For San Diego Moms and Moms-To-Be
Amber and Sara are radio hosts on KSON and Sunny 98.1, Jessica is producer for John & Tammy in the Morning on KSON. They're also San Diego moms!
Each week, they meet to vent about what’s been going on in their lives as moms and invite you to vent along with them!
The Halloween Struggle is Real! We’re talking Halloween, costumes, whether to hand-make them or not and making Halloween memories.
By SALLY HO, Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Sesame Street is taking its beloved, critically acclaimed brand of educational television into the highly profitable world of classroom curriculum — a move that experts say could open the door for other companies to move into the sensitive learning space with possible influence on children.
Sesame Workshop, the company behind Big Bird and Elmo, and McGraw-Hill Education, a billion-dollar for-profit company known for school textbooks, announced their partnership Thursday. Both declined to disclose the financial terms for their new line of classroom instructional materials.
“Sesame Workshop probably can be trusted to do this in an ethical way, but the door opens for other companies to do it in a less ethical way,” said Heather Kirkorian, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies the effects of media in young children.
The TV program and Sesame Workshop’s other educational pursuits have long been lauded for their record of helping kids learn, portraying diverse characters and offering sensitivity in addressing childhood experiences.
The new classroom materials include videos featuring social-emotional and literacy lessons delivered by its famous characters and meant to be used at “circle time,” when young children typically gather to sing songs or hear stories. They also are offering resources for teachers and parents to help reinforce the lessons.
The instructional materials are on the market for children in preschool through fifth grade, and they are expected to be used in classrooms as early as fall 2019. Educators now have access to review the materials, but they haven’t been piloted in a classroom yet. They must be approved by school principals and administrators.
Dr. David Hill of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which urges parents to be cautious and selective about screen time for children, said that by age 3, kids can learn from a limited viewing of high-quality TV programs like Sesame Street but that little research exists on such regular media use in the classroom.
Hill, a pediatrician, said a young child’s brain cannot distinguish between programming and advertising, which could raise questions about the precedent that Sesame Street is setting.
“When you introduce a commercial influence on a nonprofit endeavor, I think everyone naturally has some concerns about the tension that ensues,” Hill said.
Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit and would have to invest its revenue back into its educational mission.
“With a proven whole-child curriculum that serves as a framework for everything we do, Sesame Workshop has put children first for nearly fifty years,” said Akimi Gibson, company vice president.
A much-discussed study in 2015 indicated that preschoolers exposed to the show gained immense benefits, which were compared to that of the Head Start program for low-income children, though the authors of that study later rebuked the idea that the show alone could or should replace any actual school program.
The researchers declined to comment on Sesame Street’s latest classroom endeavor.
Sesame Street has been a household brand since debuting in 1969 on public television. In recent years, it lost federal funding to produce the show and has partnered with HBO.
Its name recognition is so high that it is equally known for its broad array of licensed merchandise, from bibs and backpacks to toys and games. It has also achieved cult status for its celebrity appearances and satirizing humor that serves as a hook for parents.
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Follow AP Education Reporter Sally Ho on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_SallyHo
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Toys R Us is closing its last U.S. stores by Friday, the end of a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores, brightly colored logo and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.
But many of the children who happily sang the “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid” jingle grew into busy parents who found shopping online more convenient. The company, which also owned the Babies R Us chain, was hobbled by $5 billion in debt after a leveraged buyout that left it unable to invest and keep up.
As the last of the U.S. stores close, more than 30,000 workers will be looking for work. Toys R Us’ troubles have also shaken some big toy makers like Mattel and Hasbro.
Customers who were still devoted will be looking elsewhere to shop. Retailers like Walmart and Target are expanding their toy aisles to fill the hole, while Party City is opening 50 pop-up toy shops this fall.
Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last fall and pledged to stay open, but had poor sales during the critical holiday season as customers and vendors shied away. In January, it announced plans to close about 180 stores, but then in March it said it would liquidate the rest of the 700-plus stores.
Will the Toys R Us name and mascot disappear forever? An auction for the company’s name, baby shower registry and various trademarks is set for late July. The 16-foot tall statue of Geoffrey the Giraffe that greeted visitors at Toys R Us headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey will be moved to a children’s hospital in the state.
Many long-time employees were hoping to retire at a place they called home.
“I’m never going to have a job like Toys R Us,” said long-time employee Patty Van Fossan, 54, from Boardroom, Ohio, who was among a group of workers at protests in New York, fighting for severance that they believe they are owed. “It was the best job I had. I was surrounded by children.”
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Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
When Dana isn't holding down mornings on ALT 949 with Jayson, she's helping her husband raise three daughters under the age of 10. Fun, right?
Dana loves her family, and would do anything for them, including keeping her mental sanity any way she can. Every week, we peel back the curtain on her home life and find out the latest reason Why Mommy Drinks!
Dana has plenty of excuses to hit the bottle during the school year, but when her three daughters are out of school for the summer, things kick into a new gear. Now that she’s the family entertainment director for the next three months, things are heating up in more ways than one. Today, we find out the latest reason Dana is reaching for the bottle…
How long does it take for parents to stress out when Summer break arrives?
Not long.
An new study, sponsored in part by Groupon, finds that it takes less than two weeks – about 13 days – for parents to feel stress taking its toll when Summer vacation season starts.
The poll surveyed about 2,000 parents to arrive at its findings, which include the stat that three out of five parents feel their Summer vacation plans won’t fully live up to the expectations of their children.
One of the major sources of Summer stress comes from what’s referred to as Parental Summer Guilt. It’s what parents feel when their kids spend too much time in the house instead of getting out to experience the day.
Another is expenses. While parents usually voice concern over the cost of family vacations, they mostly don’t hold back on making sure their family has an enjoyable time.
So, what’s a parent to do? The recommendation is that you don’t overthink it and if cost is a concern, look for affordable family activities in your local community.
For more about what the study found and other recommendations on how to enjoy Summer with the kids, take a look at the full article here.
