite shows on the Noggin station are: MAX AND RUBY, The Upside Down Show, and JACK'S BIG MUSIC SHOW. I even find myself sitting down to watch with the kids rather than cleaning the house, simply because I enjoy the shows and I like to interact with the kids while they watch. Other shows include: Dora The Explorer which teaches kids everyday Spanish words and deductive reasoning, Diego which also teaches Spanish words and introduces children to various animals and facts about those animals, Blue's Clues (which I love too) which is really cute as kids get to help a man find clues that his dog leaves him in order to solve a puzzle at the end. There are so many more shows worth mentioning, but I will leave it to you to explore the shows yourself. If you don't receive Noggin, I highly urge you to call your cable or satellite provider and order the channel-you will not be sorry and it will be the best investment you will ever make for your child's education .