 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Best of Schoolhouse Rock
- By Various Artists
- Genre: Compilation
Common Sense Media says
Listen and learn using pop grace and sensibility.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that many of the songs provide lyrical devices to help children memorize facts like the multiplication tables or the Preamble to the Constitution. A narrative approach is used in many tracks to explain historical developments and, in one case, the legislative process ("I'm just a bill and I'm sittin' here on Capitol Hill ...").
What's the story?
Any former kid who watched Saturday morning cartoons in the 1970s will recognize old favorites like "Conjunction Junction" or "I'm Just a Bill" -- songs that are now being learned by a whole new generation of viewers. With ingenious lyrics, dry material like the multiplication tables and grammar is explained with a blend of poetic grace and pop sensibility. Four new songs on money and finance are also featured on THE BEST OF SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK.
Is it any good?
The melodies on the CD are simple but endearing, and the rhythms are varied. "Conjunction Junction" features big band swing hooks while "The Preamble" is a sunny bluegrass tune. Witty vocal performances on "Just a Bill" and "Interjections" contrast with the hauntingly beautiful lullaby "Figure Eight."
What families can talk about
Families can talk about some of the concepts being taught here through music, like the properties of numbers or the parts of speech. Does memorization through music make it easier for you to learn?
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AGE
DVD and Music Great for any age
Though this is a review for the CD, the DVD is really more versatile (but not included in "movies" on this site.) I use the grammar rock DVD in my high school English classroom. It is really the best tool to teach parts of speech, which most high schoolers are expected to know but which most English teachers never teach! Though the target audience is elementary school (remember you watched the Superfriends and then caught a Schoolhouse Rock cartoon?), the music is excellent for any age. The grammar rock can serve at any age, the history probably useful through junior high, and science and math are likely most useful for elementary school.
I am also the mom of three, and my kids have watched the DVD from the age of 2. I don't care how much they watch it, because what they are memorizing is grammar, math, history. The DVD lets you choose to play all the cartoons in order (grammar rock together, history rock together, etc) or mix everything up. My 6 and 8 year olds enjoy controlling this.
Some are better than others: the grammar rock are all good; some science is outdated; there is one "Dollars and Cents" which has a country theme, and terrible grammar ("ain't" and "got me"); Schoolhouse Rock was infamous for being a good television role model for people of color (Verb's "That's What's Happening" features African American characters, for example)
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| Artist: | Various Artists |
| Release date: | November 3, 1998 |
| Label: | Rhino Records |
| Genre: | Compilation |
| Parental advisory: | No |
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