Kristen Bell and Jackie Tohn on how they’re ‘sneak teaching’ kids with their new show “Do, Re & Mi”

This episode is sponsored by Tonies. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Motherly and mamas.

Kristen Bell and Jackie Tohn have been best friends since they met as young singers and actors more than 15 years ago, and now they’re collaborating on a new Amazon Original animated kids series called Do, Re & Mi. The show, which follows best birds Do, Re and Mi as they navigate the world around them while also belting out catchy tunes, is just as educational as it is entertaining.

On the latest episode of The Motherly Podcast, Bell and Tohn talk to Motherly co-founder Liz Tenety about how they’re “sneak teaching” kids with their new show and why music is such an important focal point.

“It was basically our mission from the very beginning to ‘sneak music education’ into kids’ lives, hands, brains, all of it,” Tohn admits.

“There’s so much science and data to support that [music] helps kids, their brains grow with math, with social skills. It literally can change your neuroplasticity. You can put music of their favorite genre or timeframe on, in an Alzheimer’s ward, and they will come back online for a couple minutes. I mean, it’s crazy,” Bell, who has two daughters of her own, adds. “You know, music can bind a lot of families together. It can bind friendships together. And it’s just a show that you can feel really good about. We want to get it in front of as many kids as possible, because I don’t like the fact that some kids won’t have exposure to music. Their brains deserve to grow just as much as everyone else’s.”

The first season of Do, Re & Mi premiered on September 17th and its creators recorded 52 different songs for the show that range from reggae and pop to country, blues and jazz.

“That’s what’s so exciting about this show,” Tohn gushes. “Not only are the lessons we’re teaching for everyone, but every episode has a musical genre, a musical lesson and an emotional lesson. And so there really is so much to learn.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Bell tells Tenety about how she made literal toolboxes that carry different regulation tools to help her kids calm down (one is “find a song you love and sing out loud”) and why having a village is crucial to surviving motherhood, especially in a pandemic, while Tohn details her special friendship not only with Bell, but with her daughters, too.

To hear more about the show, Bell’s experiences in motherhood, and her enduring friendship with Tohn, listen to The Motherly Podcast for the full interview.