Seated left to right are Sandra Sheppard (Director of Children's and Educational Programming, THIRTEEN and Executive Producer of Cyberchase, Franny's Feet and Angelina Ballerina-The Next Steps, coming to PBS Kids in the Fall of 2009) ~ Lesli Rotenberg (Senior Vice President, Children's Media, PBS) ~ Angela C. Santomero (Creator, Executive Producer and Head Writer of SUPER WHY!)
Last week, I had the pleasure of being invited to PBS headquarters at WNET.ORG, New York City's flagship public TV station, and (along with some of my favorite NYC and New Jersey Mom Bloggers) got a behind-the-scenes look at one of PBS KIDS most popular shows for preschoolers - SUPER WHY!
Why?
These very smart (yet, totally approachable) panel of women creators, producers and writers were speaking about the creation and use of educational media for children. In turn, PBS KIDS is hosting a series of discussions nationwide with bloggers from Silicon Valley Moms on the role media plays in the lives of their families.
Especially, since parents (like me) have heard (and seen) just about everything BAD there is about children watching television.
Good and bad.
I, for one, wanted to learn more about the process that goes into creating children's programming at PBS KIDS and perhaps finally make peace with the fact that...YES!...I allowed my children to watch television. A lot of it. Yep, I'm one of those parents who believe in the benefits of good quality television programs (like the ones the kids and I watched growing up on PBS KIDS) especially, for families who perhaps lack access to educational resources we take for granted.
Like, American-born kids, who started school not being able to read, write, or speak a word of English, like me.
Not only am I proud to be the 1st generation to be born here, in America -- my parents escaped from Hungary during the 1956 Revolution -- my twin brother and I learned to speak English watching children's television shows like, Sesame Street and The Electric Company (the original, I mean) in fact, these programs were the closest to a preschool education we had, for a lot of kids, too.
Yes, I shared my story and -- after professing my love, unashamed, for PBS and wiping the tears from my eyes -- I enjoyed getting to lunch with other PBS Parents Mom Bloggers, like me.
SUPER WHY! was created to help children ages 3-6 learn to read through interactive story adventures and features a team of literacy-powered super heroes: Alpha Pig (with Alphabet Power), Wonder Red (with Word Power), Princess Presto (with Spelling Power), and Super Why (with the Power to Read).
SUPER WHY's signature educational approach includes:
- promoting books as a resource for solving problems kids face in preschool and in life
- interactivity that facilitates practice and learning
- seamless integration of story and literacy content In each episode, the Super Readers experience a preschool-related problem, fly into a book to find the answer and apply what was learned to resolve the problem.
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The interaction between viewers and the television characters is very reminiscent of BLUES CLUES,as it should be. Since, SUPER WHY! was created by Angela Santomero, who also created Steve, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Pepper, Side Table Drawer and my favorite, Paprika (Hungarian, remember?) and the rest of the characters that make BLUES CLUES a family favorite, as well.
Here's the difference.
Learning with SUPER WHY! is made easy with resources like PBS Parents, with easy-to-read articles that help us, as well as our children's educators, learn more about ways in which media can help teach our kids fundamental skills, like reading, or simple life lessons, in a fun way, which even seasoned parents (like me) sometimes forget.
Here's something else I learned:
Since 2007, SUPER WHY! and local PBS Stations have hosted SUPER WHY! Reading Camps (in over 100 communities, nationally) is a five-day interactive learning adventures that show children the power of reading and motivate them to play with letters, sounds and words through a comprehensive curriculum developed by noted literacy experts. Camp activities reinforce knowledge through repetition and multiple modes of learning — art, music, movement, dance and games — and also use multiple media types, including CD's, DVDs, worksheets, and more. Camp attendees showed significant improvement (at the 95% significance level) in their literacy skills thanks to this multimedia approach.
To quote a very smart attendee at the event:
You can follow the rest of the conversation in "real time" on Twitter by visiting posts marked #pbsparents.
FINAL TAKE: PBS Parents Mom Blogger Event was one of the most informative sessions I have ever had the pleasure of attending. I was very honored to have been given the chance to sit down with my fellow mom bloggers and compare parenting philosophies. Because, we ALL come from different backgrounds and have lots of stories to share. Good and bad. Yet, the one thing mom bloggers (like me) have in common -- I mean, besides an unconditional love for our children -- is our desire for knowledge, to use our parental blogging powers for good and share what we've learned with our readers. Good, or bad. PBS PARENTS is a terrific resource for connecting families (like mine) and media together to form an open forum, which (hopefully) will prove to be a fruitful partnership in understanding the complexities of our children's development. Good and bad.
There's so much more I have to tell you. But, first I have some homework to finish -- yeah, they gave us a backpack filled with fun stuff -- and I really want to focus on the Cyberchase for Parents and Teachers I received [waves to Sandra] and feature a separate review (you're welcome) as it applies to the nightmare that is Everyday Math...UGH!
I was floored by the multi-layers of learning key reading skills -- including alphabet, word families, spelling and reading comprehension -- incorporated in creating the super heroes of SUPER WHY!
Want to see for yourself?
My friends at 360 PR were nice enough to arrange for some swag and have put aside two (2) copies of SUPER WHY! The Three Little Pigs & Jack and the Beanstalk on DVD, that I am just itching to give away.
Because, we roll like that.
[Retail Value: $14.99]
FIND IT HERE: Learning with SUPER WHY! and PBS PARENTS (http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/learningwithmedia/superwhy.html)
Super Why! The Three Little Pigs & Jack and the Beanstalk
WIN IT HERE: So, are you a PBS KID? Do your children watch television and, if so, do you limit their viewing time? Leave a
comment, with a valid email address, on this post by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3rd and you're automatically entered to win. Two (2) winners will
be
picked (via random.org) and announced via email and posted on My Prizey Giveaways Page!
EXTRA CHANCES TO WIN - NEW RULES: 2nd entry: Blog about this giveaway - leave a separate comment and a link to your blog post. 3rd entry: Subscribe to our feed - leave a separate comment, to lock in entry. 4th entry: Subscribe to our updates via email - leave a separate comment, to lock in entry. 5th entry: Post this giveaway on Twitter - leave a separate comment and a link to your Tweet. FOR A TOTAL OF 5 (FIVE) COMMENTS = 5 (FIVE) POSSIBLE CHANCES TO WIN! Good luck and don't forget to check out our giveaways page for more awesome stuff we're just itching to, you know, giveaway!
[No payment was received for this blog post - giveaway courtesy of 360 Publications and sponsored by PBS PARENTS]
© 2009 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.
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[THE GIVEAWAY FOR THE SUPERWHY! DVD HAS ENDED: CONGRATULATIONS, JENNIFER JOZWIAK (#62) AND CYNTHIA MERCADO (#54) YOUR COMMENTS WERE PICKED VIA RANDOM.ORG, AND ANNOUNCED ON MY GIVEAWAYS PAGE ON PRIZEY.NET. PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!!!]
