If your preschooler hasn’t yet watched the Netflix original series Go! Go! Cory Carson, then the whole family is missing out. We were late to the game too, since the series released in January of 2020, but glad we finally made it. The series is fabulous! There are short (<8 minute), animated stories about cars carrying on as if they were humans. VTech’s Go Go Smart vehicles are based on the fun, colorful, and most importantly relatable characters in the series.
VTech’s DJ Train Trax & the Roll Train includes main character, Cory Carson and his little sister Chrissy, who can attach and detach from their musical dancing stage. DJ Train has a parking spot at the front of the stage, or he tows the entire stage behind him while everyone jams. When Cory and Chrissy take their places on stage, their faces light up and they say fun phrases and sing catchy songs like “Come on to the show, we’ll dance fast and we’ll dance slow.” Making DJ Train light up by tapping his red hat will also play music, which is a simple cause and effect relationship. Learning and understanding cause and effect in early toys builds the foundation for communication and problem solving.
The best part of this toy was the unexpected amount of language that followed! My preschooler repeated phrases after Cory and Chrissy, which honed in on auditory memory and language skills. “Let’s go for it!” she shouted after Chrissy, who attached to the stage. During play, she created opportunities for Cory and Chrissy to talk to each other and DJ Train. She even built a play scenario where DJ Train gave rides to the cars, using early temporal concepts, such as “First let’s ride to the park and then we have to go back home.” Even better was that after watching one short episode, she re-enacted the story line by role playing events. From the cars spinning on their heads to dance to talking to each other. Building narrative skills by retelling a story help build social skills and strong story telling skills can help children excel in learning. VTech has truly done it again and paired up with Netflix for even more carry-over to help language explode!
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By Erika Cardamone MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-language pathologist, Mom, toy reviewer, speaker, foodie, runner