Doc McStuffins Starts Making House Calls on Sept 6

The Disney cable network’s popular and award-winning preschool show “Doc McStuffins” will be kicking off Season 2 on Friday, September 6^th.   "Doc McStuffins" is a tv program my kids enjoy watching and I can appreciate letting them watch. This animated show chronicles a six-year-old girl named Doc McStuffins who, one day, wants to become a doctor like her mother. As a kid, she "pretends" to be a doctor by fixing up toys and dolls. When she puts on her stethoscope, something magical happens: toys, dolls and stuffed animals come to life and she can communicate with them. With a little help from her stuffed animal friends, Stuffy, Hallie, Lambie and Chilly, Doc helps toys "feel better" by giving them check-ups.  

It is a really entertaining series that includes an original song in each show plus the show’s catchy theme song “Time for your Check-up” along with educational themes and messages for preschool and kindergarten aged children including Doc giving advice to viewers about staying healthy during the ending credits . The most important educational aspect of the show though is its message to little girls that they can grow up to have professional careers and be doctors…something this geek daddy wouldn’t mind seeing his own daughter grow up to do.

Starting on September 6^th, there will be a new episode of “Doc McStuffins” airing every Friday on the Disney Channel throughout the month of September.  The season will be premiering Doc’s new mobile clinic, a souped up wagon that lets her travel the neighborhood making house calls, allowing the show to expand beyond the primary setting of Doc’s bedroom, playhouse and back yard from Season 1 in these new episodes.  Also new in Season 2 will be guest stars voicing characters in show.  While you and your family are watching Season 2 can you guess which characters are being voiced by  Geena Davis "A League of Their Own", Jeffrey Tambor "Arrested Development", Tony Hale "Arrested Development", Molly Shannon "Saturday Night Live", Tony Award-winning actress Sutton Foster "Anything Goes", Amy Sedaris "Strangers with Candy" and Peter MacNicol "Grey's Anatomy"?

To help kick-off Season 2, a "Doc McStuffins: The Doc Mobile" game and other digital activities including one that invites boys and girls to create a customized doctor avatar, will debut on DisneyJunior.com/Doc  on Friday, August 30.  Also debuting that day is a preview of the season two premiere "Doc McStuffins Goes McMobile/Chip Off the Ol' Box" via WATCHDisneyJunior.com, the WATCH Disney Junior app for smartphones and tablets, and Disney Junior on Demand.  It will become available for download on iTunes, Amazon and Xbox beginning Saturday, September 7.

A winner among preschoolers and their parents, "Doc McStuffins" was 2012's #1 cable TV series in Kids 2-5 and the #1 cable TV preschool series in Total Viewers and Women 18-49.* The popular series has inspired the creation of brand extensions across other Disney businesses. The award-winning "Doc McStuffins Time For Your Check Up Doll" was lauded as 2013's Preschool Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association. The "Doc McStuffins Time For Your Check Up" app launched in April 2013 as the #1 paid entertainment iPad app, and the series recently debuted two new appisodes for the Disney Junior Appisode app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. There are over 50 "Doc McStuffins" book titles from Disney Publishing, a soundtrack and two DVDs from Disney Studios and the series is prominently featured in the popular "Disney Junior Live on Stage!" attraction at Disney Parks & Resorts.

Created and executive-produced by Humanitas Prize and Emmy Award-winning Chris Nee (writer on "Little Bill" and producer of "Deadliest Catch: Crab Fishing in Alaska") and directed by Emmy-winning Norton Virgien ("Rugrats"), "Doc McStuffins" is a production of Dublin, Ireland's Brown Bag Films in association with Disney Channel. The Hollywood Health & Society division of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center serves as its health and medical consultants, advising on basic health issues that are relevant to young kids and families. 

JOIN THE DADS CLUB!!!

As someone who has worked in the legal system as both a Prosecutor and a Defense Attorney, I can testify that I’ve witnessed firsthand a correlation between the absence of a father in someone’s life and corresponding social and criminal troubles for many people.  Since every kid isn’t as lucky as I’ve been to have a great involved Dad in their like I had – and strive to be with my children – I support the work of the National Fatherhood Initiative.

The National Fatherhood Initiative’s mission is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers.  They do this by educating and inspiring all American on the important role dads play through research, media appearances, and online tools.  They also work with local, state, and national organizations across the country to reach fathers at their point of need with skill-building resources to help them be the best dads they can be.  The National Fatherhood Initiative also partners with a variety of companies and organizations to raise awareness, create unique programs and to expand interaction and outreach to as many fathers and families as possible to fulfill its mission.

I showed my support by joining their DADS CLUB ™, a fundraiser and outreach effort for The National Fatherhood Initiative.  For a $35 one-time membership fee (They have a special Fathers Day special rate of $20 between now and Sunday) provides you with some Dads Club ™ swag plus a connection the organization resources and other Dads who have joined.  Membership benefits of the Club are:

• Gift from Dove Men Care ™ - a sample of products that help men in carrying for their skin, face and hair;
• Dads Club T-shirt you can proudly sport to show you are a committed Dad;
• Photo Magnet to help hang a favorite family photo on the fridge;
• A 5 pack set of the NFI’s Dad Pocket Guide ™ which is a handy to carry booklet of parenting tips;  Keep one for your family and pass the other 4 along to other dads in the neighborhood;
• A monthly e-mail newsletter featuring tips for dads, member spotlights and special promotions from Dove Men Care ™;
• Twice-weekly Dad Email with practical tips, resources and ideas for dads.

Check out this TIDE & DOWNY television commercial promoting Fathers Day and featuring the National Fatherhood Initiative that is currently airing:

Another way to support the National Fatherhood Initiative is to tweet a message a favorite Fathers Day memory, a parenting tips, or a message of support to NFI between now and June 16^th with the hash tag #Dadsway.  For every tweet with #Dadsway between now and Fathers Day, TIDE & DOWNY will donate a $1 to the National Fatherhood Initiative.

Join the DADS CLUB! It is a great way to honor Fathers Day this year by supporting the goals and programs of the National Fatherhood Initiative. Visit www.fatherhood.org for more information.

Wishing everyone a Happy Fathers Day this weekend!  All the best from my family to yours!

DISCLAIMER:  I purchased a $35 membership in the NFI Dads Club with my own money, was not solicited to write this post, and these are my own opinions in this article. 

Little Passports: Month Deux

Last month I posted about receiving our introductory package from the Little Passports program (Little Passports opens up the world of travel to little ones).  Little Passports is a subscription service that sends your child(ren) a package in the mail each month with fun and informational items focusing on either highlighting a foreign country or spotlighting two of the states in the USA.  We choose the USA package for our 4 year old twins.  Here's the reveal of what came in the mail this month:

This month's Little Passports package featured the states of Arizona & Rhode Island.  It contained a booklet with historical facts, informational tips, and workbook activities like connect the dots, puzzles, and word games about these two states.  Also included were stickers reflecting important things from Arizona & Rhode Island and a post card from each state.

The items that my kids were most excited about and had the most fun with were cardboard a cardboard lighthouse and cactus that we could build together.  There were two sides of the coin when it came to building these projects though.  It was nice that these weren't tab insert constructions - you have to follow instructions and GLUE these creations together - so they are pretty sturdy once you've completed putting them together.  That being said, the other side of the coin when it comes to these projects is that it does take some time, effort, and GLUE to put them together versus being able to quickly and easily snap together tabs.

Unfortunately, this pack was a little too "mature" for my 4 year old preschoolers, but it was a well packaged kit that I believe any elementary school aged child who is studying geography would be excited and thrilled to get as a special little extra something in the mail.  My opinion overall of Little Passports from the first two packages we've received in the mail is that they really do a nice job of making education fun through their monthly mailings that help promote to kids an interest in geography, history, culture, and travel.  The product is probably best suited for children 7 - 10 years old.

For more information about Little Passports, visit their Web site:  www.littlepassports.com

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary 3 month subscription of Little Passports United States Edition from Little Passports.  The views and opinions in this article are my own.  

Book Review: GOODNIGHT BASEBALL

I’ve been a Detroit Tigers fan since I was a little kid with an attachment to the team and the game  of baseball developed through the connection to time I spent with my grandfather and father enjoying the national pastime.  Some of my fondest memories of time spent with my grandpa involved sitting on his back porch with him drinking out of glass bottles a multitude of different Towne Club  soda pop flavors …I think there were 24 flavors in all that my grandparents bought in big wooden grates…while listening  to the Tigers’ games on the radio.  And what young boy doesn’t cherish the ball games their Dad takes them to.   I have such great memories of eating hot dogs with my Dad at the old Tiger Stadium on Woodward & Trumbull while watching Sweet Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell turn double plays. 

As a parent now myself, I’ve shared my love of the game with my children as a bonding experience with them.  We’ve enjoyed some cherished family moments enjoying games together at the Tiger’s new home Comerica Park and watching on television as a new generation of heroes named Cabrera, Ordonez, Fielder, Avila & Verlander take the field and lead the team to division championships and the playoffs.  I believe that \ my children like the excitement associated with the sport but what they really enjoy is the quality time with me that watching these games together represents.    Enjoying baseball is an important pastime for our family.

With all these baseball memories in mind, I recently discovered a book that ties into our family’s enjoyment of the game published by CAPSTONE YOUNG READERS in partnership with SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS called “Goodnight Baseball”.   I’ve been reading the book to my 4 year old twins this week at bed time, literally all week because they’ve asked me to reread it to them every night, and the kids love it.  I enjoy reading it to them because it is a nice nostalgic tale that our family can relate to about a father taking a son to his first baseball game.

The story written by Michael Dahl explores the sights and sounds of baseball through a fun rhyme that makes the book an easy and fun bedtime read for a parent.  Also because of the rhyme type storytelling there isn’t a lot of text which allows you to really enjoy and focus on the great illustrations in the book by ChristinaForshay.   “Good Night Baseball” does a really nice job of portraying the excitement through a kid’s perspective of experiencing his or her first trip to a Major League ballpark through Dahl’s rhymes and Forshay’s sketches.   Reader’s experience the sights and sounds of a  trip to the ballpark starting from pulling into the stadium parking lot and wrapping up with a Daddy carrying his tucked out son up to bed when they get home.

I appreciated that Christina Forshay’s illustrations had a classic 1960s/1970s feel to them that reminded me of the animation style of cartoons like “Woody Wood Pecker” & “Tom & Jerry” and Disney movies such as “Alice in Wonderland” and “the Fox & the Hound” that I enjoyed when I was a little kid.  Forshay’s drawings drew my kids’ attention into the book artwork rather than me just reading the words to them and allowed aspects of the story to pop out of the pages at them.  Three of my children and mine’s favorite images were a display of the ball diamond that made it seem as if you were sitting in the outfield taking the whole field in; a picture of the daddy taking a photo of his son with a lifelike team mascot; and the last page of the book that shows the son falling asleep in his room holding a stuffed toy of the mascot as the moon is displayed in the child’s window looking as if it is a baseball.  Forshay does an exceptional job portraying the story through the eyes of a child.

Something I thought was funny that caught my attention while reading the book was how Michael Dahl has the young boy say “goodbye” to all the different things at the ballpark as they are leaving the stadium.  He says goodbye to the players, their equipment, the field, the seats, and the trash of the ground as they are leaving.  My son does exactly that when we go out places – saying goodbye to all sorts of people, animals and objects when we are out and about.  For example we were at the grocery store the other day and as we headed to the car he said good bye to the cashier, than the shopping cart, and the food we didn’t buy, and finally to the building as we pulled out of the parking lot – so Dahl’s inclusion of that angle into his story really hit home.  I also appreciated how the author included things that would excite children about going to a stadium such as showing your tickets at the gate, buying snacks, meeting a team mascot, getting a chance to walk the bases and see a dugout, catching a foul ball.  Including the “goodnight” angle too really makes this a great bedtime story because it keeps the kids attention and entertains them but it closes out getting them ready to go to bed themselves – excellent!

The downside for us was that we read “Goodnight Baseball” as an e-book on my iPad.  I really don’t like reading bedtime stories from my tablet to the kids because they have a tendency for me to want to play apps with them instead and it just doesn’t seem as nice to read to them from as a printed book.  Some of the pages weren’t as aligned on the screen and had to toggle the screen somewhat to see the whole picture.  I have a feeling that the book’s images would display better and look a little nicer in print versus digital.  That being said we did find the e-book overall to be a very enjoyable read that my children repeatedly went out of their way to ask me to share with them again at bedtime after I read it to them the first time.

“Goodnight Baseball” hits store retail shelves in March as a hardcover book for $14.95 and is aimed for children ages 4 – 7.  If you are looking for a good bedtime reading book to share with your children the Geek Daddy highly recommends you check it out!

Disclaimer:  I received a free advance copy digital e-book of “Goodnight Baseball” from the publisher to review.  The thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.