New PBS Peg + Cat Episodes and YouTube Too! #PBSVIPS @PBSKids

Beginning March 2 PBS Kids Peg + Cat is going musical. Well at least they'll be musically influenced new episodes. They'll be running the gambit from the "groovy" sixties to Radio City Musical Hall. Music is such a great way to teach math concepts. My daughter is in 5th grade now and I know learning about music has helped her immeasurably (har har) with all the fraction work they do.

Here's the full run down of the new Peg + Cat episodes

“The Allergy Problem/I Do What I Can: The Musical!” – Premieres Monday, March 2, 2015
· The Allergy Problem - When Peg is told she's allergic to Cat, Cat leaves home! Ramone flies Peg around the world in his flying machine that runs on 100 pebbles, in search of her friend.
· I Do What I Can: The Musical! - Peg and Cat present a Broadway musical about the amazing Ramone, who became a hero by doing 30 great things, 5 at a time.

“The Roxanne Problem/The Girl Group Problem” - Premieres Tuesday, March 3, 2015
· The Roxanne Problem - Cat longs to impress the savvy Roxanne with his knowledge of solid shapes. So he moves his lips as his hidden friend Peg speaks for him.
· The Girl Group Problem - Peg's girl group the Pentagirls has its biggest show ever, featuring a new hit song about flips, slides, and turns.

“The Groovy Sixties Problem/Bad Jack is Back” - Premieres Wednesday, March 4, 2015
· The Groovy Sixties Problem - Peg and Cat help Peg's hippy Grandmom create a groovy birthday present for Granddad based on his favorite numbers: the sixties.
· Bad Jack is Back - When Bad Jack returns with his gang to tickle the townspeople, a surprise guest shows Peg and Cat how to fend off the bad guys' six feathers with four feathers.

“The Magic Uke/The Rocking Out Problem” - Premieres Thursday, March 5, 2015
· The Magic Uke - Peg must trek through the Kingdom of Night to reach Cat. To cross the star-shaped steps, Peg needs to find lines of symmetry with the help of a magic ukulele.
· The Rocking Out Problem - When Baby Fox makes a spectacular musical instrument out of junk, Peg and Cat get stuck in it! To get out they use up, down, around and 3/4 time.

You can also enjoy PBS Kids on their new YouTube channel aimed at kids 2-8 and their parents. Now you can see all you and your kids favs anytime you want! The channel includes hundreds of clips and promotional videos from popular PBS KIDS series, such as DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, PEG + CAT, WILD KRATTS, ARTHUR, MARTHA SPEAKS, WORDGIRL and PBS KIDS’ newest series, ODD SQUAD. In addition, viewers can watch full episodes on YouTube from web original series, including FIZZY’S LUNCH LAB, OH NOAH!, RUFF RUFFMAN: HUMBLE MEDIA GENIUS, CHUCK VANDERCHUCK’S “SOMETHING SOMETHING” EXPLOSION and PLUM LANDING. New content will be added to the channel weekly.


 

Peg + Cat: Chicken On The Loose @PBSKids #Peg+Cat

September 9th you'll be able to own 8 Peg + Cat stories from the PBS series on DVD. The DVD is called Peg + Cat: Chickens On The Loose And Other Really Big Problems. It doesn't exactly roll of the tongue but I think it definitely speaks to it's core audience.

As always Peg + Cat will find themselves with a challenging problem to resolve in each story. They'll work on a solution in their own unique way using problem solving skills and of course math. The series has an amazing ability to not only teach math skills but also resilience, trying again until you find your solution. Of all the skills children need to learn I would say resilience is probably the most important. It is hard to fail at anything. Peg + Cat help kids see it not as failure but just a step in the process to solving a problem.

Peg + Cat: Chickens On The Loose And Other Really Big Problems is available September 9th $12.99

The episodes included are

The Chicken Problem:
Peg and Cat have to get 100 chickens back in the coop before the farmer sees.
Primary Goal: Size correspondence
Secondary Learning Goal: The number 100

The Space Creature Problem:
Peg, Cat and Richard must get the 100 chickens away from Big Mouth and back to their spaceship.
Primary Learning Goal: Counting by tens
Secondary Learning Goal: The number 100

The Messy Room Problem:
Peg and Cat sort through the mess in Peg’s room just in time for company to come over and see Cat’s masterpiece, “The Circles.”
Primary Learning Goal: Sorting
Secondary Learning Goal: Shapes

The Golden Pyramid Problem:
Peg the Bold and Brave Sir Cat, Knights of the Round Table, search far and wide to retrieve the Mermaid’s golden pyramids.
Primary Learning Goal: Solid shapes
Secondary Learning Goal: Counting by twos

The Three Bears Problem:
Peg and Cat bring the Three Bears, the Three Little Pigs, and the Three Billy Goats Gruff together to form a super group: “The Electric Eleven.”
Primary Learning Goal: Adding 1
Secondary Learning Goal: Counting to 11

The Giant Problem:
Peg and Cat must attempt a great escape when they think the Giants want to eat them and their 8 fairy tale friends for lunch.
Primary Learning Goal: Combinations that add up to 10
Secondary Learning Goal: Circle

The Dinosaur Problem:
When Peg and Cat get lost riding dinosaurs through a prehistoric forest, they use a diagram to find their way to safety before the Baby T-Rex catches up to them.
Primary Learning Goal: Following diagrams
Secondary Learning Goal: Patterns

The Beethoven Problem:
When Peg and Cat are helping their pal Ludwig Van Beethoven write a symphony, Cat laughs in a certain pattern that gives Beethoven a great idea.
Primary Learning Goal: Patterns
Secondary Learning Goal: Ordinal Numbers

In addition to the 8 stories the DVD also includes special features and printable coloring pages.

PBS Annual Meeting

Cookie and Me

Last week I was invited to spend a few days in San Francisco with PBS at their annual meeting. I was joined by 25 or so of my fellow PBS Kids VIPS. A great bunch of family bloggers who love the amazing educational and fun programming PBS Kids produces. We got the opportunity to see some of our old favorites, like Sesame Street's Cookie Monster and some new shows on the horizon for young and old. Here are just two I'm particularly looking forward to!

PBS' Odd Squad

PBS will debut a new live action show ODD SQUAD November 26th. Designed to help 5-8 year olds learn math, the show focuses on two young agents, Olive and Otto, who are part of an agency whose mission is to come to the rescue whenever something "odd" happens. I think everyone will enjoy the ubiquitous grouchy chief depicted by the young actress in the foreground of the above picture. You haven't been yelled at till you've been yelled at by someone holding a juice box and in the middle of building a Popsicle house.

Ken Burns and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Photo Courtesy PBS)

Lastly, I want to share everyone's favorite documentarian's next PBS production Ken Burns' THE ROOSEVELTS: An Intimate History. This will be a 14 hour exploration of the life of Teddy, Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt's lives. Franklin and Eleanor's granddaughter, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, joined us at the PBS annual meeting (and gave us all goosebumps at her resemblance to her grandmother). While Anna didn't know either Franklin or Teddy she did have lovely stories about the attention her grandmother, Eleanor, gave her.THE ROOSEVELTS will air it's first episode September 14th.

PBS KIDS Peg + Cat Super Peg Week

Peg + Cat is my favorite PBS KIDS program. It's the Downton Abbey of kids programming. The animation is so cool, as are the songs, and the way they make math seem not only fun but useful! I could go off on a whole thing about them using a girl on this show too, but I think they know how happy that makes everyone who is interested in leveling the playing field for girls in math and science.

PBS' “Super PEG Week” begins May 5th airing 4 new episodes of Peg and Cat. In “Super PEG Week,” Peg and Cat go on all-new adventures and journey to a variety of places, including the town of Mathtropolis, where “Super Peg” and “Cat Guy” (comic book superhero versions of the dynamic duo) must use math and creative thinking to defeat the “Arch Villain” and save the day. The action-packed episodes include challenges that highlight foundational math concepts such as shapes, lines, ordinal numbers and spatial relationships.

“PEG + CAT Super PEG Week” – Episode Air Dates and Descriptions

“The Arch Villain Problem/The Straight and Narrow Problem” (#120) – Premieres May 7, 2014
 

“The Arch Villain Problem" When the Arch Villain wreaks havoc on the city of Mathtropolis by turning everything into arches, Super Peg and Cat Guy come to the rescue. 

“The Straight and Narrow Problem”: Super Peg and Cat Guy trail the Arch Villain, who has given up his archways and gone on a rampage with straight and narrow shapes instead.

Included Math Concepts: Understanding straight, narrow and curved line shapes; counting sides to determine shapes; counting by tens to 100.

“The Play Date Problem/The Blabberwocky Problem” (#122) – Premieres May 6, 2014

“The Play Date Problem”: Peg and Cat use the power of music and patterns to help their friends Beethoven and the Three Bears play together – and make incredible music together.

“The Blabberwocky Problem”: Peg and Cat are back as the Knights of the Round Table to reclaim their friends’ missing shapes – and their own Round Table– from the mysterious 100-headed creature, The Blabberwocky.

Included Math Concepts: Identifying patterns audibly; identifying shapes.

“The Perfect Ten Problem/The Long Line Problem” (#117) – Premieres May 7, 2014

“The Perfect Ten Problem”: Peg and Cat are judging a singing competition in which all performers must get a rating of exactly ten stars.

“The Long Line Problem”: While waiting in a long line, Peg and Cat try to help Richard realize his dream of being first in line for the first time.

Included Math Concepts: Ordinal numbers, how to use a number line; counting to 20; positional relationships.

“The Clown Problem/The Ninja Problem” (#121) – Premieres May 8, 2014

“The Clown Problem”: Peg and Cat help Mac achieve his dream of being a clown in the circus by teaching him how funny it can be when things are exactly the wrong size.

“The Ninja Problem”: Peg and Cat help their young Ninja-wannabe friend Aki find the fifteen missing cherry blossom trees by using Ninja skills and math skills.

Included Math Concepts: Sizes and shapes; numbers and counting.

PBS KIDS Celebrates Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Beginning next week, Monday March 3, PBS KIDS will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday with an all-new one-hour THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! special. The party continues all week with half hour episodes where kids will join Cat, Sally and Nick as they explore a variety of animal attributes: from the benefits of crickets’ chirps and birds’ feathers, to the mimic octopus’ remarkable ability to imitate other sea creatures. Viewers also learn how glass is made, how multi-legged creatures walk and how cotton is spun into fabric.



As part of the Cat-ebration, PBS KIDS has also launched a new, mobile-friendly THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! game. “Marbleous Marvel Coaster” allows kids to create their own Seussian rollercoasters using open-ended play and engineering skills and is available at pbskids.org/catinthehat.

PBS Dinosaur Train Nature Trackers Adventure Camp

Here's some great TV for the Kids! When my daughter was younger it was so great to know I could put on PBS and know that she was being entertained and learning something. I wish there was a channel like that for her (and me) now that she is edging ever closer to those dreaded teen years.

PBS KIDS is premiering an all-new special on January 20^th called DINOSAUR TRAIN “Nature Trackers Adventure Camp!” PBS KIDS and everyone’s favorite Pteranodon family are taking kids and parents on an excursion in– an all new one-hour special featuring four new stories about nature and adventures in varying geographic locations. Kids are invited to learn about geography and paleontology during the on-air special.

PBS Kids Toys at Tuesday Morning

 


PBS Kids has partnered with Tuesday Morning to offer some great preschool toys that extend PBS Kids on screen learning to the home. Being a member of PBS Kids VIPs I received an assortment of the games, and by assortment I mean a huge box filled with 8 great looking preschooler games. Even my 8 year old, who normally won't have anything to do with "baby" toys, was interested.

After fending off my 3rd grader, we decided that these toys would be a great holiday toy donation for Sparks of Love at LA County Fire Department. My father was and LA County fire fighter, so this is always my preferred toy donation site. But there are many great organizations that take toy donations to give to needy families at the holidays. Toys for Tots is a national organization you can donate at.

Where ever you live I encourage you to take the time to donate toys for children that may not receive anything this holiday. These PBS Kids toys go on sale at Tuesday Morning on December 4th and are available online now. They range in price from under $10 -$20. They're a great value and something I think kids will truly enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

PBS Kids Rock

PBS Kids released their first album, PBS Kids Rock today, which includes songs by Grammy Award winners Ozomatli and They Might Be Giants, The Weepies and Parent’s Choice Gold Award-winning music sensation SteveSongs, AKA Mr. Steve, cohost of the PBS KIDS preschool destination.

The songs are all educational, and designed to teach children about reading, math, science and technology. They are also just great songs. I know I've caught myself singing They Might Be Giants children's songs on many an occasion, and not just because they were played on a continuous loop in my house for many years.

PBS Kids Rocks is available on  iTunes and Amazon.com, the proceeds from “PBS KIDS ROCKS!” will support PBS KIDS educational programming.

iVillage and PBS Kids Summer Reading Community Challenge

iVillage and PBS Kids are challenging our communities children to keep up their reading through the summer. Children lose so much during the summer break, but with all the fun they'll be having with this challenge they won't have that problem. In fact they may pick up a few new things!

Just sign up on the iVillage PBS Kids Community Challenge page by June 18th and you'll be on your way. 

Here are all the perks as listed by PBS and iVillage

Once you're signed up beginning June 18th you'll receive daily emails with activities and ideas from coaches, Angela C. Santomero - creator of Super WHY! on PBS KIDS, or Jessica Wollman - VP, Scholastic Media (producer of WordGirl on PBS KIDS). You'll also get book suggestions and discounts, free downloads of PBS KIDS shows and a daily chance to win $1,000 and other great prizes!

Really it's a win win!

PBS KIDS Explore the Outdoors for Earth Day

In celebration of Earth Day PBS is airing children's programming promoting exploring the outdoors. Programs will include week long themed programs listed below as well as a new episode of Arthur about Earth Day on April 16th. Leave it to PBS to encourage our kids to turn off the TV and go outside. But I recommend letting them watch these first, or at least while you get dressed



WILD KRATTS “Backyard Adventures Week” - March 26-30

This special week features five episodes all about venturing outside to explore the wonders that are as close as your own backyard. The week concludes with the premiere of a new episode, “Flight of the Pollinators,” on Friday, March 30, which explores the amazing delivery system of plants and their animal partners.



DINOSAUR TRAIN “Nature Trackers Week” - April 2-6

This encore presentation of four “Nature Trackers” episodes of DINOSAUR TRAIN includes “Stargazing on the Night Train/Get Into Nature!,” “Shiny and Snakes/Tiny Flowers,” “Buddy Explores the Tyrannosaurs/Rainy Day Fight” and “That’s Not a Dinosaur/Tiny’s Garden.” The story lines follow Buddy, Shiny, Tiny and Don as they make their own discoveries in nature.

The episodes encourage kids to get outside, get into nature and make their own discoveries.



THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! “Nature’s Know-How Week” - April 9-13

The Cat, Nick and Sally go on a variety of outdoor adventures this week, including journeys to Drippety Dry Desert and Splishy Splashy Pond. Two new episodes premiere: “Super Cleaner Uppers/Itty Bitty Water” on Monday, April 9, and “Amazing Eyes/Water Walkers” on Thursday, April 12.



CURIOUS GEORGE “Explore Your World Week” - April 16-20

During this special week, everyone’s favorite monkey dabbles in a range of activities – from radio DJ-ing, to painting, to building a home for a squirrel. The week includes three premiere episodes – “DJ George/Curious George Paints the Desert” on Monday, April 16, “No Knowing Gnocchi/Here Comes the Tide” on Wednesday, April 18, and a special Earth Day episode, “Junky Monkey/Jumpy Warms Up,” on Friday, April 20.