Among the study’s findings from parent, teacher, kid and teen respondents:

·         Parents (84 percent), teachers (78 percent), kids age 6–11 (73 percent), and teens age 12–17 (64 percent) say character-building skills are among the most important skills to develop along with academic skills in order to be successful in life.

·         The more kids and teens are exposed to character-building skills, the greater their level of interest in volunteering. Additionally, kids and teens who are more exposed to character-building skills volunteer more frequently.

·         Eighty-eight percent of parents and 93 percent of teachers believe that volunteering provides opportunities for children to build character.

·         Ninety-four percent of parents and 98 percent of teachers agree that media can play an important role in teaching kids the value of character education; 63 percent of teachers believe that kids would benefit from more media exposure to lessons about character-building skills.

“This study demonstrates the importance of having curriculum for the heart as well as the head,” said Francie Alexander, Senior Vice President of Scholastic Education and Chief Academic Officer of Scholastic Inc. “At Scholastic, we put the same value on preparing children for good citizenship as we do for careers and college.”

 Findings Coincide With Launch of Fourth Annual ‘Clifford® BE BIG™ In Your Community’

National Contest to Inspire Service and Volunteerism

“This survey reinforces the importance of ensuring that kids are able to discover their power to make a difference in their communities at an early age,” said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light. “Programs like BE BIG encourage our next generation to act on their potential to make their mark on the world.”

The findings coincide with today’s launch of the fourth annual ‘Clifford BE BIG in Your Community’ national contest, which is designed to inspire engagement in service and volunteerism. Beginning today, the contest invites kids of all ages, teachers, parents and community leaders to submit proposals that demonstrate how Clifford’s BIG Ideas (Share, Help Others, Be Kind, Be Responsible, Play Fair, Be a Good Friend, Believe in Yourself, Have Respect, Work Together and Be Truthful) can make the world a better place. Submitted ideas vie for the chance to win up to $10,000 in community grants from the BE BIG Fund to be used to implement the winning proposals. The mission of the fund is to recognize and reward others for their BIG actions, to catalyze change in local communities, and to provide resources for everyone to share BIG ideas. Entry forms can be found at http://www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest/; those interested can also explore their local HandsOn Network action center for opportunities to serve in their community at http://www.handsonnetwork.org/actioncenters/map. Complete rules are online at www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contestrules.*

Additional findings of the study include:

• Teacher, kid and teen survey respondents name Clifford The Big Red Dog® as the character most associated with teaching character-building skills relative to other characters.
• The vast majority of parents (96 percent), teachers (98 percent), kids (91 percent), and teens (81 percent) surveyed agree that Clifford’s BIG Ideas are valuable/important.

The study was commissioned to examine the role of the BE BIG™ program on civic engagement, as it continues to grow and inspire communities to engage in service. “It Starts with Character: Inspiring Kids & Teens to Volunteer” is a national online survey of more than 1,000 individuals – 250 parents of kids age 2–11, 251 kids age 6–11, 249 teens age 12–17, and 260 kindergarten through second-grade teachers.  The sample was drawn from C+R Research and MDR online panels, and the survey was fielded from October 10, 2011 through October 25, 2011.  The margin of error is +/– 5.2 percent at a 90 percent confidence level. The study results can be viewed online at mediaroom.scholastic.com/clifford and www.handsonnetwork.org/bebig.

“I frequently get requests from friends asking me how to put controls on their computers for their kids. Although I am not personally an expert on security, I wanted to share the toolsthat IBM has released in conjunction with Safer Internet Day. These tools for Internet safety and controlling one’s identity online can help anyone understand what it means to be digitally responsible.

I am a parent of two children, and their easy access to the Internet scares me. To pass the time in long lines at the supermarket, I will hand my daughter my iPhone so she can play on it or surf the Internet. My two-year-old already knows how to use her pointer finger to “turn pages” online to read an ebook. While I want my children to be digitally savvy, I also know that it is essential for them to learn to be digitally responsible. Teaching digital responsibility to my young children is a key part of my responsibility as a parent.

By the time kids reach middle school, they’re likely to know as much or more about the Internet as their parents. Children use the Internet for schoolwork, to play games, to send email and instant messages, for downloading music, for shopping, and for entering contests. Although they know their way around the web, they may lack the judgment and emotional maturity to steer clear of trouble.

It is everyone’s role to understand the ramifications of their actions online. Parents should make use of IBM’s guides on Cyberbullying, Internet Safety Coaching, and Controlling Your Online Identity as a starting point to learn more about protecting their children (and themselves) online.

Please check out this post from IBM’s Security Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer discussing how your “individual actions can make the difference to protect your reputation, your physical safety, your financial information, and the integrity and safety of the digital devices and networks that you may use and that our society relies upon.”

Lisa Lanspery is Manager of Corporate Communications at IBM, and the mother of two young children.

USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS PRESENTS “The Power of Film to Create Social Change” Panel Discussion
Tuesday, February 7, 2012; 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Landmark Theatre, 10850 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064

PANELISTS:
• Reverend James Lawson – Pastor Emeritus Holman United Methodist Church, Legendary Civil Rights activist
• Rabbi Allen I. Freehling – Rabbi Emeritus, University Synagogue. Former Exec. Director Human Relations Commission, City of Los Angeles, and longtime social justice advocate
• Ai-jen Poo – Director, Co-Founder, National Domestic Workers Alliance
• Michael Taylor, Producer, Chair of Film and Television Production, USC
· Octavia Spencer (Actress, “The Help”)
• Tate Taylor (Writer/Director, “The Help”)

Moderator: Cari Beauchamp. Beauchamp is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Scholar, and award-winning author of “Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and The Powerful Women of Early Hollywood.”

About the film: Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis (“Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times. Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, “The Help” is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change.

The ensemble cast also features Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Emmy® Award winner Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Oscar® winner Sissy Spacek, Academy Award® nominee Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel.

ABOUT USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS: The mission of the USC School of Cinematic Arts is to develop and articulate the creative, scholarly and entrepreneurial principles and practices of film, television and interactive media, and in doing so inspire and prepare the women and men who will become leaders in the field.

Whether texting, surfing the web or playing video games, research shows that kids between the ages of eight and 18 spend more than seven hours a day with gadgets.* “That, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad,” says Dr. Richard Bavaria, senior vice president for education outreach for Sylvan Learning. “Balance, as in every other aspect of life, is key. A variety of helpful resources have made technology an integral part of our lives and how we learn. While technology has introduced many portals of enhanced learning, it can also be a distraction in kids’ lives – offering kids easy ways to get sidetracked, diverted and overwhelmed.”

To help kick-start a successful year, Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring services to children of all ages and skill levels, offers parents and families the following tips to find the right balance for using technology efficiently and effectively.

Your rules rule. Have clear guidelines for kids to follow. Like all rules for children, the clearer and simpler, the better. If you’re unsure how to start, talk to trusted teachers at school, other parents in the community, or look at good online sites.
Set time limits. A good rule of thumb for teens is two hours of screen time per day, including schoolwork. For elementary schoolers, it’s less. No screen-time just before bedtime. Decide what will work best for your family.
Set place limits. Ban electronic screens at dinnertime, for example, or when the family is having a discussion or enjoying family time together. Many families find that for younger kids, it’s best if the computer is in the family room – not in the kids’ rooms – and used only when an adult is present, monitoring.
Schoolwork comes first. Study and chores come before socializing and games. So does anything else you decide – writing that thank you note, going to Sunday school, helping the next door neighbor.
Stress privacy. Explain to your children why you won’t permit them to give out personal information about themselves or their family, to meet with strangers they’ve “met” online, or to spend money online. Just be realistic and firm.
Stress common sense. It is good sense not to allow downloading or uploading – music, movies, or photos for instance – without your permission. Show kids how their online words and pictures are, for all intents and purposes, permanent. Just as we watch what we say in our speech, we need to do the same thing online.
Be a role model. You’re a role model in everything you do and say as a parent, including using technology. Let the kids see you using your computer, phone, and other devices to make your life easier, more efficient, more fun. Show how you’re in control of it, not the other way around: i.e. if you say no gadgets at dinner time, don’t pick up the phone yourself.

Technology, when used effectively, helps enable and empower our children’s educational lives. The key lies in setting boundaries on kids’ electronic use. For more information, visit www.sylvanlearning.com.

* According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans between the age of 8 and 18 spend on average 7.5 hours a day using some sort of electronic device, from smart phones to MP3 players to computers.

Right now - it is YOUR VOTE that counts the most! So, please, take a bit of time, watch the contestants’ video reviews and CAST YOUR VOTE. You’ll be glad you did.

Here are some links to this year’s critics:

Beauty and the Beast 3D

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Arthur Christmas
And, don’t miss this - our radio show, KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions on Voice America Kids, a division of Voice America. This is internet radio so past episodes may be listened to at any time. Here’s our most recent show. 

The movie has a charming story. When I interviewed the author of the children’s book War Horse, Michael Morpurgo, he told me that his book shows how war does not only produce a severe effect on people, but with animals too, specifically horses. It is interesting watching director Steven Spielberg’s translation of that theme onto film. One notable scene shows the horse, Joey, galloping fiercely through no man’s land, but is forced to slow down after he is tangled in a bunch of wires. After intense war, both opposing sides come together to untangle the horse! I found it touching because it shows that it takes both sides to solve a problem, and when the movie shows both soldiers cutting the wires from the horse, I thought of it as a symbol like they were ending their conflicts between each other. The cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, filmed the scene beautifully, which helped produce such an emotional effect on the audience.

The cinematography in general is wonderful, especially when Kaminski zooms in the feet of the horses and the faces of the horses as they gallop across the vast fields. Most of the beauty of the movie comes from the horses, and I think the horse trainers did an impeccable job, particularly ZelieBullen since she trained the main horse, Joey. I recommend this movie to teens ages 13 and up. It is a pleasant family film because it is not too brutal, yet it still packs in all of the action and intensity of war. The movie is a bit slow in the beginning, so younger teens may get bored, but it quickly picks up the pace as the war begins. This is a moving tale to watch and will bring the entire family together for the holidays.

Reviewed by Gabriella Chu, age 15, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

Video Review available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWkcjuxuJRw

This movie is all about Benjamin Mee, played by Matt Damon, who is living with his family in the city trying to deal with the death of his wife and raise his two kids. His son Dylan is not doing so well and keeps getting into trouble. He finally gets expelled and so they have to find him a new school. Benjamin decides that it’s time for them to move and start a new life and they find a really cool house out of the city and want to buy it. But they soon realize that this house comes with a zoo. His daughter Rosie loves the house though so they decide to give it a try.

Some of the main characters in the movie are Benjamin Mee, Kelly Foster, Duncan, Dylan, and Rosie. My favorite character is Benjamin because he is a really funny character. When he gets mad he does some really funny stuff like throwing a tantrum all by himself, which kept me laughing. He is also a really good dad even though he doesn’t exactly know what he’s doing.
My favorite part in the movie is when Benjamin Mee is inside the porcupine pit and he thinks they are nice at first but then the porcupine started running after him and he jumped over the fence and landed on pointy stuff. So when they tried to take them off he kept screaming! That was really funny.

I would recommend this movie for ages 10 and up because there are some scary parts in this movie that younger kids might not like. The movie is sad because the mom dies and the family is still trying to deal with that. The pictures that Dylan draws are kind of violent and scary and there is also some kissing in the movie that is not appropriate for younger viewers.  Go out and see this movie in theaters or buy it when it comes out on DVD

Credit: Anthony Aranda, age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

“Parents and caregivers play a critical role in supporting their children’s learning,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS.  “At PBS KIDS our goal is to offer families resources to help make anytime a learning time – whether it’s through an online game, or activity ideas that parents and kids can do together while they are out running errands.  The PBS KIDS Lab offers parents tools that are flexible to spark their kids’ imaginations and excitement about learning, and to help them build skills for success in school.”

Math has typically been a challenging curricular area for parents and caregivers to help their children better understand.  According to a recent study1, parents “may create fewer opportunities for children to learn about mathematics than language” and “concrete examples of how to maximize children’s mathematics interests would help parents overcome their mathematics anxieties and show parents why early mathematics education is important.”  To help parents support their children’s math learning, PBS KIDS recommends introducing number, counting and basic mathematical concepts by adding simple activities to a family’s daily routine like these five easy ideas, with more available on the PBS KIDS Lab site.

When driving in the car, count the trees as you pass by.
Call out street signs and identify their shapes.
Count aloud the seconds it takes for a child to brush his/her teeth.
Cook with the kids; count ingredients.
Play grocery store with household items. Count out the change.

“By taking activities that children already enjoy and adding elements of play that foster a better understanding of math, we are bringing mathematical thinking into everyday life in a fun and natural way.  The combination of playing games through the PBS KIDS Lab site and then extending the games at home or in the neighborhood helps to create lifelong students of math,” said Debra Sanchez, Senior Vice President for Education and Children’s Content at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.   “Through the support of the Ready to Learn Grant in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, we are providing programming and content that actively engages young children in learning.”

Available for free, the PBS KIDS Lab (PBSKIDS.org/lab) is the largest offering of interactive math content for preschoolers to date with games that comprise several suites, each of which is centered around a beloved PBS KIDS media property – from CURIOUS GEORGE to THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!.  Each suite links a set of games across different devices and is built around a math framework, leveraging games on a variety of platforms to support key math skills. The Lab also aggregates games by age and skill area so that adults can search for the games that will be the best fit for their kids. Additionally, the site helps parents and teachers learn how the games support learning by providing details on the games’ curriculum-based content.

The PBS KIDS Lab furthers PBS KIDS’ efforts to innovate across platforms to both educate and entertain America’s children.  PBS KIDS is increasingly serving children wherever they live, learn, and play – online, on mobile devices, on TV, and in the classroom.

This movie is awesome because there is a lot of action and everything the chipmunks and Chipettes do is so funny. The movie is all about Dave, the chipmunks and the Chipettes who go on vacation and have a really big adventure. They go on a cruise ship and Alvin keeps causing lots of trouble on the ship (like always). Alvin comes up with a really great idea to fly on top of a kite. All of the chipmunks and Chipettes are holding the kite while Alvin is flying but the wind picks up too hard. They start to fly away and Simon tries to help by tying the kite to Dave’s chair (while he is sleeping). This still doesn’t work and the chair and the chipmunks start to move down the deck of the ship. Eventually, the kite slips off the chair and the chair flips over. Dave wakes up to see the chipmunks and the Chipettes fly away on the kite.

Some of the main characters in the movie are Dave, the chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore), the Chipettes (Eleanor, Jeanette, and Brittany), Zoe, and Ian. My favorite character is Alvin because he is always having fun and causing lots of trouble. I also like him because in the end he learns that he can still have fun while being responsible.

My favorite part in the movie is when the chipmunks and Chipettes meet Zoe on the stranded island. She invites them to meet her friends and when they get there they see that her friends are a bunch of sports balls. It’s really funny because it seems like she is a little crazy since she has been on the island for so long. We figure out later that there are spiders on the island that change a person’s personality and make them act differently. Later in the movie Simon gets bit by one of the spiders and then he starts acting like someone else. It is really funny.

I recommend this movie for all ages because it is super funny and there was no violence or parts that would scare anyone. It also shows how much family means and that most families would do anything for each other. Go out and see this movie in theaters on December 16th.

Reviewed by Anthony Aranda, age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Watch Gabriella’s video review here. 

Looking for something new to watch this holiday season? “The Dog Who Saved Christmas” features the voice talent of Mario Lopez (”Dancing With the Stars,” “Saved By the Bell”) as Zeus, a mischievous yellow Labrador who appears to be less than the dependable guard dog the Bannister family needs.  What happens when a Christmas present goes horribly wrong? Find out along with the Bannister family when they adopt a K-9 watchdog who does not even know how to bark! An All-star cast is sure to impress with names such as Gary Valentine (”King of Queens”), Elisa Donovan (”Clueless; Sabrina the Teenage Witch”), Charlie Stewart (”The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”) and many more. With the holiday season approaching, the Bannister family agrees they need either an alarm or a watchdog to keep their new house secure. Zeus sadly is no watchdog. While the kids fight to keep their loving dog Zeus, Zeus tries to prove himself to his new family. The poor dog is constantly reminded he cannot bark by his new mother Belinda and two hilarious talking mice who share his new home. After failing a mock-burglar test and breaking the Bannister family’s gift to their Grandma, Zeus has run out of chances to prove himself worthy of protecting his family. But just as the Bannister’s leave to spend Christmas Eve with their Grandma, and begin saying their goodbyes to their Pound bound mutt, Zeus is given one more chance to prove himself. With the threat of two robbers and no family around Zeus must snatch the chance to be a hero, he even gets help from an unexpected source to defeat the criminals. This fast-paced comedy is a perfect addition to the holiday season, and will become a family-friendly tradition for future Christmases to come.

Also, look for The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation with the same talent.

By Daniel Menegaz, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Hugo is about a little boy, no more than ten or eleven, who works at the train station running the clocks. Hugo and his dad are clockmakers, until his dad dies when he (Hugo) is very young. His grandpa takes him into the clocks at the train station, but leaves him there after a short amount of time. All Hugo wants to do is fix the automaton he and his dad were fixing…

The movie is amazing, the acting is great. I have to hand it to the two main characters: Hugo (Asa Butterfield) and Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), both are children, my age or younger, and they portrayed the characters very well.

The Cinematography is eye-catching, in the middle of winter, the shots they take from the clocks, or just in the train station are great. What is a movie without a sound track? This movie’s music sets the scene up very well, making you think you know what is about to happen.

I recommend this movie to people 7 and up, it doesn’t have much violence or language or anything like that. Overall I rate this move 8.5 out of 10.

Credit: Jonah Menegaz, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
In A Very Monkey Christmas, Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat are having a wonderful time getting ready for Christmas. There’s only one dilemma - neither of them can figure out what to give the other for a present! In the end, both gift-giving predicaments are simply and beautifully resolved, revealing the true spirit of the holiday season.

Tips for Creating Family Traditions

PBS encourages families to take part in traditions new and old. PBS Parents provides additional ideas to create meaningful traditions for the family such as:
1) Write an annual letter to your child. The holidays are an appropriate time to mark your child’s growth with a special message that will be cherished for a lifetime. Seal letters and store them in a keepsake box until they are old enough to read and enjoy them.
2) Do a Secret Santa gift exchange for charity. Turn the tables this year. Instead of buying a present, make a donation or spend time volunteering for a charity of the giftee’s choice.
3) Make a family walk an annual event. Walking is a great way to spend time with each other, and work off those extra gingerbread cookies! Set aside time — even if it’s 30 minutes — to get outside and stretch your legs with the family.
4) Leave a legacy that lasts (and helps the environment). Each New Year’s Day, plant a tree in honor of your child(ren). Hold a special ceremony in which everyone in the family plays a part in planting that year’s tree, and take lots of pictures, both when the tree is planted and over the years as it grows.
5) Take part in a community service project as a family. Designate a day that will be devoted to serving others in your community.
6) Select a recipe and make it a tradition to make it together as a family, giving each family member a task in preparing it. In honor of the CURIOUS GEORGE Holiday Spectacular, make monkey bread or a banana dessert.
More details and ideas can be found on PBS Parents.

Watch Anthony’s review here.
My favorite characters are Mumble, Erik and two krill named Will and Bill (Brad Pitt & Matt Damon). I like Mumble because he is really funny and he sometimes gets mad at Erik. I like Erik because he tries to get his father to take more chances and he is almost always happy. I like the two krill because they show how friendships take work. They split up in the movie, get lost and then find each other again and make a stronger friendship.My favorite part of this movie is when Will and Bill start tapping on the ice from underneath - kind of like how Mumble taps on the ice from above. Then, a whole bunch of other krill join in and they light up the ice with all of their tapping. I think this is really cool because it is neat to see all the lights and how they actually do that.

The animation and special effects in this movie are really cool. When the krill light up the sea, that is really cool. When some of the ice goes tumbling down the effects of that are really neat. The animation in this movie is awesome. The penguins look very real and they do a good job at making them talk.

I recommend this movie for ages two and up. This movie does have a few scary parts that might be frightening for kids younger than two. For example, when one of the elephant seals falls into a big hole his kids get really scared because they think he might get stuck down there forever. That part made me a little nervous. This is a great family movie that shows happiness and friendship. Go out and see this movie when it comes out in theaters on November 18th.

Reviewed by Anthony Aranda, age 9, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

The 2012 Challenge features four entry categories: Middle School, High School, Collegiate and Educator.  Within each category, PBS KIDS and CPB are challenging participants to develop educational games for children ages 4-8 that focus on specific math curriculum skills. Contestants can find insights and more information about the challenge on  PBSKIDS.org/stemchallenge, including resources that help guide game production for young children and interviews with top PBS KIDS game producers.

The Middle School and High School winners will each receive laptops, game design software packages and other tools to support their skill development, and youth sponsoring organizations will receive cash prizes and educational software. A prize of $10,000 will be awarded to each of the winners in the Collegiate and Educator categories.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media launched the 2nd annual Challenge in partnership with the Digital Promise, a new initiative created by the President and Congress, supported through the U.S. Department of Education.  Entries will be accepted from November 15, 2011 through March 12, 2012 at www.stemchallenge.org.   At the end of the competition, the winning games for the PBS KIDS and CPB track will be featured on the PBS KIDS Lab and PBS LearningMedia websites.

PBS KIDS and CPB are participating in the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge as part of the Ready To Learn Initiative, a grant program managed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement.

To enter, applicants submit both a written and videotaped review of one of the official KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search titles: Happy Feet, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, Glee!, Season 2, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Barbie: A Perfect Christmas which are available for purchase at Amazon.com or wherever DVDs are sold and available on VOD from Comcast.

Each of the current film critics has garnered their own fan club and seems to have established an identity of their own. Raven Devanney, from Denver, excels in her role as host of KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions radio show on VoiceAmerica Kids Gabriella Chu from New York has attended many advance screenings and interviewed celebrities including Jordana Beatty (star) and Megan McDonald (author) of Judy Moody & the NOT Bummer Summer. Anthony Aranda has attended two red carpet events - for the Disney release of Winnie the Pooh and the indie film, This is Your Ocean Sharks and just interviewed John Lasseter, director of Cars 2 on the Pixar lot. Makai Weber Colvin says her best experience was, “interviewing Travis Oats, (voice of Piglet) on the Honey Colored Carpet at the Winnie the Pooh premiere at Walt Disney Studios” during the KIDS FIRST! 2011 Film Critics Boot Camp.

The focus of the film critics program is teaching children healthy media habits, as well as strong critical thinking, writing and public speaking skills that will stay with them for a lifetime. The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search began October 25 and runs through December 31st. It is open to all children between the ages of six and fourteen.

Of the twenty-four finalists, twenty are selected by public voting determines and four additional finalists are selected by special committee. The public voting site is www.wonderworldcity.com/kidsfirst. Be sure to vote for your favorites.

The celebrity judges will select eight winners and 4 alternates, one for each age group. Judges for 2012 search are Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theaters and Magnolia Pictures, Ben Lyons, E! film critic and frequent contributor to ‘Good Morning America,’ Thelma Adams, whose debut novel Playdate, was an O Magazine pick, was the film critic at Us Weekly for 11 years following six years at the New York Post and George Pennacchio of the ABC7 Eyewitness News team in Los Angeles KABC-TV.

The current KIDS FIRST! Film Critics have had a busy and successful year. Their reviews are posted regularly on AOL Kids, WorkingMother.com, KIDSFIRST.ORG, HPUB (Huffington Post Union of Bloggers, parenthood.com, a host of local web publications and KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions, a weekly radio show on Voice America Kids, which was just rated the #2 show on the network.

Industry supporters of The KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Campaign include Amazon.com, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, and WonderWorld Entertainment. Campaign support also comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative membership of over 17 million.

For more information about the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics campaign, visit the campaign landing page.

The website achieved above average scores in all categories including design, content, and innovation. The website has received over 28,000 visitors since it was launched as part of Speakaboos “Journey to Space Month” on March 14 and has expanded its fan base all over the world.

“Many families have written thanking us for making a kid-friendly web series focusing on space education,” CEO and Executive Producer Richard Schweiger says. “They also appreciate the fun and entertaining learning tools we offer – the 3D Space Race game, trivia, coloring pages – all of which makes Space Race a truly interactive website.”

Space Race’s Chief Space Scout and social media guru Matthias Schmitt explains that “the space race is a marathon, and we want to plant the seeds of knowledge about exploring our solar system and beyond as early as we can. One way we’ve done this is by taking our main character, Eagle, on a journey along with us to shuttle launches, museums, and schools, where we’ve met new fans and generated excitement about Space Race and space education.”

Space Race launched as an animated web series focusing on space education, space travel and racing, with the goal of teaching children about space and the solar system. Space Race features eight characters, each in spaceship form, as they race through space, merging unique comic relief with breathtaking excitement and adventure.

• 80% of DVR owners rate the service 8-10 (with 10 being excellent),
• 62% of cable VOD users rate the service 8-10
• 74% of Premium on-Demand users rate VOD 8-10
• 63% of all Netflix subscribers rate the Watch Instantly feature 10 (on a 1-10 scale with 10 being an extremely important feature or benefit of the Netflix service)
• 20% of Netflix subscribers use Watch Instantly daily, and 57% weekly
• 78% of Watch Instantly users use it to watch movies and TV shows on a TV set
• 86% of Netflix households subscribe to a multi-channel video service, and 43% with a multi-channel video service subscribe to a premium service

These findings are based on a survey of over 1,300 households throughout the United States, and are part of LRG’s study, On-Demand TV 2011: A Nationwide Study on VOD and DVRs.

More information may be found in the LRG PDF file available here.

The goal of these new gaming experiences is to help kids build the skills they need for school success, which are lacking among America’s children. National assessments show that over 60 percent of students are performing below proficient levels of math and reading by grade four1. However, research promisingly indicates that educational media, coupled with technologies already embraced by today’s children, is effective in engaging and teaching struggling students2.

“As the nation’s children continue to fall behind, we need to embrace new technology to help them learn,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS. “Our goal is to leverage the power of media to make anytime a learning time for kids. We’ve tapped the best children’s media producers and technology developers in the country to create this collection of math games that demonstrates the very best of what media can do.”

PBS partnered with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) on this project, which is powered by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

“For more than 40 years, public media has provided high-quality programming and content that is proven to help students succeed in school and in life,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB. “Through a long-standing commitment from the U.S. Department of Education, we continue to support PBS and public television stations throughout the country in developing innovative materials that entertain, engage and educate children in the classroom and beyond.”

To guide this new content, PBS developed a math framework, which maps out key building-block skills such as numbers and operations, shape attributes, and data collection and analysis, and ensured that all of the games featured on the PBS KIDS Lab align with the framework. The games – all of which have been tested in classrooms – put a variety of new technologies to the test; webcams and microphones make use of body movement and sound to further engage children in learning.

Four suites launched today from popular PBS KIDS series THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!, CURIOUS GEORGE, SID THE SCIENCE KID and FIZZY’S LUNCH LAB. The PBS KIDS Lab will continue to add new content – including literacy-based games from beloved PBS KIDS series SUPER WHY, as well as additional math-related content from series such as DINOSAUR TRAIN and FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN. The content will be expanded to more platforms as well.

Examples from the new suites of games include:

CURIOUS GEORGE Monkey Jump (Flash, online with webcam): A kinesthetic learning game in which kids jump along with George to fill a toy store bin with bouncy balls (requires webcam) and count along as each ball is added. There is also an equally fun mouse-driven version of the game for kids who don’t have webcams.

THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! Hermit Shell Game (HTML5, mobile-friendly): In this game about size and shape correspondence, players help the Cat, Nick, and Sally fit hermit crabs into shells that are just the right size and pattern. Playable on mobile devices as well as desktop computers.

SID THE SCIENCE KID Super Fab Lab Science Fair, Mae’s Sorting Box (Flash, online and interactive whiteboard): Players help Mae sort her rock collection by color and texture in this flash online game that can also be played on the interactive whiteboard.

FIZZY’S LUNCH LAB Carnival Count-off (Flash, interactive whiteboard): Kids face off against Fast Food Freddy in the Greasy World game booth where they practice estimation skills and counting by 5’s and 10’s in a set of carnival-themed challenges.

The new PBS KIDS Lab also offers a myriad of resources for parents and teachers. PBSKIDS.org/lab aggregates games by age and skill area so that adults can search for the games that will be the best fit for their kids. Parents and teachers can also search the game library by familiar and trusted PBS KIDS series. Additionally, the site helps parents and teachers learn how the games support learning by providing details on the games’ curriculum-based content.

This new collection of games furthers PBS KIDS’ efforts to innovate across platforms to both educate and entertain America’s children. PBS KIDS is increasingly serving children wherever they live, learn, and play – online, on mobile devices, on TV, and in the classroom.