With the back-to-school routine looking rather different because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, parents, students, and educators know first-hand how important it is to be prepared. Being ready at a moment’s notice means having resources available for changes that happen overnight, and WPBS is here to help!
WPBS supports schools and families by providing thousands of curriculum-aligned resources for free on PBS Learning Media. These materials are accessible to students of all ages and interests, providing lessons and activities that keep the brain sharp and strengthen essential skills, including CampTV and the WPS-curated collection New York Boost that helped with learning recovery over the summer!
Education resources are also available for both parents and teachers in the North Country to ensure that learning can continue at home or in school, without disruption. Recorded instructional videos and read-alongs are offered on the WPBS website, helping to foster a love of learning outside of the classroom.
For younger students, PBS Kids provides interactive tools that teach valuable lessons, such as learning to share and creating new routines. Additionally, PBS KIDS 24/7 live-streams programming online, so students can interact with their favorite characters! Not only are these resources fun, but they are the building blocks for higher learning!
What is really exciting is that families can tune in to new back-to-school content from favorite series, including episodes from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, in which kids can join Daniel for a week of first-time adventures (August 16-20). There’s also a new one-hour movie from ARTHUR, marking its 25th anniversary, called Arthur’s First Day, in which Arthur starts 4th grade (September 6). And don’t forget about the new series, ALMA’S WAY, from Fred Rogers Production, that follows a young girl growing up in the Bronx with her Puerto Rican family (October 4).
For older students who are focusing on life after graduation, GPS for Success provides an engaging, interactive platform to explore the many professions within 16 career clusters. Students can research fields they are interested in and start to plan what courses they want to take to help them secure a job. And it doesn’t stop there: in partnership with Jefferson-Lewis BOCES, there are Connected Learning materials that help educators and guidance counselors support their students in the classroom and beyond!
Getting ready to go back to school can be stressful enough, but there is no need to go at it alone. WPBS strives to support families and schools in the community by providing the tools to help with this transition. Even though we can’t predict the future, we can work together to do our best to tackle whatever comes our way!
