PBS KIDS is kicking off the summer with fun, literacy-themed programming.
On Friday, June 15, PBS KIDS premieres the SUPER WHY! Around the World Adventure, an on-air event featuring two new episodes of SUPER WHY!. This new special is the cornerstone of PBS KIDS’ summer learning initiative, an effort to help kids continue building key literacy skills throughout summer vacation. Research shows that students experience significant learning loss when they do not participate in educational activities during the summer months. To help bridge this summer learning gap, PBS KIDS is providing families with the SUPER WHY! Around the World Adventure, along with a host of other fun and educational content and activities across platforms.
“When children go back to school in the fall, teachers typically spend between four and six weeks re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer,” said Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president, Children’s Media, PBS. “We want to equip families with tools to prevent this ‘summer slide,’ and to make summer a time for learning and exploring. At PBS KIDS, we know that kids learn the most from content that is both educational and engaging, which is why we’re offering a range of activities across platforms to help kids and parents build key skills while having fun this summer.” This new special is the cornerstone of PBS KIDS’ summer learning initiative, an effort to help kids continue building key literacy skills throughout summer vacation.
SUPER WHY! Around the World Adventure – June 15
Two new episodes of the award-winning series created and produced by Out of the Blue Enterprises – “Super Why and the Around the World Adventure” and “Super Why and Naila and the Magic Map” – take the Super Readers around the world in back-to-back adventures in the SUPER WHY! Around the World Adventure. Both episodes will also be available online at PBSKIDS.org/video and on the free PBS KIDS Video App for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
“Super Why and the Around the World Adventure” – With the help of their teacher, Wyatt and his friends have contacted a girl from another school over the computer and are wondering where she lives. The Super Readers take a trip around the world with a wacky explorer named Wobblebottom, who is on the hunt for his friend Sophie. Will they be able to help Wobblebottom find his friend?
“Super Why and Naila and the Magic Map” – Pig and his friends are playing when they find what looks like an Egyptian treasure map, but they can’t make out the symbols! To search for some answers, the Super Readers soar into the book “Naila and the Magic Map” and explore the world of ancient Egypt. Will they be able to help Naila unravel the mysterious code that will unlock where the treasure lies?
PBS KIDS’ summer learning initiative will also include themed programming on-air, online and on mobile, as well as partnership activities to support literacy.
Summer Learning Theme Weeks – Starting June 4
This summer, PBS KIDS will focus on literacy with 10 weeks of themed programming (check local listings). Each week will feature reading-related episodes from a different PBS KIDS series. Select episodes and clips will also be featured on PBSKIDS.org/video and on the free PBS KIDS Video App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and games and activities will be available for kids at PBSKIDS.org/read and for parents at PBSPARENTS.org/read. Starting June 4, free episode downloads, video playlists and other downloadable content will also be available on iTunes. Episodic images and episode descriptions are available on PBS PressRoom. The line-up includes:
WILD KRATTS, “Zach Attack Week” – Starting June 4
WORDGIRL, “Tobey’s Robot Summer” – Starting June 11
ARTHUR, “Baby Kate Adventure Week” – Starting June 18
CURIOUS GEORGE, “Monkey Business Week” – Starting June 25
SUPER WHY!, “Royal Reading Week” – Starting July 2
THE ELECTRIC COMPANY, “Prankster Planet” – Starting July 9
DINOSAUR TRAIN, “Gone Fishing Week” – Starting July 16
MARTHA SPEAKS, “Dog Daze Week” – Starting July 23
CAT IN THE HAT, “Creepy Crawley Week” – Starting July 30
SID THE SCIENCE KID, “Get up and Move Week” – Starting August 6
Other Stuff
For the third consecutive year, PBS KIDS is partnering with iVillage to offer the millions of women in its online community the iVillage PBS KIDS Summer Reading Community Challenge at ivillage.com/pbs. The challenge runs from June 18 to July 27 and features free literacy-building resources, for parents and children, designed by the experts at PBS Parents and PBS KIDS. Daily activity assignments, delivered by email, will be provided by Challenge Coaches Angela Santomero, creator, executive producer and head writer of SUPER WHY!, and Jessica Wollman, vice president, Editorial Products & Digital Programming at Scholastic. The coaches will also answer parent questions and offer advice throughout the online event. iVillage and PBS KIDS will also team up with Scholastic to host reading parties with parent bloggers and within the iVillage community, reaching more than 1,500 kids across the country.
Soar with Reading, a joint project of PBS KIDS and JetBlue Airways, will once again kick off in late June and will encourage kids’ imaginations to take flight through reading. The program features online resources for parents and kids, literacy-based activity booklets and more, all available at www.soarwithreading.com. Additionally, Soar with Reading will be hosting free public events at local libraries in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and San Juan, Puerto Rico throughout the summer; please check the website in June for more information on these events.
Soar with Reading aims to make age-appropriate books accessible to all children. Thus, JetBlue, with help from Barefoot Books, has committed to donating books to children in need. Be sure to visit www.soarwithreading.com to learn how you can get involved in helping another child Soar with Reading.
In addition, the SUPER WHY! Reading Camps, in conjunction with 24 PBS stations from coast-to-coast, will help thousands of young kids discover the power of reading this summer through a proven research-based curriculum based on the series’ groundbreaking interactive learning adventures. National partners for the program include Boys and Girls Clubs of America, YWCA, National Education Association, National Summer Learning Association, Head Start Collaboration and Purpose Built Communities.
Through a variety of summer learning initiatives, PBS KIDS continues to offer educational and engaging content across platforms to more and more families.
