That’s me with Wilson and Ditch at the playground. Wilson’s wearing the patriotic red, white, and blue shirt. He’s a pretty smart gopher. Well, at least he quotes brochures a lot. He’s traveling around America with his comical little bro, Ditch. See that red van behind us? That’s their ride. The sign on the door says: “Wilson & Ditch: Digging America.”
Blogging Gophers?
The first thing I noticed about the brothers is their accent. I can’t quite place it, but it’s pretty obvious they are not from around here. There’s wonder in every stop as they experience the joys of road-tripping. I’m an awestruck road-tripper myself, so I think that’s why we hit it off. It’s the simple things that please us. They blog about their experiences so they can inspire more families to travel together and learn about our country’s history and culture. Plus, we get geography lessons along the way. Cruise through their video index to see webisodes and hear their “Celebrate Our Fifty States” song. They have everything on their blog: comic strips, podcasts, and a Road Quest game. My kids’ favorite is the fun activity where you can play with Wilson and Ditch and your own photograph (as I did above) — or use one of their travel photos. Check out the Site Tour here.
GO! Digging
PBS Kids Go! is directed toward kids between the ages of 6 and 12. I didn’t realize there was a difference between this content and PBS Kids which is for younger children. Dig deeper and you’ll find more. I’d heard about PBS Parents, but never clicked over while my kids were playing online. At the bottom of the Wilson & Ditch page, you’ll see buttons for PARENTS and TEACHERS. I’d highly recommend clicking through a bunch of the links on these pages. There’s just a wealth of useful information I never knew existed.
Apple Pie Picks
I’d say the single most useful piece of information for parents wishing to plan a real trip (or just wanting to take a virtual trip) would be the brother’s “Apple Pie Picks.” Here are the links, if you want to take a family trip to:
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Nashville, Tennessee (scroll down)
- Rapid City, South Dakota (scroll down)
- Miami, Florida (scroll down)
- New York City, NY (scroll down)
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Tucson, Arizona (scroll down)
- Flathead Valley, Montana (scroll down)
- San Francisco, California (scroll down)
- Grand Canyon, Arizona (scroll down)
The missing Mommy part
It’s just one of the things that makes the gophers endearing. I think you’ll get to like these guys and their little quirks. As a mom, I want my kids to go off exploring their world without me, but I’d like to think they’d miss me just a little bit.
Photo courtesy of Picture Yourself page on PBS Kids Go! website using The Jim Henson Company characters. Make your own to print or e-mail.
[I learned all about Wilson & Ditch from a blogger event hosted by PBS KIDS GO! and The Jim Henson Company. I'm working on another post where I'll delve into The Henson Company's Digital Puppetry Studio.]
*We received a snack and PBS goodie bag while researching this post. Link here to full disclosure policy.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
They’re adorable! I can’t resist good puns and travel trivia.
Wow! What an incredible wealth of information!! Guess I’d better renew by support of PBS programming!!