Halloween Episodes on PBS Kids are Spooky but Fun

With the excitement that Halloween brings with it, not surprisingly, kid programming is joining in on the ghoulish fun!  PBS Kids, an NKT fave, always does a great job on incorporating educational episodes while sharing seasonal shows, and Halloween is no different.

Last week, as part of PBS Kids’ Halloween-inspired programming, the animal exploration series, Wild Kratts, (think: Animal Planet for the grade school set) highlighted all kinds of creatures during Predator Week.  The Kratt brothers explored fierce predators such as great white sharks, wolves, cheetahs and raptors.  With Great Whites in the news so much recently, the episodes from Predator Week couldn’t be more timely.  Be sure to keep an eye out for these fun episodes.

On Dinosaur Train, the kids set off for an adventure at the Haunted Roundhouse and explore the spookiness of the “unknown.” Like many families do as part of an Autumn rite of passage, in the Big Pond Pumpkin Patch, the dinosaurs learn all about gourds, pumpkins and everything else that makes the pumpkin patch so fun.

On The Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About That! Nick, Sally and Cat go trick or treating and learn about some fruity non, candy treats.  They also meet a “scary” creature who teaches them a few new things, including how he eats bugs!

Everyone’s favorite inquisitive scientist in training, Sid The Science Kid, encounters his own scary adventures in the “Halloween Spooky Science Special.

We’re a fan of most of the shows on PBS Kids, whether they’re geared to the preschooler or not, so we always find these holiday-themed shows a great way to learn even more about how everyone celebrates these fun holidays, even the animals!  After screening these Halloween-themed episodes, I learned that my guy is totally mesmerized by The Wild Kratts, even though it’s targeted to the older crowd (ages 8 and up).  The episodes were a perfect primer for our recent trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom; he even took away some of the lessons he learned from the show and applied them to our visit!

Check your local listings for air dates and times!

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On a related note, last week, PBS Kids launched 40 new games which are aimed to help children ages 2-8 build critical math skills. The games comprise PBS Kids’ largest offering of interactive math content for preschoolers to date. The games are centered around various PBS Kids media properties, ranging from Curious George to Sid the Science Kid.

My guy is a huge fan of Curious George’s Monkey Jump.  Jumping, counting and Curious George? Count him in!  These are the kind of games that will be sure to keep us busy when we start hibernating!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

“Wake Up! For today is your Day of all Days!”

Today, the world celebrates Theodor Seuss Geisel, best known as Dr. Seuss, one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors.  For what would have been Dr. Seuss’ 107th birthday, surely, many will celebrate his birthday in their own favorite way.  In fact, courtesy of PBS Kids’, we hosted a small screening party to preview The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That’s new episodes in preparation for Dr. Seuss’ Birthday. (more on that soon!)

But really, Dr. Seuss’ birthday and celebration should be about the books that still line our kids’ shelves.  According to an article I read, during his lifetime, more than 200 million copies of his 46 memorable books for children were sold. His stories have been translated into 20 languages and continue to touch kids’ lives.

And to commemorate the late author’s birthday, students, teachers and Dr. Seuss fans will honor his legacy with Read Across America Day.

After a trip to the library this morning, we will be having our own mini-party to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday!  In the name of Dr. Seuss, we have a fun day planned, which includes reading our favorite Seuss titles, playing our favorite Cat in the Hat game from WonderForge, craft time and catch a few episodes of Cat in the Hat, too.

No matter how you choose to celebrate, whether it’s watching The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That marathon on PBS, reading Dr. Seuss books all day or having your own little party, be sure to make it a colorful one.

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The Cat in the Hat marathon is on PBS today.  Check your tv listings for the time.  In NJ, it starts at 7am; NYC 8:30.

Want to do some crafts? Seussville has a few fun Dr. Seuss printables in line with Read Across America Day.  PBS’ Cat in the Hat site also has a good variety of games, as well as printables.  Thing 1 and 2 finger puppets? I think we will, thank you very much!