Little Einsteins: The Christmas Wish

Our son LOVES the Little Einsteins and we watch it every morning on TV! I was so excited to have a Little Einstein DVD with a Christmas Theme! However, it was a little different than I expected and it left me a little disappointed. First, there isn't a menu for you to select which episode you want to watch you just have to skip through if you want to watch them in a different order. Of the 4 episodes only 2 are really Christmas themed. The first one is about show and tell(no reference to Christmas at all in this one). The second one is titled Christmas wish but I was sad that they didn't choose a Christmas song or music for the "special music". The third one is a nutcracker ballet theme and was glad that it was set to the nutcracker ballet music. The fourth one is a winter episode but I was surprised that they chose to have the music be a repeat song from a different episode...and even Quincy's silly song is a repeat from another episode. I was just hoping for something more Christmasy I guess. The good thing about this DVD is because it isn't that Christmasy you could let your kids watch it all year so you get your money's worth that way. My son loves it and I like it; I would have loved it if they would have made all the episodes about Christmas with Christmas music. Oh well.

My wee one loves everything Christmas and everything Little Einsteins, so this DVD, LITTLE EINSTEINS: THE CHRISTMAS WISH, was the perfect Christmas gift for her. She has watched this DVD innumerable times since Christmas, and I know that she will continue to watch it throughout the year. LITTLE EINSTEINS: THE CHRISTMAS WISH is clearly a new favorite.

Like all Little Einsteins DVDs, LITTLE EINSTEINS: THE CHRISTMAS WISH contains several episodes, one of which had not been previously shown on TV at the time of release. The four episodes include "The Christmas Wish," "The Northern Night Light," "The Wind-Up Toy Prince," and "Show and Tell." As always, each episode contains a featured phrase of classical music and a featured art piece. Music selections from this DVD include Fur Elise, Flight of the Bumble Bee, The Nutcracker Suite, and Carmen Suite No. 1. Art works included are "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh, "The Road in front of Saint-Siméon Farm in Winter" by Claude Monet, "Little Dancer" by Edgar Degas, and Mayan architecture.

My 3  year old has been watching Little Einsteins since before she could speak, and in our house, they can do no wrong. My child recognizes many classical music pieces and can ask for them by name. She also recognizes many art pieces when she sees them out of her familiar context. She can actually tell me what episode of Little Einsteins she first saw them in. I am constantly amazed and dumbfounded by what she has learned and retained.

If you have a Little Einstein lover in your house, then LITTLE EINSTEINS: THE CHRISTMAS WISH is a perfect gift, at any time of year. It will get lots of play, and your kids will learn to recognize and appreciate classical music and beautiful art. Disney has done a remarkable job with this series. Kudos for such quality programming.

I teach elementary music, and my students LOVED this DVD! As always, the art and musical connections were engaging for children, and the interactive features of this performance made learning fun and sustaining! I am most impressed with how age-appropriate this product is, and I find it works best with students in grades K-2.