WITF’s Explore in the Classroom program is designed for kindergartners and first graders enrolled in underserved school districts. WITF visits each classroom three times with a different PBS character, (like Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, or Daniel Tiger), and engages the students in math, literacy and science curriculum.  Each fun session brings two educational activities, a story time, and hugs and high-fives with the character.  Every student receives a copy of the story time book to take home and share with their families. Over the program series, each child receives three new books to keep at home. Often, these are the first books in the child’s home library.

Research has shown that the more books available in a child’s home, the more likely he or she will become a successful reader and will do well in school.

In 2016, WITF launched Explore in the Classroom with the mission to reach children who may not be able to travel to our Ready Set Explore events.  So far, we have visited thousands of children in York City School District and Harrisburg School District (and look forward to expanding to Lancaster City School District next year). Not only does the program serve the students, Explore in the Classroom also supports the work of those student’s great teachers. WITF shares books and educational resources for their classrooms to enhance the overall experience.

A key part of the Explore in the Classroom series is to encourage reading outside of the classroom and to help children build a home library. WITF is proud to have been able to distribute over 10,000 brand-new books to our early learner friends through the Explore in the Classroom program.

And Special Thanks…

…to these generous businesses sponsoring WITF’s Explore in the Classroom program in the 2021 – 2022 year. Thank you for your ongoing support!