Keep your kids engaged this lockdown with educational shows

As the COVID-19 lockdown intensifies in most parts of the country, children should be actively engaged to keep their brains and minds ready to take on school work when it beckons again.

Jayne Augoye, a parenting enthusiast and founder Fabmum.ng, (an online resource community for parents), has listed out educational TV shows, apps and online sites that can build children’s cognitive reasoning as well as develop their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Kindly engage your kids!

Blaze and The Monster Machines: The animated series has 60 episodes that are 22 minutes each, following the adventures of racing driver AJ and his car Blaze. Besides speeding around Axle City, they have fun learning about science and maths in this show that’s more for the younger audience.

Super Why: With 103 episodes that run 24 minutes each, there’s enough edutainment to keep an army of kids learning. What’s it about? Whyatt and his pals in Storybook Village have a secret clubhouse that turns them into education heroes (like Alpha Pig, who’s a master of reading). Their adventures take them around their world, learning while solving puzzles, problems, and questions that need answering.

Carnage: Top gear host and English ex-cricketer Freddie Flintoff host this smashing engineering show with a difference. The six episodes were filmed in South Africa in 2018 and each 44-minute installment sees competitors use their engineering skills to not just build a car worthy of a Mad Max movie, but to also go to war with one another and see whose engineering skills are the best in the car-crashing arena.

The Planets: Space isn’t just the final frontier, it’s the ultimate science laboratory. This 2019 doccie has five 50-minute episodes filled with the latest technology being used by space organisations around the world. It is narrated by Brian Cox, and you’ll get incredible access to photos, videos, information and a whole lot more than we would normally know about, as the origins of our solar system are explored in all of the space’s glory!

Finding Stuff Out: The best way to learn is to ask questions. Like, what is dirt made of? And that’s what this 13-episode series investigates – kids asking questions and learning while they find out the answers in each of the 21-minute episodes. There are fun and funky animation elements, as well as experts who help answer the multitude of questions being asked by these eager young minds.

Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate: This cartoon is another educational kids’ shows that teaches kids about the value of good food and trying new unknown foods

Doc McStuffins: Doc’s kid-friendly health tips are good reminders about basic personal hygiene.
Where’s Waldo: It combines lots of information about different countries and cultures with lessons on problem solving and teamwork.

Ollie and Moon: Feline friends’ travels inspire curiosity about the world.
Go Jetters: Young heroes’ travels introduce kids to world of geography.
Dora the Explorer: This series offers good exposure to language, culture, and creativity
Bitz and Bob: Combining funny and whimsical stories with key principles of STEAM. Encourages pre-school viewers to get creative and involved in crafting, engineering, experiments, and exploration.
Team Umizoomi: Superteam teaches preschoolers real-life math applications.
Blaze and the Monster Machines: Friendly characters, STEM content equates smart pick for tots.

The Polos: STEAM Series aimed at kids aged three to seven
Leapfrog: Learn the alphabet, how to count, and the basics of reading.
Super Why: This focuses on building preschoolers’ early literacy skills.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Designed to help preschoolers acquire problem-solving and early mathematics skills.
Yakka Dee: Simple but super series helps kids learn words.
Know Zone: This educational show aimed at young Kenyans follows seven children as they go on adventures and work together to solve problems using their knowledge of Maths, English and social issues.