Earth Day is just around the corner! Wednesday, April 22 marks the day when we celebrate the Earth and remind ourselves of what we can do to take care of it. Earth Day is also a wonderful opportunity to get out and do fun things, and we're always looking for an excuse to learn new things.

In honor of Earth Day, PBS will be showing a brand new episode of Sid the Science Kid entitled, The Dirt on Dirt.

My three year old, Claire, and I had the opportunity to check it out early!

To be honest, I wasn't very familiar with Sid the Science Kid, but I knew that if it involved questions and answers and anything science-related, Claire would enjoy it. The odds of there being princesses and sparkly pink things in it were slim, but she's usually pretty easy to please.

As soon as we got the DVD and watched it, I started seeing Sid everywhere! Isn't that how it always goes?

"Look, Momma! Sid is at our library!" Even Claire recognized him on some worksheets in the children's section.

So, what did we think of the episode?

Claire loved it. In fact, we've watched it more than once already. She loved it so much that we'll need to find it in our satellite listings and add Sid the Science Kid to the queue with our collection of Sesame Street shows. (Check your local listings for Episode 128!)

So, what's the dirt on The Dirt on Dirt? In this episode, Sid and his friends Gabriela, Gerald and May, along with their teacher, Susie, learn about Earth Day.

They all became dirt detectives and soil scientists in the Super Fab Lab, and they "Investigate! Explore! Discover!" all there is to know about the importance of dirt.

Claire loved the cartoon aspect of the show, and she liked the video footage of real kids doing their own investigating, exploring, and discovering in the dirt. She loved the different songs and interactions with the characters.

She could really relate to Sid, even though he didn't have a shred of pink on him, and he's not a princess. (Gabriela had on pink, though. Just so you know.) When Sid's mom takes him to school, Claire got so excited and said, "He's going to school like me!"

Even I enjoyed the episode! I love how current and up-to-date they are with the little things. In one scene, Sid's mom goes over to the computer in the kitchen and researches some information for Sid. We do that all the time around here, too!

I actually laughed out loud when Sid asked, "Did you ever hear the one about the kid who wanted to know everything about everything?" And, I thought to myself, "Yep, and she's sitting right here beside me, Sid." Sid and Claire would get along fabulously, I think.

After watching it with Claire, I asked her what her favorite part was of Sid the Science Kid: The Dirt on Dirt.

She said she liked two things the best: The first was the part where Gerald pretended to be an elephant. Claire is 3-yrs old, so we do a lot of pretending around here. Her second favorite part was when the kids were looking at the worms in the dirt. She added, "If I found plastic trash in the dirt, Momma, I'd put it in the recycling bin!"

In true preschooler-style, we've talked about this episode long after I clicked off the television. We've had ongoing conversations about soil and bugs and nature and Earth Day. On Earth Day, if the weather cooperates, I'd love to take Claire outside and do some Backyard Science of our own. She'd totally dig it. (Get it? Ha!)

But, we don't have to wait until Earth Day to discover the world around us. Like they pointed out in the episode, "You don't have to wait until Earth Day to take care of the earth."

So, if you're looking for a fun way to get the conversation started in your house, I recommend you check out Sid the Science Kid: The Dirt on Dirt!

This is not a paid review, however, The Casual Perfectionist did receive a free copy of this episode! All images are used with permission from The Jim Henson Company.