Genre: Childrens educational
Age range: Preschoolers
Runtime: Approx. 50 minutes
Barney: Shake Your Dino Tail - Overview
Barney teaches kids about their helpful friends, the doctor and the dentist, and he reinforces the importance of eating right and exercising in Shake Your Dino Tail. The DVD contains the following two episodes:
- "My Friends, The Doctor and the Dentist": Barney and his friends visit the dentist and the doctor, and the visits are not scary at all! In fact, he shows kids that the doctor and the dentist are our friends, because they help us stay healthy and strong.
- "Play for Exercise!": Barney and his friends demonstrate that exercise is as fun as it is important. Playing games that require movement is exercise, and it can be done both indoors and out.
Barney: Shake Your Dino Tail - Guide Review
"My Friends, the Doctor and the Dentist," does not offer a very in depth look at a doctor or dentist visit, but the songs and role playing games will likely help kids to feel more comfortable about the idea of a visit to the doctor or the dentist. Barney and his friends are very enthusiastic about the good things that doctors and dentists do for us, and the kids in the show have fun pretending to be doctors and dentists. This type of play can be helpful for children who are apprehensive about an upcoming appointment, as children often work through fears and anxiety through play and role playing.
In both episodes, Barney and his friends discuss and sing about the importance of eating healthy foods and exercising, but they do not elaborate much on which foods are healthy and which foods are not. The DVD plants a good seed about living a healthy lifestyle, but the practical emphasis is more focused on exercising than on eating right.
Barney: Shake Your Dino Tail - Expand Upon the Curriculum
- Play doctor kits are very inexpensive, and as kids pretend to be a doctor, they become more interested in what a doctor does and the tools he uses. This type of educational play makes a doctor visit more familiar, and playing doctor can also help kids express and work through any fears they might have about doctor visits.
- Help kids write out the names of their favorite active games on pieces of paper and put the papers in a jar or box. When they get bored, kids can pick a game from the jar and get some exercise instead of watching TV or whining! To keep the games fresh, add a stipulation before picking each activity, like that they have to do it with their eyes closed or while singing a silly song. WebMD has some good ideas organized by age group for getting kids active.
- To encourage good oral hygiene, make kids a brushing chart that they can add a sticker or a star to each time they brush their teeth.
