Turning your TV Time into Quality Time
December 16, 2008 Issue #12b
Christine L. Pollock, Editor Ranny Levy, Publisher
By subscription only!
Christine L. Pollock, Editor |
Ranny Levy, Publisher Granny Ranny's Addenda |
Plugged In Parents/Educators
Get KIDS FIRST! Juror Training for Free!
Back in December of 1999, I had a strong urge to volunteer for something. Since I had just had my third son a month prior, getting out of the house to help others was a bit difficult. At that same time I was reading an article in “Good Housekeeping” magazine about volunteering, and they highlighted KIDS FIRST! I got on the phone, asking how to become a KIDS FIRST! juror, and my life was forever changed--as were the lives of my close family members.
As times change, we are embracing new technologies. Here at KIDS FIRST!, we are putting technology to good use by initiating group juror trainings online. While we get used to this process, we are offering free training sessions for the first 50 people who sign up. That’s right. The $40 training fee will be waived. The training is open to everyone, but you will need access to a group of at least five children in a particular age group to become an active KIDS FIRST! Juror. Please contact Lauren, our Jury Manager, or visit our website for more specific information about becoming a juror.
Sign up by Thursday, January 1, to ensure a space in our next classes. You will be signing up for two classes: part one the first week and part two the second. You need to be able to attend both phone sessions, or contact Lauren for special arrangements. Please be aware that dates and times are subject to change depending upon enrollment.
Space is limited; so don’t delay! Contact Lauren today.
Entertainment Insider News
Mallory Lewis Joins KIDS FIRST! as Spokesperson
"It's like everybody on (my mom’s) side of my family has an extra happy gene," laughs Mallory Lewis, the new spokesperson for KIDS FIRST, who has also joined our National Board of Directors. Joy radiates over the telephone lines during the interview, and I realize that Lewis had this gene, also. She is a third generation entertainer trained by her mother, Shari Lewis, who grabbed the world's heart with her beloved puppet, Lamb Chop. Shari was trained by her father, the original Peter Pan the Magic Man in New York City. Now Mallory brings her knowledge of children’s entertainment to her own son, Jaime, who sets up her sound and lighting, and to other children through her role as spokesperson for KIDS FIRST!.
Lewis was originally attracted to KIDS FIRST! because she cares about quality in children's programming and appreciated the fact that KIDS FIRST! is “a watchdog for the industry.” According to Lewis, “quality” was the watchword that she was looking for. She asserts, "Kids are not stupid. They just don't know stuff yet. Our job is to good information into their heads – and not just didactic information. Interesting information." Lewis loves bringing fun visual media to children through her own puppet, Giggles, who performs with her on the DVD, “Phonics 4 Babies.” She also brought back Lamb Chop to audiences around the world. She appeared to audiences at the KIDS FIRST! festival in Texas in mid-January, delighting audiences with Lamb Chop’s antics.
A strong supporter non-violent visual media, Lewis holds to the belief that kids need media filled with laughter, happiness and song. She remembers her mother commenting that kids around the world are looking for the same thing. They are looking for stories about family, surviving the odds and taking care of each other. Lewis strongly feels that kids deserve our full effort and a pure agenda. They don't need corporate entertainment.
You can see her philosophy played out in her own DVD series, “Phonics 4 Babies." It’s a unique interactive program designed to introduce children to their first 300 key words and phrases, which are a springboard for speech. Lewis, Giggles and other playful puppets invite your toddler to sing-along to original songs as he or she learns new words such as "Hello," "Goodbye," "Please" and "Thank You." Throughout the DVD, Lewis smiles and talks to her “child,” Giggles in a fun, but developmentally helpful way. For example, Giggles gets upset over her own rude behavior at one point and calls herself “rude.” Lewis replies, “You are not rude, but your behavior is. You are sweet and kind."
Lewis states, “One of the things I really love about KIDS FIRST! is their agenda. It’s a very pure agenda. Let’s make sure kids get recognized. We need to show kids what the world should be like. We can't expect them to manifest what the world should have to manifest good if we don't show them good.”
Blogs: Up-to-Date News from our President and VP and Jury Manager
Granny Ranny's Addenda
Unstable Fables: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks and the Three Bears takes a classic fairy tale and delivers it with the modern obsession of reality television consciousness. The result is an outrageously funny CGI animated film and third addition in the irreverent and delightful "Unstable Fables" collection ... - Read More
Great Films for Kids Coming This Month
Check out these new titles for your kids and family collection: Horton Hears a Who - Dec 9 This 2008, full-length animated... - Read More
Ann's Marketing Memes
Santa Claus Comes to Town and KIDS FIRST! attends the 5th International Film Festival Summit
Santa Claus made an appearance at the screening of Finn on the Fly and gave away Eloise: Little Miss Christmas, Thomas and Friends: Ult...-Read More
KIDS FIRST! Jury Blog
You are invited to participate in KIDS FIRST! new juror training program... and it's free!
KIDS FIRST! needs your help to roll out it's new juror training program. Part web-based, part interactive seminar, it can all be done... - Read More!
ABOUT CQCM AND KIDS FIRST!
The Coalition for Quality Children's Media is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1991 whose mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children's media. ... More.
