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PBS KIDS for Parents in English & Spanish! / ¡PBS KIDS para padres en inglés y español!

PBS KIDS for Parents is a website that provides valuable information and resources to help raise happy, healthy, smart and kind kids. In an effort to provide inclusive, relatable, and valuable content to families of all backgrounds, PBS KIDS for Parents launched a Spanish version of the site. Click on the Button on the Right (Español)

Check it out in English at PBS.org/parents and in Spanish at PBS.org/es/parents.

PBS KIDS para padres es un sitio web que proporciona información y recursos valiosos para ayudar a criar niños felices, saludables, inteligentes y amables. En un esfuerzo por ofrecer un contenido inclusivo, relevante y valioso para las familias de todos los orígenes, PBS KIDS ha lanzado una versión en español del sitio web. Haga clic en el botón de la derecha. (Español)

Compruébelo en PBS.org/es/parents.

Free PBS KIDS Apps

Whether at home or on the go, families can access the same trusted, educational content from PBS KIDS in video or game form – anytime, anywhere. Families are in the driver seat when using the free apps below. Parents and caregivers can trust that when kids watch or play PBS KIDS they are using safe, non-violent, non-commercial, educational technology to learn.

PBS KIDS Video App

Logo image of the PBS KIDS Video app; yellow background with blue and green PBS KIDS logo.

The FREE PBS KIDS Video app let’s kids watch their favorite PBS KIDS shows anytime, anywhere! Stream the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel on the app or tap the “LIVE TV” button to watch what’s airing on WXXI live! The app provides a safe, child-friendly viewing experience. Most recently, the app also provides access to the newest PBS KIDS content: PODCASTS! PBS KIDS podcasts bring your favorite shows and characters to life in audio form.

PBS KIDS Games App

Light blue background with dark blue and green PBS KIDS logo.

The PBS KIDS Games app makes learning fun and safe with amazing mini-games featuring your favorite PBS KIDS friends like Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, Donkey Hodie, Alma’s Way, and more! Hundreds of free educational games designed for kids 2-8 – built to engage, educate, and have fun without taking kids away from real-life experiences. These educational games give kids a space to play and learn using skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and more!

Trusted Media Helpers

We know the technology world can be a little (or a lot!) overwhelming. Here are a few trusted tools to help can help parents and caregivers make the most informed media and technology decisions for young kids:

Common Sense Media is a hub that can be used to check if media (movies, apps, games, TV/YouTube shows) is appropriate. Common Sense Media “offers families well-researched guidance, age-based ratings, and expert reviews”. Click the link and then type in the media you’re looking to check (i.e. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood”) and read the results – age appropriateness, evaluations and reviews from experts and parents, descriptions, checks for language/violence/inappropriate topics, and more. They also have a helpful Family Tech Planner to guide families in creating healthy media habits.

5 C’s of Media are a set of media questions and suggestions for families with young children, created* by the American Academy of Pediatrics (and adopted by many other trusted organizations, such as Zero to Three). Not only does it matter what a child is watching or consuming, but each of the 5 C’s reference different pieces of the media puzzle that help parents and caregivers decide what’s appropriate for each child. The 5 C’s are: child, content, calm, crowding out, and communication. The 5 C’s provide parents and caregivers with a way to reflect on media habits and come up with a Family Media Plan that works for their own family.
*The 5 C’s expand upon the 3 C’s developed by Lisa Guernsey in her book, The Three Cs: Content, Context, and Your Child in 2016.

WXXI Community Observation Challenge

Join WXXI as we continue to be community scientists and observe our community through a special ongoing WXXI Community Observation Challenge!

Let’s explore the biodiversity our region has to offer by sharing photos of wildlife observations in backyards, local parks, nature trails, sidewalks…Participation is easy, free, and open to anyone in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region. Help us see all the different living things in our community and get excited about being citizen scientists. 

What to do:

  1. Download the free iNaturalist app onto your device. 
  2. Find wildlife – any plant, animal, tracks, bug, etc. 
  3. Take a photo of whatever you find (and remember where you found it!).
  4. Upload your picture to the iNaturalist app and choose the project: WXXI Community Observation Challenge

(Not into using an app? Snap photos of your observations and remember the important details [date, time, location] and then upload on the iNaturalist website later!)

This project is ongoing! So get outside (yes, even in the winter!), explore, observe and participate as many times as you’d like!

To participate in the Backyard Observation Challenge, download the FREE iNaturalist app, which works on all devices – Android version and Apple version. Need help learning how to use iNaturalist? Check out some of the video tutorials. Teachers: there’s even an iNaturalist educator guide to help with use in your classroom instruction!

Take your nature knowledge up a notch with Seek! Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. No registration is involved, and no user data is collected. This is a great app for families who want to spend more time exploring nature together. Learn more and download the Seek by iNaturalist app!

Wild Kratts: Videos, Games & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of The Wild Kratts: https://pbskids.org/wildkratts

Join Chris and Martin Kratt in “Wild Kratts,” a series for children ages 4 to 8! In each episode, the Kratt Brothers travel to a different corner of the world to meet amazing new animals and learn about them and their habitats. It’s all wrapped up in engaging stories of laugh-out-loud adventure and mystery as the Kratt Brothers activate their creature power suits to rescue their animal friends!

Mask Maker Activity Challenge

Where to Watch:

Watch Full Episodes Below on this Wild Kratts Playlist

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Wild Kratts Activities & Articles: 

Wild Kratts Collection from PBS LearningMedia
In this collection:

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Wild Kratts Show Page

Read

Dinosaur Train: Videos, Games & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Dinosaur Train: https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/

“Dinosaur Train” embraces and celebrates the fascination that preschoolers have with both dinosaurs and trains! Kids can join Buddy and his adoptive Pteranodon family on a whimsical voyage through prehistoric jungles, swamps, volcanoes and oceans, as they unearth basic concepts in life science, natural history and paleontology.

Where to Watch:

Watch Full Episodes Below on this Dinosaur Train Playlist

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Dinosaur Train Activities & Articles: 

Dinosaur Train Collection from PBS LearningMedia
In this collection:

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Dinosaur Train Show Page

Alma’s Way: Videos, Games & Activities

Play games and watch full episodes of Alma’s Way: https://pbskids.org/almasway in English and play games in Spanish/en Español:

NEW!: Watch the Full Movie: Alma’s Summertime Musical

“Alma’s Way” is an engaging, animated series for children ages 4 to 6 created by Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on “Sesame Street.” The series stars 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a proud and confident Bronx-born, Puerto Rican girl, who lives in the Bronx with her family and a diverse group of friends and neighbors. In each story, Alma speaks directly to the audience in her “Think Through” moments, where she learns to think for herself, make decisions, and understand other people’s points of view — while making lots of messy and hilarious mistakes all along the way.

Where to Watch:

Watch Full Episodes & Clips Below on this Alma’s Way Playlist / Alma’s way Episodio Completo

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Alma’s Way Activities & Articles: 

Alma’s Collection from PBS LearningMedia includes Video Activity Bundles & Games

Learn more at the PBS KIDS for Parents Alma’s Way Show Page

Learn the Alma’s Way theme song: 

Molly of Denali Podcast:

Do you love Molly of Denali? Now you can LISTEN to Molly and her adventures in the Molly of Denali Podcast!

Meet Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl growing up with her parents, family and friends. Join Molly and the gang and discover what life is like for a typical kid on big adventures in Alaska! The Molly of Denali podcast is made by the folks behind some of your all-time favorite PBS television shows: Arthur, Curious George, Pinkalicious and Peterrific and more!

There are a few seasons of the Molly of Denali Podcast (see below). Each season is 8 episodes long and episodes range from 8-15 minutes. 

  • Season 1: Molly Mabray’s 10th birthday is approaching, and she can’t wait to celebrate and eat her favorite strawberry cake. Except someone, or something, stole Molly’s birthday cake outside the Denali Trading Post. With the help of a mysterious raven, Molly sets out to solve the case of the missing cake.
  • Season 2: All aboard! Join Molly on a brand-new adventure as she and Trini take a train from Denali to Anchorage, Alaska. But this is no ordinary train – it’s the MYSTERY TRAIN! When a jewel necklace goes missing, it’s up to Detective Mabray and her assistant Dr. Mumford to solve the case! Follow along as Molly and Trini search for clues with some unexpected guests, decipher some strange bird calls, and even get stuck in a spooky town, all while riding the mystery train!
  • Season 3: The Arctic Wolf Junior Relay has come to Qyah and junior mushers from all over Alaska, including Molly’s best friend, Tooey, will be participating in the epic dog sled race! But when Tooey catches a cold, Molly steps in to take over the sled. If she hopes to finish her first relay she’ll need to get advice from world-famous musher Eugene Pike, brave the elements and a herd of caribou, and help out her fellow racers. Good thing Suki’s come along for the ride!

Listening Guides: There are also some super helpful Listening Guides for the Molly Podcast – After listening to each season’s podcast, read through these questions with your child to review together the events of the story.

How to Listen: There are a few ways to listen to the Molly of Denali Podcast:

  1. Head over to https://pbskids.org/molly/podcast and listen on the PBS KIDS website.
  2. Listen on your favorite podcast platform – Apple Podcast, Amazon, Spotify
  3. Via YouTube! Listen using the Molly of Denali Podcast playlist below: 

Listen to the Molly of Denali Podcast on YouTube:

American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories Podcast Series

American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories is a ten-part podcast series tracing the veteran experience through individual stories. 

Each episode of the podcast revolves around the direct testimony of a single veteran – from a Coast Guard gunner’s mate who manned a landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day, to an Army cook in Iraq who became the first Black American woman held as a POW; from an Army nurse in Vietnam who struggled to do her part, to a satellite technician who served as a gay man during the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era.  This collection of riveting first person stories provides a compelling portrait of the veteran experience over multiple generations.  

The series is hosted by Phil Klay, a Marine Corps veteran featured in the “American Veteran” television series and author of the National Book Award-winning collection of short stories, “Redeployment.” It was produced and released October-December 2021

LISTEN HERE: “American Veteran: Unforgettable Stories” drops on Tuesdays, October 19 – December 14. Published by PRX, the series is available free to listeners across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Music, and on the American Veteran podcast site. 

Scheduled Podcasts: 

  • Episode 1 : “That Day” featuring Shoshana Johnson
  • Episode 2: “She Never Knew” featuring Frank DeVita
  • Episode 3: “My Boys” featuring Edie Meeks
  • Episode 4: “My Double Life” featuring Brandon Anderson
  • Episode 5: “It Was Just Too Exciting” featuring Edward Field
  • Episode 6: “The Reaper” featuring Nick Irving
  • Episode 7: “No, I’m Not Good” featuring Clifton Hicks
  • Episode 8: “The Shadow Side” featuring CJ Scarlet
  • Episode 9: “Get Me Airborne” featuring Harold Brown

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