Talking to children about current news: http://to.pbs.org/UY5Uj7

Here’s a link to a few pointers from PBS Parents and Mister Rogers on talking to kids about news that may be scary:http://to.pbs.org/12pWyyO

Click the picture below to access Here for Each Other: Helping Families After an Emergency, to support families either directly impacted or others who are struggling to make sense of this tragedy.  As an additional resource, Sesame Workshop has posted Sesame Street Support PSAs. These discuss monitoring television viewing, managing stressful situations and identifying and coping with emotions. Most importantly for adults, though you may wish to remain glued to the television or Internet for breaking news, after a reasonable time you should step away!

Martha learns that Helen’s extended family will be coming for Thanksgiving and decides to search for her own long-lost canine siblings. Tails begin to wag as the family reunites, but where is Martha’s mother? In search for her mom, Martha digs into her past to uncover the reason they were separated. Can Martha and her friends solve the mystery and find her mom in time for the family reunion? Tune-in all Thanksgiving as this special episode will be airing all week long.

Additional Thanksgiving programming:

DANIEL TIGER NEIGHBORHOOD #114
Thank you, Grandpere Tiger!/Neighborhood Thank You
Daniel Tiger takes a day to thank those around him.
Monday, November 2o, 10 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 22, 10 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 24, 5:30 a.m.

WILD KRATTS #205
Happy Turkey Day
Monday, November 19, 4 p.m.
Thursday, November 22, 4 p.m.

SID’S PET PROJECT
Monday & Friday, November 12 & 16, 10:30-11 a.m.
Sid is very excited because he’s going to babysit Grandma’s dog Philbert for the weekend. This is a great way for Sid to show his parents that he’s ready to take care of his own puppy. But there’s only one problem…how exactly do you take care of a pet? Sid heads to school to investigate more, and is delighted to see the special guest. It’s Gabriela’s Mom, Dr. Rosalinda Cordova! She brought the class their very own pet…a praying mantis! And now the kids have to learn how to take care of it. That means investigating what the praying mantis needs to eat, drink, and what kind of home it needs. As Sid quickly discovers, taking care of a pet is a big responsibility!

SLEEP? WHO NEEDS IT?!
Tuesday, November 13, 10:30-11 a.m.
Sid is ready to stay up all night so he and his stuffed animals can pretend to fly into space on a rocket ship! When his Mom insists that he can’t stay up, Sid ventures to school to investigate more. He and friends explore how the body needs sleep to properly function, and most important, we need sleep to grow and stay healthy! Understanding that sometimes we feel too excited to sleep (like before an adventure into space), Susie presents a special Super Fab Lab where the kids practice calming down, and preparing their bodies for sleep. Susie lowers the lights, turns off all the sounds in the room, and teaches the kids how to breathe slowly to relax…and sleep!

SEED, THE SCIENCE KID
Wednesday, November 14, 10:30-11 a.m.
At breakfast, Sid discovers seeds in his apple, and decides that seeds really get in the way when you’re trying to eat the apple! This leads Sid to investigate seeds with his friends at the Science Center, where they learn that many living things grow in life cycles. And while many fruits start out as seeds, many animals start out as eggs. The kids investigate frog eggs, butterfly eggs, and chicken eggs, and then see the fully-grown animals they grow into. The kids are elated and empowered with their newfound knowledge about life cycles, and can’t wait to get back to school so they can plant Sid’s apple seed and watch it slowly grow into an apple tree.

THE REASON SID’S SNEEZIN’
Thursday, November 15, 10:30-11 a.m.
Sid wakes up and can’t stop sneezing. He makes his way into the kitchen where he finds his Dad in the middle of a similar sneeze attack. Sid soon discovers that just like his Dad, he might be allergic to pollen! This leads Sid on a mission to learn more about allergies. Mom can think of someone who knows a lot about allergies… Grandma-she’s a nurse! At school, Grandma helps the kids discover that sometimes our bodies can react strongly to something we touch, smell, or eat, so our bodies try to fight it off-and that’s an allergy. Gerald tells everyone that he has a food allergy–he can’t eat strawberries. Wanting to help their friend, Sid, May, and Gabriela decide to make their class a Strawberry-Free-Zone! Gerald is touched, and Susie suggests a special Super Fab Lab survey to discover if other people they know also have allergies.

A Hurricane has swept through Sesame Street and everyone is working together to clean up the neighborhood. When Big Bird checks on his home, he is heartbroken to find that the storm has destroyed his nest. Big Bird’s friends and neighbors gather to show their support and let him know they can fix his home, but it will take time. While everyone on Sesame Street spends the next few days cleaning up and making repairs, Big Bird still has moments where he is sad, angry, and confused. His friends help him cope with his emotions by talking about what happened, drawing pictures together, and giving him lots of hugs. They also comfort Big Bird by offering him temporary places he can eat, sleep, and play. Big Bird remembers all the good times he had at his nest and realizes that once it is rebuilt, there are more good times and memories to come. Finally the day has come where most of the repairs to Big Bird’s home are done and his nest is complete. As he is about to try it out, though, the city nest inspector says it not safe, yet, because the mud isn’t dry. Big Bird is sad that he has to wait another day, but Snuffy comes to the rescue and blows the nest dry and he passes the test! Big Bird thanks everyone for being his friend and helping to rebuild his nest and his home.

Additional Resources can be found at www.sesamestreet.org/hurricane.

PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! will celebrate Halloween with multiple themed episodes October 29-31, 2012. A premiere WILD KRATTS episode about spiders is among the highlights, with themed episodes from ARTHUR, THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!, SUPER WHY!, DINOSAUR TRAIN, SID THE SCIENCE KID and more.

Monday, October 29th
8:30am — THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT “Trick or Treat”
9am — SUPER WHY! “The Ghost Who was Afraid of Halloween”
2pm — THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT “Trick or Treat”
3pm — ARTHUR “What Scared Sue Ellen?”
3:30pm — WORDGIRL “Scary with a Side of Butter”
4pm — WILD KRATTS “Masked Bandits”

Tuesday, October 30
6:30am — MARTHA SPEAKS “Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird/Return to Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird”
8am — CURIOUS GEORGE “Scaredy Dog/Say Goodnight, George”
9:30am — DINOSAUR TRAIN “Night Train”
11:30am — BARNEY & FRIENDS “Sweeter Than Candy”
2:30pm — CURIOUS GEORGE “Scaredy Dog/Say Goodnight, George”
3pm — ARTHUR “Fernkenstein’s Monster”
4pm — WILD KRATTS “A Bat in the Brownies”
5pm  – MARTHA SPEAKS “Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird/Return to Martha’s Slumber Party of the Weird”

Wednesday, October 31st — HALLOWEEN
6:30am — MARTHA SPEAKS “TD’s Magic/Scaredy Cat”
8am — CURIOUS GEORGE “The Fully Automatic Fun Hat/Creatures of the Night”
8:30am — THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT “Aye, Aye!/Trick or Treat”
9am — SUPER WHY!  ”The Ghost Who was Afraid of Halloween”
9:30am — DINOSAUR TRAIN “Haunted Roundhouse/Big Pond Pumpkin Patch”
10:30am — SID THE SCIENCE KID “Halloween Spooky Science Special”
11am — WORD WORLD “Kooky Spooky Halloween/Sheep’s Halloween Costume”
11:30am — BARNEY & FRIENDS  ”Guess Who and Sweet Treats”
noon — ANGELINA BALLERINA: NEXT STEPS “Angelina’s Trick or Treat Feat”
1:30pm — CYBERCHASE “Trick or Treat”
2pm — THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT “Aye, Aye!/Trick or Treat”
2:30pm — CURIOUS GEORGE “The Fully Automatic Fun Hat/Creatures of the Night”
3pm — ARTHUR “Hic or Treat” 3:30pm — WORDGIRL “Tobey’s Tricks and Treats”
4pm — WILD KRATTS “Secrets of the Spider’s Web”
4:30pm — ELECTRIC COMPANY “Spooky Summer Soiree”
5pm — MARTHA SPEAKS “TD’s Magic/Scaredy Cat”

October 16, 2012 – #202 “Race for the Hippo Disc”
When Chris and Martin accidentally lose a Power Disc on the African savannah, the Wild Kratts go into crisis mode to find the disc before it gets into the hands of Zach Varmitech. Science Concept: Territoriality.

October 17, 2012 – #203 “Creature Power Challenge”
After getting caught in the middle of a tussle between a grumpy rhino and an outraged elephant, Martin and Chris decide to have a contest to decide what are stronger – elephant or rhino powers. Science Concept: Animals have adaptations for where and how they live.

October 18, 2012 – #204 “Termites vs. Tongues”
When Aviva and Koki accidentally miniaturize themselves and get carried away by termites, Martin and Chris must split up to search for them. Science Concept:Predator/prey relationship.

October 22, 2012- #129 “Seasquatch”
The Kratt brothers’ sub loses power while they are exploring the strange landscape of the ocean depths and they are trapped on the ocean floor. Aviva must figure out how to harness the energy from the deep sea’s hydrothermal vents in order to save the brothers and return them to the surface. The WILD KRATTS team learns all about the amazing process of chemosynthesis and how deep sea creatures transform toxic chemicals into energy. With a little help from the Yeti crab, Martin and Chris are able to capture the this energy and use it to restart the amphi-sub and return to the surface.Science Concepts: Chemosynthesis; how special deep sea creatures transform such toxic chemicals into energy.

October 23, 2012 – #133 “Gecko Effect”
There’s a mystery to be solved, as the WILD KRATTS team wonders how a Gecko lizard climbs up smooth surfaces and can even climb upside down. The gang uses the Miniaturizer to shrink and discover it’s all about physics. But in the meantime, Zach has stolen their Miniaturizer and now imprisons them in a glass terrarium. Martin and Chris activate the new Gecko Powers of their Creature Power Suits and must retrieve the Miniaturizer before Zach shrinks all the animals in the creature world. Science Concept: Physics – Objects have electrical charges that attract one another. The gecko’s toe pad structure enhances these charges so much that they can “stick to” smooth surfaces.

October 24, 2012 – #139 “Googly Eye”
The Kratt brothers secretly “borrow” Aviva’s half-finished night vision goggles to go in search of a mysterious nocturnal creature. But when the unstable goggles stop working, the brothers find themselves taken in by the nocturnal society of the tarsier. Then, when the tarsier troop is in danger of losing one of their own, Chris and Martin must tap into their newfound understanding of nocturnal living and help the troubled tarsier family. Science Concept: Nocturnal-vision creatures are creatures that come out at night. Eyes help a creature see by collecting the light that comes from objects all around. They have a feature called an iris that opens or closes the pupil to let more or less light in.

October 25, 2012 – #135 “Quillber”
It’s Aviva’s birthday, and Chris and Martin decide to collect shed porcupine quills to make a beautiful necklace as a gift. As they tag along with an African crested porcupine, they discover that animals have different ways to defend themselves from predators, one of which comes in handy to protect the porcupines from Zach’s latest animal collection scheme. Science Concept: Defense strategies; animals have different ways to defend themselves from predators. Some animals, like porcupines, have highly specialized features designed to ward off predators. Porcupine quills are modified hairs, designed by nature into a deadly defense.

October 31, 2012 – #208 “Spiders”
When the creature adventuring Kratt Brothers take a nasty tumble, the WILD KRATTS team sets off on a mission to find and recreate one of the greatest of all biotech engineering secrets: spider silk. Science Concept: Biotechnology – Humans can develop new objects by taking cues from nature.

WILD KRATTS also just launched Creaturepedia, an online animal encyclopedia that includes information on each animal’s creature powers, diet, geographic location and more, as well as video content, available on PBSKIDS.org/wildkratts.