On Monday January 18th while the kids are home from school you can take the time to get them into Nature. Nature Cat that is. Nature Cat is a funny new show on PBS Kids about a house cat named Fred who dreams of getting outdoors as often as possible. Once his family leaves for the day he does just that. He gets out and has adventures in nature with his friends. I learned about this show last year at the PBS Annual Meeting and even got to meet David and Adam Rudman the creators of the show. These guys are quite funny and really want kids to watch the show and then get out and explore their own backyards.
To help me and my kids in our backyard nature adventures we were given a special Nature Cat kit that included fun printouts on how to make tracks with Paint, Crayons or Play Dough. There was also a book titled, “I Love Dirt” which is an outdoor activity book. The thing is, we just had our first snowfall and getting outside to play in the dirt and mud is going to have to wait for a while. We’ll have to hold off on that for now and try and do some cold weather related outdoor activities. We will be saving the Kaleidoscope Flower Garden for the Spring because we’d like to get the more flowers around the yard.
The kit also included a screener of the episodes that will be part of the special on Monday. They are four 11 minute episodes with topics on city animals, streams, seeds and rainbows. Full descriptions are below. I would also like to point out that the special will repeat during the week, be available for free on the Nature Cat website and on the PBS KIDS Video App which is accessible on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Xbox One and Chromecast.
Special premieres Monday, January 18 (check local listings)
Four all-new 11-minute stories are packed into a super special hour:
“Hal’s Day Off” – After a silly mishap leaves Hal alone in the big city (well, he does have his chew-toy Mr. Chewinsky with him), it’s up to Nature Cat, Squeeks and Daisy to make their way to the city and find Hal. Tally ho! Even though Hal is having so much fun sightseeing, he will need to get home somehow. When Nature Cat, Squeeks and Daisy can’t locate Hal, they turn to animals that they never even knew lived in the city for help.
“Stream and Shout” – Nature Cat goes to his Nature Curiosity List for inspiration, and finds number 73: “Where do streams begin?” This seemingly simple question leads the gang on an action-packed adventure, as they follow the stream uphill, exploring new environments and meeting all sorts of friendly critters. When they finally find out where the stream begins they are whoa-ho-ho amazed!
“Travelin’ Seeds” – When Daisy finds a beautiful flower in her garden that she didn’t plant, it’s up to Nature Cat and his pals to find out where the flower came from. Their investigation leads them through the park and into the woods where the clues show them that seeds can actually travel far distances and grow where they land.
“Tally Ho! A Rainbow” – After a rainstorm (Nature Cat is sure glad it’s over!) Daisy wants to capture a picture of a rainbow for her Granny Bunny who just loves rainbows. But finding a rainbow is easier said than done, as the four friends trek all over in search of it.