Joseph’s Machines

We’ve all been having a great time watching Joseph Herscher’s amazing Rube Goldberg machines. There are lots of amazing ones, but I think our family favourite is the Cake Server. If you want to know more about how he makes the machines, you can see his explanation of them on his What’s Your Problem series. I think half of what we love so much about his videos is the machines, and the other half is that he’s clearly having such a great time making them.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: various
Available: on the Joseph’s Machines website.

The Miracle of Bali: Recital of Music

We’ve been enjoying David Attenborough’s nature documentaries for a long time, but had no idea that he also made cultural documentaries earlier in his career until we found this on the BBC website. We all enjoyed watching this 1969 documentary about Balinese music. What was striking and wonderful, compared to most more recent documentaries, is that it was mostly just extended footage of the music and dance, with very little voice-over. (There are two other episodes in the Miracle of Bali series, but I haven’t watched them yet so I don’t know if they are suitable for kids or not.)

Age: 0+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 37 minutes
Available: On the BBC website, or on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKvMguF16r0

The Repair Shop

Our new favourite to watch as a family is The Repair Shop, which is as slow and gentle as can be. The premise is simple: people bring in old, broken items, typically family heirlooms, and experts painstakingly fix them. It’s a bit like the making-things segments in Mister Rogers, but with heartwarming family stories as well. The kids are entranced. And I’m getting inspired to try to fix more broken things rather than replacing them!

Age: 0+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 30, 45, or 60 minutes per episode
Available: BBC iPlayer. I’m not sure where to find it outside of the UK.

Great British Bake Off

We’ve been having such a good time watching Great British Bake Off with the kids. Our 3 year old is scared even by most kids shows these days, so it’s been really nice to find something that is genuinely enjoyable for all four of us, and doesn’t give anyone nightmares. I think it’s great for the kids (and us) to see adults, from all kinds of different backgrounds, caring about and working hard on creative projects, celebrating successes and working through failures, supporting each other, and having a good time! I think we’ve all been inspired to do more cooking and baking too! (So far we’ve watched the 2018 and 2017 seasons, so I can’t vouch for any of the seasons before that. One episode was flagged by Channel 4 as not suitable for kids, so we haven’t watched that!)

Age: 0+
Child rating: 10/10
Parent rating: 10/10
Running time: 1 hour
Where to find it: In the UK you can watch it on Channel 4, and in Canada on CBC.

Fingerbobs

This is the 70s-est TV show ever (dating from 1972, the same year I was born) – at once wholesome, creative, and… were the creators smoking pot? In this show by British author-illustrators Joanne and Michael Cole, “Yoffy” (Canadian mime artist Rick Jones in real life) animates a variety of homemade finger-puppets, including Fingermouse, Scampi, Gulliver the Seagull, and Flash the Tortoise in a series of gently enchanting stories and do-it-at-home craft projects. My 2 year old and 5 year old both love it.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 15 minutes
Several episodes are available free on YouTube

Apple Tree House

Apple Tree House is geared towards kids in the 4 to 8-ish age range, though fine for younger kids too, and centres around the gently humorous daily adventures of three primary school kids on an urban council estate. The cast is diverse in terms of ethnicity and age, and the kids are (usually) refreshingly free of gender stereotypes. Both of our kids (ages 2 and 5) love it, and I love the way the characters non-didactically model kindness, cooperation, and caring for friends, family, and community. (Update: this show is not the best if your kids like to watch the same episode 25 times in a row!)

Age: The stories are geared towards 4+, but it’s fine for younger kids too
Child rating: 8/10
Adult rating: 6/10
Running time: 15 minutes
Available: on the CBeebies website

Pick, The Little Mouse

Here’s a sweet, wordless animation by Gennady Sokolsky, which tells of a year in the life of a little field mouse, and contains lush imagery of the natural world. There are a few brief moments which some younger kids may find scary – when the mouse is chased by a boy, some sea birds, and an owl – but everything turns out ok.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 17’30”
Available: Available free on Youtube

Pingwings

If you’re in the mood for penguins, but find Pingu a bit too boisterous and March of the Penguins a bit too dramatic, then Pingwings might be just what you’re looking for. It’s a sweet, gentle, and gently humorous show, which tells of the adventures of a family of hand-knit penguin-like creatures living on a farm, with mixed stop motion animation and live action. It’s one of the earlier shows by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin’s company Smallfilms (best known for Bagpuss and the Clangers). The original Pingwings were knit by Peter’s wife Joan. You can knit your own following this pattern from The Dragons’ Friendly Society.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 8
Adult rating: 8
Running time: 10 minute episodes
Available: a few episodes are available on Youtube, or you can order the whole series from The Dragons’ Friendly Society

Volgens de Vogels/According to the Birds

This is a truly beautiful hand-drawn (pencil on paper) animation by Dutch artist, illustrator, and animator Linde Faas. There’s no storyline, but it portrays nature – birds flying, leaves falling, dandelion seeds blowing – in such a life-like and compelling way that I simultaneously want to go camping, want to do some drawing, and want to spend the afternoon at an art museum. The beautifully-recorded soundtrack is simply birds singing, leaves rustling, wings flapping, and other natural sounds. (I’m always so glad to find a filmmaker who doesn’t unnecessarily superimpose music when it isn’t needed.)  M. (4) and L. (16 months) were entranced too. I’m really looking forward to exploring what other films Faas has done.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 10
Adult rating: 10
Running time: 5 1/2 minutes
Available: free here and elsewhere

It’s Snow

This is a beautiful cutout animation by Canadian director Gayle Thomas, made entirely of paper snowflakes. It’s wordless, accompanied by gentle steel pan drum music.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 8/10
Adult rating: 8/10
Running time: 5 minutes
Available: for free here on the NFB website