Animating Kids grew out of turning public school classrooms into media education powerhouses. We have lept many hurdles and found rebel teachers who took a chance on our framework. See a few of their testimonials here.

These teachers and media specialists are not the norm. Schools do not teach media literacy as a core literacy alongside reading and writing. With standardized test pressures teachers are not equipped, have no time, or admin support for media skills education, especially in the early grades.

The consequences of this lack of attention to media literacy will be far-reaching.

We invite you to check out some of the latest research below. Even though is years-old, the trends are flagged and we are early days.

We’ve linked some papers which make our point for us. We are making headway in schools, so if you are a teacher these links might be ammo to convince your admin. It is imperative too that parents take their children's media literacy education seriously. Join us at Animating Kids.

Children who do not develop strong media literacy skills early may struggle to communicate their own ideas and thoughts effectively in a world dominated by visual media. It is up to all of us to take an active role in media literacy education.

Bon Animate!

The Team at Animating Kids

*" The Development of Visual Literacy in Early Childhood: A Review of the Literature" by Diane L. Gromala, Sarah M. Coyne, and Catherine L. Bright, published in Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2016.

" Enhancing Visual Literacy in the Early Years: The Role of Teacher Professional Development" by Karen Wohlwend , published in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 2016.

" Media Literacy in the Early Years: A Longitudinal Study of Children's Media Use and Development " by Kiran Gauntlett, published in Children and Society, 2017.