JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – A local preschool teacher turned children’s show host has decided to create content that will set her show apart from Blippi or Ms. Rachel by encouraging her young audience to get up and move.
Kayla Walker, or Keekah, has made it her mission to show kids that exercise is just as fun as watching T.V.
“Keekah and Friends is a new YouTube show that we are coming out with geared towards children. We’re going to be traveling and doing a bunch of adventures and it’s educational. We do things like shapes, numbers, different types of things, and we go on adventures and we bring the kids with us as well just for a little fun,” said Walker. “I want them to be able to get up, I don’t want them to just sit there and have their eyes glued to a T.V. where they’re just doing nothing. I think if their minds and their bodies are moving constantly it helps them learn better as well.”
One way Keekah and Friends get the little ones up is with help from their animated Tune Box, Lyric.
“When I watch my kids at preschool they watch and they don’t really do much of anything but just sitting down, so I try to think of something to keep the kids active. Lyric is constantly getting them up and moving and dancing and moving their bodies so it’s not just a sit down show it’s more of a get up and dance. It’s pretty cool,” Walker said.
“She’s a magical tune box who helps them learn everything, I help them if they don’t know or if they struggle with anything I help them and I tell them a lot of things,” said Ariella, the voice of Lyric.
“If me and Bella need help to a question, we ask Lyric. She gives us the answers or she gives us clues on what the answer might be and then she will ask the audience to get up, ‘if this is the answer, dance to this correct answer and if it’s not the answer, you have to freeze your body,” Walker continued.
Walker hopes to use her platform to inspire children in the black community.
“I feel like I’m one of the first black educators. I really want to inspire young black children because I feel like we don’t have that in that type of community so it really makes me feel good about that,” said Walker.
The preschool teacher used her class as a test panel to be able to really understand what children like.
“We filmed three last year and those were kind of like a test trial just to see what the kids liked, I would play them for my preschool class and we would see what they enjoyed and what segments they liked and they really liked the time when we told them to get up and dance,” explained Walker.
In the end, the group can’t wait to get filming.
“A lot of the time I just like shooting the video because it’s a lot of fun,” said actress, Bella.
Full episodes are set to be released to the public in October 2023 on YouTube.
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