TVOKids
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TVOKids - The Space (formerly known as '"The Crawlspace"') launched on April 1, 1994, on TVOntario, as a block of afterschool children's programming dedicated to being non-violent, commercial free, educational, and positive social role modelling. Since younger children are home earlier from school, the programming schedule includes 'younger' shows in the earlier time slots, and more 'mature' shows in the later slots.
The programming block is designed with live, hosted interstitial segments between educational programs of varying lengths. These hosted segments take the place of commercials (TVO is commercial-free) and tie the day's programming together. TVOKids also has an award-winning website (external link at the foot of this article), and often converges the educational content of the broadcast and internet components, for which it's been nominated for three Gemini Awards, winning Most Popular Web Site in 2001, and Best Interactive in 2004 for Time Trackers.
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[edit] History
Back row: Jackie English, Milton Barnes, Julie Patterson
Front row: Mark Sykes, Nicole Stamp. click on picture for larger image.
Since its inception in 1994, TVOKids has had numerous hosts. In chronological order, they are:
Patty Sullivan, Kevin Brauch, Joe Motiki, Rekha Shah, Gisele Corinthios, Phil Singh, Phil McCordic (voice of Tumbleweed the Hamster), Julie Zwillich (aka Julie 1), Julie Patterson (aka Julie 2), Nicole Stamp (voice of Daisy the Hamster and host of Ontario Championships of Reach For The Top), Milton Barnes, Jackie English and Mark Sykes
(bold text indicates current hosts)
Milton, Jackie, Mark and Nicole host the show on weekdays, while Julie and Mark host the weekend show. TVOKids' Preschool Block, Gisele's Big Backyard (formerly known as "The Nook"), is hosted solely by Gisele, where she is often joined by her puppet friends, Sticks the Squirrel (Jason Hopley), and Jay the Blue Jay (Ali Eisner).
[edit] Schedule
THE SPACE airs:
Monday to Friday, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday, 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Gisele's Big Backyard airs:
Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
[edit] TVOKids' In-house Productions
Some of the most popular programs on TVOKids are its in-house productions, which are all based around the provincial curriculum and are generally short (about 3-4 minutes per episode) and humorous. These shows include:
The Bod Squad / BOD TV - Spoofs of popular television shows and movies, and starring the TVOKids hosts, these short episodes humorously promote healthy eating.
The Reading Rangers - A Western-style series of short episodes, promoting literacy.
Bonjour Benny - Live action episodes shot on a cartoon background, teaching French as a Second Language.
Open Your Ears - Child hosts introduce viewers to musical concepts such as harmony and improvisation.
Artbot - Meet adult artists who explain visual arts concepts such as line, colour, and composition. The star of the series is Artbot (played by Jackie English)
Tumbletown Tales - Popular series performed entirely by small live rodents (using the TVOKids hosts as voice talent). The star of the series is Tumbleweed the Hamster (voiced by Phil McCordic); the learning objective is real-world application of mathematical concepts.
Time Trackers - Gemini-Award Winning series converging the broadcast and web aspects of TVOKids to teach Canadian history in a humorous and interactive way.
