We don’t watch too much TV in our house. There are a few shows Pea is allowed to watch, the obvious ones, such as “Barney” and “Sesame Street.” Lately, though, it’s been all about “Dora the Explorer,” which until recently has been a show that would quite literally make my head explode. I found Dora to be ingratiatingly annoying. She talks too loud, always yelling at us through the TV. And then there are those loooooong pauses, while she awaits your answer. Ugh. But… if you’ve been following along with us for any amount of time, you’d know that my daughter is now officially speaking Spanish. And she learned it from a cartoon character. On the television. The boob tube. So I have to literally eat my words. Because now, whenever Pea needs help, you will hear her calling out “ayuda me!” Impressive. So TV? Maybe it’s not so evil.

Noggin was on after “Dora” had ended, and at some point, a show came on called “Jack’s Big Music Show.” And the show didn’t get me so much as the guest musicians, one of whom is Laurie Berkner. Surely, if you have kids, you are familiar with her, right? She’s been very popular in our home for a good year or so. Her tunes are catchy, I find myself singing them to myself in the shower, or listening to the CD in the car, long after Pea has been dropped off at preschool.

When I was a kid, the options for music for children were pretty bleak. “Really Rosie” and “Free to Be You and Me” were about it. And it’s embarrassing to admit it, but I never stopped listening to “Free to Be You and Me.” I love that album. Love it. To pieces. And now, so does Pea. The lessons in the songs are still pertinent, today, decades after it was first released. If you haven’t given it a listen in a while, I highly recommend it.