The Web

Got a heads-up via Twitter the other day that the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) now has its own web page in the aquarium's online field guide. The mola is an enormous, slow moving, and really strange looking fish that floats serenely through the amazing Outer Bay exhibit, and it's our favorite creature in the place.

Check out the page here, complete with video and a live Outer Bay Cam. Have yourself a mola fest!

Our three-old has been computer literate—and a Mac user, to boot—since he was, oh, 18 months, probably. While the preschool he attends doesn't advocate "Screen Time" for children (we're talking the evil TV and its demonic cousin the computer here), it's hard to keep him off, and we do carefully monitor what he sees online. Since he's been watching insidious Baby Einstein videos from the time he could sit up on his own, we figure it's pretty much a moot point, anyway.

Recently, we somehow stumbled upon the BBC's preschool web site, called CBeebies. I hate to admit it, but it's loads better than it's stateside counterparts at PBS Kids, Disney, and Nick Jr. (the latter two of which have copious amounts of advertising, so we really try to limit exposure to them). Perhaps it's my imagination, but the Beeb's site seems to have content with a lot more depth than what I've seen previously... involved and involving games, stories, etc. Plus, you get the added bonus of hearing the original British voices of all the characters for shows that play over here like Bob the Builder and the Teletubbies. Then there are the oddball (to us) shows that haven't made it over here yet. (Or perhaps they have, as we only get basic cable and don't get those 24-hour toddler channels that I know are out there, since I've seen them in the homes of friends who have better TV than us). Regardless, it's worth a look for some quality "Screen Time".