The folks at Nickelodeon are once again stepping up their creative edge, introducing new and arguably more hip programming for preschoolers. Just announced this morning, summer 2009 will see the premiere of a new music-based series for the pre-K set. In production right now, The JumpArounds is being billed as “an energetic, vibrant new music series … packed with hip, catchy songs, dynamic choreography and clever storylines.”
At the center of the series are four friends and bandmates who attend music school. Through their musical experiences, preschoolers will acquaint themselves with basic musical concepts like rhythm, melody, tempo and … well, what they’re calling “performance styles.” (We hope this doesn’t essentially boil down to generalized music categorization, but if so, oh well — it is the iTunes generation.)
More than just about music, The JumpArounds aims to help kids solve everyday challenges, teaching them the importance of friendship, working together and respecting differences.
Oh, and in case you’re not sure of the legitimate “street cred” of the series, check out the roughly 6-year-old breakdancer in one of the two preview clips. (Though on a personal note, I’m not sure how important it is for kids’ shows to be “hip” …) Anyway, here are the links, if you care to check out the new “videos” made for the series:
“Go Go A Go Go”:
For PC:
http://www.criticalmention.com/vg/nickelodeon/Jumparounds_GoGoAGoGo.wmv
For Mac:
http://www.criticalmention.com/vg/nickelodeon/Jumparounds_GoGoAGoGo.mov
“Great Day”:
For PC:
http://www.criticalmention.com/vg/nickelodeon/TheJumpArounds.wmv
For Mac:
http://www.criticalmention.com/vg/nickelodeon/TheJumpArounds.mov
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Photo:
Credit: Randee St. Nicholas/Nickelodeon