I was driving on the Westside Highway this morning, leaving New York City around 10am. I had the latest npr chatter on the radio, while my mind was sifting through it’s to-do lists and trying to trouble shoot a few projects that I’m presently in the midst of.

Cell phone rings. Looked at the #..not ready to take that one. I’ll return it later.

My head was not made to multi-task..wish it were. Once I go past four or five items, my head starts to automatically purge little pieces of data. Angela can force feed me more Omega than exists in a stream of spawning, freshwater salmon, but it just seems that the older I get, the fuller my cerebral in-box gets. And the fewer the hours on the clock to tend to it all.

But then on the horizon..Wham-O! I saw it! Not gonna go as far as to say enlightenment, but perhaps a smidgen of it, with a dash of interconnectedness. There on a little grassy patch, on the (east) side of the Westside Highway..with cars whizzing by at 60+mph..was a woman hula-hooping. I kid you not.

Don’t know Who.

Don’t know Why.

But “How Great is that?!”

I’m sure she has her lists and concerns, which are just as important to her as mine are to me. But you know what? When she woke up this morning she wanted to hula hoop.  So, you know what she did?  [brief pause]  She hula hooped! Didn’t bother a soul in the process.

Mind you, I’m no fan of hula hooping per se..not against it, but no fan. My point is, we need to learn from hula hoop lady.

Work hard, but take the time to enjoy life so that you respect it.

I just want you to imagine a four year old little girl who would sit in front of the television and talk to Mister Rogers most every day.  She learned how crayons were made, what to do with the “mad that she feels”, that there are “many ways to say I love you” and most importantly, she learned that Mister Rogers liked her just the way she was.

That little girl was ME.

Because of Mister Rogers, I grew up believing how powerful television can be for preschool children. I studied child developmental psychology, like Fred did, and I wanted to create interactive, educational shows that would help kids learn, just as Mister Roger’s Neighborhood did for me.  As a result of being so influenced by him, I grew up to create Blue’s Clues for Nick Jr and Super Why for PBS Kids.

And now, my life has come full circle as I get to create Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.  The four year old little girl in me gets to actually play in the Neighborhood of Make Believe!  Like all the preschool fans of Mister Rogers out there (Hello!  Let’s keep talking!), I had a story for all of the characters from the Neighborhood of Make Believe.  I just knew that Daniel Tiger grew up, got married and had a son named Daniel.  And Daniel wears a little red sweater and sneakers,  just like Mister Rogers did!  Daniel talks to kids at home and as a shy, sweet, four year old tiger, he is curious about the world.  He is also most caring, and is learning and sharing with the children at home.

Joanne Rogers, the widow of Mister Rogers, has been the one that’s caused me to hold my breath, waiting to see what she thinks of all of the work we’ve put into this passionate endeavor.  Waking up this morning, in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, I read Joanne say, “I was so excited because the old feeling is there. I think  Angela Santomero really captured it and I almost cried because I felt such relief.  I’d been anxious not knowing what to expect, but, oh, Daniel is just so cute. I can’t imagine everybody won’t love him, and I’m delighted…”

Too many “educational” math apps seem to be no more than the simple drill n’ skill tear sheets converted over to the mobile screen.  At last, someone has taken the technology & interwoven math theory properly within it.   The Motion Math founders’ (Gabriel Adauto & Jacob Klein) tech/education app is not just another movement-based learning application.  It naturally allows children (& adults) to address many difficulties through an intuitive approach.

Motion Math HD is supported by Joan Ganz Cooney Center and other prominent organizations.  And it’s now available for iPad!  Click here to learn more about this product.

Hey, we’ve all been there.  Moms & Dads, when nature calls, it calls.  But why is it typically just after we’ve taken our kids to the restroom AND in some remote location?  We need to thank the folks at www.ohdeedoh.com for pointing us to this latest gem.

Danika Landers & Jonathan Glanz came up with the idea behind Sit or Squat in Oct 2007 and it’s evolved from there. One can search for their nearest restroom or simply add to the database that spans the globe.

Is time of the essence?   There’s no need to open the app on your phone then. Simply text the word “sitorsquat” to DOTCOM (368266) & it’ll show you your nearest bathroom.

Pushing the limits of technology!

(side note: sponsor is none other than Charmin…we don’t make this stuff up)

iTunes/PBSKids release:

“PBS Kids Raising Readers program helps build reading skills all year long.  This summer they’re presenting 10 weeks of special programming with offline activities from your favorite PBS KIDS programs.  Download free PBS Kids TV episodes every week through August 15″

Via iTunes, simply go to:   iTunes Store > TV Shows > PBS KIDS Raising Readers

OR click on the PBS KIDS Raising Readers ad here

Our friend, Laura, shares a personal story that we can learn a thing or two from…

We are city folks, for better or worse.  Our entire family travels to school and work every day by subway.  As a mom of 2, I have been carting my kids to and fro via mass transit for 10+ years, always without incident save the random subway delay.

The “without incident” part all changed one day when we were making our usual morning rush hour commute.  The subway stop nearest school is a bustling City Hall station and the car is always crowded.  My 7-year old was sitting on the end of the row reading while my 10-year old was across the aisle, closest to the door that opens.  I was standing between them and everything, at that moment, was completely normal.

When the door opened at our stop, a crowd had gathered near the opening door and as she stood, my daughter got shuffled out in the crowd.  My son stood up to follow, but as he stepped forward he suddenly jerked back… the strap of his backpack had gotten wedged in-between the bars of the seats.  He was completely stuck and unable to get out of his seat.

…And then it happened.   “I’m stuck!” my son yelled.  The doors of the subway car shut with me and my son inside and my daughter outside.  She turned to see us through the closed doors with a look that I will NEVER forget.  Mouthing “MOM??!!!” through the glass, with her hands on the window.  I was frantic, attempting to give her instructions before the subway took us away from her.  What should she do?  Where should she go?  Thanking all that is holy, the subway conductor must have seen her, because just then the door opened.  I was able to quickly grab her to bring her back inside with us while a kind stranger was trying to untangle my son.

Thankfully, our massive scare worked out for the best.  But it definitely made me think long and hard about these worst-case-scenarios.  Events that we, as parents, don’t really want to think about or scare our children with, but really should be prepared for.

Ironically, I have talked to my kids for years about what they should do if we ever were to get separated on the subway, BUT when it actually happens there are so many variables and such paralyzing fear involved that nobody is thinking clearly.  I think the most eye-opening part of this story is that, having gone over and over it, none of us really did anything wrong.  We are always very careful on the subway and it was a freak accident that really could happen to anyone.  Though I assure you we have all become 1000x  more careful since that day!

I think my point is that regardless of whether you live in the city or the suburbs, you should always be prepared for the what-ifs.  Since our incident, I have told all of our friends who take the subway (much to my daughter’s horror, I’m afraid) and what is strange is that we have all told our children what to do if they got lost at a place like Disney World, where they might go once a year.  But we often don’t talk about what to do if something goes wrong on a regular day.  What if you are late to pick your child up at the bus stop?  What if you get separated at the supermarket?  It is always better to have some plan than none.  And at the very least- make sure the kids know your cell number and have a general idea of who you would want them to ask for help, in an emergency.

Have you had such a frightening moment?  How did you handle it and what, if anything, have you changed because of it?  We all make mistakes, but we can learn a lot from each other.

The television producer, Sherwood Schwartz passed away yesterday.  I never met him but growing up in suburban New Jersey, as he did, I leant on his Bradys for solace more often than just time to time.

Yes, The Brady Bunch was about as campy as any John Waters film and the roles were a tad stereotypical.  But for me, when the pre-adolescent pressures of life felt quite heavy, it was nice to see an environment where everyone got along…at least before closing credits rolled.  It was also helpful to see that problems, which were often similar to my own, were being struggled with and that they did have solutions.  As mine would as well.

I understand the issues that critics have with Schwartz’s work but I owe him my most sincere gratitude for showing me and the rest of the world that positivity trumps negativity any day.

RIP Mr. Schwartz

Emme and I sat down last week after her performance in Nora Ephron’s off Broadway show Love, Loss and What I Wore.  I enjoyed our conversation on the sheer importance of getting together with friends, taking pride in who you are, hugging it out and essentially giving our children what is truly important.

Emme is such a strong advocate for women and girls and we both whole-heartedly share the belief that self esteem must serve as the foundation for all of us.  Pass it on…

[Check out this PBSparents episode]

Taking place for the third consecutive summer, Super Why Reading Camps are interactive learning adventures that show children the power of reading and guide them as they play with letters, sounds, and words. Featuring a comprehensive curriculum developed by noted literacy experts, this year the program has been expanded from one to three weeks.  Each day the 4 to 5 year-old campers participate in a range of fun literacy lessons, games, crafts, exercise and music that will help them practice key strategies for reading success.

The first week is all about “ Super Why and The Three Little Pigs” and some of the reading-powered activities include a “Lickety Letters Craft Activity,” where participants find the letters of their name and make a colorful sign; “Letter ID Bingo;” and the entertaining and educational “Freeze Dance Rhyming Game.”  On the last day of the week, campers invite their caregivers to come join in the literacy fun! Watch the short video above, which illustrates the power and appeal of the Super Why Reading Camps in action.

We created the Super Why Reading Camps to bring the mission of the show one step further by working directly with preschoolers at a grassroots level to help them learn to read—and develop a lifelong love of books. As educators at heart, we were excited to find a way to bring our proven Super Why curriculum from the show and into classrooms. The amazing improvement in literacy skills we see from kids starting the program to when they leave is inspiring and uplifting for us. Kids get motivated, want to read, and truly learn!

Read the entire WGBH post

Only 1 1/2 weeks remaining!  Tapping into the 30 million monthly unique visitors on iVillage, the iVillage PBS Kids Summer Reading Community Challenge will run from June 6 to July 15 and will features free literacy-building resources for parents and children designed by experts at PBS Parents and PBS Kids. Angela Santomero, creator and executive producer and head writer of PBS series Super Why!, will provide daily reading activity assignments, answer parent questions and offer advice throughout the online event. Guest coaches such as cast members, characters, authors and series creators from PBS Kids will also provide activities and ideas each week.

[Jump into the Challenge!]