Making Learning Fun

JEWS

IN THED

Dr. S Kids Music was launched in September of last year to help kindergarteners learn and thrive during the pandemic. The educational music YouTube channel is the brainchild of Sean and Jamie Strasberger, ages 36 and 37 of Huntington Woods, who wanted to find a creative way to help their 5-year-old son Ezra and others excel in virtual school.

“There’s not a lot of time to teach all of the content [that kids need to learn],” says Sean Strasberger of his kindergartener learning on Zoom, a challenge many parents have had to navigate throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Hourlong classes are often condensed into 30-minute online sessions, he says, which can leave little room for the fun that younger kids need to learn and remain focused.

That’s where Dr. S Kids Music steps in to add a little color to the everyday school routine. The YouTube channel features episodes geared for young kids, created, filmed and edited by the Strasberger family, who fully include Ezra in the production process. There is content about how to count to 10, word games and instructional dance videos that help kindergarteners take much needed (and fun) breaks throughout the day.

Sean Strasberger, who teaches at the middle school level, and Jamie Strasberger, who works with editing on a regular basis making bar and bat mitzvah montages, combined their skills of education and video production to develop the YouTube channel. “We wanted to help our son have some fun while learning academic content like phonics, reading, math and writing,” Sean Strasberger explains.

Ezra, who was more than eager to get involved, enjoys helping his parents write and produce original songs for episodes that give kids like himself an opportunity to have fun while learning, an element Jamie Strasberger says is essential throughout the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. S Kids Music even includes episodes centered on mental health, teaching kids mindfulness exercises and that it’s OK to have worries and fears.

“Our son was showing some anxiety with the virtual learning,” Jamie Strasberger says. It inspired her and her husband to develop a song called “Belly Breath” that shows kids how to breathe in and out alongside music. “It really helped him,” she continues. “He still sings it, and we’ll all do it. It’s more playful and fun because we get to talk about why deep breaths will relax his body and keep him calmer.”

The Strasbergers have aimed to normalize these feelings throughout their content, which other parents have picked up on in their community. Many of Ezra’s friends at school now watch videos from Dr. S Kids Music’s YouTube channel as they learn remotely. Other families in the neighborhood have even come to Sean and Jamie with suggestions for future content, such as how to learn the ABCs or an alphabet song.

COURTESY OF SEAN AND JAMIE STRASBERGER

Making Learning Fun

Musical YouTube channel aims to help kids have fun while learning remotely.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“I DON’T THINK KINDERGARTENERS WERE MEANT TO LEARN THROUGH ZOOM.”

— SEAN STRASBERGER

YOUTUBE POPULARITY

“The traffic on YouTube has been great for just starting in September,” Jamie Strasberger says, noting that some episodes are getting upwards of 2,000 views. Through colorful, animated videos filmed in front of a greenscreen at their home, the Strasbergers are quickly building an online platform for kids anywhere who want to have a little fun while learning remotely.

The process starts on Mondays, when the family taps into a notebook full of content ideas to write and record songs. Then on weekends, they’ll sit down and brainstorm how the videos will look, followed by actually filming them, and getting them to the editing and publishing process. Videos, which are released weekly, are free to access. “I don’t think kindergarteners were meant to learn through Zoom because they need that interaction,” Sean Strasberger says. “They need to be singing, they need to be getting up. Through our YouTube channel, we’re doing our best to include those elements that they might be able to do in-person.”

Watch Dr. S Kids Music at www. youtube.com/c/DrSKidsMusic/videos.