January 17, 2006
PLAYHOUSE DISNEY PRESCHOOL TIME
ONLINET LETS KIDS PLAY AND LEARN WITH THEIR FAVORITE DISNEY CHANNEL CHARACTERS
New premium service brings
preschool learning to life with rich, interactive broadband media
Parents now have access to a whole
new world of fun learning for their preschoolers. Disney Online, part of the
Walt Disney Internet Group, in partnership with Disney Channel, has launched an
exciting new broadband subscription product called Playhouse Disney Preschool
Time OnlineT, now available for an annual subscription fee of $49.95. Parents
can log-on to
www.preschooltime.com to subscribe to the product or to access a free
trial.
Playhouse Disney Preschool Time
Online offers parents a safe, ad-free environment where their children can enjoy
a slate of regularly updated, fun and engaging activities that encourage
learning through play. Hosted by "Bear" from Disney Channel’s Bear in the Big
Blue House, Preschool Time Online was developed in conjunction with educational
experts to provide endless learning and unlimited fun while helping preschoolers
develop important kindergarten readiness skills.
Key features include:
-
Popular characters from Playhouse
Disney series including JoJo’s Circus, Higglytown Heroes, Stanley, plus Winnie
the Pooh and Mickey Mouse and Pals, among others. -
A sequence of well-rounded
interactive activities including puzzles and games that level in difficulty
based on a child’s performance. -
A focus on development of
kindergarten readiness skills including letter and number recognition and
color and shape identification. -
For example, a child can learn
about numbers with JoJo by popping balloons that are labeled with the number
three. -
Themes such as "bravery" or
"sharing" that are incorporated throughout each sequenced set of activities. -
New updates every two weeks that
provide a constant source of new, fun learning activities. -
Parents’ Corner area where adults
can manage multiple children’s profiles and track their child’s activity.
"Preschoolers learn through play and
through my research I’ve seen that the unique properties of the Internet can be
employed creatively to help feed the insatiable curiosity of young children,"
said Debra Lieberman, a key educational expert who helped spearhead the
service’s educational philosophy and academic structure. "Playhouse Disney
Preschool Time Online was designed specifically to do this. It responds to kids’
natural desire to learn through play with activities that center around
exploring, imagination, developing skills and constructing knowledge. It is a
great complement to preschool learning for building such skills as letter and
number recognition."
"Playhouse Disney Preschool Time
Online allows children to learn through a fun setting where they get to interact
with their favorite characters, in a dynamic environment that regularly offers
new activities," said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and managing
director of Disney Online. "The increase in broadband use in the home has
allowed us to offer an experience that combines rich graphics, video content and
character voices to capture kids’ imaginations and deliver personalized learning
that grows with each individual child."
"Whole Child Learning" Philosophy
Playhouse Disney Preschool Time
Online employs the principles of the "whole child curriculum" a learning
philosophy which is also the cornerstone for the Playhouse Disney brand and
programming. Under the consultancy of Dr. Renee Cherow-O’Leary, Playhouse
Disney’s philosophy of education, based on Howard Gardner’s work on Multiple
Intelligences, suggests that intelligence and learning is a much broader concept
than just mastering ABCs and 123s. Within this framework, children can develop
multiple skill areas through sequenced learning and free play activities.
Learning areas covered in Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online include social
skills, thinking skills, early academics, ethical development, daily living
skills, computer skills, imagination, and self expression.
