Guest Author - Marci Ann Peterson
If you like time travel, like we do at our house than you can't miss the show Time Warp Trio on Discovery Kids. The show teaches facts about History in a fun way that will capture your kids attention and keep it. It might even capture your attention as well!
I like to use Time Warp Trio episodes when we are talking about different times in History. It is a fun way to reinforce what we have been discussing. My girls don't use an assignment as the only reason to watch the show. They will turn it on just for fun, now that says a lot about the shows ability to keep the attention of the kids.
Time Warp Trio is an animated show that is based on a series of books of the same name written by Jon Scieszka. I recommend the books as well, you can check them out at your public library to see if they are a right fit for your kids. They are a chapter books that are just a little more advanced than your easy reader chapter books. My girls had my husband read them one of the entire books in one sitting, they are definitely books that you can't put down!
The basis of the series is that Joe, a 10 year old boy, from Brooklyn, receives a book from his uncle that can cause him and his two best friends Sam and Fred to travel through time to different periods in history. While in the different time period they have to figure out where they are, how to stay alive, and find the book so they can go back home. The boys figure out how to use the book through trial and error but often end up accidentally triggering the book causing them to travel in time unexpectedly.
The boys' great granddaughter's, Jodie, Samantha, and Fredi, from the 22nd century also know how to use the book; and the boys find themselves traveling through time with the girls. The girls are the same age as the boys but from the future. Other characters include, Joe the Magnificent, the same uncle who gave Joe the book as a present who is also a magician. Mad Jack, Joe the Magnificent's evil brother who is constantly trying to get the book away from his nephew, in case you are worried he never does succeed. Anna, Joe's younger sister who is constantly getting in the way and often ends up traveling with the boys and using the book accidentally much to Joe's annoyance.
Some of the people that the warpers encounter are Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan, Emily Roebling, and even Thutmose III. Some scenes do deal with the boys fascination with weapons and war, no real violence materializes from this fascination. The show mostly focuses on historical events, times, people, and places.
Overall Time Warp Trio is a great show that teaches and entertains at the same time. Be careful though, your kids might end up pestering you about taking them to the library so they can read up about the interesting people and events that they saw on Time Warp Trio. A small price to pay in my opinion for some great learning opportunities.
