Why PBS Kids Is Our Jam
When I first became a mom, I was determined to limit screen time – not completely, but I definitely didn’t want Lucy hooked on electronics so much that it contributed to negative behavior or she didn’t know how to socialize. In fact, to this day she still doesn’t have her own tablet, and it will be that way for a while.
Of course, being stuck in the house during the coronavirus pandemic has eased my thoughts on screen time a bit, but thankfully spring and summer have allowed us to get outside and enjoy more life before winter has us charging our devices again!
I initially felt this way about screen time because I was bothered by some of what I was seeing on certain outlets. The monotonous bot-created videos that pervade YouTube were driving me crazy. I didn’t know that there was content out there that was really beneficial for Lucy and other littlebits.
When I discovered PBS Kids, I realized that some screen time could be good for her learning and development, and the apps definitely come in handy, keeping Lucy occupied in potentially stressful moments like checking out at the grocery store or the times when she just needs to settle down for a few minutes. Now Jed, Lucy and I are all avid proponents of PBS Kids.
PBS Kids is delivering high quality content in the form of shows and games to help your littlebit develop early academic and social-emotional skills. The content is trust-worthy from a parental viewpoint and engaging from a littlebit standpoint. Best of all – it’s FREE! This is why PBS Kids is our jam!
Shows
PBS Kids offers shows across every genre that you can access on cable TV or via app. Check out some of our favorites below.
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is inspired by Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and it builds on many of the elements of the classic show. Daniel Tiger and his friends are preschoolers who learn social and emotional skills necessary for navigating life. The stories are those that littlebits can relate to and see themselves in. Every episode teaches a jingle about the lesson or theme, similar to Mr. Rogers’ teachings. These are short and easy to remember – we sing them around our house to reinforce many of the skills taught on the show. One of our favorites helps to quell Lucy’s tantrums: When you feel so mad that you want to ROAR, take a deep breath and count to four!
Sesame Street is the classic that has been teaching us everything we needed to know about life since 1969. Thank goodness for our littlebits it’s still surviving and thriving! On Sesame Street, we see diverse residents living among each other in harmony, teaching littlebits the beauty of accepting all differences. On top of all of that awesomeness, viewers learn literacy, numeracy, and social studies, and have a good time discovering it all.
Pinkalicious and Peterrific is an animated show based on a hugely popular picture book series. This show is for the art lover in you and for developing an art lover in your littlebit. The main character, Pinkalicious, and her little brother, Peterrific, take on adventures that promote creativity. A big takeaway from each episode is the power of teamwork and collaboration to solve problems.
Peg + Cat instills early numeracy and problem solving skills in your littlebit. Episode after episode, Peg and her partner-in-crime, Cat, encounter “A really big problem!” and must rely on math to help them solve it. Through humor, songs, and simplistic strategies for taking on math, Peg + Cat teaches littlebits that math is life and empowers them to solve the problems that come their way with a little creativity, some basic math skills and a few problem solving strategies.
The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That brings the classic Dr. Seuss character to life, piquing curiosity and bolstering a love of science in young viewers. In each episode, The Cat in the Hat takes Nick and Sally on an adventure to explore a STEAM concept and utilize the Scientific Method to arrive at a solution to a problem. All littlebits should take advantage of this show, especially toddlers and preschoolers who are always looking for answers to their questions. Like with all things Dr. Seuss and The Cat in the Hat, this show inspires littlebits with the reminder that adventure breeds learning.
Games
PBS Kids also offers a plethora of games that can be accessed via web or app. Keep reading to see which ones are Lucy’s go-to’s.
“Guess The Feeling” is a social-emotional learning game from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. In this game, characters from the show each have a pile of cards, each card listing a feeling. Players of this game can select a character to act out the feeling that they then guess. If you know Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, you know that characters on the show always sing a little jingle to teach viewers a life lesson – whether it’s about how to cope with their feelings or how to interact with others. When the correct feeling is guessed, the jingle about the feeling from the show plays, reinforcing for young children the steps they can take when they experience the emotions.
“Letter Dance Party” is a tracing & phonics game from Sesame Street. Big Bird and Snuffleupagus are having a party for their letter friends. Players of this game trace a letter with their fingers. When the letter is completely traced, the letter friend attends the dance party with a wrapped present. Players open the present to reveal an object that starts with that particular letter. Players get to rock out with the letter friend as the letter friend dances to the party jams.
“Pinkcredible Story Maker” is a game teaching the structure of stories and literature from Pinkalicious. Littlebits really get a chance to be creative in this game! The object of the game is to create a story with a beginning, middle and end. Players first pick a main character (from the show) to star in their story. Next, they choose the opening setting and decide what happens to their character in this setting. They can select a facial expression for their protagonist, other characters to enter the scene, and props. Players then design the story’s middle and ending. The masterpiece then plays from beginning to end, teaching littlebits story elements, developing creativity, and encouraging originality.
“Mega Mall” is a math lesson on shapes, colors, and counting money, all in the form of a game from Peg + Cat. In this game, players go shopping according to a shopping list provided by characters from the show. The shopping trip is a scavenger hunt for objects of specific shapes and colors. Once they have collected the three objects on the list, players hand over the items to the cashier who rings them up and tells them a total amount of the sale.
If you know Peg + Cat, you know Peg is always encountering A REALLY BIG PROBLEM. Here, Peg’s really big problem is that she’s not sure how to put her money together to pay for her shopping trip. She has ten dollar bills, five dollar bills, and one dollar bills. She calls on the players of the game to figure out which bills to use to come up with the exact amount. At first this may sound too advanced for your little one, and it is for toddlers and preschoolers; however, it provides a foundation for when they do begin to learn about the types of money. In the meantime, Littlebits learn that you use money to pay for things and that different bills are worth different amounts.
“Builda-Ma-Loo” is a STEAM inspired game from The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That. This game definitely requires the use of imagination, but it’s inspired by Dr. Seuss – why would we think otherwise? Ultimately, the aim of this game is to create a piece of art from the Mix-A-Mover, a typical Seuss-like contraption that looks like a bathtub with two fish bowls attached to it.
To begin, a spinner randomly selects a terrain that the Mix-A-Mover will travel across: grass, snow, mud, or rocks. Players must get the gadget across the terrain by adding the correct mode for transport to the bottom of the Mix-A-Mover: wheels, animal feet, a pully/wheel & axle system (think treadmill), or a blade like the bottom of Santa’s sleigh. Then, players will pick two colors that will mix and a shape – these will create the art at the end of the adventure.
It’s now time for players to test the Mix-A-Mover. If they’ve chosen the correct mode of transportation for the terrain, then the Mix-A-Mover will pull up to an easel at the end of its ride to create the piece of art. It may be a bit difficult to wrap your head around by reading it, but it will make sense when your littlebit is playing it (sort of).
See? PBS Kids has so much to offer to kickstart and support our littlebits’ learning experiences! Are you convinced? Download the apps! Your littlebits will thank you for it. Be sure to also like and follow PBS Kids on Facebook to stay in-the-know about cool upcoming events. Lucy absolutely loved Read Along Mondays with Michelle Obama, and the network is always offering bonus programming like it. Cheers to another way to have your littlebits learning with love…bit by bit!
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