Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 18 July 2002 — Page 3

The Muncie Times, July 18, 2002, page 3

‘Mr. Rogers” school prep show to air Aug. 12 on PBS

A week of “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” programs

“Mister Rogers Goes To School,” an Emmy Award-winning week of programs from “Mister Rogers Neighborhood,” will air Aug. 12-16 on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

devoted to preparing young children for their first day of school will air the week of Aug. 12 to 16 on PBS. The five “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” episodes are designed to help children with their first day of school - an anxious, sometimes frightening experience for many children. During the week, Mister Rogers explores the concerns children have about school, what their teacher and new classmates will be like, how much they will have to know before they get to school and who will take care of them there. Mister Rogers visits a real school. With the help of a kindergarten teacher and a firstgrade teacher, he acquaints preschoolers with a typical day and shows them that some things about school are similar to home. “Children need to see that many things in school are a lot like home,” Rogers said. He and the teachers will tour classrooms, kitchen and bathrooms and will discuss some of what the children do in school. Rogers reassures young audiences that school is “an exciting new adventure and something to look forward to - a milestone in growing up.” He shows how school is a continuation of learning and playing at home. “Learning is not just for the children who are going to school,” he said. “People learn all through their lives.” The broadcasts emphasize that you don’t have to know your

numbers and letters when you first go to school, but playing well is great preparation for school. Rogers even sings his song “Did You Know” which says how good it is to wonder and marvel and that there are marvelous things in school. As an extension of the

week’s programming theme, Family Communications is offering a free booklet, “When Your Child Goes To School.” To receive a copy of the booklet, send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to: SCHOOL C/O MISTER ROGERS

NEIGHBORHOOD 4803 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” is closed-captioned for children and families who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Captioning is done by the National Captioning Institute with funds from the U.S. Department of Education.

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