5 Reasons You Should Watch Odd Squad with Your Child

Do your kids love Odd Squad as much as we do? Odd Squad is a PBS kids show where the agents use math to solve odd problems. It has nearly finished its first season and has been renewed for a second. If you have yet to check it out, here are 5 reasons why you should watch Odd Squad with your child.

5 Reasons You Should Watch Odd Squad with Your Child

This list is in no particular order. They are all great reasons to watch the show.

#1 It is funny.

This show is well written and has plenty of humor. Some of it is corny and some of it is witty and clever. Odd Squad is known for solving odd cases and there are definitely odd cases. Capture the escaped blob. Figure out why Deliver Debbie has doubled not once but twice. Cure mysterious outbreaks and diseases like cases of the sing alongs, skips, or lemonheads.

What happens when Otto eats the potato salad in the refrigerator marked with an O? It was Olaf’s shrinking potato salad. The team has to travel through the potato door to retrieve another potato to save Otto. It’s a ridiculous problem but hilarious nonetheless.

#2 Odd Squad agents model how to solve math problems.

This is the number one reason why I let my son watch the show. The agents do a fantastic job teaching each other and the supporting characters how to figure out a solution. They think out loud and tell you what steps they took to get the answer or solve the problem. Agents use their hands and other props as math manipulatives. With a turn of their badges, they can visit the math room – a virtual space used for visualizing numbers, charts, math counters, and more.

According to the PBS parents site, here is a list of math skill categories that are covered on Odd Squad:

• Numbers and Number Operations – Counting, number relations and operations
• Geometry and Spatial Sense – Two and three dimensional shapes and their attributes, spatial and mapping skills
• Measurement – Length, capacity, weigh, time, money and temperature
• Data – Collecting, organizing, presenting and analyzing data
• Algebraic Thinking – patterns, working with expressions and equations, and deductive reasoning

My only critique is that the Odd Squad agents are pretty much the only ones that know how to do the math. The adults and supporting characters often have dumbfounded looks on their faces and seem surprised by the solutions. This isn’t exactly realistic. Then again, neither is much else about the show’s oddities.

#3 Life lessons.

Teamwork and never giving up are big themes in the show. The agents work together to solve the cases. The problems often seem unsolvable and the agents want to give up. Instead, they step back, take another look at the situation, and try again.

#4 The characters.

The characters are what make this show. These kids are great actors. The writers have done an excellent job developing their characters. My son’s favorite character is Otto because he is goofy and smart. My favorite character is actually a villain – Odd Todd. Todd used to be an Odd Squad agent – the only agent whose name didn’t start with O. Todd was Olive’s former partner. He was so good and quick at solving cases. He did all of the math in his head. Unfortunately, Todd got bored of getting rid of odd problems and decided he wanted to embrace the odd. He got kicked off the team for breaking one of Odd Squad’s rules: do no odd. Odd Todd keeps Olive and Otto on their toes.

#5 Science and math are cool.

Any time science and math are shown as cool to kids is a win in my book. Odd Squad makes using science reasoning skills and solving math problems awesome. Everyone wants to be an Odd Squad agent and solve odd problems, too.

Do you watch Odd Squad? What are your reasons?