Sid the Science Kids Makes It Easier For Kids to Stay Healthy This Flu Season

There's been a lot of talk about vaccinations lately--especially when it comes to the seasonal and H1N1 influenza strains. As a parent, I admit that all of the talk has stressed me out. And while I have tried to shield my children from all of the frightening news, it's tough to keep them completely in the dark. I've become the wash-your-hands-use-hand-sanitizer-don't-touch-your-eyes/mouth/nose police.

Today, PBS Kids premiered a new Sid the Science Kids episode that deals with these very issues. The Jim Henson Company and the US Department of Health and Human Services partnered to produce this special episode, which aims to help answer children's questions about the germs, virus, and vaccinations. What I find truly amazing is the fact that the typical six-month production time of normal Sid episodes was trimmed to only six weeks, from greenlight to delivery, in order to get this episode "Getting a Shot: You Can Do It!" out at this crucial time of year. I was lucky enough to attend a special event hosted by PBS Kids and First 5 California at the Kidspace Museum last week to preview the episode.

This episode of Sid the Science Kid once again highlights what puts PBS Kids' programming head and shoulders above other children's programming. The characters on the show are truthful with the kids that shots "hurt a little but help a lot." As a parent, our first instinct is to tell our kids that things like shots don't hurt, but let's be real...it does and we are doing our kids a disservice by not preparing them.

I know that many parents do not believe in vaccinating their children. For those families, the later part of the program is still very informative for the preschool set. After telling kids why they get their vaccines, the show goes into what germs are, how they are spread, and what we can do to minimize them. It so super cute and reminds me of the Donald Duck cartoon they used to show us in school about how germs are spread, but in a hipper way for the current generation. Parents and their children can learn more in cyberspace. At PBSKids.org/sid, children can learn about germs, illness, and getting shots through age-appropriate activities and videos. Parents can learn more about preparing their children for flu season and vaccinations by logging on to pbsparents.org.

If you missed today's episode of Sid the Science Kid, it will air again on October 29 and November 3, 11, 19, and 27, as well as December 21. Check your local listings for times.

I am so sorry I didn't get this posted before the show aired this morning. I came down with a cold yesterday morning. Oh the irony! I guess I need to practice what I preach and wash my hands a little more often!

Time to Turn on the Electric Company

In the last five years that I have been a reading intervention teacher, I have worked to find ways to make reading accessible to older children. When a child is in fourth and fifth grade, if he or she has not yet grasped the basic concepts of reading, it is very difficult to provide the student with content and lessons that are appropriate for their particular age. They don't want to read about kittens and trips to the store; they want to read about skateboarding and movies. They need to be interested in the content.

I am so very pleased that the Electric Company is back and providing these very valuable lessons to children. Geared toward the interests of children in third grade and high, the electric company has combined eye-catching graphics with music and popular culture in order to teach very basic reading concepts (first and second grade level). The skills they teach are the very same skills that I fight to teach my struggling fourth and fifth grade students. The show is interesting, funny, and filled with celebrity guest spots. The lessons are straight and to the point and provide students with easy ways to remember basic concepts that most students with educational gaps lack. Specifically, the show aims to fill the following gaps that older struggling readers often exhibit:

• Decoding: Children increase their ability to manipulate sounds in spoken words and map those words to print. The most basic and vital skill for readers.
• Vocabulary: Children expand the amount of words (vocabulary) that they use and understand.
• Comprehension of Connected Text: Children learn strategies that good readers use to understand connected text (phrases and sentences).
• Motivation: Children are motivated to read connected text and express themselves using text.

The executive producers of the show are dedicated to providing children with high quality entertainment rich with opportunities to learn. I am thankful for this program and plan on recommending it to my intervention students' parents this school year. And not only do I recommend encouraging students to watch the show, but I also encourage students (and parents) to follow up on the concepts presented on the show by logging onto the show's website at http://pbskids.org/electriccompany to check out the games, videos, and more. I plan on keeping up to date on the parents and educators section of the site at http://www.pbs.org/parents/electriccompany.

All Aboard the Dinosaur Train

Boys love two things. Ok, they love more than two things, but two things that would definitely be in their top-ten list of favorites would be dinosaurs and trains. The good folks at the Jim Hensen Studios recently premiered a great science-curriculm-based show called the Dinosaur Train. At attending a recent media event for the show, I was given a DVD with two episodes on it. My boys have watched the episodes over and over...and over. My boys watch the Dinosaur Train while I make dinner and I swear that my four year old has picked up more science knowledge-not limited to dinosaurs--than I had ever imagined.

The Dinosaur Train airs on PBS and in my opinion is geared at children approximately 2 1/2 to about 7 years. It hits on some very important scientific elements and most notably, the scientific method. I love the idea that my son is learning the scientific method without even knowing it. I can't wait for him to learn about it in school and be able to explain a hypothesis. As schools struggle to fit in the rigors of language arts and science, in some classrooms social studies and science fall by the wayside. Shows like the Dinosaur Train give kids a leg up on science and will only enhance the great or dismal amounts of science they receive in school.

Check your local listings for times in your area.

Finally...Worthy Super Heros

In June I was invited to sit on a special presentation by the great folks at PBS Kids on how they make their show Super Why!. For those of you not in the know, Super Why! is a show that teaches reading concepts suitable for children three and over. As a mom, I am always interested in learning more about what my child watches on television. As the wife of a television producer and having lived on the production side of things, I love hearing television professionals talk about their shows. However, most important to me was my career background I brought to the event. I am a reading intervention specialist. Day in and day out I deal with students who struggle to read and figure out ways we can combat those struggles.

The Super Why! discussion was led by the show's executive producer. I was very pleased to learn that the producers at PBS Kids approach creating and producing television shows much like I (or any teacher) prepares his or her curriculum. First they identify what is to be taught in the show (reading skills, science, etc.). Second, they research the specific skills or topics that need to be taught by the program. In the case of Super Why!, the show focuses on the very basic building blocks children need in order to become readers--letter-sound identification, understanding of text direction, etc. All good reading intervention uses research-based teaching methods and strategies to teach, and Super Why! is no exception.

As a mom, I think Super Why! is a great show. As a reading intervention teacher, I know that the skills taught by Super Why! are those that all children need in order to become readers and those that are often missing in the children I work with.

Super Why! airs Monday through Friday on your local PBS station.

Mister Rogers Is On Your Television and Online

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...espeically when it comes to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. It was recently announced that 26 favorite episodes will be part of the national PBS KIDS Saturday morning broadcast lineup beginning September 12 (check local listings) and will be available to stream online later this fall at PBSKIDS.org/rogers for fans to enjoy whenever they want. Mr. Rogers has been a caring friend to millions of children and for the first time I turned the show for my four year old just last weekend and he was mesmerized.

There is a newly redesigned Mister Rogers' Neighborhood website complete with full episodes mentioned as well as video clips and memorabilia. It also features virtual field trips with Mister Rogers to visit a penguin exhibit, a dinosaur museum exhibit, an art museum, a pediatrician's office and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, along with the ever-popular factory visits. The site also encourages parent-child interaction with Parent Tips on every screen to help adults understand what their children are working on through their Web experience.

• In the all-new Neighborhood of Make-Believe area, children can explore two new environments -- inside Lady Elaine’s Museum-Go-Round and Daniel Striped Tiger’s clock.
• In the Museum-Go-Round – never depicted before on TV or the Web - children can create artwork of their own, make a kaleidoscope, or just delight in the simple joy of discovery as they make things spin and go up and down.
• Inside Daniel’s clock, Daniel Tiger is getting ready for bed, offering an open-ended activity which gives children an opportunity to reflect on their own feelings about bedtime and separation from the ones they love. As they turn out Daniel’s lights or get him his blankie or teddy bear, they can listen to a Mister Rogers bedtime song or hear Mister Rogers tell a bedtime story.
• And for fans of all ages, the all-new “Neighbors of All Ages” section invites kids and adults to share their memories of growing up with the Neighborhood and provides tools through photo sharing site Flickr to post photos and letters.

Parents and teachers can also continue to access content and resources that support essential childhood themes in MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD through PBS Parents (PBSPARENTS.org) and PBS Teachers (PBSTEACHERS.org). PBS Parents offers articles, activities, tools, recipes and printables that parents and caregivers can use to extend the learning at home. PBS Teachers provides classroom resources from the series that educators can download and use to support education in community engagement, the arts, mental and emotional health and many more topics.