This year has been challenging to say the least… The absolute least. I know it’s been difficult for everyone, but when you have two children under 5 and all your support has been yanked out from under you. No extended family around, and only one designated babysitter. if you can afford it that is, as some of us lost employment or can’t think straight enough to do anything productive. On top of all this,for the last month our Netflix had been glitchy, shutting down unexpectedly and my kids couldn’t get more than 20 minutes into any show or movie. We were down to exploring our free Youtube stream.
Then in September I read that Princess Eugenie was pregnant with her first child and Sarah Ferguson shared her joy with a book on her Youtube Channel series “Storytime With Fergie and Friends”. Immediately I tuned in. The episodes were short but there’s new ones everyday and a huge backlog of stories and activities! My kids LOVE this show. Also it’s introduced them to so many children’s books and we’ve rewatched all their favorites many, MANY times. I usually just buy the books my children like best. These are five of our favorite episodes so far.
Nanna Maureen by Casey Gillespie
This episode featured a book about a magical, but invisible Nanna who cared for the three children and made their lives full of wonder and magic. My kids lost both their grandmothers so it’s very poignant and really meant a lot to them. It’s very much a Fairy Godmother story. Fergie dresses up with flowers in her hair and this was the first episode I watched with my kids. We absolutely love this book and have watched this episode many times.
Fireflies by Carolyn Watson Dubisch
This book is an adventure of its own. Two sisters traveling to see their Aunt across the water on the Island of Nova Scotia. Their obsession with collecting insects means they are beyond excited to find the deck swarming with fireflies. Only to discover they’ve filled their jar with terrified water fairies! They set the fairies free over the ocean. Fergie dresses up as a butterfly in this episode and it’s great fun. We of course picked up this book and have read it every night for the last few weeks. It’s honestly my 4 year old’s favorite book.
I Wish You Happiness by Michael Wong
Beautifully illustrated, this book is appealing to all ages. I think it’s something adults and children can enjoy. Fergie wore her crown of flowers for this episode and I think what my kids really like are the pictures in this one and who doesn’t like wishes! We have this book on order as this episode is a newer one. Hopefully it will be here soon.
Nellie The Narwhal by Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis
My kids are absolutely fascinated with sea creatures, and a story about a whale is an instant winner around here. Nellie is a lonely Narwhal looking for a friend to play with. Told in verse the story is really cute and the art is quite good. We’ve watched this episode way too much and we read the book so much I’m quite tired of it! It is a great episode and I do recommend it.
Making Strawberry Caterpillars
This is not a book reading but my kids loved this episode. She dresses with a giraffe headband and makes strawberry/banana “caterpillars” that look a lot more like a snake to me, but we had to give it a try anyway. So we spent three afternoons attempting to make strawberry caterpillars with varying levels of success. It’s a cute activity. My kids ate more fruit that week so I was quite happy.
This of course isn’t all the great episodes she’s done, but it’s a sampling. It turns out there’s a lot of hidden gems on Youtube and I’m thrilled to share this one. In the meantime we’ve been looking into what’s wrong with our Netflix, but I’m quite sure once we have it sorted we’ll still be tuning in to see what Fergie’s reading today!
