Buckle your pre-schooler’s seat-belt and send him off on a rocket ship of adventure this week that’ll have him dipping into renowned works of art and exploring diverse cultures to the strains of classical music.
“Little Einsteins,” an inspiring new series that introduces TV’s youngest viewers to the arts and to the world around them, premieres Sunday, at 6 p.m. on Disney Channel. It begins airing the next morning as part of Playhouse Disney.
Every half-hour episode focuses on four animated playmates who share a passion for the music that helps them solve the daily “mission”. “Little Einsteins” gracefully weaves between animation, famous paintings, real shots of nature and diverse global environments. During the season, the children will set down in the Sahara, an African jungle, the Arctic and on the Great Wall of China.
In the first episode, “I Love to Conduct,” Leo conducts a brilliant sunrise as his animated playmates sing along to Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, Morning Mood. When a bald eagle snatches the baton, mistaking it for a stick, the children must retrieve it.
During its adventure, the team travels over the rumbling Mount St. Helen, where they learn the difference between “crescendo” and “diminuendo” in the nick of time. Jetting off ahead of an eruption, they land in California’s redwood forest, where Edward Hick’s painting “A Peaceable Kingdom” comes to life.
As a parent, when I see kids exposed to classical art and music while exploring nature and world cultures, I want to dance on the backs of Orca whales along with the Little Einsteins.
Broadening your world …
Take children to an art museum to explore the world’s famous pieces. Ask them to create their own story in which their favorite piece of the day serves as a scene.
… with art, music and nature.
Who gets to decide what’s a famous work of art or a classical piece of music? What do you know of today that might wind up in that all-time favorites category?
