PBS Kids Preschool Block

PBS Kids Preschool Block

Network	PBS Kids
Launched	September 4, 2006 (2006-09-04)
Closed	October 7, 2013 (2013-10-07)
Country of origin	United States

The PBS Kids Preschool Block was a programming block of television shows aimed at preschool aged children which aired on PBS Kids. The block premiered with Curious George on Monday, September 4, 2006 (Labor Day 2006). The block was aired weekdays at 8:00 AM local time on most PBS member stations. The block was discontinued in 2013 with the introduction of the updated PBS Kids brand/block/channel.

Characters

• Miss Rosa: Miss Rosa is the PBS Kids preschool teacher. She incorporates Spanish language into the daily curriculum and leads children through educational games and activities. Miss Rosa is performed by Jennifer Pena (not to be confused with Grammy-nominated Latin singer Jennifer Peña), an actress and teacher who currently resides in New Jersey. She has long black hair worn with a purple headband and wears a purple dress over a black shirt.
• Mr. Steve/SteveSongs: Mr. Steve leads "Music Time with SteveSongs", which is a :60 song, usually performed on guitar, relating to the day's curriculum. Children join Mr. Steve by singing along and sometimes perform choreography. Mr. Steve is performed by Steve Roslonek, also known as SteveSongs, a professional recording artist.
• Hooper: Hooper is the computer-animated Guinea pig who wears yellow glasses and attends the PBS Kids preschool. He appears throughout the programming block and in a segment called Adventures with Hooper. At one time in pre-production, the name "Bobo" was considered for this character. Max Marko, a middle school student in Amherst, New York, is the voice of Hooper. He was in elementary school when he was picked to be the voice of Hooper.
• Miss Lori: Miss Lori was a PBS Kids preschool teacher until September 7, 2009. She led lessons based on a daily curriculum, singing and playing games with children who appear on the show. Miss Lori was the first live host in the program's history before Miss Rosa was the replacement for her. Miss Lori is performed by Lori Holton Nash, an actress and educator who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. Unlike Miss Rosa, she does not incorporate Spanish. She has long, curly black hair and wears a purple shirt.

• Dash: Dash is the computer-animated boy from the PBS Kids logo. He has hosted Dash's Secret Treasure and Dash's Dance Party. He has spiky black hair and wears a white shirt, along with blue jeans and white shoes. He has been replaced by Del in the 2013 branding. He is also featured on the PBS Kids Word of the Week as of 2017.
• Dot: Dot is the computer-animated girl from the PBS Kids logo. She was included in the hosted segments of the programming block starting in 2007. She is featured in Dot's Story Factory, a storytelling game that kids can play online at the PBS Kids site. She has medium length black hair and wears a pink and white striped shirt and black pants and has white shoes like her brother. In the 2013 brand, she now has a sport shirt on.
• Dee: Dee is a girl who loves to skate. She is the twin sister of Del.
• Del: Del is a boy that has a tail of a raccoon. He is the twin brother of Dee.

Throughout the block

Season 1 premiered on September 4, 2006. Characters included Miss Lori, Hooper, and Dash, who were featured before and after each program. Shows in Season 1 were Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales and It's a Big Big World. Each day, Miss Lori and Hooper would try to solve a problem, which was related to a daily curriculum. After Clifford the Big Red Dog, there was a short dance as well as a song, performed by Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck, Milkshake, or Miss Lori herself. Dash's Game of the Day aired just before Dragon Tales. Dash showed viewers how to play a game on the PBS Kids website. This was the only season to have a themed plot throughout the two hours.

Season 2 premiered on September 3, 2007, and introduced Dot to the character cast. Dragon Tales was moved to a different time to make room for Super Why! which replaced It's a Big Big World. Dot's Story Factory started this season. Dot showed a story created online by kids at the PBS Kids site. It was shown at the end of every Super Why! episode. In other brief activities between the shows, Miss Lori and Hooper emphasized basic literacy and numeracy skills, fine arts, movement, music, and health. Dash's Game of the Day continued to air, and new music videos were produced.

Season 3 started on May 19, 2008, and it included the same programs as the previous season. Two new live-action characters were introduced: Miss Rosa and Mr. Steve. All characters seen in previous seasons were also in this season. Miss Rosa hosted Spanish-language and other curriculum-based segments, and Mr. Steve hosted Music Time. Miss Lori was still seen but less frequently. Hooper continued to be seen, along with Dot's Story Factory. Dash's Secret Treasure, a matching game to match the theme of the day, replaced Dash's Game of the Day.

Season 4 started on September 1, 2008 and Sid the Science Kid premiered, pushing Clifford the Big Red Dog to a different time and removing Dragon Tales from the block. Dot's Story Factory was usually shown at the end of every show rather than only one show. Dash's Secret Treasure continued to air. New segments were shown around Sid the Science Kid. Some PBS stations opted to repeat the block on the weekends from 7 AM to 9 AM. This is the last season that Miss Lori appears in.

Season 5 started on September 7, 2009. Clifford the Big Red Dog was replaced by Dinosaur Train. A new segment called Dash's Dance Party encouraged children to be active and dance. It alternates daily with Dash's Secret Treasure Game. Miss Rosa, Mr. Steve and Hooper continue to be seen throughout the two hours. As of this season, Miss Lori is no longer seen and has been replaced with Miss Rosa in all cases. The entire programming block is now in high-definition, except for some funding promos and older episodes of Curious George.

Season 6 started on September 6, 2010. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That premiered on this date, replacing Sid the Science Kid.

On October 7, 2013, Peg + Cat premiered, taking Super Why!'s timeslot from the schedule. The PBS Kids brand was refreshed at this time, and the block was discontinued. Interstitials featuring Miss Rosa and SteveSongs, and other musical spots still air before or after select programs throughout the day on PBS Kids. Program credits were repackaged for Curious George and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood in 2014.

Bands and their songs

During Season One, each day's segments included a short dance as well as a song. This portion of the show was abandoned, when Mr. Steve joined.

• It's My Birthday!
• Help Me Help You
• Picture This
• Rainy Day or Rainy Day Fun
• Rhyme Time
• Sally's Garden (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds and was called "Plant a Garden". Now it is only one minute.)
• This is Our Earth (Originally aired in the PBS Kids Share the Earth Day special for one minute and thirty seconds, but now it is only one minute.)
• What's That Sound?
• You Can Be
• Baby Brother
• Oh No!
• Five Senses
• A Place To Call Home
• Reach Up High
• The Rhythm in Your Heart
• Jump Jump Jump!
• S-H-A-R-E
• Me and My Postcards
• Mouse on the Run
• This Song About This Song

Segments

During program breaks or before the program begins, the preschool children, Hooper, or other characters take part in entertaining activities. These brief activities, generally assisted or narrated by Hooper, emphasize basic literacy and numeracy, fine arts, movement, music, and health. Many of these segments were also featured after repeats of other programs not included in the preschool block, such as Barney, Caillou, Clifford, and WordWorld. From 2019 to 2020, and currently since 2021, Dash's Secret Treasure and Dash's Dance Party were surprisingly seen at the beginning of Splash and Bubbles.

Current

• Music Time with SteveSongs (2008-present)
• DJ Hooper/PBS Kids Rocks! (2010-present)
• PBS Kids Spotlight (2016-present)
• You Can Be Anything! (2016-present)
• PBS Kids Activity Challenge (2018-present)
• You, Me, and Community (2019-present)
• Get Moving! (2020-present)

Former

• Dash's Game of the Day (2006-2007)
• Dash's Secret Treasure (2007-2020)
• Dot's Story Factory (2008-2013)
• Dash's Dance Party (2009-2020)
• Adventures with Hooper (2010-2013)
• Coach Hooper (2010-2020)
• PBS Kids Field Trip (2010-2020)
• Where in the World is Hooper? (2010-2020)

Programming

• ¹ Premiered before the launch of the preschool block.

Original programming

Title	Premiere date	End date
Curious George	September 4, 2006	October 7, 2013
Clifford the Big Red Dog1		September 7, 2009
Dragon Tales1		September 1, 2008
It's a Big Big World		September 3, 2007
Super Why!	September 3, 2007	October 7, 2013
Sid the Science Kid	September 1, 2008	September 6, 2010
Dinosaur Train	September 7, 2009	October 7, 2013
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!	September 6, 2010
Peg + Cat	October 7, 2013

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