Learn & Play
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Learning at Home | Week of 3/08 – 3/12

Take advantage of this week’s Learning at Home broadcast schedule – great for students engaged in hybrid or distance instruction, and families looking to spend some extra, quality time together!

After watching these fascinating programs, explore the PBS LearningMedia and web resources to learn more.

Highlight of the Week

The Story of China with Michael Wood: Ancestors, Silk Roads and China Ships
Monday, March 8, 1 PM

In Ancestors, Michael Wood starts with a family reunion, when 300 relatives gather to worship their ancestors on ‘Tomb Sweeping Day,’ and explores ancient myths and archaeological sites to uncover the origins of the Chinese state. He examines the first Chinese writing, and tells the dramatic tale of the bloodthirsty First Emperor. In Silk Roads and China Ships Wood travels to the bazaars of the Silk Road in Central Asia, and on to India in the footsteps of the Chinese monk who brought Buddhist texts to China. He uncovers the coming of Christianity, sails the Grand Canal, and tracks the spread of Chinese culture across East Asia, an influence ‘as profound as Rome on the Latin West’.

Learning at Home
Week of 3/08 – 3/12

Monday, March 8

12 PM: Let’s Learn – Can You Hear the Short “o” in Lots?

“Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning. Sort shapes, learn about the 5 senses, read “The Little Guys,” blend and decode short o, I, h.

1 PM: The Story of China with Michael Wood: Ancestors, Silk Roads and China Ships

In Ancestors, Michael Wood starts with a family reunion, when 300 relatives gather to worship their ancestors on ‘Tomb Sweeping Day,’ and explores ancient myths and archaeological sites to uncover the origins of the Chinese state. He examines the first Chinese writing, and tells the dramatic tale of the bloodthirsty First Emperor. In Silk Roads and China Ships Wood travels to the bazaars of the Silk Road in Central Asia, and on to India in the footsteps of the Chinese monk who brought Buddhist texts to China. He uncovers the coming of Christianity, sails the Grand Canal, and tracks the spread of Chinese culture across East Asia, an influence ‘as profound as Rome on the Latin West’.

Tuesday, March 9

12 PM: Let’s Learn – Box and Fox Both Have Short “o”!

“Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning. Make vehicles from shapes, do a touch box experiment, read “Dump Truck Disco,” blend sounds and practice short o, l, and h.

1 PM: The Story of China with Michael Wood: Golden Age, The Ming

In the alleys of Kaifeng, the world’s greatest city before the 19th century, Michael Wood hears legends, samples the cuisine and explores printing. We see a huge working replica of an astronomical clock made by ‘China’s Leonardo da Vinci’, one of the inventions that made the Song a great era of science. And at a crunch Chinese Premier League match, we learn that the Chinese even invented soccer! Then, in Nanjing, Michael sees the building of a huge replica of a Ming ocean-going junk. In Suzhou, the ‘Venice of China’, he explores the silk industry, ceramics and lacquer-making, and visits one of China’s most beautiful gardens. And finally in Macao, we learn about the arrival of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci beginning China’s fateful modern exchanges with the West.

Wednesday, March 10

12 PM: Let’s Learn – What Sounds Do You Hear in Construct?

“Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning. Learn about computer programming and buildings, read “The Bus For Us” and “I Just Like You,” segment sounds, review short o, l, and h.

1 PM: The Story of China with Michael Wood: The Last Empire, The Age of Revolution

In the 18th century China was the biggest economy in the world, and with that prosperity came a fabulously rich culture. From China’s favourite novel, to opera and storytelling houses, and all-women’s mosques, it’s an age full of surprises. But then came the fateful clash with the British in the First Opium War, the beginning of the end of the empire. Then we follow as Michael Wood visits Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel, jewel of the Jazz age, and follows Mao on the Long March to Yan’an, the base of the communist revolution. He meets a survivor of the Japanese massacre of Nanjing, describes the communist victory, and ends with Mao’s death and the boom time of the last thirty years. The series ends as it began at home with the warmth of the Chinese family.

Thursday, March 11

12 PM: Let’s Learn – Can You Hear the Short “u” in Sunny?

“Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning. Keep track of the weather, play domino parking lot, read “Leo the Late Bloomer,” blend and decode short u, w, j, y, and v.

1 PM: Ahead of Time: The Extraordinary Journey of Ruth Gruber

For seven decades foreign correspondent and photojournalist Ruth Gruber didn’t just report the news, she made it. Born in 1911 to Russian Jewish immigrants, Ruth Gruber became the youngest Ph.D. in the world before becoming an international journalist at age 24. A fearless trailblazer who defied tradition to become the eyes and conscience of the world, she was the first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935, traveled to Alaska as a member of the Roosevelt administration in 1942, escorted Holocaust refugees to America in 1944, covered the Nuremberg trials in 1946, and documented the Palestine-bound Haganah ship Exodus in 1947. Her relationships with world leaders, including Eleanor Roosevelt, President Harry Truman, and Israel’s Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, gave her unique access and insight into modern history.

2:15 PM: Georgia O’Keeffe: A Woman on Paper

Georgia O’Keeffe: A Woman on Paper, highlights the artist’s career while focusing on the little-known story of O’Keeffe’s time spent in Columbia, S.C., as an art instructor at Columbia College. The program follows O’Keeffe’s career through various artistic stages, ending permanently in New Mexico, where she created more realistic paintings with vivid color.

Friday, March 12

12 PM: Let’s Learn – What Sounds Do You Hear in Jog?

“Let’s Learn” helps children ages 3-8 with at-home learning. Learn about the core unit in patterns and human-made resources, read “Ruby’s Birds,” blend sounds and practice short o, w, j, y, and v.

1 PM: Articulate | Ellen Harvey, Bharatanatyam: Indian Dance, Xenia Rubinos

Though she’s a successful visual artist, Ellen Harvey remains obsessed with failure. Bharatanatyam survived colonial oppression to embody Indian identity at home and abroad. Xenia Rubinos’ complex music is infused with simple messages about big ideas.

1:30 PM: Poetry in America: The Gray Heron

How is the poet’s eye like–or unlike–that of the scientist, the photographer, or of the small child first rambling around the natural world? In this environmentally-themed, visually splendid episode, Elisa New is joined by evolutionary biologist E.O Wilson, poet Robert Hass, environmental photographer Laura McPhee, naturalist Joel Wagner, and kids at a Mass Audubon Society summer camp on Cape Cod in a wide ranging discussion of Galway Kinnell’s “The Gray Heron.”

2 PM: The Hudson River School: Cultivating a Tradition

In 19th century, artist Thomas Cole and engraver Asher Durand established an artistic movement that became The Hudson River School. The next generation expanded their palette with a technique that was immersed in light. This artistic innovation was later hailed as, “The Luminist Movement.” This film tells the story of these artists who became the greatest landscape painters in the world.