Monday, February 21, 2011

Martha Speaks - PBS Kids

Product to Review: Martha Speaks Episode - The Opera Concert & Maestro Martha
Martha speaks airs  Monday, February 21 on PBS KIDS! (check your local listings). Martha Speaks' goal is to increase 4-7 years olds' oral vocabulary and how better to get kids excited about learning new words than with a dog who just can't stop talking? 
In “The Opera Contest,” a local opera company is holding a contest to get kids interested in opera. When Martha helps the kids enter their own opera, will the audience shower them with applause? Join Martha and her friends as they explore the arts while learning words such assoprano,conductorlegend,& dramatize, and more. 
“We hope Martha can provide a fun introduction to opera and classical music, theater, and Greek mythology,” says Senior Executive Producer Carol Greenwald. “For some kids, this will be their first exposure to these art forms. These subjects might seem really grown-up, but Martha has her own unique way of making them accessible to kids.”
In “Maestro Martha,” bad guys Pablum and Weaselgraft have a plan to turn a charity concert into a heist by using the power of music…very strange music. Can Martha turn down the volume on their evil scheming before it’s too late?
Martha Speaks and PBS KIDS was inspired by the best-selling children's books by Susan Meddaugh about a family dog who gains the power of speech after accidentally eating alphabet soup. What pet lover doesn't wonder what his or her pet would say if it could speak? Fast-forward 15 years and the six books in the Martha Speaks series have sold nearly 1,000,000 copies in the US and received significant popular and critical acclaim.

MARTHA SPEAKS is a production of WGBH Boston and Studio B Productions IncMartha Speaks is part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, focused on helping children learn to read, and is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education's Ready to Learn Grant. Corporate funding provided by Chuck E. Cheese's and Kiddie Academy Child Care Learning Centers. Additional funding provided by public television viewers.

In addition to fun new episodes, join Martha and pals online at PBSKIDS.org/martha for new games, printables, and videos. New this season is a feature called Dog Tags that lets kids upload a picture of their pet, decorate and tag it with vocabulary words from the show like miniature, peculiar and nimble, and submit their creations toMartha’s featured pet gallery. In addition, kids can play with their words in the new game Truman’s Talent Show, while learning vocabulary like mimic, examine, vanish and more. The ever-popular Pup Pals feature is expanding to include Martha and Cisco. And as always, Martha will highlight some of her favorite words in the videos section, and the printables section will feature new offline activities that support vocabulary learning. Additional new content will roll out online throughout the season, including expanded resources for parents and teachers.

Check out their blog and Find Martha Speaks on Facebook!



The grandkids had a blast watching it. When the music comes on, it is catchy for them and they dance around. One of the older ones enjoyed it because it pertained to the opera which he loves classical music. There are 5 scenes in The Opera Contest.  In Maestro Martha, the kids also learn about various instruments. 


***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this review. I received the product(s) described above. This is a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way.***



2 comments:

Rhe Christine said...

new follower from the making me crazy monday blog hop!! love Martha Speaks! thank heavens for PBS!

Unknown said...

We LOVE Martha! Martha Speaks is actually one show I don't mind watching with my daughter. She is funny and quirky, love that!