For Immediate Release
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Contact: Beth Spezia, Outreach Coordinator, WSIU Public Broadcasting, (618) 453-5595, beth.spezia@wsiu.org
WSIU-TV To Keep Kids Learning All Summer
WSIU-TV Announces New Children's Programs, New Children's TV Programming Schedule for Summer 2014, New Digital Resources
Carbondale, Ill. -- As area families prepare for summer vacation, WSIU Public Broadcasting, the public media arm of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is offering leading tools to support learning anytime, anywhere and to help kids maintain and gain new skills for school readiness during the summer months.
Beginning May 31, WSIU/WUSI-TV will launch a new summer children's TV programming schedule, which includes the debut of several new children's programs, a new web-based children's property, and new PBS KIDS resources and learning apps for mobile devices.
“Early education is a critical issue in our area,” says Beth Spezia, Educational Outreach Coordinator for WSIU Public Broadcasting. “WSIU is dedicated to helping parents support their children's learning, not just during the school year, but throughout the summer months, a time when many children experience a cumulative loss of academic skills.”
New to WSIU's children's programming lineup this summer is Space Racers, an animated series aimed at preschoolers focusing on scientific inquiry, space, and space exploration. The series airs on WSIU/WUSI-TV on Sundays at 8:30am.
Mixed Nutz, airing Sundays at 9am beginning June 1, is a cartoon series designed for children ages 6 to 9. It follows the adventures of Babek, a self-conscious kid from Iran, and his diverse group of friends as they learn to be proud of who they are and to tackle life together, one bully at a time.
Twice As Good, airing Sundays at 9:30am beginning June 1, is a cooking show hosted by 7-year-old twins Hadley and Delaney Robertson from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Also new this year is Plum Landing, a PBS KIDS web-original property designed to engage 6- to 9-year olds in environmental science through animated and live-action videos, hands-on activities, web games, and a free interactive mobile app for iPhone, iPad and, iPod touch. All content can be found at pbskids.org/plumlanding.
WSIU's new Summer 2014 children's TV programming schedule, effective May 31, 2014, is as follows:
Weekday: 6:30am, Martha Speaks; 7am & 7:30am, Curious George; 8am, Peg + Cat; 9am, Sesame Street; 10am & 10:30am, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood; 11am & 11:30am, Dinosaur Train (Mon-Thu) and Biz Kid$ (Fri); 12pm, Adult How-to Programming; 1pm, Peg + Cat; 1:30pm, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That!; 2pm & 2:30pm, Curious George; 3pm & 3:30pm, Arthur; 4pm & 4:30pm, Wild Kratts
Saturday: 5am, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood; 5:30am, Bob the Builder; 6am, Curious George; 6:30 am, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!; 7am, Peg + Cat; 7:30am, Dinosaur Train; 8am, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood; 8:30am, Super WHY!
Sunday: 5am, Sesame Street; 6am, Curious George; 6:30am, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!; 7am, Peg + Cat; 7:30am, Dinosaur Train; 8am, Mixed Nutz; 8:30am, Space Racers; 9am, Biz Kid$; 9:30am, Twice As Good
New digital education resources include PBS KIDS Super Vision, a new free app for iPhone and iPod Touch that parents can access on-demand from their mobile phones to see what their kids are watching, playing, and learning on pbskids.org, to help manage their kids' screen time, and to build on that learning with related activities from PBS Parents. The app is available in the iTunes apps store under the “Education” tab.
PBS KIDS Super Vision is PBS KIDS' second app designed specifically for parents. PBS Parents Play & Learn, also available for free, offers parents simple activities that they can do with their kids to support math and literacy, themed around specific locations such as the grocery store or the park. PBS KIDS also offers more than 30 apps for kids. More information about PBS KIDS' apps, available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android phone, Android Tablet, Kindle, Nook, and other platforms, is available on pbskids.org/apps.
Finally, PBS KIDS has added another album to its digital music collection with the release of “PBS KIDS Presents: Peg and Cat's Really Big Album” from the hit preschool math series Peg + Cat, airing weekdays at 8am and 1pm and weekends at 7am on WSIU/WUSI-TV. The album is downloadable on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play and features 22 songs designed to extend Peg + Cat's math and problem-solving curriculum.
About WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting is licensed to the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University and is an integral part of the College of Mass Communication & Media Arts on the Carbondale campus. The WSIU stations reach more than three million people across five states and beyond through three digital public television channels; three public radio stations, including two digital radio channels; a radio information service; a website; and an education and community outreach department.
WSIU's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people they serve. The WSIU stations partner with other community organizations to promote positive change and to support the academic and public service missions of SIU Carbondale. Learn more and get the latest station news online at wsiu.org and on WSIU's Facebook and Twitter pages.
WSIU's programs and services are partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
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