Want to be part of the fun and align your business with this exciting local high-definition production on West Texas' favorite pastime? Underwriting opportunities are available.  432.563.5728. Ask for Jastin or Barbara.

Learn more here. http://www.basinpbs.org/proud_heritage.php

Sesame Street, the world’s largest informal children’s educator, celebrates its 40^th birthday on November 10, 2009, the exact day the series debuted on television four decades ago, with everything you love about Sesame Street and more: new block format, new show open, new nature curriculum and our new First Lady Michelle Obama!

NEW NATURE CURRICULUM

While maintaining an emphasis on the importance of literacy and numeracy, the new season kicks-off “My World is Green & Growing,” a two-year science initiative designed to increase positive attitudes towards nature, deepen children’s knowledge about the natural world and encourage behavior that shows respect and care for the environment.  First Lady Michelle Obama appears in the first episode of Sesame Street’s 40^th season and teaches “the street’s” residents about the many benefits of planting a garden and healthy eating as part of Sesame Street’s ongoing “Healthy Habits for Life” initiative. 

Surrounded by children and preparing to plant tomato, cucumber and lettuce seeds, Mrs. Obama explains, “All these seeds need to grow are sun, soil and water. If you eat these healthy foods, you’re going to grow up to be big and strong, like me.” Mrs. Obama continues, “I know you’re going to like these vegetables, because in addition to being healthy, they really taste great!”

“It is truly an honor to have Mrs. Obama join us in our premiere show on this landmark 40^th anniversary season,” said Carol-Lynn Parente, Executive Producer of Sesame Street.  “I feel extremely privileged to produce the gold standard of children’s television, serving up our well-known favorite characters and parodies, while striving to create innovative stories and formats using the latest technologies.  This is what keeps the show fresh, exciting and relevant to the needs of today’s children.”

Original songs, storylines and animations such as “Murray had a Little Lamb,” “Word on the Street” and “Elmo’s World” will continue to stimulate the preschool viewers’ awareness and excitement about the environment.  Additionally, new words will be introduced at the beginning of each episode by Murray as he interacts with people on the street. In a series of 26 hilarious celebrity segments, words such as “habitat,” “metamorphosis,” “camouflage,” “hibernate” and “garden” are introduced to enhance vocabulary and further highlight the wonders of nature.

“Research shows that introducing young children to the natural world is the first step towards helping them develop a caring attitude towards the environment,” comments Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Vice President of Education and Research, Sesame Workshop.  “Environmental education for preschoolers, through the lens of exploration, provides children with the opportunity to feel a part of nature as they discover and make connections about the natural world around them.”

NEW BLOCK FORMAT

With over 21 million minutes (and counting) since Count von Count’s first “ah ah ah,” the groundbreaking children’s program that began as an experiment has evolved and continues to grow with children and their changing needs.  As preschoolers today have different viewing habits, the 40^th season has been reformatted to resemble a typical broadcasting block. Murray the Monster Muppet™ hosts each episode from different locations linking four longer segments with fun-filled interstitials throughout the hour. The block format begins and ends with a brand new show open and close, integrating colorful chalk-art animation with the Muppets™ of Sesame Street, set to the re-versioned classic “Sunny Days.”

NEW ABBY CADABBY CGI ANIMATION SEGMENT

This season, the “new” continues with the introduction of “Abby’s Flying Fairy School,” marking the first time a Sesame Street character has been transformed into CGI animation. The original segment, featuring the beloved fairy-in-training with a new 3-D look, has characters created by Peter De Séve, the designer for the film Ice Age.  Each segment, which  models preschoolers working together to solve problems using critical thinking skills, follows Abby Cadabby with an eclectic gang of new friends - fairies, trolls and a gerbilcorn called Niblet – as they attend Fairy School with Ms. Sparklenose.  Together, Abby and her friends, Blögg and Gonnigan, learn that it takes rhyming, twinkle thinking and a helping hand (or wand) from viewers at home to resolve dilemmas.  Abby’s adventures continue online at www.sesameworkshop.org where preschoolers may engage in telling a story, making choices as it unfolds and using their mouse as a magic wand. 

NEW CELEBRITIES

As always, Sesame Street remains the “must do” for celebrities and icons.  Parents and caregivers are sure to laugh alongside their children, as the new season features: NBA MVP Kobe Bryant; actors Greg Kinnear, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Hugh Jackman, Debra Messing, Eva Longoria, Adrian Grenier, Julianna Marguiles, Judah Freidlander, Sarah Jessica Parker, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, Jenny Garth, Paul Rudd, Ricky Gervais, Patricia Arquette, Brendan Fraser, Matthew Fox, Christina Applegate, Debi Mazar and Cedric the Entertainer; The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck; Grammy Award winner Ziggy Marley; Grammy Award nominee Jason Mraz; NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon; NFL Star and Today Show correspondent Tiki Barber; Today Show co-host Meredith Vieira; Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda; and Access Hollywood host Nancy O’Dell.

BBC World News is the BBC's international 24-hour news and information channel, broadcast in English in more than 200countries and territories across the globe. Its estimated weekly audience reach of 76 million makes it the BBC's biggest television service. Available in more than 276 million homes, 1.5 million hotel rooms, on 57 cruise ships, 42 airlines and 34 mobile phone platforms,BBC World News broadcasts a diverse mix of authoritative international news, sport, weather, business, current affairs and documentary programming.

http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/default.aspx

Love it, but don't have time to sew it? No worries. The Creature Shop also created a simple, no-sew option that you can put together in a snap.

Research Shows Educational Media Accelerates Learning

(Washington, DC)-- A new study shows preschool children who participated in a media-rich literary curriculum integrating public media video content and educational games were better prepared for kindergarten than students who did not use the curriculum.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Education Development Center, Inc. and SRI International, evaluated educational video content and associated interactive games from Super Why!, Between the Lions and Sesame Street, which are produced as part of the Ready To Learn (RTL) initiative. RTL aims to increase literacy skills for children aged 2-8 living in high poverty communities, by utilizing multiplatform content.

The researchers examined the impact of the curriculum which included public media content in a randomized controlled trial with 398 low-income four and five-year olds from 80 preschool classes in New York City and San Francisco. The children who had public media content in their classes developed significantly more early literacy skills – the ability to name letters, know the sounds associated with those letters and understand the basic concepts about stories and printed words – than children who did not have public media content in the classroom.

“This study underscores the important and unprecedented work that the Ready To Learn initiative has accomplished by teaching these children the skills they will need to succeed in life,” said Pat Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). “CPB congratulates the producers, the teachers and caregivers, station staff and their community partners who have made the Ready To Learn initiative the success that it is today.”

This study is significant because digital content from public television was integrated into a preschool curriculum, while past studies focused on public television viewing at home with or without parents or caregivers present. Also, previous research only studied one television program and did not incorporate interactive educational media. 

“These findings demonstrate the effective role public media plays in preschool children’s early literacy outcomes,” said Dr. Susan Zelman, SVP of Education and Children’s Content for CPB.

“This is a validation of the hard work that our local stations and community partners engage in to help improve children’s education,” said Beth Courtney, CPB vice-chair of the board and chair of its education committee. The study was conducted by researchers at the Education Development Center, Inc. and SRI International between January and June 2009, with a grant from CPB and the U.S. Department of Education, in preschools serving low-income children in the New York City and San Francisco metropolitan areas.