If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Nickelodeon has announced that the teen network The N! and the preschool channel Noggin will split up. They had been sharing the same channel, and flipping from the little kids to older kids at 6pm.

As a parent who has Noggin on while I’m getting dinner ready, I like this move. Sometimes it would switch over at 6pm and I’d look up to see stuff that really a preschooler doesn’t need to be seeing.

It will mean competition for Sprout’s The Goodnight Show as there will be another preschool alternative in the evenings.

A Coming of Age at Nickelodeon: Noggin and the N Will Get Their Own Channels - New York Times

Share This

On Monday August 20th Nickelodeon will debut their newest preschool show, Yo Gabba Gabba with a simulcast on Nick Jr. and Noggin at 10:30am.

The show is a different style than the typical Noggin/Nick Jr. fare in that instead of the shows being “stories” each episode is a series of short yet related segments. The premise is that DJ Lance Rock has a robot and 4 monsters that he brings to life. The show uses several modern music themes to convey messages about trying new foods and brushing your teeth.

The press release states, “This fresh, inventive music series will captivate preschoolers and caregivers with a hip, diverse slate of original music and infectious lyrics.” After seeing the premiere episode, Eat, I certainly would agree with the infectious part. My kids have been singing “Try it you’ll like it” ever since.

Still, I just don’t get the appeal of the show. The monsters and robots aren’t particularly engaging or endearing characters. I didn’t find the music, at least in the premiere episode, to be very interesting. The kids were entertained, but as a parent I found it to be annoying.

The show does have a number of guest stars slated for this season including: Elijah Wood in the premiere episode (“Eat”), Mya, The Shins, Sugarland, Rahzel, Tony Hawk, Laila Ali, Sean Kingston, Nikki Flores, Hector Jimenez, Smoosh, The Aquabats, The Aggrolites and Cornelius.

The show is jointly produced by creators The Magic Store and Wild Brain who brought us Higglytown Heroes. The Magic Store was founded in 2005 by “Gen X” dads Christian Jacobs, Justin Lyon and Scott Schultz. The studio’s first project, Yo Gabba Gabba!, was produced independently in two half-hour episodes. After creating an online viral frenzy with the trailer, the show ultimately found a home on Nick Jr.

Share This

Nick Jr. is kicking off a 4 week long dance party with a new episode of Dora the Explorer.

The new episode titled La Maestra de Música will premiere July 23rd at 9:00am.

Each of the next 4 weeks will feature music themed episodes from popular Nick Jr. Shows. The schedule follows:

• Monday, July 23 – Friday, July 27 – Five music-themed Dora the Explorer episodes everyday at 9:00 a.m., beginning with the premiere of “La Maestra de Música” on July 23.
• Monday, July 30 – Friday, August 3 – Five episodes of The Wonder Pets! featuring Ming Ming’s greatest musical adventures will air everyday at 11:00 a.m.
• Monday, August 6 – Friday, August 10 – Five episodes of Blue’s Clues featuring Blue’s biggest musical moments will air everyday at 10:00 a.m.
• Monday, August 13 – Friday, August 17 - Five episodes of The Backyardigans featuring some of the best dance moves from the five backyard pals will air everyday at 10:30 a.m.

During the run, Nick Jr. will debut a new video each Friday from the upcoming show Yo Gabba Gabba. Yo Gabba Gabba is set to debut in August.

Share This

Following on the success and popularity that Dora the Explorer has had in teaching children Spanish, Nick Jr. hopes to do the same for Chinese culture and languages with NI HAO, KAI-LAN.

NI HAO, KAI-LAN is a play-along, think-along series starring Kai-lan Chow, a playful, adventurous preschooler with a big heart, who speaks both English and Mandarin. The series centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather, YeYe, and her animal friends. YeYe plays a major role in her life as he gently and playfully guides her to her own discoveries. Kai-lan is a natural leader who is thoughtful and caring and has a gift for helping her friends when they really need her. Her best friends include: Rintoo, a rambunctious five-year-old tiger who loves to play, Tolee, a five-year-old koala, who always puts his friends first, Hoho, a three-year-old monkey full of boundless energy, and Lulu, a happy six-year-old pink rhino.

The show is set to premiere October 22nd, 2007

Nick Jr. Interactive Series to Teach Preschoolers Mandarin Language

Share This

You may remember a Toot and Puddle holiday special last December. It looks like Noggin has picked up the series. The show is set to debut in fall 2008.

Noggin Gets Toot & Puddle | Animation Magazine

Share This

PBS has announced that Miss Lori and Hooper, who serve as the hosts and educators during the PBS Kids programming block, will be back for a second season.

The second season will include the following:

PBS KIDS is strengthening the preschool setting in season two with new age-appropriate curriculum themes presented in a structured format such as “Music Time,” “Math Time,” “Art Time,” and “Reading Time.” Using letters, shapes, colors and other elements designed to get kids involved and engaged, as well as familiar environmental elements such as smocks, easels, mini tables and chairs, books and more, children will feel like they have entered a real preschool each morning on PBS KIDS.

PBS Kids also announced a new show titled SUPER WHY! would join the block.

This animated superhero series is designed to boost literacy skills through interactive fairytale adventures that encourage viewers to participate through entertaining and engaging games. Whyatt Beanstalk, younger brother of Jack from “Jack in the Beanstalk,” and his three fairytale character friends transform into the “Super Readers,” with special literacy-charged powers. The Super Readers jump into books to discover answers and find solutions to everyday preschooler questions and challenges.

PBS Kids(R) Launches Second Season of Popular Interactive Preschool Destination on September 3, 2007

Share This

On April 23rd the The Wonder Pets will have a new adventure, The Wonder Pets Save the Wonder Pets.

After school let’s out one day Tuck begins to ponder whether or not all the animals that have been helped remember the Wonder Pets. They don’t have long to wonder though because another animal needs saving.

Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming too journey to the bottom of the sea to help a blowfish that is stuck in a plant. The Wonder Pets manage to save the blowfish, but in doing so they are swallowed by a whale.

The recently saved blowfish along with his friends the seahorse and squid hear the Wonder Pets cries for help and begin trying to Save the Wonder Pets. After trying and failing to escape the whale several times the group finally escapes with the help of their new friends. And in the end, all the animals who they’ve helped are there to greet the Wonder Pets.

The music as always in this episode is enjoyable. My kids have been singing “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle the whale” whale for the better part of the week.

This episode also had a deeper message than you normally see. While many episodes focus on teamwork and problem solving, this one illustrated just how much difference we can make in one another’s lives. I don’t know that the kids will fully get that. Even if they don’t it is a tremendous message that I hope they can absorb on some level.

Songs from the episode as well many other Wonder Pets favorites are available on a newly released CD.

The Wonder Pets

Share This

It’s another week of new episodes on Nick Jr. This week it is 4 new episodes of the Blue’s Clues spin-off Blue’s Room. The schedule is below:

Monday, March 26, 10:00 a.m. - “Away Great Playdate” - After a play date with their friend Jalen, Blue and Sprinkles discover that he has left behind his favorite duck hat. In order to return the hat to their friend they must figure out how to get to Jalen’s house. Joe has the answer – transportation! Dictionary helps them learn about transportation and Joe transforms a big cardboard box into a train, a taxicab and an airplane. On the journey to find Jalen’s house, Joe takes Blue and Sprinkles to a real city where they play “I See” and to an actual beach where they look for seashells. But it is not until the trio reaches a farm that they finally find Jalen and return the missing duck hat.

Tuesday, March 27, 10:00 a.m. – “Little Red Riding Blue” - Blue and her friends are acting out the fairytale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” In their version, Little Red Riding Hood (Blue) and Little Red’s brother (Sprinkles) are bringing homemade banana bread to grandma, who has a cold. Doodle Board leads their journey through the woods by drawing the correct paths to take. Along the way, they bump into a wolf (Joe), who wants a piece of their bread. Blue and Sprinkles tell the wolf that if he wants a piece, he needs grandma’s permission. Blue and Sprinkles soon discover that the wolf is pretending to be grandma!

Wednesday, March 28, 10:00 a.m. – “Knights of the Snack Table” - Blue and Sprinkles pretend to be knights and their quest is to help King Joe rescue his four missing dragons. Along their journey, Blue and Sprinkles build a medieval castle with Princess Frederica, mix a magic potion with Roar E. Saurus and navigate through a maze with Doodle Board. For each rescued dragon, they earn a new picture that appears on their knightly coat of arms. There’s still one dragon left and the only way to catch this last creature is to follow a series of musical hints. It’s an adventure suited for the smartest knights in the land and luckily, Blue and Sprinkles are up for the challenge.

Thursday, March 29, 10:00 a.m. – “Music Stars” - Blue and Sprinkles are experimenting with making music when Boogie Woogie suggests they become more than just ordinary musicians and transform into rock stars. The music stars magically create a stage for their big concert, but there’s only one problem – the curtain won’t go up. The only way to raise the curtain is to create a musical act. With a little help from their friends, Blue and Sprinkles learn to create their own lyrics, original music and dance moves. With each new addition to their act, the curtain rises a little more, until finally it is show time, and all of the Blue’s Room stars are ready to perform.

On Friday March 30th all 4 episodes will be replayed back-to-back from 12:00pm to 2:00pm

Blue’s Clues, Blue’s Room

Share This

The week of March 19th will feature four new episodes of The Backyardigans. The schedule and descriptions follow:

* Monday, March 19, 10:30 a.m. – “Horsing Around” – Pablo, the world’s fastest jockey, and Uniqua, the world’s best rodeo stunt rider, race through the Kentucky countryside to determine who rides horses the best, this side of the Mississippi. If they’re not careful, a determined Tyrone, his donkey, and a slow and steady approach might win the day. The music genre featured in the episode is Klezmer.

* Tuesday, March 20, 10:30 a.m. – “Movers of Arabia” – Tyrone, the new Sultan of Arabia, hires movers Uniqua and Pablo to safely transport his magical treasures from a desert cave to his new royal palace. Surf music sets the action as the gang enlists the help of a Genie played by Austin who gives them three wishes.

* Wednesday, March 21, 10:30 a.m. – “Cops and Robots” – It’s a robotic chase through space, as The Bad Bots, Tasha and Pablo, travel to the Floating Robot Factory to reprogram all of the world’s robots to be bad. However, cops Uniqua and Tyrone are on a mission to catch The Bad Bots and bring them to justice. The music genre featured in the episode is Jug Band.

* Thursday, March 22, 10:30 a.m. – “Save the Day” – Tasha is the world’s most determined fisher-lady who is oblivious to the dangers of the sea. Although harbor patrollers Uniqua, Tyrone and Pablo have repeatedly saved Tasha from sharks and sinking boats, she insists upon going to the most dangerous places to catch fish. The music genre featured in the episode is Psychedelic Soul.

If you miss any during the week, all 4 will be replayed from noon to 2:00pm on Friday the 23rd.
The Backyardigans

Share This

Via Lifehacker, there are six episodes of Sesame Street available for free on iTunes.

The series is called Learn Along with Sesame and features over 2 and a half hours of educational programming. And did I mention it’s free?

Free Sesame Videos on iTunes

Share This