Good day, everyone! This post is going to be a review that focuses on an educational children's show from the Leapfrog company, "Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting on Lemonade." I understand a lot of parents do not wish to give their kids television, or at least wish to keep it to a minimum. However, I also understand that some kids learn better through shows, especially if they are still learning to read. If you are looking for a good, clean show that actually teaches for the times you do want or need to give the kids something to watch, this is a good option.
This is currently available on Netflix, however, Netflix changes its instant watch options frequently. If you do not want to take the risk of it being taken down, or if you do not have Netflix or the instant watch feature, you can purchase the DVD and Digital set on Amazon for $8 with Prime.
The show is 35 minutes long. As you can see on the box image above, it says it teaches counting to 20, addition, and subtraction. Now, to be honest, I get very skeptical about kid shows. So many of them claim to be educational, but I honestly feel like many really just dumb down kids. There is a difference between being simple for kids to understand, and making it so mind-numbingly easy that it takes away the critical thinking and common sense. Teaching things like critical thinking, logic, noticing patterns, etc are just as critical, because those are things they will need their entire lives, and they will make learning future subjects so much easier. Not to mention, the differences between teaching how to use math and logic, and simply teaching memorization. This is why I am extremely picky about which "educational" shows my kids watch. With that said, I do feel that this show is beneficial to kids, and for more reasons than just teaching what it claims to teach.
The basic premise of this show is that a set of twins, Tad and Lily, feel their library options are lacking. They decide to sell lemonade to raise money to buy books for the library. During their endeavor, they learn how to count to twenty, how to add and subtract, and more, all by making lemonade to sell. Not by books, but by working with friends and family.
Now, I have to say... this actually really makes me happy to see. It has many messages about learning by doing and getting hands on. This episode even states that math is part of every day life, by using examples such as seeing five squirrels at a park, until one runs away, then you see four, which is subtraction. They create their own lemonade recipe by counting lemons, cups of water, and cups of sugar, then by multiplying that recipe by two to create a bigger amount. After they create a recipe everyone enjoys, they work together to make a stand that represents what they are selling by using items that are bright yellow, like lemons. While selling their lemonade, they also teach about charging more for bigger sizes and giving change.
Now, with that said, they do not use actual currency. They just go by the amount of coins. A small costs one coin, a medium costs two, a large costs three.While this can get kids excited about making money, this is certainly not a show meant to teach kids how to be little entrepreneurs.
When they teach addition and subtraction, they don't just say, "1 + 1 = 2," and so forth. They show the characters counting with fingers, they teach how to use logic and patterns to see how addition and subtraction are opposites of each other, and how X + Y is the same as Y + X. They go into simple, yet detailed explanations, often with songs (which must be fun because my son tries to sing them).
On top of their goal of teaching math, they briefly, but frequently, touch up on other things, such as using coordinating colors on their stand, a quick spelling lesson, and moments of sharing and forgiveness. They even have a scene where the twins hold the robot's hand to cross the street, carefully.
Now, lets look at one more thing... the "hidden" messages. I believe most parents feel like certain shows risk teaching kids inappropriate behaviors, whether the show "meant" to or not. *cough Caillou *cough* So, does this show have any extra lessons that kids can pick up on? What is there to learn from reading between the lines?
Honestly, I can't really think of anything bad. While these kids are technically selling things without permission by parents, parents are not shown. Instead, they are supervised by who I think is the twins' older brother who seems to be maybe of young teen age, and by an adult robot. While some may see this as a down side since parents should be involved whenever possible, the older brother, Leap, is heavily involved with their actions and both encourages and guides them through their goals. He allows them to ask questions, think of a solution, and assist if they need it. Personally, I think that is a good way to teach kids. An example is when the twins were expressing their frustrations about the library not having what they were looking for, he suggested they donate books, but the twin Tad was the one who thought of the idea to sell lemonade.
The show is 35 minutes long. As you can see on the box image above, it says it teaches counting to 20, addition, and subtraction. Now, to be honest, I get very skeptical about kid shows. So many of them claim to be educational, but I honestly feel like many really just dumb down kids. There is a difference between being simple for kids to understand, and making it so mind-numbingly easy that it takes away the critical thinking and common sense. Teaching things like critical thinking, logic, noticing patterns, etc are just as critical, because those are things they will need their entire lives, and they will make learning future subjects so much easier. Not to mention, the differences between teaching how to use math and logic, and simply teaching memorization. This is why I am extremely picky about which "educational" shows my kids watch. With that said, I do feel that this show is beneficial to kids, and for more reasons than just teaching what it claims to teach.
The basic premise of this show is that a set of twins, Tad and Lily, feel their library options are lacking. They decide to sell lemonade to raise money to buy books for the library. During their endeavor, they learn how to count to twenty, how to add and subtract, and more, all by making lemonade to sell. Not by books, but by working with friends and family.
Now, I have to say... this actually really makes me happy to see. It has many messages about learning by doing and getting hands on. This episode even states that math is part of every day life, by using examples such as seeing five squirrels at a park, until one runs away, then you see four, which is subtraction. They create their own lemonade recipe by counting lemons, cups of water, and cups of sugar, then by multiplying that recipe by two to create a bigger amount. After they create a recipe everyone enjoys, they work together to make a stand that represents what they are selling by using items that are bright yellow, like lemons. While selling their lemonade, they also teach about charging more for bigger sizes and giving change.
Now, with that said, they do not use actual currency. They just go by the amount of coins. A small costs one coin, a medium costs two, a large costs three.While this can get kids excited about making money, this is certainly not a show meant to teach kids how to be little entrepreneurs.
When they teach addition and subtraction, they don't just say, "1 + 1 = 2," and so forth. They show the characters counting with fingers, they teach how to use logic and patterns to see how addition and subtraction are opposites of each other, and how X + Y is the same as Y + X. They go into simple, yet detailed explanations, often with songs (which must be fun because my son tries to sing them).
On top of their goal of teaching math, they briefly, but frequently, touch up on other things, such as using coordinating colors on their stand, a quick spelling lesson, and moments of sharing and forgiveness. They even have a scene where the twins hold the robot's hand to cross the street, carefully.
Now, lets look at one more thing... the "hidden" messages. I believe most parents feel like certain shows risk teaching kids inappropriate behaviors, whether the show "meant" to or not. *cough Caillou *cough* So, does this show have any extra lessons that kids can pick up on? What is there to learn from reading between the lines?
Honestly, I can't really think of anything bad. While these kids are technically selling things without permission by parents, parents are not shown. Instead, they are supervised by who I think is the twins' older brother who seems to be maybe of young teen age, and by an adult robot. While some may see this as a down side since parents should be involved whenever possible, the older brother, Leap, is heavily involved with their actions and both encourages and guides them through their goals. He allows them to ask questions, think of a solution, and assist if they need it. Personally, I think that is a good way to teach kids. An example is when the twins were expressing their frustrations about the library not having what they were looking for, he suggested they donate books, but the twin Tad was the one who thought of the idea to sell lemonade.
Now, for my favorite "hidden" message...
I strongly believe in solving community problems on your own. We can either sign petitions hoping that politicians will listen someday and maybe force taxpayers to fund things whether they agree with it or not, or we can encourage people to band together to fix issues willingly and from the heart. They did not start a rally or a petition to get more funding, they spent some time making their own lemonade to sell to happy customers, then bought the books themselves. Even better, at the end, they received extra books by people who were inspired by their thoughtful actions.
Now, of course, not all attempts have happy endings like this, but many do. There are hundreds of people local to you who would be more than happy to donate for a good cause, especially if it's started by kids honestly trying to help others. Donating books may seem small, but it actually can be a huge blessing, especially for other home schooling kids and parents.
So, in summary, what is there to be learned from this show?
•Counting from 1 to 20
•Various, simple ways to remember how to add and subtract.
•That math can not only be used in every day things, but also learned from everyday things.
•If you can help, do it, because others will appreciate it and often be inspired to help, too.
•Helping can be fun, especially with supportive friends and family.
•Helping your community is not only rewarding to society, but also rewarding for yourself, since meeting your goal is a great feeling.
•If you are an older sibling, your younger siblings will greatly benefit and appreciate your time to encourage and assist them.
•A quick reminder to take someone's hand when crossing the street and look both ways.
•If someone young accidentally messes something up, forgive them, and allow them to try to help fix the situation.
•Many valuable lessons can be learned by hands on experiences.
•Teamwork can be powerful!
What coordinating lessons and experiences can you create?
•Work together to create your own lemonade recipe! Experiment with using extra fruits for different flavors. Create recipes by adding and subtracting amounts of ingredients. Teach fractions by adding and subtracting halves, quarter cups, etc. Multiply and divide to create bigger and smaller batches.
•Look for ways to help your community. Contact your local library, animal shelter, art classes, and others to see what kinds of things they need. Next time you are at the store, help them track down what different things cost so they can get an idea of how much they need to raise. Or, you can even help them donate things they do not need anymore to a local shelter. Another option is to make drinks or snacks to an organization that already focuses on aiding others as a way to say thank you.
•Contact local organizations and see about working with them to run a local bake sale to raise money for things needed. Lemonade will work, too, especially in warmer seasons, but you will want variety for that sort of thing. Allow them to design their own signs, so they learn about coordinating images and colors with their products, and what attracts customers.
•Play pretend. There is nothing wrong with simply pretending to run a lemonade stand, especially if you do not have readily available transportation, or if your kids are too little to really get involved with the community yet. They can still greatly benefit from playing lemonade stand by practicing serving customers, learning how to give change, learning how to price things, designing signs, and building stands. In fact, practice play would be great to do for a while before attempting the real thing. Allow them to practice taking orders and feeling comfortable with socializing with customers. These are skills they will use in the real world for the rest of their lives.
In general, this show does have many beneficial lessons for kids of many ages, especially if you assist them and get them involved with hands on experiences.
You can find the DVD on Amazon here.
by Soap Expressions. 2 pounds for about $10, shipped with Prime. I used three out of eight rows (going horizontally) and we got five bars of soap. In total, depending on your mold size, this should make about 8-12 bars. That can change, too, depending on what sort of things you add in that can take more space, like coffee beans, flowers, or even plastic toys. 
for these ones. It takes a few drops per bar, I'd say, but just add it in one or two drops at a time until is smells how you want it to smell. 
by Catherine D. Hughes. 
