<p>I had the opportunity to attend a media event for Super WHY! a couple of (or maybe three) weeks ago and I have been remiss in telling you all about it. I don&#39;t know why, because we&#39;re huge PBS and WGBH fans at this house, as you can probably tell by the picture below:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/diary/3815880650/" style="float: left;" title="diary.blogs.jpg by R. S. M., on Flickr"><img alt="diary.blogs.jpg" height="240" src="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/3815880650_849ef3b6aa_m.jpg" style="margin: 20px;" title="diary.blogs.jpg" width="180" /></a></p>

<p>One thing I can&#39;t claim to be is a fan of children&#39;s television. Don&#39;t get me wrong, my kids watch TV -- how else would I get dinner on the table? -- but I can&#39;t really claim to be the type of mom that sits down and watches kid&#39;s programming. I just don&#39;t. Instead I trust shows that are recommended by friends and use the 30 minute stretches of peace and quiet as wisely as possible. </p>

<p>I had a lot to learn, as you can imagine.</p>

<p>The highlight of the event for me was meeting Angela Santomero, the creator of Super WHY! and Blue&#39;s Clues (<a href="http://diary.blogs.com/the_diary_of_a_reluctant_/2007/09/hey-joe.html">remember when my son got to meet Joe?</a>) Her passion for the science behind how children learn is contagious, and I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of work that goes into each aspect of the show. Suffice it to say that everything that happens on the show happens for a reason -- and that reason is to build on the natural love of words and stories that children are born with. </p>

<p>(Geeky writer aside: Did you know that along with the ABCs and phonics, Super WHY! also teaches kids that they have the power to change a story? That&#39;s my favorite part!)</p>

<p>We were sent home with a variety of materials to build on the educational lessons from the show -- <a href="http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/learningwithmedia/superwhy.html">you can download the same materials here</a>. But I couldn&#39;t leave until I asked them the one question that I was dying to ask from the moment I heard about the great work they&#39;re doing with the Super WHY! camps and the fact the only limiting factor for them is money.</p>

<p>I grabbed Leslie Rotenberg, the Senior VP of Children&#39;s Media at PBS and asked her if there was a way for us to support children&#39;s programming directly. Not that Yanni and Antiques Roadshow aren&#39;t worthy of my support of course, but I want all of my money to go to children&#39;s programming if that&#39;s at all possible. </p>

<p>Guess what? It can! <a href="http://www.wgbh.org/support/directedGifts_ChildrensEducationalMedia.cfm">Click here to support Children&#39;s Programming directly</a>, if you so wish.</p>

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