My Mommy Picks!

Even though I've started a new blog devoted to my children and their activities, I still have quite a few friends/readers here, who have babies and toddlers. So, I'm starting something new here called "My Mommy Picks." I would like it to be a weekly installment of all my favorites. I'm also going to incorporate things I've come to learn about and love from other mommy friends of mine. This is when having a play group really pays off girls! And if you don't happen to have any small children in your home at the moment, this will also give great ideas for presents for showers, birthdays, or holidays. I wish I knew how to make a button. If any of my bloggy friends would like to teach me, please let me know:) ~Because this would be even more fun if we could have a sign up here, and visit each other's blogs each week for other "Mommy Picks," out there!

For my first installment, I'm going for a little something in the arts and entertainment area.

I love this set of DVDs. I can't say enough good about them. They are entertaining, stimulating, and educational. I'm not endorsing HBO here. Very honestly, we don't even have cable, but, this is fantastic! Both of my children have enjoyed them even more than the Baby Einstein series, with the exception of Baby McDonald. And we have twenty five of the videos in that series. What can I say people, as a former educator, I want the best opportunities for my little ones to explore and learn. I'm one of those mommies that read to my babies in the womb and put earphones of music on my belly. I also took baby massage classes, so I could help to bond and comfort them, work their little muscles, and aid in digestion. But, that is for another post.

"Winner of a Peabody Award and three Emmy Awards and ingeniously designed to introduce young children to masterpieces of classical music, painting, and dance, "Classical Baby" is a creative kaleidoscope of color, motion, and music played out in an accessible, comforting format." ~HBO.

The videos include 2-3 minute musical pieces featuring composers Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Johann Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, Georges Bizet, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and others. The classical dance video features great choreographers like George Balanchine. And the art video pays tribute to such artists as Claude Monet, Joan Miro, and Fernand Leger. It is very creative and imaginative show case of work. It kinda reminds me of a cross between Baby Einstein and Disney's Fantasia. Each of the videos features the cute little diapered conductor, you see above, an orchestra of baby animals and an audience of animal families. I really like that the audience claps after each musical piece. It gave me a chance to explain good etiquette for when we go to a live performance. I also love that the videos offer a feature where you can choose to see little pop ups about the composer you're listening to, or piece of art you are seeing. So it's filled with fun little facts you can learn together. I feel like this is a video your child can grow with.

The best thing I can say is that my children have enjoyed these videos. They still ask for them. Anna Grace loves to dance along with the Classical Dance video. She tries to imitate all the movements in each song. And Trey enjoys the Art and Music videos. He still asks mommy to sing him the cow song, a.k.a. Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro. So sweet. We were in Walmart one evening, a little over a year ago, when he was only two, and we walked by the section of music you can play before you purchase. All of the sudden Trey said, "Listen momma, it's the cow song." And the next time we were there, he wanted to take his daddy to hear it. So, this really made an impression on him, even the tender age of two.

I hope this will inspire or be helpful to someone out there, mothers, grandmothers, or friends looking for a great gift idea. It gets one of my top recommendations! You can order them online or pick them up at Boarders or Barnes and Nobel. Blessings to all, and stay tuned for more Mommy Picks!