When I was first introduced to Peg + Cat at the PBS Annual meeting this past Spring, I was immediately smitten. A spunky little girl + a quirky cat + a math curriculum—what’s not to love? With its catchy songs, fantastic graphics, Peg + Cat, which debuts today on PBS Kids, will, no doubt, be an instant hit for the PBSKids core audience.
I love the fact that this new show, created by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson, the minds behind Little Bill, The Wonder Pets and Rent and Postcards from Buster, respectively, has an emphasis on math and problem solving for the preschool/kindergarten set. The musical elements, including the catchy songs, guitar/ukelele and other accompanying instruments magnify the cuteness of Peg + Cat’s adventures.
Through their adventures, Peg + Cat not only help each other to solve problems, but learn from mistakes, which, in turn, teaches young minds the value of learning from mistakes and experimentation, as well as cooperation.
According to the creators of the show, the learning goals for Peg + Cat include: present age-appropriate concepts and math skills; broaden kids’ thinking about math; inspire creative problem solving; help kids see that math can be cool and inspiring.
I have a Kindergartener, and from just watching the first few episodes, it’s so interesting to see how close the stories from Peg + Cat are to my son’s actual lessons. Cylinders, sorting and counting to 100 are just a few of the many parallel lessons that I’ve seen so far.
The beautiful colors and endearing graphics set this new show apart. Because of its emphasis on math, there are geometric shapes throughout. The graph paper background is one of the show’s coolest graphic element to me. As a kid, I was an aspiring artist and creative mind, so I used to draw on graph paper every chance I got. It’s so cool to see an animated show “come to life” on graph paper. But more than anything, it’s awesome that graph paper still has significance in the digital age of art.
There’s so much to love about Peg + Cat and the conversation that this new property brings to the preschool arena. Beyond the first glimpse of this show, we’ve also had the chance to preview recipes, a well-planned partnership with Whole Foods and Peg + Cat’s other platforms. I will absolutely have more to share about Peg + Cat, but for now, check out the initial reading that the star of the show did during auditions.
Peg + Cat, a production of The Fred Rogers Company, airs every day on PBS Kids. Check your local listings for time and channel.
Full disclosure: I am a PBS Kids VIP and am often given a sneak peek of new and notable happenings for its properties. I was not compensated to share this information, but am absolutely enthusiastic about sharing otherwise. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.
