early childhood education

Tumble Leaf: Outdoor Play and Discovery via Amazon Kids

July 22, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Update May 11, 2015 While Tumble Leaf continues to rake in multiple awards including five daytime Emmys, Amazon Studios Greenlights Six New Pilots for Kids. (mostly ages 6-11, one PreK) Here's hoping their original kids' programming stays on a winning streak for quality, as they have some heavy hitters involved in the sphere of creative talent (from Muppets and Marvel ties to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment Tagged With: Amazon Kids Shows, Amazon Original Programming, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, applied science, Blue's Clues, Brain insights, brain plasticity, building brains, camping and outdoors, Children and Nature, Creative Galaxy, critical thinking PreK, developing children's brainpower, discovery through play, Dr. Alice Wilder, early childhood education, eco literacy, educational psychology, experiential learning, experiential play, Fred Rogers, free range kids, get-outdoors-kids, hands-on learning, Kelli Bixler, kids and nature, Kids programming, kids quality TV, maker movement, media and education, media-literacy, Nature-Deficit-Disorder, Outdoor Education, Outdoors Rx, play outdoors, power of play, quality kids TV, screen time, sensory play, STEM, streaming TV, Stuart Brown, summertime science, tots and tech, Tumble Leaf, TV alternatives, Wild Kratts nature

Creative Galaxy: Inspiring Kids With Art In Everyday Life

July 3, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Aug. 24, 2016 Update Glad to hear Creative Galaxy will be back for season two starting Sept. 16, 2016 as I keep reading more research about the tactile, artistic, creative benefits of hands-on art at every age and want to ensure that in this era of screen time experiences, we don't lose sight of the opportunity for OFF-line messy arts ed for growth, brain food and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pro-Social & Positive Picks Tagged With: Amazon Kids Shows, Amazon Original Programming, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, Angela Santomero, applied science, art cutbacks schools, art matters, art projects kids, Blue's Clues, Brain insights, brain plasticity, building brains, Creative Galaxy, critical thinking PreK, developing children's brainpower, Dr. Alice Wilder, early childhood education, educational psychology, experiential play, Fred Rogers, hands-on learning, integrating physical art into digital creations, kids arts and crafts, kids crafts, Kids programming, kids quality TV, maker movement, media and education, media-literacy, power of play, quality kids TV, screen time, season 2 creative galaxy, sensory play, streaming TV, tots and tech, TV alternatives

Amazon Kids Shows Segue Screen Time Into View + Do

July 1, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

June 30, 2014 “What’s a cookie cutter?” said one student as I passed out the tools to build a knock-off of a Lunchable as part of a health literacy ‘switch pitch’ teaching about ingredients.“What do you even DO with Playdough?” said another when I gave mini-tubs to kindergarten kids who poked at it curiously as if they’d never seen or played with it before.These are some of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM Tagged With: Amazon Kids Shows, Amazon Original Programming, Amazon Prime, AmebaTV, Angela Santomero, Annedroids, applied science, Blue's Clues, Creative Galaxy, Dr. Alice Wilder, early childhood education, educational psychology, enrichment eco programs, experiential play, Fred Rogers, Get 'Em Outside, hands-on learning, kids quality TV, maker movement, media and education, media-literacy, Mind in the making, MIT Vanished Game, nature deficit, power of play, quality kids TV, screen time, streaming TV, tots and tech, Tumble Leaf, TV alternatives

CCFC: A Positive Pick, Even When Calling Out Negative TOADY Toys

December 4, 2012 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Dec. 4, 2012 No question I continue to land hard on watchdogs that aren’t woofin’ when it comes to media and marketing’s impact on kids, but nobody does it better than Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) with a solid lip curl and warning snarl before tearing the pants off of those without a corporate conscience focused on profiteering over public health…...So … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Nutrition & Wellness, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: age compression, apptivity ball, baby media, best toy of the year, Bratzillaz, building brain plasticity, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, CCFC, consumer watchdogs, corporate profiteering, digital devices, Digital Literacy, Digital Media Learning, digital world, early childhood education, Early-Sexualization, Facing the Screen Dilemma, FTC, Healthy kids in a digital world, impact of excessive screen time, Kids health, kids rights, kids socioemotional health, Lego Friends, media use, media-literacy, Monster High, National Parenting Publications Awards, Nielsen reports, nurturing healthy brain development, power of play, screen time, Susan Linn, TOADY Awards, Truce, value of unstructured play, winx, worst toy of the year

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building Through The Power of Play

November 29, 2012 by Amy Jussel 2 Comments

Nov. 29, 2012 Kuala Lumpur’s famous Petronas twin towers will now always look like ‘stacking cups’ to me, the Guggenheim Museum in New York upside down stacking rings, and Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium a cozy fort “blankets flung, stretched chair to chair”…As I close the picture book “Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building,” brought to life by author and illustrator Christy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Media Literacy, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth Tagged With: A Celebration of Building, A+ schools, Art and architecture, award-winning kids books, building kids, building minds, Caine's Arcade, can't be unseen, Case for Make Believe, children's books, Christy Hale, creative thinking, defending pretending, Dreaming Up, early childhood education, ECE, eco art, Edweek arts as essentials, encouraging STEM, engineering, Environment-Kids, Forgiveness Garden, illustrations, imagination, Imagination Foundation, Institute of Play, Lee and Low, Lego, maker faire, multicultural kids books, National Institute for Play, nature of art, once you see it can't be unseen, open ended play, Our School Garden, play, positive kids media, reach and teach, recycled art projects, school gardens, ScrapKins, STEM building toys, Stuart Brown, teaching resources, The Power of Play, unstructured play