Cbeebies - Tweenies

Tweenies: The Television Series

The language spoken in the Tweenies is more developed than some of the younger pre-school programmes. The stories are more complex, and the spoken language 'drives' them. The language in the Tweenies is structured to allow children to engage with, and better understand, their feelings and motivations.

'Tweenies' is set in a Playschool and deals with dilemmas, challenges and issues common to very young children, such as squabbling with friends, or not owning up. Story lines provide a non-threatening context within which such issues can be discussed and resolved simply. These characters move like real children; they laugh at the same things they do; sing the same songs; play the same games and see the world in the same way.

The characters are well developed and children are able to predict what their responses might be. The mixture of story, song and creative activity provides excellent opportunities for children to learn through play. Music plays an important part in the programme and children are encouraged to join in with songs and actions. Children will all have their favourite 'stop' on the Tweenie clock!

There are several opportunities for follow-up materials and resources to enhance the programme's potential, such as stories and activities contained in 'Tweenies' and 'Toybox Teach Me' magazine.

Tweenies: the website

The Tweenies website reflects the themes from the many Tweenies programmes in its content.

Messy time, games: Contains a balanced mix of purely entertaining games and games which are fun, but also have an educational benefit. For sheer fun, look at games such as Go Tweenies, Go Batfizz, or Tweenies fancy dress. Fetch and Spell, is designed to help children as they learn to read and write at school. There are games to help with children's mathematical development, such as Bella's Stall and Dot-to-Dot Numbers. Other games reflect the strong social issues in so many of the Tweenies programmes, such as Me first?.

The Tweenies are extremely musical and singing and dancing are an important ingredient of the programmes. The website reflects their love of music and includes virtually all their songs in song time.

Story time reflects the Tweenie programmes in the content of its stories. For example, The Princess and the Pea was a story read on the Tweenies and the site gives children the chance to enjoy this inter-actively. Sir Doodles is safe is a fun, interactive story reflecting the themes of the short series of Tweenies stories. Storytime also encourages children to enjoy reading for themselves, with its Book Club.

Vroom Vroom! has been designed to be pure fun, but also to give children the chance to play together, so that the computer is not just a solitary activity.

The real world adventures springboard from subjects in the Tweenies television programmes, such as space, rainbows or elephants. They then take the children on a further journey, finding out more about these subjects than was possible in the programme. The Tweenies programmes celebrate different cultures, such as Chinese New Year and Diwali. The site also reflects the important events in all cultures, including the national days of the United Kingdom. We hope that the 'real world adventures' are exactly that, explorations on a range of topics which will increase the child's knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

All CBeebies output tries to provide children with fun which does not have to be done 'on line'. To this end, printables of the songs are included, and messy time provides printable pictures to colour in after the computer has been turned off. It also provides fun makes and recipes, which can be printed and, again, enjoyed without staring at a computer screen.

We hope that the Tweenies website provides children with as much enjoyment as the television programmes. And we hope that the site provides a range of beneficial outcomes for them, as well as with lots of fun, offline and online.