PBS has figured out one way to combat their shrinking government funding.
The New York Times reports that PBS is launching a new service called PBS KIDS PLAY! (all in caps, with the exclamation point, as in "What is PBS KIDS PLAY!"), that will offer various learning games, and also video clips of shows such as "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" and "Curious George." The cost will be $10/month or $79/year.
The extremely friendly FAQ page on the site has lots of helpful info, including a list of local member stations that offer discounts on the service to donors (only a few are listed but they suggest checking back later to see if your station gets added). The "elevator pitch" (their words) refers to the enterprise as a "personalized learning service" where "your child will learn a comprehensive preschool and kindergarten curriculum,
based on national educational standards, by playing with PBS KIDS characters." The "personalized" part means that you can track your child's progress; in fact, you can have four separate "learning profiles" per account, meaning siblings can play (or PLAY!) at no extra cost.
This isn't the only "virtual preschool" (my term) on the market: Disney offers Preschool Time Online ($9.95/month or $49.95/year), and Nickelodeon has MyNoggin ($9.95/month, $7.95/month if you commit to 6 months, $5.95/month if you commit to a year). Both require a credit card for the free trial, whereas PBS KIDS PLAY! does not. The sites also look like they were created by a large media company, which of course they were. One synergistic benefit of signing up with the bigger companies is that you get a free subscription to their magazines (My Noggin or Family Fun) included with your fee.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, if anyone is getting money for a service such as this one, I'd prefer it to be PBS. On the other hand, are these services meant to replace preschool? Is this some bizarro method of homeschooling, and/or of giving your kid a leg up once they start kindergarten? And since it costs money, has anyone studied its effectiveness? Should a three year old be spending this much time in front of a computer? What happened to flash cards, or just plain ol' having fun? How many questions can I ask in a single paragraph before my head starts to hurt?
Personally, I'm a fan of preschool. Thing 1 benefited greatly from it, socially and educationally. Thing 2 is there now and we love it. Of course, this is in Manhattan, where preschool is the only daycare option for working parents, so our reasons for sending the kids there were practical as well as educational.
After a quick review of the three sites, it seems that PBS KIDS PLAY! is the least commercial and, at least in their "pitch," the most educationally minded. If any of you use these services or is considering it, let us know in the comments.
