KIDS FIRST! News

PBS Kids celebrates Kwanza with A Savanna Kwanzaa, a special episode of National Geographic Kids Entertainment’s preschool series “Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies,” from December 1, 2007 (check local listings). The newly launched series, Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies, which stars Vanessa Williams as the voice of Mama, features a mix of animation and live-action wildlife content from the National Geographic and BBC archives. Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies airs regularly on PBS Kids weekends. Find out more information at pbskids.org.

Starting today, Friday, November 30, qubo.com will debut an innovative new website storytelling tool, ZIMMER TWINS where children can create animated mini-movies and have the opportunity to have their short films showcased on the qubo Channel and the qubo weekend blocks on NBC, ION and Telemundo.Then on Monday, December 3, the qubo Channel rolls out a brand new schedule that includes a charming new animated series, MISS B.G. Check out more details on their website.

iAmplify.com is a media company powered by world class technology. They create downloadable audio and video programs to enrich your life. They provide direct access to leading celebrities, experts and media companies and their partnerships range from firms such as HarperCollins Publishers and Random House Audio to personalities such as Marianne Williamson, Marilu Henner, Phil Hellmuth and Kathy Smith. Their offices are in New York and Los Angeles.The Company was founded in 2004, by Internet pioneers Jack and Murray Hidary. The Hidary brothers founded Earthweb in 1995 and took it public with a record breaking IPO. Then in 2001, they founded Vista Research, which provided the country’s largest investment fund managers with new access to industry expertise. The Hidarys sold Vista Research to McGraw Hill/Standard & Poors in April of 2005.

“Shrek the Halls” makes it’s debut on TV tonight, Wednesday, November 28 at 8p. In this endearing show, Shrek’s plans go awry when some uninvited guests show up for the holidays. Will he learn the true value of Christmas? The holiday show features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas reprising their original roles from the “Shrek” feature films.

Their song, “Everybody Singing” is now available via iTunes. Love that? Then you might also enjoy their holiday DVD, which made its debut this month. “Happy Doodle Holidays,” is distributed by Lionsgate.

The Thanks Thanksgiving TurkeySubmitted by children’s writer, Gregg Golson.This is an easy and fun project for both kids and their parents to do together.The turkey is drawn by tracing your feet and hands. The project also leaves enough leeway for a young artist to make their turkey unique.Supplies needed:ScissorsGluePen or pencilConstruction paper (brown or tan, red, orange and white)Making your Turkey–full instructions on the KIDS FIRST! craft page.

Microsoft is stepping out to help families keep gaming safe and fun. This fall the Xbox 360 will debut its Family Settings program. Parents or system owners can set permissions that allow all members of the household to enjoy Xbox 360 in a user-appropriate environment from games to DVDs and Xbox LIVE memberships and managing access to Xbox LIVE. You can even set a time limit for how long a game/DVD can be played on a daily or weekly basis. Read more about it here.

Miss Lori is joined by two friends, Miss Rosa and Mr. Steve in season three of the preschool block. Jennifer Pena, aka Miss Rosa, is a teacher who will introduce Spanish-language words and phrases into the block.  Steve Roslonek, aka SteveSongs, will portray Mr. Steve, a teacher who will fold original music elements into each morning.  The two-hour-preschool block, available on free PBS TV stations, is produced with Out of the Blue Enterprises.

Current, the media company Al gore co-founded six years ago with partner Joel Hyatt, launched a new web site that integrates television and the Web in an unprecedented way. It provides, as never before, a platform for citizens to make the media their own.One of the features Gore is most excited about on Current.com is called Viewpoints. Viewpoints is a virtual town hall where you can share your opinions, in video, about the issues that matter in the 2008 election: from global warming to government eavesdropping, and many more.This digital town hall is already bustling, and you can find viewpoints from me and from a lot of people, including the candidates running for President. Come and listen to their positions and, more importantly, tell them and the rest of the world what you think at Viewpoints!

It may still be warm out, but snow is definitely in the air … or on the airwaves at least, in an enchanting collection of six winter-themed adventures featuring preschool favorites Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Thomas the Tank Engine™, Kipper,™ Fireman Sam™and Pingu™ the Penguin - in Winter Wonderland, available November 20 from HIT Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.HIT Entertainment creates entertaining content and rich characters that become lifelong friends to children, encouraging exploration of their imaginations and the world around them and teaching early lessons to help them grow in both heart and mind. Read More About Winter Wonderland.