Mr Tumble at school?

Awwh Mr Tumble miss those days

I’m pleased to hear you don’t want to complain about Mr Tumble, but it would have given the staff something to laugh about in the staffroom!

My DD is Deaf. Mr Tumble was the only person on TV she felt was communicating with her when she was little. Her preschool used to put it on so the children could learn the signs (in addition to what they were taught because of DD) and she felt so special that she knew them and could teach the children. Representation matters.

I’d not read your post before commenting about Come Outside. My dc would have been in reception 2010/11.

Both my dc were still watching something special at 5, it’s perfect for that age, they both learned sign language at their old school in USA so switched to Makaton easily. Mr Tumble always gets mobbed by kids at camp bestival, he’s like the pied piper with kids trailing him (not that I’ve been for 10 years)

My dc is at uni now but her reception teacher used to occasionally put Come outside with Auntie Mabel and Pippin the dog on tv before home time. The teacher was very experienced near retirement age and said sometimes she could see even the most enthusiastic pupils were flagging and they just needed a few mins.

They used to run a BBC schools block overnight as well so the fact you think you remember it being in that makes me not totally mad.

I'm sorry I won't hear a word against Justin and Mr Tumble.

It's a kind, gentle and very inclusive programme with an emphasis on accepting difference. Justin Fletcher is very talented and genuine and a trusted children's entertainer. It's worth watching to learn Makaton phrases alone, my 2 year old has learnt several and I encourage him to watch it.

I think if you complained it really wouldn't come over well so save it for actual problems.

😂

Exactly.

@NewUserIDRequired I should have clarified I am in Ireland not UK so it may not be so much of a thing there. But Cbeebies was very much a staple here too along with some homegrown stuff but I don't see the evidence of that anymore. It's all US shows with the exception of Bluey and Peppa pig.

It might have been actually.
My daughter used to like watching Come Outside (Auntie Mabel and Pippin the dog) which was originally on in the 90s as a schools programme (we watched it circa 2010/11 ish).

I’m fairly certain that Something Special did start as a BBC schools programme before CBeebies existed. But I’ve never found anything online that has backed that up.

I’m sure I remember it being part of the BBC schools stuff on BBC2 in the mornings.

Mr Tumble has a lot of episodes in interesting places - there is one at an ice cream farm and one at a water park not far from us and we watched those before visiting when the DC were smaller. They may have watched an episode with a theme they are covering in class.

Maybe get a TV licence and start watching some cbeebies and cbbc then. Quality stuff.
Most kids streaming is shite.

I’m a TA and our EYFS and lower KS1 teachers often pop CBeebies on during a wet play / dinnertime or just before home time.

CYLINDER!!

Ahh something special is brilliant, my older 2 (teenagers) loved Mr Tumble when they were little and one of them put it on for the baby recently and she’s hooked too. I get why Justin Fletcher might piss some people off but he seems to be a huge hit with small children.

It’s a shame your child didn’t find it interesting but you know, he’s approximately 5 years old. He’s got many years ahead of him of far more boring stuff to get through at school. He’ll look back wistfully at when his reception teacher made him watch Something Special.

I used to have to search for episodes with Spooky Spoon in it, because DD found the Numbertaker and Problem Blob too scary!

Oh thats so sad. I agree cbeebies has loads of educational kids shows - much better than a lot of what anything on streaming has to offer. Numberblocks, alphablocks, octanauts, go jetters. I've learnt loads about different types of fish since having DD1 (nearly 4yo) 😅

I more shocked at how you’ve got a reception age child without having ever watched Mr Tumble!

@Fizbosshoes it's a long running joke in my house that I'm afraid of the number taker. Him and spiders. I'm not joking, he really scared me, i was late 30s!!

I would think Mr Tumbles is for younger children, 2 to 4. That said I work with kids that age and I don't think any of them are into him anymore. It's all streaming stuff which may be fantastic quality or absolute rubbish, that's the problem. Anything broadcast on Cbeebies at least has gone through a process (I don't know what that process is I confess). Most kids I work with know the Cocmelon version of songs, the vast majority say 'dollars' when we play shop, they seem to only watch US shows.

When I briefly taught Reception I occasionally put something on the screen for wet play at lunch - it would always be Cbeebies and was hastily chosen so I could leave the room and actually have 25 minutes to myself to have a drink and some lunch. I didn't put masses of thought into what I chose, it just needed to be something that most children would enjoy for a short period of time. As the children would say nowadays - it's not that deep. My own children have incredibly limited screentime but sometimes in schools it just has to be what will do in that moment. Not every part of every single day is going to be a fabulous individual learning experience.

@Fizbosshoes the numbertaker was indeed terrifying 😂