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There's a New Kid on the Block!
Sid the Science Kid is an animated television series and interactive website for children ages 3-6 which are co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and KCET/Los Angeles for PBS KIDS®. The show is based on the guide Preschool Pathways in Science. It debuted on September 1, 2008 and features half-hour episodes which explore specific science concepts.
The main character on the show is Sid, an "energetic and inquisitive" young boy who begins each episode with a new question ("Why are my shoes shrinking?" "Why do bananas get mushy?") Preschoolers follow along as Sid spends his day using scientific methods of discovery to find the answers to his questions...often with the help of family and friends.
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The Curriculum Goals:
Story lines to incorporate science for preschool in the Sid the Science Kid show were also developed using national science learning standards and cognitive learning theory.
According to the PBS website, the main preschool science goals of the program are:
- To encourage children to think, talk and work the way scientists do by building on preschoolers' natural curiosity about the world.
- To show that science is all around us —we all interact with and are capable of learning about scientific concepts.
- To contribute to school readiness by fostering children's intellectual skills, motivation to learn, and confidence in themselves as learners.
- To support children's learning by partnering with parents and teachers to create a "climate of curiosity" for children.
These science for preschool goals are accomplished by practicing what scientists do:
- Observing objects, events, and people
- Asking questions
- Finding words to describe observations and to communicate ideas
- Exploring and investigating to try to answer questions
- Using science tools to observe and measure
- Recording observations using simple drawings and basic charts
- Using what they have observed, measured, and recorded to predict what might happen next and to ask more questions
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Weekly Units of Learning
Using content that is "meaningful and relevant" to preschoolers' everyday lives, the five weekly programs center on a single, scientific topic or concept. Friday's program will serve as a cumulative review of what has been learned during the preschool science activities. This structure provides the viewer with repeated opportunities to make learning connections. To further extend the learning, the PBS website will be updated weekly offering songs, videos and printables related to science for preschool and specifically tied to the show's content that particular week.
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Explore for Yourself!
- To learn more about Sid the Science Kid, visit the show's homepage on PBS
- To locate Sid in your area check your local listings
- For games, songs and printables, visit the Sid the Science Kid website
