Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer!

Ok, so I know this is a random post but after reading another blog, I got to thinking about Dora. Rylee loves Dora. In fact, we have so many Dora videos and Dora dolls, I am overwhelmed with Dora. Do your kids like Dora? Have you as a parent ever sat down and watched an episode of Dora? Up until today, Dora really got on my nerves. I would try to get Rylee to watch something besides Dora. HA! Only worked a few times! Today, I realized that Dora was actually a very educational show for kids. Lot's of life lessons in each episode of Dora. Below is a list of life lessons by Dora {as blogged by a fellow blogger}. After reading it, I had to watch an entire episode and after it was over, I so agree that Dora is not so bad! I thought I would share one mom's take on Dora ~ enjoy!

I figure if I have to watch non-stop "Dora the Explorer" every freaking day, I might as well try to get something out of it. And it didn't take me but about 2 minutes to figure out there are a lot of life lessons in this little cartoon.1. I gotta learn Spanish! Dora's rattling off all these Spanish words and I feel left out of the conversation and I get confused and my daughter is picking up on all of it. Emma Kelly is going to be bilingual on me and before I know it, she'll be having secret Spanish conversations with her other Spanish-speaking, Dora-watching friends right in front of me, planning all sorts of trouble to get into and I will be completely oblivious to all of it if I DON'T KNOW ANY SPANISH!! And counting to ten doesn't count as speaking Spanish.

2. Before you get started, look at your map. Know where you're going and how you're going to get there EXACTLY. Repeat it out loud 15 times, if you have to. Dora does. She looks at her map; she has her plan; she sticks to it and never strays off the predetermined route; and she always gets where she's going when she's supposed to get there. In other words, don't just go off blindly hoping you'll reach your goal. Have an action plan and follow the steps in order.

3. There's no shame in asking for help. Dora goes so far as to ask us to help her count to three. Does she REALLY need help counting to three? Apparently Dora does. And she's not embarrassed about it. She asks for help and we willingly give it to her. It makes us feel important. Make other people feel important, too, by asking for help.

4. Be prepared for ANYTHING. Have you seen the inside of this kid's backpack? She has freaking canoes in there! And ladders and magnifying glasses and spare tires and sticky tape! There is absolutely nothing you could as for that WOULDN'T be in Dora's backpack if you needed it at that very moment.

5. Always say thank you. Dora has no problem not only saying thank you, but letting us know she couldn't have completed her task without us. Again, she likes to build other people up and make them feel important. People like feeling important and will like you because you make them feel important.

6. Don't be afraid to make a fashion statement. Dora wears a hot pink tee shirt with orange shorts. And believe it or not, it works!! In theory, it shouldn't, but Dora doesn't worry about somebody else's list of fashion don'ts! She takes risks. She plays with color. And she makes it work. Could anyone else? Maybe, maybe not. You have to have the attitude of "Yeah, I MEANT to wear hot pink with orange and I LOVE it." And what about her best friend Boots? He's nothing but a naked monkey in a pair of red boots. But you don't really pay attention to the fact that he's an anatomically incorrect naked monkey. All you're looking at is his bright red boots. The lesson here is, you can distract from the negative by throwing on the right accessories. And nothing will grab your attention more than a fabulous pair of red boots.

until next time.....xoxo