Sesame Street

The BC Curriculum for students K-5 has a large emphasis on social emotional learning. Working in primary education, we are consistently weaving social emotional learning into the day so kiddos have the opportunity to discuss personal strengths and learn about self-regulation. As there is a lot of self-reflection required from students regarding the Core Competencies throughout their time in elementary school, it was encouraging to see some apps which would support that development prior to entering mainstream education. I haven’t been recommended many social emotional learning apps, so I was thrilled to stumble across the collection from Sesame Street.

Although Sesame Street is intended for a younger demographic than the kids I work for, they have a quality collection of apps which assist families in the development of lifelong skills with their kids. One example I examined further was “Sesame Street: Family Play”. A bilingual, research-based app, it includes three categories for kids age 2-5 to interact with: Keep Busy, Move Your Body, and Calm Down. They have games and resources teaching families about topics such as washing hands, caring for others, cooking, managing emotions, exercise, and many more.

Unfortunately, reading is required to navigate this app, however it is intended to be used with parental inclusion, hence the name – Family Play. There is an option to play via video chat, which I thought was a unique but positive option to include for kids who are distanced from relatives. As there are 130+ activities to choose from, users have the ability to personalize their experience and try a variety of learning activities based on their feelings. Have you tried out any of the Sesame Street apps?