You’d really have to be hiding under a rock not to know that Sesame Street has hit the big 4-0. The media blitz has been quite impressive, with the Muppets taking over game shows, talk shows (did you see them on The Doctors?), even being honored with their own Google logo. Naturally this required the release of a 2-DVD set Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
. Heck, JavaDad turned 40 in the same year and even he had a DVD — albeit made by his brother.
When the PR folks behind the blitz asked if I’d like to review the DVD set, it took me half a second to give a resounding YES, and I apologize that it has taken me this long to write to tell you about it, because it is terrific. In fact, it is going to become my favorite gift to give in 2010 for children and adults alike.
This is the final Super Why! post and the last chance to enter the giveaway for a DVD from PBS by posting a comment in any of the posts in this series!
I apologize for careening back and forth between the PBS track and the recession track — I’ve had certain deadlines to meet with the recession stories — however, both discussion threads are germane to raising children, so hopefully it hasn’t been too jarring.
Back to the wonders of Super Why! For today’s activities, you will need:
Ready to roll with Word Power? Today’s Super WHY! activities are focused on using auditory or visual discrimination to create and decipher between all words.
A, B, C, D… sing with me! Yep, it’s time to break out the Super WHY! pre-assessment and Alpha Pig activities today!
If you have no clue what I’m talking about, jump back a post and catch up — we’re going on an interactive journey with the characters of Super WHY! this week. AND… if you comment on the PBS-related posts this week, I will put your name into a drawing for a DVD (I’m awaiting its arrival, so I don’t have the title yet) from PBS. Yes, if you comment on more than one post, I will put your name in more than once.
So, let’s get started!
When Angela Santomero was a little girl, she’d lean into the TV set and she just
knew she was special, because
Mr. Rogers told her she was. And so did I. And I’m willing to bet, so did you.
We are the generation who learned our ABCs on PBS, and now our children are too, but they are learning so much more, so much faster, and Angela Santomero is one of the reasons why.
Maybe you don’t recognize her name… unless you happen to pay close attention to the credits of your children’s favorite shows. She is creator of Nick Jr.’s Blue’s Clues and creator, executive producer, and head writer of the award-winning PBS show, Super WHY! She has the Midas touch of children’s programming, so I jumped at the opportunity to peel back the layers at PBS headquarters May 6 and find out just what goes into putting together a show like Super WHY!
Oh, sorry, was that a bit melodramatic? Since JavaBoy’s birth nearly 5 years ago, I have been hounded by articles and (ironically) tv reports about how bad television is for children. I actually used to completely darken the screen of the tv set when JavaBoy was an infant and I was trying to nurse or feed him in the wee hours of the night but needed the TV set to help keep me awake so that his little brain wasn’t exposed to the constantly changing images for fear of the increased risk of ADD. (The sheer insanity that post-partum hormones and Parenting Magazine can cause is fodder for another post.)
