Until 4 year-old Robert Charles forced the introduction, I had no idea just who or what the Backyardigans were. But as I’ve said before, the Nana learning curve is steep. I had to climb hard and learn fast. Do you know who they are? I’d love to hear about what you readers have had to learn for your grandchildren.
As I found out, Backyardigans are just one more set of peace-loving, gentle natured cartoon characters, beloved by many preschoolers, including my darling grandson.   They include a moose named Tyrone, a hippo named Tasha, Pablo the penguin, Uniqua and Austin, creatures whose species eludes me. I was never good at science.
I absolutely adore this little guy. He is almost a clone of his father, my son, both physically and emotionally (translation: gorgeous and challenging).
After Robert goes home, I follow his long established, clandestine route through my house. I turn out all the back bedroom nightstand lights (on the little brass tap-tap-tap switches), turn on the daylight sensor front porch light switch, reset my dishwasher to “normal wash” from his preferred “pots and pans” and “air dry” cycles, turn off his four favorite outdoor hoses, and once again mute the sound on my computer.  We rarely catch him in the act but when we do he is nonplused, like a meter reader just doing his job.  Continue reading →
