KIDS FIRST! News

The nighttime routine gets a little easier when “Bedtime With Elmo” debuts on DVD July 7 from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street.  It’s bedtime on Sesame Street and like all little children, Elmo doesn’t want to go to sleep yet, he wants to play.  Elmo’s daddy and the Sesame Street gang explain why everyone needs sleep, even little monsters, and address timeless issues from learning to relax, falling asleep alone and being afraid of the dark.  Focusing on a core learning matter many parents struggle with, “Bedtime With Elmo” combines clever and familiar bedtime situations with engaging stories, lullabies and humor to illustrate to children just how important it is to get a good night’s sleep.  Featuring appearances from favorite Sesame Street characters including Abby Cadabby, Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Zoe, Telly Monster, Rosita, Baby Bear and more, Bedtime With Elmo also features Andrea Bocelli singing “Time to Say Goodnight.”

Cartoons help make learning fun, even for kids who struggle with reading. Did you know that financier Charles Schwab was dyslexic and passed his literature classes by doing book reports based on comic-book versions of classic stories? Jim Davis, creator of the Garfield comic series, incorporated the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation SparkTop.org content with the Professor Garfield Foundation programming in 2007 to create a fun website where kids go to have fun and learn. The programs are designed specifically for children with learning and attention problems, although all kids benefit from the free edutainment.

“One of the unexpected joys of being in this line of work has been hearing from the parents of children who learned to read thanks to the Garfield comic strip,” said Davis. “After nearly 30 years of doing the strip, we’ve heard this often enough that we’re convinced the strip is a great teaching tool – the simple combination of words and pictures stimulates learning. That’s why we created the Professor Garfield Foundation and the Professor Garfield website. We all learn in different ways, or as SparkTop.org says, ‘No two brains spark alike.’ It’s very gratifying that the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation elected Garfield to carry on their vision. It’s a responsibility we take seriously. It will encourage us to redouble our efforts to help kids grow and learn.”

This Memorial Day, fans young and old across the nation can celebrate heroes with Super WHY! – Hurray for Heroes, a special two- hour marathon airing Monday May 25, 2009 on PBS KIDS® (check local listings).  Super WHY! – Hurray for Heroes will delight preschoolers with two debut interactive episodes and two returning favorites, featuring the page-turning storybook adventures of Super Why and his fellow reading superheroes as they unveil what the power of reading can do.  The special event also features never-before-seen live-action interviews in-between the episodes in which real kids share their thoughts about what it means to be a hero. 

The special Super WHY! – Hurray for Heroes TV event kicks off a jam-packed summer of reading-powered fun that also will feature special Super WHY! theme weeks, online games and free downloadable materials designed to help families reinforce the literacy skill building lessons within the series and help nurture their own “super readers” at home.        

“We created Super WHY! to provide kids with superhero role models they can relate to – who show them the power of reading and that they, too, can look for answers to life’s challenging questions and problems within books,” said Angela C. Santomero, Creator and Executive Producer of the series.  “Memorial Day provides a perfect opportunity for us all to reflect on and honor all kinds of heroes and we’re delighted to bring Hurray for Heroes to PBS KIDS.  The summer months are also the perfect time for preschoolers to hone their budding reading skills and we’re pleased to offer a number of great ways for them to do so all summer long.”

In the action-packed, two-hour Super WHY! – Hurray for Heroes TV event, Super Why and his heroic storybook friends help a fairytale knight face his fears in the launch of George and the Dragon, travel “over the river and through the woods” in Little Red Riding Hood, jump into a book for an interactive island adventure in the debut of The Swiss Family Robinson, and show a stranded princess how to rescue herself in Rapunzel.

Leading up to the on-air event, PBS KIDS will feature an all Super WHY! video player at pbskids.org/video where children can view their favorite clips from the show.  Kids can also play fun reading games on the Super WHY! Web site which will launch the new Wonder Red‘s Freeze Dance Rhyming Game (http://pbskids.org/superwhy).

The storybook adventures continue in June with the kick-off of a “super” special summer reading campaign that will engage kids and caregivers through Super WHY!’s interactive Web site at pbskids.org/superwhy, and through thousands of libraries across the U.S.  Throughout the season, week-long Super WHY! Reading Camps will boost the early literacy skills of preschoolers in communities from coast-to-coast with learning-rich activities, games, and music.   In August, PBS KIDS will focus on a different Super WHY! character each week and feature never-before-seen episodes of the top-rated show.

Reading is power and Super WHY!  is the only preschool property created to help kids learn the fundamentals of reading through interactive storybook adventures.  Produced by Out of the Blue Enterprises in conjunction with Canadian-based Decode Entertainment Inc. and C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures Inc., the series has a fresh, groundbreaking multimedia aesthetic – with a winning combination of two- and three-dimensional animation formats, adorable characters and immersive environments.  The program represents a unique approach to preschool educational television, featuring a team of superhero characters with literacy-based powers, who jump into books to look for answers to everyday preschool challenges.  The home viewer is the superhero sidekick, who is encouraged and empowered to participate in the reading fun by playing research-based literacy games. 

ARTHUR, the award-winning PBS KIDS GO! television series, and CVS Caremark All KIDS CAN, a program dedicated to making life easier for kids with disabilities, are thrilled to announce the grand prize winner of the “ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search.” Connor Gordon, 11, of Savage, Minn., was selected for his character, Lydia Fox, a ten year-old girl fox who uses a wheelchair and loves to draw and play basketball. Connor, along with ARTHUR creator and author Marc Brown, unveiled his character at his elementary school in Savage, Minn. In recognition of Connor’s achievement, CVS Caremark presented a donation of $5,000 to St. John the Baptist school for library or arts curricula.Selected out of an overwhelming 8,500 entries, Connor, along with his character Lydia Fox will be featured in a live-action segment of the ARTHUR show. The segment will be part of an episode airing June 30 on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings).”My character, Lydia, wants kids to know that even though she’s in a wheelchair, she can do what everyone else can do, but in her own way,” Connor stated when asked about his character. “I’m so excited.”Launched in February 2009, the ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search invited children ages 6-12 create a new friend for ARTHUR. The activity was designed to educate children about the importance of inclusion and how children of all abilities can play together. It also encouraged parents and children to think about what life is like for someone they know who has a disability.”We were thrilled with the enormous response from children across the country, and the exceptional thought and detail that went into each of the entries, especially our grand prize winner,” said Eileen Howard Dunn, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Community Relations at CVS Caremark. “Connor’s entry really champions the idea of inclusion and helps us to think not only about what life is like for someone with a disability but also about characteristics in each of us that make us unique.”CVS Caremark All Kids Can supports programs and services that help children with disabilities learn, play, and succeed in life. Since its premiere in 1996, ARTHUR has celebrated the importance of friendship and the value of accepting and including kids with different abilities from all walks of life. Buster proves that kids who can manage their asthma can do anything, Marina shows her friends what it’s like to be blind, George succeeds as a student with dyslexia, and Carl–in an upcoming season–will share what it’s like to have autism.”We saw thousands of character ideas from around the country,” said Jacqui Deegan, ARTHUR Executive Producer. “We were truly inspired by all them, and especially by Connor’s character, Lydia Fox, whose creativity, intelligence and positive attitude are a perfect match for our series. We think Lydia would make a wonderful friend for Arthur and the gang in Elwood City.”The Character Search entries were reviewed by the producers of the ARTHUR show, colleagues from CVS Caremark, and a celebrity panel including Tolon Brown from Marc Brown Studios; Terri Mauro, About.com’s Guide to Parenting Special Needs; Matt Cavedon from Boundless Playgrounds; Katy Beh Neas, Vice President of Government Relations for Easter Seals; and Susan Kane, Editor-in-Chief of Parenting magazine’s “School Years” edition.The panel also selected nine Finalists in the ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search who will receive prize packages including CVS gift cards and ARTHUR merchandise. CVS Caremark will make a grant of $1,000 to each child’s school for library or arts programs. The finalists in alphabetical order are:· Emily Glaze of Birmingham, Alabama for her character “Grace Davis”· Shane Kearney of Lexington, Virginia for his character “Carlos”· Joseph Kesting of Yardville, New Jersey for his character “Sammy Gato”· Meaghan Pannasch of Morganville, New Jersey for her character “Arianna Petals”· Emily Pruitt of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina for her character “Bubby and his service dog Aubrey”· Meg Sheeran of Worcester, Massachusetts for her character “Preston McPanda”· Amy Solov of South Easton, Massachusetts for her character “Kristy Star”· Eliana Yopp of Santee, California for her character “Alana”· Charlie Zimmerman of Delaware, Ohio for his character “Frankie Salvador”For more information about the ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search, please visit pbskidsgo.org/arthur/allkidscan.Funding for the “ARTHUR/All Kids Can Character Search” is provided by CVS Caremark.

Habitat Heroes™, the first global, social networking web site for young eco-warriors, will launch in time for Earth Day on April 22nd. Sharon Lowe, an Australian mother of three, created Habitat Heroes™ after observing her daughter’s online play. She had a desire to create an entertaining, yet worthwhile destination for children seeking to learn more about the earth, conservation, and preservation.

Lowe developed the site with the assistance of a top-notch panel of environmental experts.“The core of Habitat Heroes™ was formed around values my husband and I wish to instill in our children. Treating other living creatures, and our planet, with respect is of the utmost importance to us. Since computers are part of our children’s lives beginning at such a young age, I wanted to create an online destination where children could learn about these fundamentally important issues through things they enjoy, such as games and activities,” said Lowe.

Habitat Heroes™ is an interactive web destination where children can adopt an animal from an endangered species, and create a life for it, while also playing games, reading fun facts about the planet, and communicating with other young environmentalists. Children select and personalize animal avatars to represent them on the site, and decorate the habitats where their avatars live. The number of avatars for a specific species on the site corresponds to the number of members of that species existing in the real world. For instance, only 3600 members who sign-up can choose the black rhinoceros as their avatar, corresponding to the 3600 black rhinoceros in existence. The site will introduce a new endangered species once the old one is retired.

One of Habitat Heroes™ primary goals is to bring young environmentalists from around the globe together so that they can share their ideas for saving the planet. Animal avatars looking to socialize, or share their thoughts on the environment, can make friends at the local “Watering Hole” and communicate with them via chat boxes. Safety features have been built into the site and online chats are closely monitored. Parents also have the option to limit use of this function or any other aspect of the site.“As a mother, I make sure that everything my children do online is safe and worthwhile. I envision Habitat Heroes™ as an online destination where any child can have a truly engaging experience,” said Lowe.

On Habitat Heroes™, children can explore different continents and learn about environmental issues by touring a virtual map. Each continent also has its own games. Water Wheel is a game based on the real-life work of PlayPumps International, an organization that constructs merry-go-round water pumps for communities in sub-Saharan Africa. In this game, players virtually construct an irrigation system in an African village. In another game, located in India, Connectastrophe, children can explore and learn about natural disasters.In addition to traditional environmental concerns, Habitat Heroes™ also enlightens children about healthy eating and global cultures. Kids learn to make proper food choices at Scoops & Sprinkles, where they can assemble healthy frozen yogurt desserts, or by feeding their avatars sashimi and salads at the Chow House. They can learn about Indian heritage by playing dress-up with traditional saris and jewelry at the Sari Salon. These additional elements allow children to feel a connection – both social and geographic – with other world communities facing difficult environmental challenges.

Beyond the interactive features of the site, children can visit Habitat Heroes™ to find out more about environmental organizations as well as their favorite celebrity environmentalists and the causes that most interest them. Check out this site with your young ones for a fun and educational experience.