High-quality Content Helps Kids, Parents & Teachers Boost School Readiness Skills
Arlington, VA, August 6, 2018 – As summer winds down, PBS KIDS will offer a variety of resources to help kids kick off the new school year. Studies continually show that children who enter preschool and early grades prepared have higher rates of later academic success, and that engagement with their parents and teachers plays a critical role in giving kids a strong start.* PBS KIDS aims to support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, offering educational and engaging content for kids and supporting tools for their parents and teachers.
“School readiness is crucial, and social emotional learning lies at its core,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS. “PBS KIDS’ goal is to use the power of media to prepare every child for success in school and life. DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD is a prime example of this approach. Research shows that the fan-favorite series nurtures empathy and enhances emotional recognition, important skills for preschoolers as they start school.”
This September, PBS KIDS will premiere the first-ever movie from the beloved series from Fred Rogers Productions, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, which will explore social/emotional-based school-readiness themes. In THE DANIEL TIGER MOVIE: WON’T YOU BE OUR NEIGHBOR?, a new family has moved to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. It’s up to Daniel and his community to welcome the family with open arms, forging new friendships in this much-anticipated movie event. THE DANIEL TIGER MOVIE: WON’T YOU BE OUR NEIGHBOR? will repeat throughout the week of September 17 on PBS KIDS and the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream. It will also be available for free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App.
Additionally, two new episodes from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD will debut throughout the week of September 17, focusing on themes such as making new friends and navigating unfamiliar social situations. New two-minute shorts from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD can now be seen alongside season four episodes on-air. They will debut on the PBS KIDS YouTube channel, PBS KIDS Video app and PBS KIDS Facebook page weekly beginning Saturday, August 25. In each segment, one of the neighbors will open their door and show us around from their unique perspective, allowing preschoolers to develop empathy skills by better understanding the lives and experiences of others.
PBS KIDS offers parent resources to help with the transition to school, including the Daniel Tiger for Parents app. The free app, available in English and Spanish, gives parents more than three dozen DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD strategy songs on the go, as well as other helpful hints about the important skills children need to be ready for school. Additional back-to-school resources for parents are available on PBS Parents. A new game from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Neighbor Day, will launch on pbskids.org and in the PBS KIDS Games app in September. In this game, kids help Daniel and his friends prepare for a Neighbor Day celebration.
To help educators prepare for another school year to begin, PBS LearningMedia offers thousands of free classroom-ready content, aligned to state and national standards. A new back-to-school collection of resources from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, KET’s Everyday Learning and more are now available. Teachers can also take advantage of the free PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED at www.kqed.org/certification. This new certification recognizes educators who excel in creating and implementing instruction with media, and provides support to help all teachers accelerate these skills.
Movie and Episode Descriptions
THE DANIEL TIGER MOVIE: WON’T YOU BE OUR NEIGHBOR??
Premieres Monday, September 17, Airs September 19-21
A new family is moving into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and Daniel wonders if there will be a new friend for him. The Tiger Family welcomes the neighbors and helps them adjust to their new surroundings. Daniel lends an extra hand to help his neighbors make their new place feel like home.
Jodi's First Day at School/Daniel Plays at Jodi's House
Premieres September 18
“Jodi’s First Day at School” - Jodi is nervous on her first day at a new school, so Teacher Harriet explains to Jodi that she can find something or someone she knows to help herself feel better. She spots Daniel Tiger, who is someone she knows! Daniel takes on the duties of “First Day Friend” to help Jodi feel comfortable at her new school.
“Daniel Plays at Jodi’s House” - Daniel goes to Jodi’s house after school. At first, Daniel feels a little nervous because he’s never played at Jodi’s house after school before. Then Daniel finds things he knows—like blueberries—to make himself feel better at Jodi’s house.
A New Friend at School/A New Friend at the Playground
Premieres September 20
“A New Friend at School” - Daniel can’t wait to race the crafty car he made at school with Prince Wednesday! But Prince Wednesday is busy playing with Jodi now. Is Prince Wednesday still Daniel’s friend? Of course he is.
“A New Friend at the Playground” - Daniel and Miss Elaina are playing together at the park. When their new friend Jodi shows up to play, Daniel worries that Miss Elaina likes Jodi more than him, but then Daniel is reminded that they’re all still friends.
* Child Trends Data Bank, Early School Readiness
About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children’s learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school readiness and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Fred Rogers Productions
Fred Rogers Productions was founded by Fred Rogers in 1971 as the non-profit producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for PBS. In the years that followed, it not only created hundreds of episodes of this much-loved program, but also extended Fred’s values and approach to other efforts in promoting children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health while supporting parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals in their work with children. Fred Rogers Productions continues to build on Fred’s legacy in innovative ways through a wide variety of media and engages new generations of children and families with his timeless wisdom. The company’s highly-rated, award-winning children’s series include Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Peg + Cat, Odd Squad, and Through the Woods. For more information, visit www.fredrogers.org or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Contacts:
Lubna Abuulbah, PBS; 703-739-8463; labuulbah@pbs.org
Sarah Morgan, Allison+Partners; 202-591-1126; PBS@allisonpr.com
Gabrielle Torello, Grand Communications for Fred Rogers Productions, 917-312-2832, gab@grandcommunications.com
