Concept
The concept for The Old Red Barn Club originated from discussions with Kindergarten teachers who made two very profound statements. First, they commented that many children today are unprepared for entering Kindergarten and haven’t fully mastered the tools and skills necessary for their age group. Second, they remarked how few life experiences children have realized as they become young adults and how few children get to see and experience other aspects of the world other than their own home sphere.

We created The Old Red Barn Club as a fun and entertaining way to achieve two important objectives we feel are critical for the development of 1 to 5 yr. olds as both successful students and well-rounded young adults. It is through these objectives that concepts important for Kindergarten preparation are introduced with the goal of being carried forward in formal and informal educational environments.

The Old Red Barn Club achieves these two objectives by:

	Addressing the basic tools and skills necessary for Kindergarten through a series of learning modules (Pre-K objectives)
	Allowing children to experience many aspects of our world they might not have the opportunity to ever see or experience (Life Experience Objectives)

Synopsis
Young children are fascinated by the world around them. Yet, many never have the opportunity to see or appreciate the beauty, magnificence and wonder that surrounds us all.

The Old Red Barn Club is a unique blending of education, music and entertainment that combines the key elements of early childhood education with the opportunity to see and learn about real world places, things, animals and people. The program addresses the critical learning elements teachers overwhelmingly feel are most important during early childhood, and what developmental skills children require to be better prepared for entering school.

The Old Red Barn Club features an old red barn named “Bud” and his friend “Pete.” With an ever-growing supporting cast of culturally-diverse “club members,” the program takes children on a learning adventure where they discover shapes, colors, letters, new words and sounds in an interactive manner. The program is built on a foundation of strong personal virtue and family values that are woven throughout the learning process.

The Old Red Barn Club places a high value on learning about and appreciating the world in which we live. The program addresses issues such as environment, animal care and appreciation, etiquette and manners, responsibility and accountability, health and safety, self-esteem and love, all within the context of real-world situations and locations.

The Old Red Barn Club is designed to be an interactive learning experience. Children are encouraged to actively participate in the learning segments and are rewarded with positive responses. The program is designed to encourage inquisitiveness and discovery within each challenge through interactive learning.

Interactive learning is achieved with a stimulating mixture of live action footage and kid-friendly digital compositions. Live action sequences are blended carefully to support each learning segment and provide visual balance, educational, entertainment and production value.

Each program has a core pattern that will become familiar and comfortable to viewers.
Club members gather at the beginning of each program to learn what adventure they will be experiencing. During the program, characters learn about their environment while discovering shapes, sounds, letters and colors through interactive learning games. At the conclusion of the program, everyone shares what they learned on the adventure.

Early Learning
The Old Red Barn Club does not believe that a child may learn all the information necessary for proper development solely from this video series or from any other single source. Children learn from teachers, caregivers and especially from parents. We also believe, as studies have shown, that children who enter school with a rich experience base are generally more successful as students and, ultimately, as adults.

Our objective is NOT to replace or supplement any of these people in any way. We strive to only provide a resource to assist in this quest to better prepare children for the future.

Preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school teachers as well as caregivers all play a vital role in the development of young children. During these early years, teachers and caregivers are influential in shaping children's’ views of themselves and the world in which they live. The success or failure of this development has a profound effect on their later success or failure in school, work, and their personal lives.

While most (if not all) states today have established learning requirements for schools that identify targets for each age group and grade level, it is within the preschool age groups that the quality of education and learning can vary from extremely good to almost nonexistent. Yet, all these children will be expected to maintain the targets for learning set forth by their respective counties when they enter school.

It is the objective of The Old Red Barn Club to provide a resource for parents, teachers and caregivers to help develop these children in preparation for entering Kindergarten. It is our sincere hope to also provide a “boost” to those who are unable to receive the preparation and support others may readily receive.

Learning Objectives
We view our objectives in two ways: Pre-K Objectives and Life Experience Objectives. It is this balance and mix of the two objectives that makes The Old Red Barn Club a unique, exciting and beneficial series of learning programs.

Pre-K Objectives focus on the skills and tools children need to be better prepared for entering Kindergarten. For students to be successful, educators recognize several important benchmarks necessary to be reached during toddlerhood and preschool. While it is not the intent of this document to outline a complete set of these learning goals and benchmarks as recognized by learning experts, it is our objective to bring forward the basis for the learning modules in The Old Red Barn Club as they relate to studies for early childhood learning.

It should be noted that social skill development is a major element in the design of learning modules. These elements form the basis for personal virtue development with each child. While we can only introduce and show these concepts, it is critical for parents, teachers and caregivers to reinforce these concepts in order for them to fully develop.

Pre-K Learning Objectives
Pre-K Learning Objectives focus on the developmental skills necessary for entering Kindergarten. These objectives represent the more significant areas of development teachers focus on with children, and along with other objectives, represent the foundation for the learning modules in the series.

	Early Reading Skills
	Phonetic and phonological awareness Letter and word recognition Numeral recognition Identifying letters and words from picture clues

	Mathematical Skills
	Numeral Identification Object size differences Identifying equal parts Geometric shape identification Simple counting, addition and subtraction concepts

	Communications Skills
	Introduction to hispanic language Character identification Responding to program interactivity Singing and dancing to music Telling others about the learning games in the program Social skill development

Life Experience Objectives
Life Experience Objectives focus on the awareness and development of our children’s role, relationship and responsibility to the world in which we live. Because many children lack the life experiences others may have, it is the second objective of The Old Red Barn Club to provide children the visual opportunity to see and experience many aspects of our world they might not have the opportunity to ever see or experience.

In this Life Experience Objective, each learning module will take place in a real-world environment or location that may or may not be familiar to the children. It is the intent, however, to bring forward as much knowledge about that location as possible within the time frame while also allowing the Pre-K Objectives to be achieved.

It is this balance and mix of the two objectives that makes The Old Red Barn Club a unique, exciting and beneficial series of programs.

Life Experience Objectives focus on developing critical learning skills in many areas of social development: