PBS Kids Preschool Block

The PBS Kids Preschool Block was a programming block of television shows aimed at preschool aged children which aired on PBS Kids. The block premiered with Curious George on Monday, September 4, 2006 (Labor Day 2006). The block was aired weekdays at 8:00 AM local time on most PBS member stations. The block dissolved in 2013 with the introduction of the updated PBS Kids brand.

Characters

  • Miss Rosa: Miss Rosa is the PBS Kids preschool teacher. She incorporates Spanish language into the daily curriculum and leads children through educational games and activities. Miss Rosa is performed by Jennifer Pena (not to be confused with Grammy-nominated Latin singer Jennifer Peña), an actress and teacher who currently resides in New Jersey. She has long black hair worn with a purple band and wears on a purple dress over a black shirt.
  • Mr. Steve/SteveSongs: Mr. Steve leads "Music Time with SteveSongs", which is a :60 song, usually performed on guitar, relating to the day's curriculum. Children join Mr. Steve by singing along and sometimes perform choreography. Mr. Steve is performed by Steve Roslonek, also known as SteveSongs, a professional recording artist.
  • Hooper: Hooper is the computer-animated Guinea pig who wears on yellow glasses and attends the PBS Kids preschool. He appears throughout the programming block and in a segment called Adventures with Hooper. At one time in pre-production, the name "Bobo" was considered for this character. Max Marko, a Middle School student in Amherst, New York is the voice of Hooper. He was in elementary school when he was picked to be the voice of Hooper.
  • Miss Lori: Miss Lori was a PBS Kids preschool teacher until fall 2009. She led lessons based on a daily curriculum, singing and playing games with children who appear on the show. Miss Lori was the first live host in the program's history before Miss Rosa was the replacement for her. Miss Lori is performed by Lori Holton Nash, an actress and educator who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. Unlike Miss Rosa, she does not incorporate Spanish. She has long curly black hair and wears on a purple shirt.
  • Dash: Dash is the computer-animated boy from the PBS Kids logo. He hosted Dash's Secret Treasure Game and Dash's Dance Party. He has spiky black hair and wears on a white shirt and blue jeans and white shoes.
  • Dot: Dot was the computer-animated girl from the old variation of the PBS Kids logo. She was included in the hosted segments of the programming block starting in 2007. She is featured in Dot's Story Factory, a storytelling game that kids can play online at the PBS Kids site. She has medium length black hair and wears on a pink and white striped shirt and black pants and has white shoes like her brother. Dot is 10 years old from 2013.
  • Dee: is a 9 year old girl while she loves to skate. She is the twin sister of Del.
  • Del: is a 11 year old boy from 2013. He is the twin brother of Dee.

Throughout the block

Season 1 premiered on September 4, 2006. Characters included Miss Lori, Hooper, and Dash, who were featured before and after each program. Shows in Season 1 were Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales and It's a Big Big World. Each day, Miss Lori and Hooper would try to solve a problem, which was related to a daily curriculum. After Clifford the Big Red Dog, there was a short dance as well as a song, performed by Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck, Milkshake, or Miss Lori herself. Dash's Game of the Day aired just before Dragon Tales. Dash showed viewers how to play a game on the PBS Kids website. This was the only season to have a themed plot throughout the two hours.

Season 2 premiered on September 3, 2007, and introduced Dot to the character cast. Dragon Tales was moved to make room for Super Why which replaced It's a Big Big World. Dot's Story Factory started this season. Dot showed a story created online by kids at the PBS Kids site. It was shown at the end of every Super Why episode. In other brief activities between the shows, Miss Lori and Hooper emphasized basic literacy and numeracy skills, fine arts, movement, music, and health. Dash's Game of the Day continued to air, and new music videos were produced.

Season 3 started on May 19, 2008,[1] and it included the same programs as the previous season. Two new live-action characters were introduced: Miss Rosa and Mr. Steve. All characters seen in previous seasons were also in this season. Miss Rosa hosted Spanish-language and other curriculum-based segments, and Mr. Steve hosted Music Time.[2] Miss Lori was still seen but less frequently. Hooper continued to be seen, along with Dot's Story Factory. Dash's Secret Treasure, a matching game to match the theme of the day, replaced Dash's Game of the Day.

Season 4 started on September 1, 2008 and Sid the Science Kid premiered, pushing Clifford the Big Red Dog to a new time and removing Dragon Tales from the block. Dot's Story Factory was usually shown at the end of every show rather than only one show. Dash's Secret Treasure continued to air. New segments were shown around Sid the Science Kid. Some PBS stations opted to repeat the block on the weekends from 7 AM to 9 AM. This is the last season that Miss Lori appears in.[3]

Season 5 started on September 7, 2009. Clifford the Big Red Dog was replaced by Dinosaur Train. A new segment called Dash's Dance Party encouraged children to be active and dance. It alternates daily with Dash's Secret Treasure Game. Miss Rosa, Mr. Steve and Hooper continue to be seen throughout the two hours. As of this season, Miss Lori is no longer seen and has been replaced with Miss Rosa in all cases. The entire programming block is now in high-definition, except for some funding promos and older episodes of Curious George.

Season 6 started on September 6, 2010. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That premiered on this date, and retired Sid the Science Kid from the block.

On October 7, 2013, Peg + Cat premiered, taking Super Why's timeslot from the schedule. The PBS Kids brand was refreshed at this time, and the block dissolved. Interstitials featuring Miss Rosa and SteveSongs, and other musical spots still air before or after select programs throughout the day on PBS Kids. Program credits were repackaged for Curious George and Daniel Tiger in 2014.

Bands and their songs

During Season One, each day's segments included a short dance as well as a song. This portion of the show was abandoned, when Mr. Steve joined.

Milkshake
  • It's My Birthday!
  • Help Me Help You
  • Picture This
  • Rainy Day or Rainy Day Fun
  • Rhyme Time
  • Sally's Garden (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds and was called "Plant a Garden". Now it is only one minute.)
  • This is Our Earth (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds, but now it is only one minute.)
  • What's That Sound?
  • You Can Be
Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck
  • Baby Brother
  • Oh No!
  • Five Senses
  • A Place To Call Home
  • Reach Up High
  • The Rhythm in Your Heart
  • Jump Jump Jump!
  • S-H-A-R-E
Miss Lori
  • Me and My Postcards
  • Mouse on the Run
  • This Song About This Song

Segments

During program breaks, the preschool children, Hooper, or other characters take part in entertaining activities. These brief activities, generally assisted or narrated by Hooper, emphasize basic literacy and numeracy, fine arts, movement, music, and health. Many of these segments were also featured after repeats of other programs not included in the preschool block, such as Caillou, Barney and WordWorld.

  • Adventures with Hooper
  • Coach Hooper
  • Dash's Dance Party
  • Dash's Secret Treasure
  • Dot's Story Factory
  • DJ Hooper
  • Music Time with SteveSongs
  • PBS Kids Field Trip
  • Where in the World is Hooper?

Shows aired on the Block

Weekdays

Returning shows (as of that year) are in green, new shows (as of that year) are in red. Local variability to this chart as local stations can choose to schedule their channels differently.

PBS Kids 8:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m.
2006–2007 Curious George Clifford the Big Red Dog Dragon Tales It's a Big Big World
2007–2008 Curious George Super Why! Dragon Tales
2008–2009 Sid the Science Kid Super Why! Clifford the Big Red Dog
2009–2010 Sid the Science Kid Dinosaur Train
2010–2013 The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Dinosaur Train
2013-2014 Peg + Cat
2014-2017 Peg + Cat

Weekends

PBS Kids 7:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m.
2008–2009 Curious George Sid the Science Kid Super Why! Clifford the Big Red Dog
2009–2010 Sid the Science Kid Dinosaur Train
2010–2013 The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Dinosaur Train
2013-2014 Peg + Cat
2014-2017 Peg + Cat

References

  1. ↑ "PBS KIDS Preschool Programming Block". Out of the Blue Enterprises.
  2. ↑ "PBS KIDS Engages Kids with New Spanish Content and Original Music on the Popular PBS KIDS Preschool Destination Beginning May 19th". PBS.org.
  3. ↑ "MISS LORI SAYS GOODBYE TO PBS KIDS, BUT NOT TO YOU!".
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