20 | JANUARY 28 • 2021

D

r. S Kids Music was
launched in September
of last year to help kin-
dergarteners learn and thrive
during the pandemic. The edu-
cational music YouTube chan-
nel is the brainchild of Sean
and Jamie Strasberger, ages 36
and 37 of Huntington Woods,
who wanted to find a creative
way to help their 5-year-old son
Ezra and others excel in virtual
school.
“There’s not a lot of time to
teach all of the content [that
kids need to learn],
” says Sean
Strasberger of his kindergar-
tener learning on Zoom, a
challenge many parents have
had to navigate throughout the
COVID-19 crisis. Hourlong
classes are often condensed
into 30-minute online sessions,
he says, which can leave little
room for the fun that younger
kids need to learn and remain
focused.
That’s where Dr. S Kids
Music steps in to add a little
color to the everyday school
routine. The YouTube channel
features episodes geared for
young kids, created, filmed
and edited by the Strasberger
family, who fully include Ezra
in the production process.
There is content about how to
count to 10, word games and
instructional dance videos
that help kindergarteners take
much needed (and fun) breaks
throughout the day.
Sean Strasberger, who teaches
at the middle school level, and
Jamie Strasberger, who works
with editing on a regular basis
making bar and bat mitzvah
montages, combined their skills
of education and video produc-
tion to develop the YouTube
channel. “We wanted to help
our son have some fun while
learning academic content
like phonics, reading, math

and writing,
” Sean Strasberger
explains.
Ezra, who was more than
eager to get involved, enjoys
helping his parents write and
produce original songs for
episodes that give kids like
himself an opportunity to have
fun while learning, an element
Jamie Strasberger says is essen-
tial throughout the stress of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr.
S Kids Music even includes
episodes centered on mental
health, teaching kids mindful-
ness exercises and that it’s OK

to have worries and fears.
“Our son was showing some
anxiety with the virtual learn-
ing,
” Jamie Strasberger says. It
inspired her and her husband
to develop a song called “Belly
Breath” that shows kids how to
breathe in and out alongside
music. “It really helped him,
”
she continues. “He still sings
it, and we’ll all do it. It’s more
playful and fun because we get
to talk about why deep breaths
will relax his body and keep
him calmer.
”
The Strasbergers have aimed

to normalize these feelings
throughout their content, which
other parents have picked up
on in their community. Many
of Ezra’s friends at school now
watch videos from Dr. S Kids
Music’s YouTube channel as
they learn remotely. Other fam-
ilies in the neighborhood have
even come to Sean and Jamie
with suggestions for future con-
tent, such as how to learn the
ABCs or an alphabet song.

YOUTUBE POPULARITY
“The traffic on YouTube has
been great for just starting in
September,
” Jamie Strasberger
says, noting that some episodes
are getting upwards of 2,000
views. Through colorful, ani-
mated videos filmed in front
of a greenscreen at their home,
the Strasbergers are quickly
building an online platform
for kids anywhere who want to
have a little fun while learning
remotely.
The process starts on
Mondays, when the family taps
into a notebook full of content
ideas to write and record songs.
Then on weekends, they’ll sit
down and brainstorm how
the videos will look, followed
by actually filming them, and
getting them to the editing and
publishing process. Videos,
which are released weekly, are
free to access.
“I don’t think kindergarten-
ers were meant to learn through
Zoom because they need that
interaction,
” Sean Strasberger
says. “They need to be singing,
they need to be getting up.
Through our YouTube channel,
we’re doing our best to include
those elements that they might
be able to do in-person.
”

Watch Dr. S Kids Music at www.
youtube.com/c/DrSKidsMusic/videos.

IN
THED
JEWS

Musical YouTube channel aims
to help kids have fun while
learning remotely.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Making
Learning Fun

“I DON’T THINK
KINDERGARTENERS
WERE MEANT TO
LEARN THROUGH

ZOOM.”

— SEAN STRASBERGER

COURTESY OF SEAN AND JAMIE STRASBERGER