What’s wild about your backyard? This time on The Children’s Hour we explore creating a backyard or balcony to attract wildlife, in a visit with a “more than human geographer” Laurel Ladwig. She’s part of a movement of reconciliation ecologists who are encouraging people to increase habitats around our homes to help critters who need more nectar, pollen, shade and food to survive in our artificial urban environments. As we increase the native plants in our yards, or even on our urban...

This time on The Children’s Hour, New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp inspires us to find our poet within, putting our feelings, thoughts, stories and ideas into words to create our own poetry. Featuring poems read by Bob Odenkirk, Joy Harjo, and others, we celebrate poetry and explore our own poet within each one of us. Find this episode post with all the links at https://childrenshour.org/the-poet-within What makes a poem, and how do we find the poet within? New Mexico Poet Laureate,...

This time on The Children's Hour we learn about the concept of querencia: the feeling of "home" in a place, and with our communities. Using poetry, imagery, history, music and sharing, we explore the elements of home.

This week on The Children’s Hour we’ll explore New Zealand through stories and songs, and in conversation with our friends, Kiwi musicians Lucy Hiku from Itty Bitty Beats, and Claudia Robin Gunn. One lives on the north island, and the other on the South Island! We’ll learn about New Zealand’s unique geography, climate, landscape, wildlife, and culture. Expect to hear all New Zealander music, in both English and Maori. Celebrate the unique culture, landscape, flora and fauna of New...

Imagine a world where kindness is a habit. The Kids Crew explore kindness, as a practice, science and feeling on this edition of The Children's Hour. We're joined by Lindsay Munroe, a singer-songwriter who specializes in music to build caring communities of children. Acts of kindness are more than just beneficial for the recipient, givers are also rewarded. We discover the science of kindness, and how it's a gift that keeps on giving. We've created a free, downloadable learning guide...

Mega Ran is one of the most prolific hip hop artists you have heard, but likely have not heard of. His music is featured in hundreds of video games, earning him an award from the Guinness Book of World Records. Now he’s a children’s musician with a beat and a message. Get inspired by his amazing journey in an engaging conversation with our Kids Crew.

Who’s hooting? On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we learn all about owls!  More than 200 species of owls live around the world. Maybe you have had the experience like some of our Kids Crew, of seeing owls in the wild? If you want to learn more about these interesting creatures, this episode is for you!

This time on The Children's Hour we learn about our Black American history, this time exploring the Negro Baseball Leagues. These were professional teams made up of Black and other non-white players, and the only way Black athletes could play professional baseball while the Major Leagues remained segregated. Our guest is Byron Motley, author of Negro Baseball Leagues - A Memoir which chronicles the story of these leagues. Byron's own father was an umpire for the Negro Baseball Leagues. His...

This time on The Children’s Hour, we’re joined by Sesame Street’s first Black woman puppeteer, Megan Piphus. Portraying six year old Muppet Gabrielle, Megan is living her dream life on the street she came to know as a tiny child. Megan is a self trained ventriloquist and she shares some of her secrets with the Kids Crew. Find the episode page at https://childrenshour.org/living-the-dream Megan has just released her first children’s album called Spaceships & Dreams. The hip hop and...

This time on The Children’s Hour, we explore the skin we are in. We are joined by Dr. Holly McGee and Dr. Nina Jablonski, who have written a book to explain the cultural and social history of skin color called It’s Just Skin, Silly. Then we meet Dr. Adnan Mir, a pediatric dermatologist who helps us understand even more about our skin from a medical point of view. This episode comes with a digital Learn-Along guide that meets and cites educational content standards, to be used in the...

This time on The Children's Hour, we meet Ms. Caitlin Gooch from Saddle Up And Read, an organization that motivates kids to read with horses. Evan Daitz reviews My Life In The Fish Tank, and Maya Falcon gives us her review of PANDEMIC 2020: A 9 Year Old's Perspective by Prisha Hedau. The kids in the Extinction Diaries teach us about why some zebras are being born with bizarre stripe patterns, and what that means. We've got great music on this show, too. Find the full episode information...

What makes a good meal great? It’s when it tastes delicious and is nutritious, all at the same time. This time on The Children’s Hour we get in the kitchen with Kids Cook’s Sara Robbins in a demonstration kitchen, as we explore healthy foods for kids of all ages. We talk with pediatric dietician, Jill Castle about making healthy choices for our meals. She explains how parents can help kids establish good habits when it comes to food, exercise, and being healthy. Get cooking with The...

Our planet is alive, and not just because it enables life to live here, but also the land on Earth is constantly shifting and moving. This time on The Children's Hour we learn about our earthquakes from science communicator and geologist, Dr. Wendy Rocks. Then we hear about volcanoes from Dr. Mousumi Roy. We explore what causes earthquakes and volcanoes, and how scientists can (or cannot) predict them. Plus hear a Kids Crew review of a new book about epic mythology: Greeking Out. Let's get...

This time on The Children's Hour we visit with the inspiring and talented children's musician, author, motivational speaker and change-maker SaulPaul, a musician with a message. The Kids Crew learn about his triumph over adversity, and challenge him to compose a freestyle rap while on the air with us! Learning from adversity, and inspiring with positivity are the messages behind SaulPauls music for kids. An author, motivational speaker and change-maker, SaulPaul is changing the sound of...

We learn all about skunks with world renown mephitologist, Dr. Jerry Dragoo. Mixed with great music sure to captivate kids of all ages. Comes with a Learn-Along Guide!

We showcase some of the best of 2023 for kids music. The Kids Crew is joined by guests Bob Odenkirk and his daughter Erin Odenkirk. Their book Zilot & Other Important Rhymes is our pick for the best book of 2023 for children. Celebrate the best of 2023 with The Children's Hour.

Celebrate the holidays with The Children's Hour in a holiday musical special. We will play some of the latest and greatest in Kindie releases, and with many of our classic favorites. Get your family singing and dancing and fill your hearts with joy. Happy Holidays from all of us at The Children's Hour!

Astronomy begins at home, just looking up and seeing what we see. The Kids Crew meet with Professor Raman Prinja, Head of Astronomy and Physics at University College in London. Professor Prinja’s new book Wonders of the Night Sky details the many celestial sights we can see just by looking up at the sky in our own backyards. Get out of this world with us in a conversation on astrophysics with the Kids Crew.

Join The Children's Hour Kids Crew in a field trip to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the largest in the world! Learn what makes something "Folk Art" in conversations with artists from dozens of countries. This episode comes with a Learn-Along guide for use in classrooms.

This time on The Children's Hour, we learn about a canine that is thriving across North America: coyotes. They may look like wild dogs, but we learn from biologist Zoe Rossman that they are quite different from our friendly house pets.

This time on The Children’s Hour, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving in a musical special dedicated to gratitude, family, and appreciation of each another and the Earth. We’re finding the joy in every moment, in this Thanksgiving musical Children’s Hour.

Trees have birthdays too, and scientists find out when they are by studying tree rings. This episode comes with a Learn-Along guide that meets and cites US educational standards.

Join our Kids Crew in a conversation with the beloved children's authors, Goosebump's author RL Stine and Marc Brown, the author and illustrator of the Arthur books and TV show. We discover their secrets to creating some of the most widely read kids' books of all time. Get reading with The Children's Hour!

This time on The Children's Hour, the winner of the 2022 Grammy for Best Children's Release, Falu is our guest for the whole hour.