PBS KIDS® BACKGROUNDER & FALL PREVIEW
PBS KIDS (http://pbskidsgo.org) is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children through curriculum-based entertainment. With a 360-degree approach towards learning and reaching children, PBS KIDS leverages the full spectrum of media and technology advancements as well as community to build knowledge, critical thinking, imagination and curiosity. PBS KIDS encourages children to interact as respectful citizens in a diverse society. By involving parents, teachers and caregivers as learning partners, PBS KIDS helps to empower children for success in school and in life. PBS’ bottom line is measured by how much it contributes to the welfare of America’s children.
Providing the highest-quality programming and learning environment for children, PBS’ children’s programs invite kids on a journey to explore the world around them with non-violent, age-appropriate content that offers positive role models for children to learn from and grow with. The series’ characters emulate good behavior towards one another and demonstrate respect and tolerance towards family members, peers and other individuals.
As a longtime advocate of positive, healthy development among children, PBS KIDS understands the value of physical activity and smart eating and features series, role models and episodes that share this message. This summer, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! (http://pbskidsgo.org), a destination for early elementary school kids, invite children on the PBS KIDS Summer Road Trip to Health with all things about being engaged and healthy. Throughout the summer, kids can fuel their minds and bodies with health-themed episodes and online activities learning how their favorite character role models in 10 different series live healthy and smart. Kicking off the virtual trip with some new tunes, Arthur, WORDGIRL’s Captain Huggyface and others joined in an exclusive new music video entitled “Get Up and Go” featuring music by famed rock band, THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. And with parents at the wheel, pbsparents.org is supporting their role with more popular health content and resources around their child’s well-being and development.
In addition, PBS KIDS launched a partnership with Produce for Kids® in October 2007 to promote healthy eating and smart food choices through the numerous benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. The supermarket-based educational campaign encourages children to “Eat Smart for a Great Start,” and features resources and activities on pbskids.org and PBS Parents.
Only PBS has earned the unanimous endorsement of parents, children, industry leaders and teachers. PBS’ children’s programs consistently earn more prestigious awards than any other broadcast or cable network. The year 2008 marked the 11th consecutive year that PBS earned more Daytime Emmys for its children’s programming than any other broadcast or cable network. SESAME STREET has now won a total of 118 Daytime Emmys, more than any other program in the history of the Emmy competition. CURIOUS GEORGE was recognized as the Outstanding Children’s Animated Program of 2008.
NEW CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS FOR FALL 2008
SID THE SCIENCE KID is a new educational animated television series using comedy to promote exploration, discovery and science-readiness among preschoolers. This landmark production of 40, half-hour episodes, co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and KCET/Los Angeles for PBS KIDS, debuts on September 1, 2008. As part of the popular PBS KIDS preschool destination, SID is a educational, interactive, hosted two-hour morning block and online destination at pbskids.org. This series, which is the first production of The Jim Henson Company for PBS KIDS, features a practical in-school science curriculum and incorporates music and humor to celebrate children’s natural curiosity about science in everyday life. The energetic and inquisitive Sid starts each episode with a new question (“Why are my shoes shrinking?” or “Why do bananas get mushy?”) and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers with the help of family and friends.
MARTHA SPEAKS, produced by WGBH, premieres September 1, 2008 on PBS KIDS. Based on the best-selling children’s book series by Susan Meddaugh, the MARTHA SPEAKS animated TV series follows the adventures of Martha, a loveable dog whose appetite for alphabet soup gives her the ability to speak. Using her newfound abilities, Martha gets jobs, wears disguises, foils bad guys, wins contests and orders lots of steaks. Being a talking dog, Martha lives in a vocabulary-rich environment. The educational goal of the series is to bolster the vocabulary of four to seven-year-olds within the context of great stories in engaging, comical ways.
Martha Speaks is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, designed to use media to help young children, especially those from low-income families, build the skills they need to learn to read.
FALL AND BEYOND…
Throughout the year, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! will feature new episodes and specials from BARNEY & FRIENDS, BETWEEN THE LIONS, CURIOUS GEORGE, CYBERCHASE, FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN, SESAME STREET, SUPER WHY!, WORDGIRL, WORDWORLD and others, as well as holiday-themed specials around Earth Day, Valentine’s Day and much more.
This fall, PBS KIDS GO! will expand to include online clips and full episodes from more than a dozen PBS KIDS GO! series, including ARTHUR, WORDGIRL and CYBERCHASE. As part of this expansion – funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – these clips will be connected to games targeting a variety of educational goals, giving kids a chance to watch and play on the same screen.
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY of the 70s made literacy funny and hip for kids by channeling the pop culture of its time. The all new ELECTRIC COMPANY, produced by Sesame Workshop and premiering on PBS KIDS GO! in January 2009, will reinvent the popular show for today’s six to nine year-olds. In addition to a national broadcast and a richly interactive online environment, Sesame Workshop and PBS KIDS GO! will implement community-based outreach activities. THE ELECTRIC COMPANY platforms focus initially on TV, outreach, and broadband, but will extend over time to include books and other print materials, portable media, hand-held and console games.
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, which is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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Board of Directors
