Sesame Workshop – Mental Health Resources
Multi-platform initiative, Sema Workshop is kicking off Mental Health Awareness Month with a variety of offerings including a new YouTube special, Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organisation behind Sesame Street, has announced a new organisation-wide focus on the emotional well-being of young children and their families. Responding to the growing mental health crisis for young children and building on decades of experience developing social-emotional learning content for families, the Workshop will address this critical need through a wide range of activities and engaging content designed for the whole family and available on multiple platforms to reach children and families wherever they are.
The Workshop’s approach will offer strategies to support all families – from celebrating joyful everyday moments and helping children learn the essential skills they need to understand and manage their feelings to supporting parents and community providers in understanding the importance of recognising signs of possible emotional distress.
Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular:
Beginning with Mental Health Awareness month, Sesame Workshop launches this initiative with Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular, a 45-minute Sesame Street and YouTube health and wellness special.
When Elmo is feeling some big feelings about playing a song in front of everyone for the YouTube Talent Show, he asks Abby to cast a magic spell that will get rid of his big feelings. The spell goes haywire, sending Elmo and Abby on a mindfulness adventure to find her wand pieces and learn techniques to deal with big feelings from favourite stars, including Juanpa Zurita, Jenny Slate, Fitness Marshall, Lauren Riihimaki (LaurDIY), and Marques Brownlee. Original music from the special will be available from Arts Music, a division of Warner Music Group.
Watch the episode HERE
Me & My Grown-Up:
Fostering nurturing relationships is a key component to the emotional well-being of children. Sesame Workshop has partnered with the Ad Council’s Sound It Out campaign to distribute a new PSA with an original song, “Me & My Grown-Up.” In the video, Elmo and his dad, Louie; Wes and his dad, Elijah; Big Bird with Granny Bird; and Abby and her mom, Maggie, sing about the important role grown-ups play in supporting the emotional well-being of the children in their lives.
Watch the video HERE
Bilingual resources:
New bilingual resources highlighting the benefits of nurturing relationships will be released throughout May on the Sesame Workshop Emotional Well-being website.
This website is Sesame Workshop’s newly launched resource hub for parents, caregivers, and providers. In the video I Notice, I Feel, I Can, Elmo and Louie practice three steps to manage big feelings when a DIY project goes wrong; in The Feelings Garden, Elmo, Louie, Abby, and Maggie learn it’s possible to experience several different feelings at once. The new suite of resources also includes a digital storybook, printable activity sheets, articles, and forthcoming webinars for providers.
The Happiness Lab podcast:
A special episode of The Happiness Lab podcast premieres this spring, featuring host Dr. Laurie Santos, Sesame Workshop CEO Steve Youngwood, and Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive Vice President, Chief Production and Creative Development Officer, sharing strategies that parents and caregivers can use to help themselves and their children feel happier, with an appearance from Elmo. A three-episode series on The Happiness Lab will also revisit the main happiness strategies, helping parents and their children feel better with the beloved characters and songs of Sesame Street. Listen to The Happiness Lab on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Goodnight, World! podcast with Headspace:
Sesame Workshop’s podcast with Headspace, Goodnight, World!, will return this summer with a second season. Developed by a team of early childhood and meditation experts, Goodnight, World! reimagines the popular sleepcast format to help children practice transitioning from their active days to naptime or bedtime. Sesame Workshop also collaborated with Headspace and Penguin Random House on a six-book series based on the highly successful “Monster Meditation” videos on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Sesame Workshop website
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: Supplied
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