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

