While "The Wheels on the Bus" sounded perfect for van-time, I was surprised when instead of just the familiar refrains of that common childhood song, I'd hear other snippets from the backseat: Did I just hear the word "entomologist?" (Yes, I did!) What, they are talking about procrastination? (Wow, gotta get the Cat to listen to that piece!)

Turns out that "The Wheels on the Bus" is an entire series of educational videos designed to teach early socialization skills such as sharing, helping, cooperation and good nutrition to young children.

Indeed, "Mango's Big Dog Parade" had plenty of opportunity for instruction, but the lessons were presented in a very fun way. My boys watched the DVD in the van over and over again: trips to the old house, trips to school, a trip to the dentist's, and several trips to gymnastics class. The running time is 33 minutes, and yet it seemed that the video covered so much information in that short period of time that each go around I'd hear a new part: compromise, taking turns, and following instructions.

My boys took the bait: "Wow, that's cool what that entomologist does! I like bugs!" "Huh, so procrastination means that you will be late? Like get a tardy?" "Ha, ha. That dog and cat were fighting, but now they are friends!" And, of course, they sang along with the songs.

It wasn't until I took the DVD out of the van that I got to see what it looks like. It is a mix of computer-animation, puppets, and live-action. Many different families and children are included on the bus: babies, ballerinas, toddlers, and elementary school children along with various adults. There is plenty of visual stimulation to go along with the songs and narrative: lots of dancing, smiling, and playing around while talking about how to take turns and "get along."

As the bus driver, Argon the Dragon (played by The Who's Roger Daltrey) explains "taking turns," the animation shows several different vehicles stopping at stop signs. Alas, the vehicles leave in the opposite order in which they approached the intersection, but I don't think my boys will be watching this DVD as prep for their Driver's Ed examination. Rather, I think this is a nice way of showing how nice it is to let others go first sometimes. Still, this little bit made me smile,since in "real life" there would be quite a lot of horn honking. (The world would be a better place if only some adults would follow the lead of the storytellers in this DVD!)

I wish I could say that my boys are suddenly behaving like perfect angels, but of course they chose this evening to be particularly contrary. Still, I think that seeing social stories like this will reinforce lessons taught by parents and educators. Tales like "The Wheels on the Bus: Mango's Big Dog Parade" provide an "opening" for parents to discuss the various concepts introduced. Otherwise, some of those catch-phrases parents use like "take turns" or "don't procrastinate" may not have much meaning: but attached to the story, they may.

I am glad that I have been introduced to "The Wheels on the Bus" series and will be interested to check out the other titles!

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