April 16 | Grades Pre-K–3

Programming Highlights

Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Am Zora Neale Hurston/I Am Charles Dickens
Like many of us at home, Yadina is left feeling bored on a rainy day after she’s already played with all her toys — there’s nothing left to have fun with our heroes are sent back in time to meet someone who was seldom bored: Charles Dickens. After a playdate with a young Charles, which involves zero toys but oodles of fun as they jump over “shark infested waters” and swim with a funny octopus named Fanny, Yadina realizes that she doesn’t need anything new to play with, because her imagination can make everything more fun.

Let’s Go Luna! Wacky Washi/When The Bowl Breaks
In Tokyo, when Andy and the others embark on a journey through the colorful world of Japanese papermaking and kites. Later, when Leo accidentally breaks his dad’s special bowl, he learns about “Kintsugi,” a way of repairing broken pottery to make it even more special.

Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate
During this challenging time, what if kids could connect with their Sesame Street pals for a virtual playdate filled with fun, stories, and songs? This half-hour special follows Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby and their famous friends Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Hathaway and Tracee Ellis Ross on a cozy video conference that will feel very familiar to today’s viewers. It’s a virtual hug to kids and families to show we can all get through this together, chase the clouds away, and bring a “sunny day” from Sesame Street to your living room. This episode celebrates everyone from the EMTs, doctors, and other everyday heroes who are helping families through the health crisis.

At-Home Learning Tips

Help Kids Stay Close to Friends, Online and Offline
As our kids adjust to spending the majority of their time at home for the coming months, it’s understandable they’ll miss their daily interactions with classmates and friends, just as we, parents, miss our colleagues and friends. While our kids may have their own ideas about how to sustain these relationships through online means, such as social media, it doesn’t hurt to introduce them to other creative ways to stay close to their friends online and offline. Here are six ways to do just that — which we parents may find comforting to do as well.

Daily Programming

Additional Resources

GAME: Create Stories and Art with Scribbles & Ink
Is your child’s imagination flying after watching today’s Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum episode on storytelling? Hop on the interactive PBS KIDS Scribbles & Ink Game, which allows your child to draw objects that can interact with the main characters in four different open-ended stories. Check out a demo of how it works below.

VIDEO: Kintsugi – The Art of Repairing and Bringing New Life to Broken Items
Learn more about the technique Leo used to repaired his dad’s special bowl by watching this video with your child. Meet Japanese craftsmen dedicated to the tradition of kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pieces with gold as a way to find beauty in broken or old things.

ARTICLE: 13 Activities to Make the Most Out of Video Chats With Kids
The research on video chat shows that children — even babies — can learn from these live interactions with their friends and family. A successful video chat will feel like everyone is playing together, even though we’re apart. Here’s a few ideas on ways you can keep the conversation going — or the singing, reading, cooking or dancing!