Spending Time with Your "Backyard Friends"

In the wide world of preschool programming, it's tough for parents to filter out the good television from the bad. After all, if your kids must watch TV, you want them to watch something that's more than just a cute show.

Nick Jr.'s "The Backyardigans" doesn't fall into the typical rhythm of an educational television show. The five animated animal friends, Tyrone, a moose, Pablo, a penguin, Tasha, a hippopotamus, Austin, a purple kangaroo, and Uniqua, a, well, Uniqua, rarely count, speak little to no Spanish and almost never feel a need to utter their ABC's. But don't discount the program yet, the show offers a lot more to children than just what we've grown to think of as "educational."

The show revolves around the five characters and the adventures they play out in their backyards. Everything from races around the world, capers in ancient Egypt and exploring on a Viking ship is possible in the imaginative world of the Backyardigans. Each show begins and ends in the backyard setting, where the friends join together, play out their story in its setting and then return to the backyards to have a snack when the fun is over. It encourages children to get outside and play, use their imaginations and create their own stories or adapt the stories they've seen on the show. As more and more toys come on the market with built in voices and stories, children are becoming more and more passive in their play, more spectators than directors. The Backyardigans gets children to take more control over their imaginations and develop their own adventures right in the backyard.

The stories are well written and well developed, but the best part of "The Backyardigans" is the music and dance peppered in with them. The songs are far better than those most common in children's programming, and some even border on entertaining for the parents as well. The child actors who voice the characters are fantastic singers and can handle complex harmonies, giving the songs a great depth. Kids have no problem picking up the melodies and lyrics and singing along. The choreography is simple and easy to follow, and most of all, very realistic and sophisticated. Unlike many animated programs, the Backyardigans move in natural ways easily duplicated by children.

"The Backyardigans" also teaches valuable social lessons within their stories. Using their adventures as a background, children can learn about being prepared, using polite words, and understanding that everyone has their own talents. These lessons do not overpower the overall storyline, so they do not take away from the fun and adventure the characters are having.

The next time your preschooler is looking for a television show, turn on "The Backyardigans" and sing, dance and share in the imaginative stories. Your kids will have a great time, and you will as well.