All our kids have either gone back to school already or will do so very, very soon. To make the transition more fun, and to help get them back to that sharp, ready-to-learn mode, we recommend the Curious George Parent-Child Activities, as well as the Family Activity Booklet (it’s at the very bottom of the page). All these activities are perfect for parents and kids in their first years of school to explore the basics of math, science, and engineering. As the site says, “Just like George, children are curious about the world and how things work.” If your kids are a bit old for this K-1 stuff, check out these Word Girl Activities to help your kids’ hone their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills as they the new school year.
For more back-to-school tips from the new PBS Parents website, click here.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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The worst thing about rain on Labor Day weekend is that it means we can’t watch the U.S. Open on TV. We live about 30 miles from the U.S.T.A. Tennis Center where the two-week long grand slam tournament is played at the end of each summer. So when it rains here, it pretty much rains there. And then we’re stuck watching people pulling large blue tarps over the courts while we nibble on our Labor Day celebration hors d’oevres. And for the first time, it’s bumming out my kids.

It’s taken me a few years, but I’ve managed to pull off my not-so-evil plot to get my tweens interested in watching tennis on television. My parents did it to me, and so I thought I’d pass down the tradition to my children, who, until last year, would much rather have watched Cyber Chase than Venus Williams chasing down tennis balls.

This year, though, all that has changed. When I tuned in to watch this week’s evening sessions at the U.S. Open, the sound of the TV turning on drew my kids to the couch, a Pavlovian response to years of conditioning that the end of August and the beginning of September mean tennis on our TV.

Though most of the men’s matches end way past bedtime, we’ve watched a little Nadal and Roddick on the hard courts in Queens anyhow. And plenty of women’s tennis, too. My nine-year-old now understands how the scoring works, and he asks such advanced questions as, “Is he seeded?” and “Is her serve off?”

It brings me back to years of U.S. Open watching at my parents’ house, a spread of cheese and crackers before us and the cheers from our own little crowd. I remember watching Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova hit their way to the finals, Pete Sampras make history and Jimmy Connors’ defeat 24-year-old Aaron Krikstein in a four-plus hour marathon of a match when he was 39. We all had our favorites, but in the end, it was good tennis that we wanted to see.

There’s light drizzle falling over our house this morning which no doubt is making the courts at the U.S.T.A. Center slick. I’m hoping the foul weather pulls out of the area so we can tune in to tennis again tonight — and every night — until the finals next weekend. That would make us all very happy.
– Posted by Jen Singer

Next week, we’ll be unveiling our four favorite new shows for the under-six set. We think you’ll be surprised at what tops the list, but please, please don’t ask for any hints because we are terrible at keeping secrets and will likely cave.

But if the anticipation’s killing you, distract yourself by asking your TiVo (or lesser, unworthy DVR) to record the Emmy-award-winning Curious George on PBS Kids. The third season begins Monday, Sept. 1 and will focus on everybody’s fave obsession these days – lovin’ the earth. George (dragging along The Man with the Yellow Hat, of course) will introduce your offspring to recycling, composting, agriculture, weather patterns, and even solar power.

If you haven’t seen this show (and if not, there’s sort of no excuse – we talk it up quite a bit), check it out now. Oh, and Happy Labor Day. – Posted by Stephanie Booth

Credit Nickelodeon

So in hindsight, I’m just a wee bit embarrassed at how horrified I felt upon hearing that all the voice-over artists on Dora had been replaced. It’s not as big a deal as that big Simpsons contract dispute a few years ago when all the artists were allegedly on the verge of being swapped out. But it’s still, well, jarring. And what was the reason? Was Backpack being rewritten to talk like one of the characters in Gossip Girl? (“Ohmigod, delicioso!”) What if Dora was now going to be voiced by some big-name tween star like Demi Lovato? My mind reeled at all the horrible possibilities.

Fortunately, Nickelodeon’s PR people very patiently responded to my email which (again, embarrassingly) included a few too many exclamation marks. Not to worry, I was soothed. The change came about only because the current voice-over artists had aged out of their roles. All the characters sounded the same. No one would be able to tell the difference. Really.

To prove it, they even sent over a screener of the Dora season premiere (which, for mere mortals, airs Sept. 15 on Nickelodeon.) And I watched it. Skeptically. And listened. Critically. And scrutinized (intensely) the pictures of the impossibly cute and super-young new voice-over cast.

And yeah, so. It’s all good.

You never would have known if I hadn’t told you. But check it out for yourself on Monday, Sept. 15.

–Posted by Stephanie Booth

Winnie the Pooh and his pals have just the stuff to get your kids excited about going back to school – whether they already started or won’t do so until next week. Check out the My Friends Tigger & Pooh First Day of School Celebration Center pages. There are healthy, yummy recipes, like Tigger’s Boingy Homemade Fruit Leathers and Eeyore’s Chocolate Banana Smoothie, as well as a number of fun games and activities. As the Celebration Center page says, everything is aimed at one thing: to get kids “Ready-Set-Go for school!” So check it out!

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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The Clifford website has some great activities for kids who love The Big Red Dog –and for parents who like saving money. Seriously! Check out Clifford’s Card Maker and your kid can make cards for upcoming birthdays, for thank-you-notes, to say “feel better” to a sick friend or family member, and more – and you can save the $2-$5 a greeting card would’ve cost. Plus, your kid gets to have fun, be creative, and tell someone they care in a thoughtful, personal way.
For more fun and learning with Clifford, click here for games and printables, and here for “Ideas to Grow On” activities.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

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We’re not sure whether to laugh, weep, or just feel disgusted about the new TV ad targeting America’s favorite food…the almighty hot dog. The commercial shows kids happily munching hot dogs in their school’s cafeteria, when one little boy solemnly reveals, “I was dumbfounded when the doctor told me I have late-stage colon cancer.”

Don’t worry. He doesn’t. But the ad, paid for by a group called The Cancer Project (which is headed by Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) is trying to get people to realize that eating too many hot dogs is, well, kind of gross and unhealthy.

So now everyone’s weighing in on the attention-grabbing commercial. According to this AP article, the American Cancer Society is worried that parents are going to start freaking out, thinking even the occasional hot dog will give their offspring colon cancer. Someone from Harvard’s School of Public Health says avoiding processed meat does makes sense. And the Hot Dog Council (who knew there even was one?) is piping up that hot dogs don’t contain animal eyeballs, hooves or genitals…but they can include pig snouts and cow lips.

Thanks for clearing that up. But, uh, not really helping!
Our advice: Use this ad as a way to talk nutrition and media literacy with your kiddo. But maybe over peanut butter and jelly.
– Posted by Stephanie Booth.

It’s been a while since we’ve fed you a few morsels of kids-TV-oriented news all at once. Enjoy!

Credit: Tiger Aspect Productions, Ltd.

You know how every once in a while, someone writes something that’s so complete, you think, “Yeah. I can’t really add to that.” Well, this Babble review describing and raving about the new PBS show, Martha Speaks, is kind of like that. All I can say is, “Um, ditto.”

Word on the street (or well, Press Release Ave) is that Nickelodeon is collaborating with CreateSpace, part of the Amazon Empire, to make a bunch of Nickelodeon shows available on DVD, some for the first time evuh. The selections we’re most psyched to see: Drake and Josh, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. And what’s cool about CreateSpace is that DVDs aren’t manufactured until they’re actually ordered. So you know, they’re not sitting on a big warehouse shelf somewhere, taking up (you guessed it) space. Click on www.amazon.com/nickelodeon for more info.

And finally, Manchester Art Gallery has launched a major exhibition of the works of utterly brilliant illustrator Lauren Child. She’s been churning out best-selling kids’ books for nearly ten years…including the fantastically successful and charming Charlie and Lola. (Yes, that Charlie and Lola. From that Playhouse Disney.) So if you’re heading to the U.K. between now and Sept. 21 (and who knows, maybe you are) make sure you check out the kid-friendly, touching-encouraged, sure-to-be-whimsical “Green Drops and Moonsquirters” exhibit. –Posted by Stephanie Booth.

Don’t be fooled by the nonsensical title – kids can learn a lot from Pinky Dinky Doo. The Noggin website features dozens of printables related to all their great shows, but we’re extra fond of the set of Pinky Dinky Doo printables, which feature 19 coloring vocabulary pages. So take a look, print a few out, and help your kid learn about words like “ridiculous,” “duplicate,” “xylophone,” and “gargantuan” as they have fun coloring their favorite Pinky Dinky Doo characters.

The STA’s Summer Tips are ideas for projects and activities inspired by your kids’ favorite shows, to help them learn while the TV is on and after it’s off. Look for more tips all summer long, to OutSmart the 150% Summer Spike in childrens’ television viewing.

See all Summer Tips
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Now’s crunch time for helping your offspring make a smooth transition from summer to school. (Like, you know, encouraging him to wear shoes again.) And don’t forget to do your TV homework. After the jump are a few of our fave back-to-school programs. We chose them not because they’ll prime your kid’s Spanish vocab or help with memorizing the fifty states. But because they offer some genuine insight into those ever-tricky school social interactions. Read the rest of this entry »