About Sesame Street

Since 1969, children and adults alike have flocked to the place where multiethnic, multigenerational, and even multispecies residents coexist in harmony. The people on this very special street learn life’s lessons together, provide viewers with strong role models, and teach children that everyone brings a special ability to the community. Here, children learn to use their imaginations, build social skills, and respect people’s differences.

The phenomenon that changed the face of children’s television came about after co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney observed that children in underserved communities were at a disadvantage when it came to school preparedness. She assembled a team of educational advisors, researchers, and television producers to create a show that would directly impact children’s lives.

Sesame Street put television to work as an educational tool, and independent research has repeatedly and conclusively proven that the approach succeeds in improving cognitive skills, teaching respect and social skills, and promoting school readiness skills. Children who watch the show as two-year-olds gain an advantage in math, vocabulary, and other school readiness skills by the time they are five.

How does Sesame Street help prepare children for school?

Since its debut, Sesame Street has been grounded on a comprehensive whole-child curriculum that supports preschoolers’ cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. The curriculum is created by in-house child psychologists, educators, and educational advisors, incorporating the latest research in child development and innovative approaches in early childhood education. While the series is designed to address all areas of children’s learning and development, the primary curricular focus changes every one or two seasons in order to meet preschoolers’ current critical needs.

Sesame Street helps children:

• Develop early language and literacy skills such as letter knowledge, vocabulary, and reading and writing fundamentals.
• Think things through and reason effectively through observation, asking questions, problem solving, and understanding other people’s perspectives.
• Gain a deeper understanding of early mathematical concepts and language such as numbers, counting, addition, subtraction, geometric shapes, and patterns.
• Label and express their feelings.
• Cope constructively with their feelings and empathize with others.
• Form positive relationships as they play, cooperate, and resolve conflicts.
• Develop an appreciation and love for nature, and learn simple ways of showing care and stewardship for the environment.
• Create and appreciate various forms of art such as visual art, music, and dance.
• Incorporate healthy habits in their everyday lives by eating healthy foods, staying physically active, and practicing good hygiene.
• Appreciate cultural diversity and children with various abilities.