In April, I interview Stephen Gass, the creator of the Eebee’s Adventures series. These unique educational DVDs are made just for babies, and features “eebee”, the puppet baby who explores every day situations, learning as he plays with friends. Gass spoke with me about his inspiration behind starting eebee, and his take on the debate about children and TV – and now it’s my turn to check out the series and share my thoughts on it.
The first disc I viewed was “All In a Day’s Play!”. Geared for babies six months and up, this DVD shows eebee playing with adult humans and babies and taking in the world around him. They bang on pots to illustrate the difference between “louder and softer”, play with containers, and experience textures as eebee’s mommy covers him in laundry and plays a game of peekaboo.
The second disc, “Exploring Real Stuff!”, shows eebee discovering everything from concepts like cause and effect to motions like rolling and reaching. The aim of this show is not to be passive, but to engage the interest of the babies watching it and get them experimenting and learning, too. This installment is also suitable for babies six months and up.
The third and last disc, “Figuring Things Out!”, is appropriate for slightly older babies, 12 months and up. This time, eebee learns about light and dark, building, and problem-solving concepts. Each disc also includes “Play by Play Guides”, providing commentary on each of eebee’s adventures, and “A Developmental Perspective”, a video Q&A with academic leaders in the fields of infant learning, play, and children’s media.
I thought the eebee series was well done, and I like how it’s gentle and unobtrusive, unlike many loud and annoying kids shows – it’s cute to watch eebee playing with real babies and their parents. I think these DVDs would be a great addition to any baby shower gift basket!
If you’d like to know more about Eebee’s Adventures or find out how to order, check out Eebee.com.
