With the start of the new year, educators like you deserve great support, fresh ideas, and new resources. PBS LearningMedia shares new selections to help inspire and motivate your early learners. All available in the one easy-to-navigate PBS LearningMedia platform, you can find an array of exciting resources to teach STEAM, integrate digital tools, incorporate music and dance into the classroom, and explore professional learning resources. The video-closed captioning options can also help new readers become more confident and build vocabulary skills. Many of the resources draw from beloved PBS KIDS characters that form connections and help inspire students.
PBS KIDS Early Learning Champion Shelly Bautista shares teaching tips and helps us understand how the resources can be used across curriculums and encourage imagination.
So, let’s turn the calendar page and say goodbye to 2024 – welcome to 2025! Let’s unpack the latest, together.
10 Resources for you and your Class
1. Teach Your Way Collection
This collection of flexible resources is aligned to monthly themes and skills for your PreK-2 students. It’s designed to help make teacher planning a little easier: editable for quick changes, helpful calendar features, and it integrates media in creative and developmentally appropriate ways. This is a resource you’ll want to use throughout the school year.
Shelly’s Teaching Tip: The Teach Your Way tools help make the transition between classroom and distance learning more streamlined as that becomes necessary. Also the planner ‘pops up’ and makes it easy to find guiding questions and extend the lesson beyond the computer or video.
2. Storytelling Puppets - Printable Activity Sheets
Using your learner's favorite PBS KIDS characters, encourage them to create and tell their own stories! Use the puppets to retell a story from a PBS KIDS episode or clip you watched as a class, talk about the characters, problems, solutions, and what they learned.
Find more printables within this collection on PBS LearningMedia!
Shelly’s Teaching Tip: Not all students in every community have access to iPads and other technology. It’s helpful to have printed activities available, and for all kids, it’s great to use good old pen and paper to continue exercising small motor skills.
3. Seed Gathering | Winter
How do animals adapt during winter? Which animals hibernate? Check out the "Seed Gathering" lesson to help your students increase their appreciation and understanding of animal behavior. This resource is available in English and Spanish. You can also check out more winter-themed resources in the Changing Seasons collection!
4. Ben's Burger Stand | Jelly, Ben & Pogo
Oh no! Jelly and Pogo’s sled accidentally crashes into Ben’s snow burger stand. Jelly, Ben & Pogo give kids the chance to use a blueprint to rebuild the stand before guest Lola arrives. This colorful animated short helps kids learn about blueprints and building — but also about working together and taking responsibility for actions. Available in English and Spanish.
Shelly’s Teaching Tip: PBS LearningMedia provides many cross-curricular activities and options. In content like Jelly, Ben & Pogo, kids can see themselves in the characters and feel proud of their shared heritage.
I like that the STEAM content includes an introduction to engineering. I have shared actual blueprints with my students, whether they be of the City Hall or another structure that may be familiar to your students. I then give the kids their own blue crayons so they can create their blueprint drawings, it’s an opportunity for students to use their imagination!
5. Teaching With Tunes Collection: Catchy Music Catches Students' Interest
Singing a catchy tune and sharing your dance moves not only can bring a smile to students’ faces, but it’s also a great way to engage them. Invite your students to sing, dance, and learn alongside favorite PBS KIDS friends! PBS LearningMedia has so many fun resources to help integrate music into lessons for engineering, science, math, and literacy. Available in English and Spanish.
Shelly’s Teaching Tip: I frequently use music in my classrooms. A song gives kids the words in a more organic way. Not only does music add repetition to make learning memorable, a song creates a mood where kids can express their emotions through the music.
6. PBS KIDS Activity Starters
Arthur, Clifford, Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Molly of Denali, and more —find the all-stars of PBS KIDS in this large collection of conversation cards. Discover conversation cards, flexible learning tools like puppets, and a puppet theater to intentionally incorporate media and discussion in your classroom.
7. Classroom Posters
Colorful posters are great conversation starters with your students. Print and post a set of early childhood posters to support your young learners. From counting 1-10, identifying feelings, naming the days of the week, and familiarizing students with the changing weather, you can use the PBS KIDS posters at Circle Time in Centers and to support a school-to-home connection. Available in English and Spanish.
Teaching Tip: Extend learning by integrating media! Use this video story from the PBS KIDS show Elinor Wonders Why to highlight different weather patterns and investigate their curiosities about the world.
8. PBS KIDS Games App
Play free, educational games with your favorite PBS KIDS characters anytime, anywhere. Find on-the-go top shows including these favorites: Daniel Tiger's Storybooks, Wild Kratts Baby Buddies,SUPER WHY Power to Read, Dinosaur Train A to Z,and more. These games provide a fun way to reinforce new skills related to science, math, and creativity. New games are added to the platform weekly.
Shelly’s Teaching Tip: PBS KIDS games prioritize content first instead of technology first. The characters guide kids through their experiences. I have found that the games are a great bridge between parents/caregivers and students — strong conversation starters at home.
9. Document Learning with Elinor Wonders Why
Discover how the PBS KIDS show Elinor Wonders Why helps students use media to support science with six approaches to spark curiosity and engage young minds. Elinor wonders about science, engineering practices, and other key areas of learning. Elinor can help teachers get ready to plan a media lesson with a clear starting point using a simple "Idea Sketchpad" that can help you map out your activities. By completing the course, you can receive a two-hour certificate of completion.
The keys to successful home-school partnerships start with the magic ingredient of communication. Today’s technology can support this all-important two-way communication and this self-paced learning resource will help. Other courses include effective use of technology and understanding different communication methods. By completing the course, you can receive a two-hour certificate of completion. View the full catalog of courses within the PBS KIDS Self-Paced Learning collection.