Why Podcast?

Pinky Dinky Doo loves to tell stories. Now Pinky's fantastic stories are portable. Your child can hear Pinky's stories anytime or anywhere for free.

Pinky's podcasts share the same educational goals as the television show and the online games: to support the development of early literacy skills through storytelling. Pinky's podcasts encourage listening, reading comprehension, story sequencing, and vocabulary expansion.

Recommendations

Here are some recommendations for your child's podcast experience:

How to Listen to a Podcast

The beauty of podcasting is twofold. You can listen to a show anytime, and you never need to worry about missing an episode. The subscription feature makes it "radio on demand." Once you subscribe to Pinky's RSS feed, there is no need to check the website for updates. Your podcast software automatically checks for new episodes and then downloads those files to your computer.

If you already have podcast software, just copy and paste the appropriate URL into your RSS reader and it will automatically download each new episode!

Pinky's RSS Feed (PODCAST):
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/podcasts/pinky_dinky_doo/pinky_podcast/

If you don't have podcast software yet, it's still easy to subscribe to Pinky's podcasts!

Here's a quick step-by-step guide:

1. Download Podcast Software

First, you need to install podcast software to your computer. There are a number of free options. iTunes is one popular choice that works for both Windows and Mac users. Juice and Doppler are other options.

2. Subscribe To Pinky's Podcast

Once the software is installed, just add Pinky's RSS Feed to your podcast reader (see URL above). The exact way to do this will depend on which software you've chosen. Consult the instruction guide for the podcast software you've selected.

3. Set Preferences

In your podcast software, you will need to select preferences for:


Keep in mind that your software will automatically download new episodes as long as you have a broadband connection and your computer is turned on.

Troubleshooting

Play

We use the Flash player to stream Pinky's podcast. Please be patient after you click "play" -- there might be a short delay during initial buffering before the file starts to play.

Download

If you have trouble streaming a file, Pinky's podcast is available for direct download. Just click on the download button to save the file to your computer.

Parent's Guide to the Printables

There are seven story-related activity sheets that reinforce the lessons in each podcast. Your child can complete these as she listens to the story or once the episode is over.

Each activity sheet highlights a key moment from the podcast and provides an opportunity for your child to complete the drawing or use his imagination to create something new.

Listen to the podcast or talk with your child about Pinky's story. What happened first? What happened next? What was the dilemma? How did Pinky solve the problem by thinking big?

Once the activity sheets are colored, ask your child to place each scene in the order that it occurred in Pinky's tall tale. This activity will help to reinforce the narrative and sequence of the story -- and can be great fun!