Count on June Bug!

THIRTEEN

THIRTEEN, Double Scoop Studio

From the creators of the Emmy-winning PBS KIDS series Cyberchase, comes an all-new short-form preschool math comedy series, Count on June Bug! Targeted to kids ages 3-5, Count on June Bug follows the adventures of June and her insect friends as they find fun ways to use math on their outdoor adventures.

The series builds on preschoolers’ fascination with the natural world to engage them in bite-sized math learning moments. June and her friends encounter challenges as they play and explore, and figure out how to use math to “make things happen!” They use key skills like counting, measuring, identifying shapes, and making patterns. They also model important learning behaviors, like being willing to try, openness to new ideas, and persevering.

Math has its own language, and developing math vocabulary is a key focus. June and her friends learn specific math words (names of shapes, spatial sense words like “above, under, next to,” comparing words like “big, bigger, biggest”) to help clearly think and communicate about what they are doing and finding.

The series’ mixed-media approach brings together photorealistic elements and stylized graphic illustrations into a bright and playful visual aesthetic that supports the curriculum by highlighting mathematical elements at the foundation of the natural world, such patterns, shapes, and numbers.

At the end of each episode, June saves a souvenir for her web of knowledge. The web is a spot where June and the audience can reflect on the vocabulary, learning, and the fun they’ve had. You can Count on Junebug for laughs while learning!

In “Counting Clovers,” June has an unlucky day when she realizes her four-leaf clover only has three leaves. Antwon helps her to see that counting slowly and carefully can be the best luck of all.Early testing with diverse kids ages 3-5 and their parents across the country showed that children enjoyed the show, wanted to see more, and increased math understanding after just one viewing. Parents were equally enthusiastic about having their child watch or co-view more episodes.

To date, the first five episodes have garnered 273K views on YouTube. The videos are supported by educational resources on PBS LearningMedia.