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What To Do When Your Child's Favorite Show Goes Away
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County School Boards Push Back As State Plans
In-Person Classes, Limits Remote Learning
Many brick-and-mortar schools in West Virginia are reopening next week after an executive order from the governor and approval of the plan Wednesday by the state school board. The plan was met with push back, however, from some teachers and county school districts. Education Reporter Liz McCormick has the story.
What Do Our Young Citizens Expect From Biden Administration?
More young adults voted in the 2020 election than in any other election, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. In the aftermath of a divisive American election, PBS NewsHour and Student Reporting Labs will present a half-hour special called We The Young People for digital and broadcast distribution highlighting the impact of young voters and exploring the change they want to see from the new White House administration. Premiering after of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the show will be hosted by Amna Nawaz and feature teen voices and youth-selected topics designed to connect with new audiences and deepen conversations about the most pressing issues of 2020 and 2021.

Watch on Inauguration Day, Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 9 p.m., on WVPB-TV.

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs is building the next generation of informed media creators and consumers. HERE'S WHY.
Josh Grant, coordinator of Wellness Education for the West Virginia Department of Education, teaches kids how to stay healthy. In each half hour, Mr. Josh gets kids moving around and exercising at home. He kicks off 2021 with a mix of active stretching and high intensity workouts for our West Virginia students.

Do you have a workout you'd like to see? Contact Mr. Josh at wellness@k12.wv.us today!

Wellness Wednesdays airs on WVPB-TV Wednesday mornings at 9:30 a.m. right after WVDE's Education Station!

CHECK IT OUT!
What To Do When Your Child's Favorite Show Goes Away
If we, as adults, can have trouble dealing with the disappointment of media friends leaving us (think the last season of "Friends,” “Seinfeld,” or even the season finale of your favorite current show), imagine how our kids feel when one of their media companions goes away. For example, the pbskids.org game, Kart Kingdom, and the PBS KIDS series, Caillou, were both recently retired.

“Now, before we go thinking that it’s silly to cry over the loss of a TV series, there’s actually scientific research about the attachment that people develop with media characters. The relationships we form with these media friends are called “parasocial relationships,” and we experience many of the same emotions with them as we do with our friends in real life. So, the more time we spend with our media friends, the greater the feelings of disappointment we’ll feel when they inevitably go away. It’s a real thing for adults and for children.”

When media like this go away, it’s easy to simply expect our little ones to “get over it” and move on to something else, but sometimes, kids need our help doing that. Here are a few ideas to help our kids deal with the disappointment of their favorite media going away.
West Virginia History: Explore The Impact These Leaders Had On Education
Examine the storied career of Reverend Leon Sullivan (shown above left) and learn why he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Then explore the background of Carter G. Woodson (shown above right) to discover the powerful impact he had on education. These audio programs are part of the This Week in West Virginia History series.
Invite These Young Heroes To Your Family Nights This Weekend!
Gather the gang for Family Night, weekly family viewing events featuring movie specials or themed programming.  Watch, play and learn with your favorite PBS KIDS characters every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. and repeating on Saturday and Sunday evenings; Hero Elementary Mini-marathon: Jan. 15-17.
Fairy Tales Old and New
Grades 3-5 • Collection/Video/Documents • English/Language Arts
Understanding Fairy Tales Old and New is a collection of digital resources that zero in on three different English Language Arts curriculum standards for grades 3, 4, and 5 that address characters’ traits and motivations in works of literature. These resources focus around modern versions of old stories and fairy tales that may be familiar to learners. Included in this collection are videos for students, printouts of the original tales, as well as guided viewing videos designed to help parents talk about these English Language Arts concepts with their children. Check out the support materials for more ideas and activities to strengthen learning. LEARN MORE.
Blood Sugar Rising
Grades 6-12, 13+ • Media Collection • Health • Science Counseling • Careers CTE
Explore diabetes and the devastating health crisis that has been hiding in plain sight using this collection of contextualized educational media resources produced by WGBH. Developed for health educators and middle school learners, the collection is inspired by the two-hour documentary Blood Sugar Rising. The film examines the history and science of diabetes, and its devastating human toll, through portraits of patients, health workers, activists, and others on the front lines of this disease. It also reveals new hopes, from the rise of safer and easier medical treatments to discoveries about lifestyle and environmental factors. LEARN MORE.
Do you have ideas for what you’d like to see in our newsletter? Maybe you just want to give us feedback on the WVPB, PBS and NPR classroom resources you like best. Email us at education@wvpublic.org.