Once in a while, you come across a special person who lights up a room, even virtually. This describes Annalyce D'Agostino (Annie) who is the creative mind behind Blooming Buddies Workshop. Imagine Blue's Clues meets Tinker Bell, that is what I think of when I watched Blooming Buddies first episode.
Annie is our guest blogger this week. I am passionate about early education and bringing the best and most innovative experiences to my students. When I showed my preschool students Blooming Buddies first episode, they were mesmerized, enchanted by Annie's presence on the screen. They answered her thoughtful questions out loud. She asked a question, paused and allowed time for the children to reflect before answering. Annie uses song, sign language, and her extensive early childhood education background to bring her unique learning style to our youngest students.
Annie is a gifted edutainer; one who educates in an entertaining manner. I am excited to share her story with you!
Annalyce P. D’Agostino (Annie)
It takes more than sunlight and water to grow a little show, especially in the ever-expanding world of children’s programming. My name is Annie (Annalyce P. D’Agostino) and I’m the creator of Blooming Buddies Workshop, a new children’s video series that engages preschool-age children in a fanciful world of learning fun.
Blooming Buddies Workshop covers the basics: colors, letters, numbers, shapes, and more, with an introduction to American Sign Language. The social-emotional premise of the series is that children can grow and bloom every day in their own way—academically, socially, and emotionally. In this charming cottage-turned flower shop, we celebrate little victories because progress is gradual but exciting nonetheless.
From its early stages in January to the premiere of “Episode 1: Ready to Bloom” on April 30, Blooming Buddies Workshop has evolved significantly. As an independent creator, I shoulder the weight of every member of a production team, right up to post-production interaction through social media. Having full control at the series’ inception allowed me to work my way through each stage slowly and carefully, handpicking details purposefully to fulfill the direction. Creating backdrops from scratch, graphics, script writing, filming, editing, editing, and editing again became an all-encompassing effort.
Contrary to the children’s and educational videos I produced in the past, creating a series proved to be an additional challenge. Can I dream up at least 20 episodes based on the concept I built? What design choices should I make that I want to stick with? Final decisions didn’t come lightly—rather, they were born out of too many “maybe not”s. I wanted authenticity with a balance of whimsy, filled with bright and happy color palettes that delight and sweeten a scene. The social-emotional message to “grow and bloom” not only fit thematically, but it fulfilled the comforting, encouraging feeling I strived to capture. When these choices aligned like stars, I knew they were worth moving forward.
Blooming Buddies Workshop, “Episode 1: Ready to Bloom” is now available:
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
-YouTube: https://youtu.be/zvpmu71Yphs
Plus, check out free printable coloring and activity sheets, available with each episode release, here: https://www.
-Learn more about me and my creative endeavors here: AnnalyceCreates.com
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