Rest-Focused Children’s Series Brings Free Live Performances to Central Florida Early Learning Centers Amid Childcare Crisis
- The Nap Time Show
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Nap Time Show™, a low-stimulation children’s series airing on the PBS Michigan Learning Channel, is coming to Central Florida this January with free, on-site live performances for childcare centers and preschools across the Greater Orlando area.
The performances, led by creator and co-founder Sierra L. Boone, will take place January 19–22, 2026, and are designed to support emotional regulation, classroom calm, and social-emotional learning at a time when Central Florida’s early learning sector is under intense strain.
Boone, a recent graduate of the Summer 2025 Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator, is bringing the live shows to the region as part of an early pilot for Fruit Snack Streams, a classroom-based platform that helps childcare providers use developmentally appropriate media to support rest and regulation during tough transitions like naptime, staggered drop-offs, lunch and more.
A response to mounting pressure on early learning
Central Florida’s childcare system is facing deep and compounding challenges: chronic staffing shortages driven by low wages, fragile business models, and a growing mismatch between supply and demand in fast-growing, tourism-driven areas like Orlando. Many centers report capping enrollment or closing classrooms entirely because programs cannot hire or retain enough staff to operate safely.
These pressures ripple outward. When childcare is unreliable or unavailable, parents miss work, employers lose productivity, and children lose access to stable, nurturing environments during a critical period of development.
“Early educators are being asked to do more with less every single day,” said Boone. “These live performances are not about adding one more thing to teachers’ plates. They’re about showing up, in-person, to support classrooms with moments of calm, joy, and connection...without asking providers to spend money or take on extra work.”
What the performances offer
Each 20–30 minute live performance is fully interactive and age-appropriate for children ages 2–6, featuring music, gentle movement, puppetry, and social-emotional storytelling centered on rest, regulation, and self-awareness. The shows are brought directly to participating centers and offered at no cost during the pilot window.
Check out some previous performances in the Southeast Michigan region below:
For educators, the experience provides practical support during the day; helping children transition, regulate energy levels, and engage positively—while also introducing tools and language that teachers can carry forward into their daily routines.
A growing model with regional relevance
The Nap Time Show has been recognized nationally for its approach to children’s media that prioritizes developmental needs over overstimulation. By bringing the live show to Central Florida, Boone aims to build long-term partnerships with local providers and help position the region as a leader in rethinking how early learning environments support children’s and providers' well-being.
“Central Florida is exactly the kind of place where this work matters,” Boone said. “It’s a region growing fast, powered by service and tourism jobs, where families and providers are stretched thin. Supporting early learning here is about kids AND it’s about workforce stability, economic resilience, and community health.”
Booking information
Early learning centers and preschools across the Greater Orlando area can request a free live performance during the January 19–22, 2026 window by completing a brief booking form at:
Availability is limited.
About The Nap Time Show™: The Nap Time Show is a rest-focused children’s series designed to help young children slow down, regulate emotions, and build foundational social-emotional skills. The series currently airs on the PBS Michigan Learning Channel, streams on Roku TV via OnStage PLUS, and is part of a broader effort to bring developmentally supportive media into early learning environments.
About Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator: Rally is Central Florida’s civic innovation platform—a Living Lab where entrepreneurs, residents, and institutions co-create, test, and scale solutions to the region’s toughest challenges.
About Fruit Snack Streams: Fruit Snack Streams is a streaming platform designed specifically for early learning environments to help childcare providers reduce classroom chaos, support smoother transitions, retain teachers, and strengthen children’s social-emotional development.
Built with the realities of understaffed, high-energy classrooms in mind, Fruit Snack Streams offers short, calming, developmentally appropriate video experiences that help teachers guide children through some of the most challenging parts of the day—transitions like clean-up, rest time, arrival, and shifts between activities—without relying on overstimulating content or constant redirection.
The platform prioritizes calm, predictable pacing and emotionally supportive storytelling, giving educators practical tools they can use in real time to regulate classrooms, protect their own energy, and create more stable learning environments for young children.
