Handy Mandys

In our house, the kids pretty much only watch programs that we record for them on TIVO. They usually watch the same two or three shows in rotation until we get tired of it (mainly, when Brad and I find ourselves humming the catchy little theme song in public places and wondering how on earth it came to be that Noggin preschool tunes are topping the list of our most listened to music). So even though it’s not a new show, my kids have just discovered the fascination of “Handy Manny” … or, as Madelyn calls it, “Handy Mandy.” For some reason, she can’t seem to drop the “D” out of poor Manny’s name – though interestingly enough, Sienna has no problem pronouncing it correctly. But since we have all girls in our house, Handy Mandy seems to suit us just fine.

If you haven’t seen the show, it features a cute little Spanish-speaking handyman with 8 talking tools that accompany him everywhere, fixing whatever problem one of the townspeople call him to assist with him that day. He answers each phone call with a peppy, “Handy Manny’s Repair Shop! You break it, we fix it. This is Manny!” And the tools are all appropriately named… the hammer’s name is Pat, the tape measure is Stretch, the pair of pliers is named Squeeze, etc.

Since becoming huge fans of the show, the girls have taken to becoming their own little versions of Handy Manny. Madelyn has always had a fascination with Brad’s tools (think back to her helping us with the kitchen renovation project in Chicago…) so we had given her a set of plastic tools the Christmas she turned two, so she could help with projects. Well, the tools have now made a huge comeback in our house, and we’re constantly finding Maddie and Sienna (or Handy Mandy and Handy Mandietta, as I’ve now nicknamed the dynamic duo) working together to fix something in “need” of repair. Yesterday, the two of them dismantled the paint tray from the front of their easel. Madelyn is regularly measuring Lyla with Stretch…whether Lyla is interested in the idea or not. And we suddenly discovered that the wheel is missing off the bottom rack of the dishwasher… we’ve got a hunch the Handy Mandys might be behind that effort, too. Even if they’re not quite learning the ins and outs of actual repairs, at least they’re learning some useful Spanish. Sienna can count to 10 in Spanish now just about as well as she counts in English, so that’s something. And watching them with those tools is pretty entertaining!