A Closer Look into Charlie and Lola...Again :)

Rating: Tv-Y
Target Audience: Preschoolers
Episode Length: 30 mins (consists of two stories)
Network/Schedule: Playhouse Disney 11/10c (check local listings for your area)


Last semester when I started this blog the first show I looked into was one that is particularly close to my heart…Charlie and Lola. This show…about a brother and sister and the fun lessons they share…is one of the cutest shows I have ever watched. It focuses on a lot of the issues kids go through as they grow up while also capturing the magic of the imagination and how looking at things in a different way can help a child to understand them better. One particular episode of Charlie and Lola focuses on the same issue as my capstone project…separation anxiety.

In the episode, titled “I Love Going to Granny’s and Grandpa’s, but…,” Charlie and Lola are packing to go visit their grandparents by themselves for the first time. As Charlie does his usual introduction for the show, he admits that Lola is acting a little unusual this time. Lola tells Charlie that they can’t go to Granny’s and Grandpa’s because her hula hoop won’t fit into her suitcase. Charlie tells her that they can just put it in the car. Lola then starts making up other excuses for why they can’t go, so Charlie tries reminding Lola of all the fun things they have done at Granny’s and Grandpa’s. Finally, Lola tells Charlie that she can’t go because her imaginary friend, Soren Lorenson, will miss her too much. So, Charlie tells her that she can send him a postcard and let him know what they are doing. Eventually, after a few more excuses and a private talk with Soren Lorenson, Lola confesses that the real reason she doesn’t want to go is because she is afraid she will miss her mom, dad, and Soren Lorenson too much; and sending a postcard won’t be quite enough. Charlie, being the amazing older brother that he is gives Lola a hug and tells her that it will be ok. He says that not only can she talk to everyone over the phone, but they can even pick out one thing of their mom’s and dad’s to take with them to remember them by. This of course makes Lola feel a lot better and she even decides to leaves her hula hoop behind for Soren Lorenson. The last scene of the show shows Lola outside at Granny’s and Grandpa’s house coloring a picture when Charlie comes out and tells her mom and dad are on the phone. Lola simply replies for him to tell them she says hello, but she is extremely too busy to talk right now.

What I like so much about this episode is the way it demonstrates how children will often make different excuses for why they don’t want to do something. Lola didn’t want to be away from her parents, but instead of telling Charlie that in the first place she claimed it was because her hula hoop wouldn’t fit into her suitcase, or because Soren Lorenson would miss her too much. I wasn’t until she told Charlie the truth that they were able to come up with a solution that would work. I think that happens with all of us, even as we get older. We constantly tell ourselves that we don’t want to do something for this reason or that, but it’s not until we admit the real reason that we can find a way to get over the issue. I think we’ve all had that feeling where we get a nervous when we go away from those we love for the first time. We fear losing the comfort and protection they provide. Charlie and Lola teaches us that there are many ways to over come that fear, and it can be as simple as picking out a few items that remind us of those we love. It’s a fun, imaginative episode that I think can really help kids as they grow up and travel to new and exciting places.

For more info on Charlie and Lola visit:

http://www.charlieandlola.com/
or
http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/charlieandlola/index.html

Picture found on: movie-tv-episode-database.com/.../

A Closer Look at Children’s Television: Starting School with Mister Rogers

Rating: Tv-Y
Target Audience: Preschoolers
Episode length: 30 min
Channel/Schedule: PBS/WQED/ Check local listings for times

For my capstone project this semester I am focusing primarily on the separation anxiety and other fears that can arise when preschoolers begin school for the first time. So when I started doing research to see how kids react and how adults can help them through that sometimes difficult transition…who better to look to than the one man who cared and understood children more than anyone else in television and probably the world…Mister Rogers.

Not only does Mister Rogers address the feelings kids go through when they first begin school…but he spends an entire week of episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood focusing on the topic. I was lucky enough to visit the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College…where they allowed me to look through the Mister Rogers’ archives and watch some of the episodes.

Fred Rogers always approached children in the most caring and understanding way…he invited them into his home…talked with them…pretended with them…and always reminded them just how very special they are. As I sat and watched some of the “Going to School” episodes I saw many different ways to approach that topic. For example…in one episode Mister Rogers went to the elementary school he attended and was given a tour by one of the Kindergarten teachers. What I found most fascinating about this approach was how Mister Rogers seemed to react to that experience just as a child might. When he walked into the classroom he commented on how big the room was…he also asked where the bathrooms were…many of the biggest thoughts and questions that go through a child’s head when they go into a new environment. In another episode he addressed the feelings children have or had about starting school by showing a montage of interviews he did with children about their first day of school and the thoughts or fears that they experienced. During this montage you never once saw Mister Rogers… you always heard him…but the focus was always on the children. And finally… it wouldn’t be Mister Rogers if he didn’t also approach the topic through make believe. Throughout the week the characters in the Neighborhood of Make Believe decided to build a school where Prince Tuesday…Anna Platypus…and Daniel the Striped Tiger could learn. Of course…Daniel was nervous at first…but once he got there he realized how much fun school was…especially with all his friends there.

The way Mister Rogers addressed beginning school just seemed so in depth and loving. He wanted to make sure that he did everything he could to show kids that school could be a wonderful place to learn and grow and have fun. It was so fun to watch because you just see in him the wonderful curiosity that all children have. Sitting there watching him just seemed so comforting. I don’t think I have ever watched a show that worked so hard to prepare kids for the huge journey ahead of them. There was always a pureness about him that when you watched you always knew he was telling you the truth. He truly was the best friend any of us could ever have.

For more information on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood visit: http://www.fci.org/

Picture from: http://www.carnegiesciencecenter.org/images/explore/planshow_mrrodgers.jpg

A New Semester...A Closer Look

Welcome back to another semester of A Closer Look at Children’s Television. For those of you who joined me last semester you may remember that I was using this blog as a tool to help me do some research for my senior capstone project due this semester. Each week I watched a different children’s show and wrote about the themes or issues they addressed and how they might have been special or unique. Each show was different; some were animated and some were live action, some used digital effects and some used puppets, but each one was created to not only entertain children but to help them learn and grow.

This semester of A Closer Look…I plan on continuing with my weekly children show watching…but I’ll try to look a little deeper into the issues that the shows address in each episode rather than in the show in general. I will especially be on the look out for shows that deal the fear children feel when they are away from home for the first time or when they start school…since those are the topics I focus on in my capstone. I would also like to go back in time once and a while and look back on some more of the shows my friends and I grew up on. Maybe I’ll even do a comparison…Old School Sesame Street vs. today’s Sesame Street. I would also like to invite you…the readers…to write back and let me know if there are any shows you think I should watch or any advice on what you think appeals to children when it comes to TV. I think it’s going to be a good semester!!

Til next week,

:)

Allyson