As a parent, it can be challenging to find screen time options that are both entertaining and educational.
I get the feeling I've been there.
We recently tried Cocomelon Sing and Play with JJ on our Smart TV, and the difference was obvious.
Instead of zoning out, our kids were up on their feet laughing, singing and clapping, along with JJ and friends.
Using this really cool innovative technology on the Smart TV.
The characters actually responded to our kids' voices and movements, which made it feel like a real play session rather than a show.
Developed by early childhood experts, Cocomelon.
Sing and Play with JJ supports vocabulary growth rhythm, coordination and confidence.
The experience is safe, ad-free and completely hands-free on the big screen, which means no fiddling with remotes.
Our kids loved being part of the action and we love seeing them light up while learning through joyful music and movement.
So if you want screen time that feels like playtime you can feel good about, give it a try.
Available now in the Volley app on your smart TV.
Just search Volley in your TV's app store and start your free trial of Cocomelon.
Sing and play with JJ today.
Volley.
Welcome to Bedtime History.
Hello, this is Breck.
So I have to tell you a funny story.
The other day I was at the store with my son.
He really wanted a new toy.
He just had to have it.
You've been there as a parent.
Then I said, okay, you have your own money.
You can buy it.
He thought about it for a moment and then said, nevermind.
I guess I don't want it that much.
I had to laugh afterward but I love that the Acorns Early app and debit card teaches my kids to manage their own money.
They can earn money with the in-app chore tracker, practice real life budgeting with automatic allowances and even set their own savings goals.
One of my children is now an adult and I believe teaching her financial literacy skills as a child made all the difference in how she manages her money now.
Ready to join over 12 million parents and kids who've unlocked their kid's potential with Acorns Early.
Get your first month on us when you head to acornsearlycom forward, slash bedtime history or download the Acorns Early app.
That's one month free when you sign up at acornsearly.com forward slash bedtime history.
Imagine it's a cool October evening in 1957.
You finish your dinner and walk outside your house.
You look up at the night sky like you've done hundreds of times before.
The stars are twinkling like they always do.
Everything seems normal and peaceful.
But then you notice something different.
A tiny dot of light is moving slowly across the stars.
Your eyes follow it as it glides silently overhead.
Wait a minute.
That's not normal.
It's not a plane because it's too high and too quiet.
It's not a shooting star because it's moving too slowly and steadily.
Your mind races.
What could it be?
Then you remember hearing something on the radio earlier today.
The Soviet Union launched something into space, something called Sputnik.
Your heart starts beating faster.
Could that be it?
Are you really watching a man-made object flying through space right now?
You stand there with your mouth open, unable to look away.
This tiny moving light above your head is something that has never existed before.
It's a satellite called Sputnik, and it's orbiting Earth.
You're watching history happen right before your eyes and you know the world will never be the same.
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space.
It was the first artificial satellite ever sent into orbit around Earth.
Artificial means it was made by people, not by nature.
The word Sputnik is a Russian word that means traveling companion.
And that's exactly what it was.
It traveled around and around our planet, circling the Earth every hour and 36 minutes.
Sputnik wasn't very big.
It was about the size of a beach ball.
If you measured it across the middle, it would be 22 inches.
That's less than two feet wide.
It weighed 184 pounds, which is about as much as a grown man.
The satellite was made of shiny metal that reflected sunlight.
That's why people could see it moving across the night sky.
It looked like a bright star slowly drifting through space.
The satellite had four long antennas sticking out from it.
These antennas were like long metal whiskers that spread out in different directions.
Each antenna was about nine feet long.
That's taller than most adults.
They were used to send radio signals back to Earth.
The signals made a beeping sound that went beep, beep, beep.
People all over the world could hear this beeping if they had the right kind of radio.
Families gathered around their radios at night to listen to the strange sounds coming from space.
Some people found the beeping scary.
Others found it exciting and wonderful.
The beeps lasted for 21 days until Sputnik's batteries ran out.
Even after the beeping stopped, Sputnik kept orbiting Earth for three more months before it fell back down and burned up in the atmosphere.
The launch of Sputnik was a huge surprise to most people, especially in the United States.
Many Americans thought their country had the best scientists and the most advanced technology in the world.
They believed America would be first to reach space.
When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik first, americans were shocked.
They couldn't believe that another country had beaten them into space.
Newspapers had huge headlines about it.
People talked about sputnik at work, at school and at dinner tables.
Everyone had an opinion about what it meant.
This surprise was so big that people started calling it the sputnik crisis.
Why did people care so much about a small beeping ball in space?
Well, at that time The United States and the Soviet Union were not friendly with each other.
They were in what's called the Cold War.
It wasn't a war with fighting and soldiers, but it was a competition to see which country was more powerful and had better technology.
When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, it showed the whole world that they had really good rockets and scientists.
This made Americans worried.
If the Soviets could launch a satellite into space, what else could they do?
President Dwight Eisenhower and other American leaders knew they had to respond.
They decided that America needed to catch up in space exploration.
About a year after Sputnik launched in 1958, President Eisenhower created NASA.
NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
It's the part of the American government that explores space.
NASA became one of the most important organizations in American history.
The launch of Sputnik started what we call the Space Race.
It was like a race between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could do the most amazing things in space.
After Sputnik, the Soviet Union launched more satellites.
They even sent a dog named Laika into space.
The United States worked hard to catch up.
Americans launched their own satellites and sent astronauts into space.
The Space Race led to incredible achievements.
In 1961, a Soviet cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space.
He orbited Earth once and returned safely.
It was an amazing accomplishment.
Later that same year, an American astronaut named Alan Shepard became the first American in space.
His flight lasted only 15 minutes, but it showed that America was catching up.
Then, in 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon.
Millions of people around the world watched on television as Armstrong stepped onto the moon's surface.
None of this would have happened without Sputnik.
That little beeping satellite started it all.
Sputnik also changed education in America.
After Sputnik launched, American leaders worried that students weren't learning enough math and science.
They thought America needed more scientists and engineers to compete with the Soviet Union.
So the government started spending more money on science education.
Schools added more science classes.
More students started studying to become scientists, engineers, and astronauts.
Your school probably has good science programs today, partly because of Sputnik.
The technology we have today also comes from the space race that Sputnik started.
Satellites now help us in many ways.
Weather satellites help predict if it's going to rain or snow.
GPS satellites help us find our way when we're driving or hiking.
Communication satellites let us make phone calls and watch TV shows from around the world.
None of these things would exist without those first satellites like Sputnik.
Scientists also learned a lot from Sputnik's radio signals.
The beeping sounds that Sputnik sent back to Earth weren't just noise, they contained information.
Scientists used these signals to learn about a part of the atmosphere called the ionosphere.
They learned how radio waves travel through space.
The beeps also told scientists about the temperature and pressure inside the satellite.
All this information helped scientists understand more about space and how to build better satellites.
Sputnik only stayed in orbit for three months, but its impact lasted forever.
That small metal ball with its four antennas changed how people thought about space.
Before Sputnik, space exploration was just science fiction in books and movies.
After Sputnik, space exploration became real.
People realized that humans could actually go to space.
We could send machines beyond our planet.
We could explore the universe.
Today, there are thousands of satellites orbiting Earth.
They help us communicate, navigate, study the weather, and learn about our planet and the universe.
Every single one of them exists because of Sputnik.
That first satellite showed us that space exploration was possible.
Sputnik reminds us that big changes can come from small things.
A beach ball-sized satellite weighing less than 200 pounds changed the entire world.
It inspired countries to explore space.
It encouraged students to study science.
It led to technologies that we use every day.
And it all started with that little beeping ball circling Earth in 1957.
The next time you look up at the night sky, think about Sputnik.
Think about how that first satellite opened the door to space exploration.
Think about all the amazing things that happen because people dared to send something beyond our planet.
Maybe someday you'll be one of the scientists or engineers who builds the next great thing that explores space.
After all, every big achievement in space exploration started with someone looking up at the sky and wondering what if?
That's exactly what the scientists who built Sputnik did, and they changed the world forever.
