Review: Ruby’s Studio Books & Shows

“Mommy, can we watch a movie?  Can we watch Ruby’s Studio?” Sunshine asks.

I know a movie is their favourite when they ask to watch it again and again, and Ruby’s Studio has made that list.  I like the fact that it’s an hour-long program (perfect for me to have some quiet time, but they don’t get too much TV) and it’s teaching them while entertaining them.

Ruby’s Studio: The Friendship Show discusses friendships with children, giving them skills to make friends and be a good friend.  Since Sunshine is our little social butterfly, I thought this was perfect for her.  In fact, I smiled when I saw one part of the movie role-playing what to do when meeting a new friend; we’ve been working on teaching Sunshine to introduce herself, but Ruby suggested she should also ask her new friends something about themselves.

Ruby’s Studio uses art projects, animated stories and real-life conversations to teach children about friendship.  I liked the way Ruby got my daughters responding to the movie and singing along with little songs.  One little segment of the movie taught the children about bullying (and standing up to bullies), while another segment told the story of a little girl who felt left out and how she expressed her feelings to her friends.

We also got two books from Ruby’s Studio:

• A Little Book About Feelings uses really cute felt animals to talk about feelings.  I liked the way it reassured children that we all have feelings and that it’s okay to express our feelings.  Both this book and the movie have helped us talk about situations with friends, such as when Sunshine comes up to me to say, “He hurt my feelings.”
• My Feelings Activity Book takes this even further, providing parents (or teachers) with more questions and activities to work through with children about feelings.  I had to read the questions to Sunshine and fill in the blanks for her, but she enjoyed working through it with me.

Ruby’s Studio comes from The Mother Company, a group of moms dedicated to helping parents teach life’s most important lessons.  Check out their books and movies, plus the great parenting articles offered online.

Books and movie were provided for review courtesy of The Mother Company; all opinions expressed are my own.