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Kids’ Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 7-11

Kids’ Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 7-11

In my free time this past weekend, I was editing and publishing the newest 5 webisodes of my kids’ show. That wraps up the total of 8 of them that I filmed over Christmas weekend with my dad and brother-in-law.

Now with nearly a dozen webisodes, I feel I have enough collection of material to submit to the major networks, as I mentioned previously.

After watching the finished product with my son this weekend, I am confident that children will really be engaged by Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest. At this point, it’s just a matter of being able to expose kids to my show.

Here’s an overview of what this newest batch of webisodes is about:

Webisode 7: Paulie the Puppy– When Uncle Nick decides to hike a new trail, it leads him to an empty old building and a mysterious barking sound.

Webisode 8: Pokey the Pot-Bellied Pig– Uncle Nick must figure out a way to cross the river to save the little pot-bellied pig who is stuck on the other side.

Webisode 9: Ralph the Red Panda– While hiking later in the evening, Uncle Nick discovers a rare animal as it begins getting dark outside.

Webisode 10: Slither the Snake– Freddie the Fox gets trapped by a hungry snake at the top of a large rock. It’s Uncle Nick to the rescue!

Webisode 11: Barry the Bear– When a scary-looking bear is soon in the Enchanted Forest, Uncle Nick decides to investigate; leading to a lesson about not judging a bear by his cover.

Barry the Bear was first introduced 4 months ago in my other series, Jack-Man:

There are elements in Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest that are unique to the field of children’s entertainment. In the likeness of a real uncle, I begin each show by trying to guess what color the viewer is thinking of, which is by default educational.

Next, I engage their curiosity by introducing them to a different, old trinket of mine. In other words, each webisode is infused with a touch of ongoing mystery.

Before heading outside for the adventure segment, I sing a few catchy (original) jingles to get the viewers excited about going outside in the cold.

Thanks for supporting Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest. My plan is to film at least 11 more webisodes; some of which will feature both the back story of Barry the Bear, as well as his adaptation as a newcomer to the forest.

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Kids’ Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 4-6; the Flood Story Arc

Kids Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 4-6; the Flood Story Arc

By now, I’ve made it no secret that I am legitimately attempting to become the next Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood/Blue’s Clues.

My main hobby right now is to crank out as many webisodes I can of my new web series, Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest.

It is my hope that eventually my show will catch on and that I can get enough traffic to gain the attention of the talent scouts for major networks like PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, Animal Planet, and the Discovery Channel.

My agenda with each webisode is to provide innocent and engaging entertainment for children who are watching YouTube on their parents’ smartphones.

For this newest batch of webisodes, 4 through 6, I’ve added not only a new song (“Animal Hat”) but also a segment where I try to guess which color the viewer is thinking of, while I play the drums. (I also play the guitar on camera now, in addition to just the harmonica as I did before.)

After the indoors portion of each show, I then take the viewer outdoors to my Enchanted Forest (the woods of Fort Payne and Mentone, Alabama) for a magical adventure, featuring talking animals.

I filmed 8 webisodes during my 3 day Christmas vacation last week, with help from my dad and brother-in-law serving as camera men. (That means I soon will be releasing even 5 more.)

During that time, I took advantage of the fact that the area was experiencing a flash flood. I based these 3 (of the newest 8) webisodes around that, making that the overall story arc for them.

In Webisode 4, I must rush to the rescue as Betsy the Bunny gets trapped in a tree alongside a rushing waterfall (Little River Falls in Fort Payne, AL).

Next in Webisode 5, I must save Tiny the Turtle before his home is swept away by the flood (DeSoto Falls in Mentone, AL).

And in the final segment of this “flood” story arc, in Webisode 6, I must help Scuttles the Skunk move forward in his life as he deals with the aftermath of losing his home in the flood as well.

I designed the outdoors segment of each webisode to be a good mix of action, adventure, and psychology. However, the first (indoors) part of each webisode is designed to engage the viewer in creative thinking.

Sure, right now, Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest is just getting off the ground. But I am committing to this show. I am not giving up until I reach my goal of taking my show to the big screen: the TV screen, via a major network.

I believe that I have the talent, skills, creativity, charisma, and personality to host my own TV show on a major children’s network. This web series is my way of proving it to the world.

4 Comments Posted on funny, Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

The Only Time I Got Paddled (Spanked) in Public School: Gym Class, 8th Grade, May 1995

The Only Time I Got Paddled (Spanked) in Public School: Gym Class, 8th Grade, May 1995

While I’m definitely in the minority (20% of Americans) in that I don’t believe in spanking my own child as an efficient form of discipline, I think it has become a collectively weird thought for us as American parents to consider that not that long ago, students were still being spanked (with paddles!) in the public school system.

I managed to make it all the way through 13 years of public school (that includes Kindergarten, obviously) with only getting one paddling.

I had just turned 14; it was at the end of my 8th grade year, 20 years ago: May 1995.

It was a Friday at the end of gym class, during a “free play” day. A bunch of my friends were running towards the wall, then jumping as high as they could, to see how high they could press our feet on the wall.

The wall was built of concrete cinder blocks, so we could easily measure how high we jumped by the grout in between them, using the grout lines to measure the height of where our feet hit the wall.

Turns out, I jumped the highest that day. However, no one bothered to tell me that the gym coach had just warned the other guys that the next person he saw jumping on the wall would be paddled…

So the male gym coach took me to the locker room and paddled me 3 times with a wooden paddle, while the girls’ coach witnessed it.

I could sense she felt awkward being there; knowing I was “the good kid” who was playing the scapegoat that day.

When I emerged from the locker room, having just been hit by a wooden plank on my “bum”, all my friends were lined up waiting to give me a high five and cheer me on.

I suppose it was a perfect way to score some “cool points” just in time to prepare for high school.

The paddling was obviously not effective; especially since I wasn’t aware I was breaking the recently established rule until it was too late.

All it really did was make my friends think I was cool. It was like part of an initiation process, apparently.

Isn’t it bizarre to imagine that paddling (spanking) in the public schools was still going on in our lifetime?

These days, something like that could easily be perceived as harassment or abuse. Right?

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People Finally Stopped Asking If We’re Going to Have Another Kid

People Finally Stopped Asking If We’re Going to Have Another Kid

The first question was, “When you are two going to get married?

Then, “When are you going to have a baby?”

After that, “When are you going to have another one?”

From the time our son was about 1 year-old, until he was about 3 and a half, that last question was in heavy rotation.

So then, being the family friendly daddy blogger that I am, I began addressing the fact that my wife and I could easily be the couple that only has one child.

The reality of the two of us working full time in a major city got in the way of the concept of us having many as 4 kids; something we had at one point talked about, years ago.

So I began explaining here on my blog that the two of us could truly be happy with just one child; even if that wasn’t normal.

However, my wife and I mutually realized recently, “It’s been a long time since anyone has asked us if we’re going to have another kid.”

Our son will turn 5 years-old next month. By this point, people have stopped even wondering if we will “have another one.”

(That’s a funny phrase to me; “have another one.” I think of those Russian nesting dolls, called Matryoshka dolls.)

Of course, I never said we wouldn’t have another child. I simply made it clear we would be happy and content with just one; if that’s how things ended up.

I guess to a lot of people that comes across as, “We’re not having any more kids.”

On the contrary, I’ve mentioned a couple of times already this year here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog that we’ve never been more open to the idea of expanding our family, as I prefer to say it; than we are now that we are financially settled and moved into our new house.

But still, people gave up and stop bothering to ask. After all, having over 5 years in between kids is a lot of time.

It all comes down to us, the parents, being ready on all fronts; plus, being physically able to conceive a child.

Most families can have kids 2 or 3 years apart, and that works for them, culturally: Having 2 in diapers at the same time.

Culturally, for our family, especially at this point, having a Kindergartner and an infant sounds more our speed… if that’s how things ended up.

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Sesame Street: Count on Elmo DVD Review

I couldn’t have planned it this way, but yesterday my 4 and a half year-old son came home from school in a counting mood. All during dinner, he was counting each bite of food. To my surprise, he successfully counted to 22; which is something I definitely couldn’t have done at his age.

Sesame Street: Count on Elmo DVD Review

The timing was perfect because last night was when I had already decided that we would sit down as a family and watch Sesame Street: Count on Elmo.

As soon as my son saw the video chapter for the one Cookie Monster counting cookies, he requested we start there.

My wife particularly commented that this is her most favorite Sesame Street DVD we’ve reviewed so far.

My son is proud to have Sesame Street: Count on Elmo DVD as part of his collection. I have a feeling he will be bringing it along on our next road trip!

Sesame Street: Count on Elmo is obviously educational all the way through, while of course using fun visuals and music the whole time.

SESAME STREET: COUNT ON ELMO

ON DVD AND DIGITAL JULY 7, 2015

 

Features Over Two Hours of Fun with Elmo and Bonus Elmo’s World Episode!

Celebrating its impressive 45th anniversary this season, Sesame Street is the longest-running program in children’s television programs. It has received more Emmy awards than any other show in television history, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award.