What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this classic educational series
sometimes deals with strong emotions, such as wariness and
uncertainty about a new baby coming. The Muppet characters are
sometimes slightly irreverent, but that tiny bit of edge is
what makes the show fun for older viewers to watch, and it
never gets in the way of preschoolers' learning or
enjoyment.
Families can talk about the topics each episode tackles. What did you learn about numbers and letters today? Watching with your kids will give you many creative play ideas -- try carrying a theme from the show into activities when the TV shuts off.
Common Sense Media Review
SESAME STREET bites off much more than most shows for the
preschool set. In just one episode, numerous short segments
tackle topics as diverse as dancing, painting, superheroes,
in/on/under, and feeling proud.
Staples of each episode, which still feature longtime characters, include The Count introducing the number of the day, Cookie Monster announcing the letter of the day, "Journey to Ernie" with Big Bird trying to find Ernie in exotic locations, and "Elmo's World," hosted by kids' favorite red fuzzball.
Visual styles vary as much as the topics, alternating among live-action, video, and animation. The show is created by educators and tries earnestly to capitalize on children's natural love of learning, while also emphasizing a whole-child curriculum, teaching literacy and math alongside social-emotional topics.
Sesame Street succeeds in giving kids beloved characters to trust, love, and learn from, but does the educational potpourri make for ideal educational viewing? The program's creators asked themselves the same question and in recent seasons restructured the show to allow young viewers to predict what comes next. While not as reliant upon repetition as Nickelodeon's smash hit Blue's Clues , Sesame Street has followed suit by bringing more order to the neighborhood. What's been sacrificed, unfortunately, are most of the funny, slightly irreverent narrative segments starring the Muppets that made even big kids laugh.
Other strong educational series for preschoolers include Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and Mustard Pancakes.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
