West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Telling West Virginia's Story
WVPB and the Children's Museum of the Ohio Valley joined forces on Saturday, April 30 to provide a great community day for families in Wheeling.
WVPB and the Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley joined forces on Saturday, April 30 to provide a great community day for families in Wheeling.
Daniel Tiger met all sorts of friends on Saturday, April 2 at our Morgantown Studios. Over 300 people stopped by to say hello to Daniel, bring sweaters to contribute to our Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood Sweater Drive and take part in activities aimed at helping neighbors.
Children and their parents made placemats for the elderly, created cards for Vets, and planted seeds to replant in their yards all as part of learning how to be good neighbors.
The event itself was an example of neighbors working together. Catholic Charites had a presence on Saturday, they will distribute the clothing collected during the drive. A special thanks to the Craik-Patton house who have co-sponsored the sweater drive with WVPB. AmeriCorps Members from the Morgantown area were key in manning all of our activities. Together we made a grr-iffic day.
PBS KIDS’ ALL-NEW ONE-HOUR NATURE CAT SPECIAL TO PREMIERE ON WVPB
Grounded in a Natural Science Curriculum, NATURE CAT, PBS KIDS’ Newest Series Debuts Monday, January 18, at 8 am and again at 3:30 pm.
Join us for a sneak peek of the new show at a WVPB Family Fun Morning on Saturday, January 9 from 10 am to 12:30 pm at the West Virginia Wesleyan Performing Arts Center in Buckhannon, WV. The event is free and there will be lots of family nature themed activities.
The special will will be available free on both pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App. New related games, clips and full episodes will also be available on PBS KIDS’ digital platforms throughout the month.
Grounded in a natural science curriculum, NATURE CAT is designed to encourage children ages 3-8 to go outside and explore the outdoors, while learning about a variety of scientific topics along the way. The NATURE CAT special will include four 11-minute stories with Nature Cat (voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Taran Killam), along with his pals Squeeks the mouse (Kate McKinnon), Hal the dog (Bobby Moynihan) and Daisy, a pet rabbit (Kate Micucci, The Big Bang Theory), as they embark on action-packed adventures, perilous missions, nature investigations and “a-ha” discovery moments. In each story, the characters model age-appropriate reasoning skills and explore natural science concepts, such as the role seeds play in plants’ life cycles and the types of wildlife found in various environments.
New digital content from NATURE CAT will include “Racing Rapids,” an online game in which kids will use systems thinking skills to build a boat racer, then go on a water-based adventure with Nature Cat and his friends. The one- to two-player game lets kids race their favorite NATURE CAT character and earn boat parts to unlock new races. From a stream to a river, players will learn how to create the best boat for each level’s environment. As they play the game, watch water-related clips and complete a “Build a Sailboat” DIY activity, kids will also have the opportunity to earn a new badge called “Ahoy Matey!” on pbskids.org/naturecat.
NATURE CAT is co-created by brothers David Rudman (SESAME STREET, The Muppets) and Adam Rudman (Tom & Jerry, SESAME STREET, CYBERCHASE). The series is a co-production of Spiffy Pictures and WTTW Chicago. Major funding for the series is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Van Eekeren Family, founders of Land O’Frost.
Teachers are taking a well deserved rest over the winter break. However, somehow it is difficult to leave the classroom and students behind. Every experience is translated into how that can be a teachable moment in the classroom. While taking a few moments to troll the internet, check out West Virginia PBS LearningMedia, a free digital platform with over 100 thousand media resources. The site is searchable by grade level, preK to adult development, subject area, media type. It has a student portal and even better, has been curated so students are able to search freely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqml0PtUWtA
So, take a few minutes of time this holiday to check out some of the resources on West Virginia PBS LearningMedia. It just might expand your classroom as you join millions of educators around the country bringing public media into the classroom.
If you are interested in hosting a West Virginia LearningMedia training for you school please call us at WVPB Education, 304-556-4904.
Parents Overwhelmingly Agree No Other Media Brand Meets Their Children’s School Readiness Needs Like PBS KIDS
West Virginia PBS airs 11 hours of PBS KIDS programs each weekday and serves children and their families statewide through its Ready To Learn service.
Arlington, VA — February 25, 2014 – A national survey of parents with young children age 2-6 has found that media and technology are an essential part of preparing children to enter elementary school. Overwhelmingly, PBS KIDS stands out as the most trusted and relied upon media brand for this school readiness, ranking first in delivering on every measured skill. The findings were announced yesterday by PBS KIDS, who commissioned the study with a leading youth and family research firm. The survey looks at PBS KIDS and other major children’s media brands.
Results show that American families are struggling to prepare their children for kindergarten and five out of 10 parents worry their child won’t have the skills they need when they start elementary school.
In addition to academic skills like math and reading, parents recognize that a broader skill set is needed for early learning success today. When asked to name school readiness skills, parents cite math and reading first, but social and emotional skills rank first when parents are asked to rank skills in order of importance for learning success, with 88% saying it’s important that social skills be mastered before school. Among the resources used by parents to help develop kids’ social and emotional skills, TV shows are No. 1 for both categories (56% and 59%, respectively), followed by books (48% and 53%), electronic learning toys (25% and 21%), computer games (25% and 21%), websites (20% and 19%) and apps (18% and 14%).
In fact, the survey shows that parents clearly understand the educational benefits of exposing their children to media and technology, with 89% in agreement that these resources can be partners in educating kids. Three-quarters (75%) have used new technology – computer games/activities, websites and apps – to prepare their child for kindergarten. Of those, 82% have used new technology to help their child develop math skills, 75% for reading skills and 67% for writing skills.
PBS KIDS Is a Vital Resource
Helping All Children Succeed: PBS KIDS has the greatest benefit to those most in need, the survey confirms. In fact, PBS KIDS reaches nine million low incomes families each year. Families with a lower household income report having fewer resources for school preparedness and are less likely to use technology or formal education to prepare kids for school. These families recognize PBS KIDS’ ability to help them prepare their children for school, with nearly two-thirds (63%) reporting that PBS KIDS “helps a lot” to prepare kids for school.
Diverse Reach: PBS KIDS is especially important in African American and Hispanic households for school readiness help. Specifically, 71% of African American parents and 63% of Hispanic parents agree PBS KIDS helps prepare their kids. In comparison, on average, 37% of African American parents and 29% of Hispanic parents say the same for other networks.
Preparing Kids for School: Parents confirm that no other media brand meets the readiness needs of children like PBS KIDS. When asked how well networks prepare children for school, 86% say PBS KIDS helps a lot/somewhat, topping the next closest network by 14%. Parents also rank PBS KIDS as the kids’ media brand most likely to offer activities and products that support basic math (86%), basic reading (83%), life skills (78%), social skills (77%), emotional skills (75%), personal hygiene (69%) and basic writing (67%).
Improving Kids’ Behavior: In addition, PBS KIDS leads all networks in improving kids’ behavior, with 74% of parents saying their child exhibits more positive behavior after engaging with the network. Other networks have a smaller positive impact on behavior, with the next closest at 61%.
Serving Families: No other brand serves families as well as PBS KIDS. Results show that parents are far more likely to use PBS KIDS content for school readiness than content from other networks in every category, including TV shows (65%), websites (58%), computer games and activities (58%) and apps (56%).
Trusted by Parents: PBS KIDS is also the most trusted media brand and the brand parents are most likely to use for school preparedness. Sixty-six percent of parents say they completely trust PBS KIDS to provide high quality content, and 60% confirm they are extremely likely to use PBS KIDS for school preparedness, topping the next closest competitor by 12% in both categories.
These findings follow recent industry recognition for PBS KIDS. In February 2014, PBS KIDS was named Channel of the Year and Best Channel Website at the Kidscreen Awards, which celebrate the year’s best in children’s media and broadcasting. PBS KIDS was also honored at the iKids Awards, which recognize the best digital media products and platforms, where PBS KIDS won for Best Website (Preschool) and Best Streaming Video Platform (Preschool).
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted January 11-25, 2014, by Smarty Pants. More than 1,000 parents with children age 2-6 completed the online survey. All respondents were aware of PBS KIDS and the survey base is representative of TV-viewing households with young children with regards to household income and ethnicity. Any statistical differences are at a 90% or higher confidence level.
Families can kick off the holiday season on West Virginia PBS with the return of the blockbuster hit The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! on…
Families can kick off the holiday season on West Virginia PBS with the return of the blockbuster hit The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 3 p.m.
The entertainment continues with additional programming from favorite series across the schedule featuring the variety of holidays that families celebrate at this time of year, including an Elmo Christmas special from Sesame Street, new episodes from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and encore presentations from favorites such as Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, and Arthur’s Perfect Christmas throughout December.
WV PBS will also feature holiday- and winter-themed games from The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! and other series starting in early December on pbskids.org.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! — This adventure finds the Cat in the Hat, Nick and Sally on a journey around the world to help a lost reindeer find his way home to Freezeyourknees Snowland in time for Christmas. On the way, the Thinga-ma-jigger breaks down, and they depend on a variety of animals – from African bush elephants to bottlenose dolphins to red crabs – and their remarkable abilities to help them make an amazing journey home.
When to watch The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! on WV PBS:
Curious George: 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.
Watch Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas on WV PBS on these days:
Caillou’s Christmas – Caillou goes out caroling for the very first time with Mommy, Daddy, Rosie, Grandpa and Grandma. He finds out caroling is lots of fun – you get to stay up late and surprise your friends with carols, and you even get treats! At Playschool, Caillou and his classmates learn about the many ways of celebrating the holiday season. The children bring various seasonal objects for show and tell – Caillou brings his Christmas stocking to show. And finally it’s Christmas Eve and Caillou is planning to stay up all night to see Santa, but when the time comes he finds this to be a lot harder than he thought it would be. Just as he’s dozing off he faintly hears Santa calling out “Merry Christmas!” And in the morning his stocking is full of treats!
Watch Caillou’s Christmas on Dec. 23 and 25 at 1:30 p.m. on WV PBS
Arthur’s Perfect Christmas – Everyone’s favorite aardvark gives kids a new spin on seasonal traditions in his first one-hour primetime special, showing children many ways to celebrate “the holidays.” Plans are underway in Elwood City for the best holidays ever as Arthur, D.W., their family and friends make preparations for perfect gifts, perfect parties and perfect family traditions for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and even “Baxter Day” (Buster and his mom’s special celebration). The only problem is, just like real life, perfection is hard to attain and things start to fall apart.
Arthur’s Perfect Christmas can be seen on WV PBS on these days:
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood — Two new episodes: “A Snowy Day” and “Snowflake Day”
“A Snowy Day” — It’s snowing in the Neighborhood! Miss Elaina is coming over to Daniel’s house to play in the snow. When it’s time to go outside, Mom Tiger helps Daniel change out of his pajamas into clothes that will keep him warm and he learns how important it is to choose the proper clothes.
Watch “A Snowy Day” on WV PBS on Dec. 2 & 10 at 11 a.m. and Dec. 24 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
“Snowflake Day” – Daniel has a special role in the Snowflake Day show.
Watch this episode on Nov. 27 & 28, and Dec. 11 at 11 a.m.; Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Elmo’s Christmas Countdown – There’s a miracle on Sesame Street in this special holiday tale. Elmo, Abby Cadabby and their new friend Stiller the Elf (voice of Ben Stiller) are going to count down to Christmas with the Christmas Counter-Downer. But all the counting boxes have gone missing and Christmas may never come again! Can Elmo, Abby and Stiller the Elf save Christmas? With the help of very special guests Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Ty Pennington, Steve Schirripa, Tony Sirico and Kevin James (as Santa Claus), Elmo and friends learn to believe in Christmas miracles.
Watch Elmo’s Christmas Countdown on WV PBS Nov. 27, Dec. 11 and Dec. 25 at 11 a.m.
