September is Literacy Month

By Patricia Ragin, WNED / WBFO Education & Outreach

Clifford The Big Red Dog, designed for children ages 3-7, is the animated television series based on the books of the same name and uses classic storytelling to present universal social, emotional, and moral messages to young children. These fun-filled episodes follow Clifford and his pals as they play, discover and interact with each other and the inhabitants of Birdwell Island, learning that good friends are what life is all about. The stories are fun, gentle and kid-relatable — they deal with issues that kids are experiencing: whether it's bragging, not wanting to share or learning that telling the truth is the best policy. More importantly, though, they learn that the world is out there to be discovered with gusto.

Thank you, teachers!

By Beth Fronckowiak, WNED/ThinkBright manager of learning/technology

How often do you speak to your child’s teacher? How often do you thank them for their work? Tuesday, May 7 is National Teacher Day. Please take this opportunity to think about everything your children’s teachers do for them every day. Your child spends most of their waking hours in school. It’s really like a second home. A teacher’s job goes beyond academics and test preparation. Your children are also learning social and emotional skills from their teachers. Who should they go to for help when being bullied? Their teacher. Who can show them how they should respond when an administrator says “Good Morning?” Their teacher. Who frequently gives guidance in developing and maintaining friendships? Their teacher. Who disciplines them when they step out of line (maybe literally!)? Their teacher. Of course, much of this is learned from parents, but teachers are really a valuable support that many people don’t think about. Teachers provide much more than test preparation. What can you give your children’s teachers? A simple, heart-felt thank you goes a long way.

Skull in the Rock

By John Craig, WNED vice president of education/outreach

When I was school-aged, we didn’t have “take your child to work day,” as they do now. Many schools carry on this tradition through shadowing days in their parents actual work settings – learning what they do while away from home every day. Imagine if one of your parents was a research scientist or better yet, a paleoanthropologist! “A what?”

Way Back Wednesday: Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

By Annmarie Dean

Sesame Street premiered on WNED-TV in November 1969.  While I am a child of the 90s, there are certain lessons I learned while watching Sesame Street that I carry with myself everyday.  For example, I remember an animated short in which a young boy steps up to the bathroom sink to brush his teeth.  The screen is split between our young boy and a fish in a pond, which is obviously where the water to brush the boy’s teeth with is coming from.  As Carl allows the faucet to just run and run, the water in the pond, where our anthropomorphized fishy friend lives, is depleting and fast! Frank the Fish grabs his phone, calls Carl asking him to please stop wasting water and to turn the faucet off.  To this day, I think back to this short when brushing my teeth and I am cognizant of water conservation. 

Way Back Wednesday: Educating the Masses

By Annmarie Dean

For the past 52 years, WNED has been found in classrooms, summer schools and in your home. We launched our educational initiative pretty quickly; in 1959, in-school programming jumped from 3 ½ hours to 21 hours per week. Only five years later, we were reaching 60,000 Western New York students and those are just a few examples.