How We Get to Sesame Street
I’ve been introducing the kids to “Sesame Street.” This show has a special place in mommy’s heart. Growing up in rural Iowa, she never had access to the high fallutin’ cable broadcasts that I grew up with, shows like “Pinwheel” and “Today’s Special.”* Ellie, at the mercy of broadcast television, grew up with “Sesame Street.” Not that she remembers much about watching the show; she quickly moved on to the more mature Muppets. She still adores the old Muppet episodes, no matter how dated their guests are today.
It took a few weeks for Abbie to accept Sesame. I kept showing it to her as an alternative to watching an identical episode of “Dora the Explorer” several times a day. She kept losing interest and verbally berating me turning off Dora. Eventually I realized that the first 15 minutes of the show couldn’t keep her interest. Never mind that that’s the part with the puppets and the story, I just fast forward through those initial, plot-driven minutes.
Now that she’s had a couple weeks to watch “Sesame Street,” she’s chosen a favorite segment. Is it the letter of the day segment where Cookie Monster always eats the letter of the day in a disturbing lack of self-control? Is it the Elmo’s World segment that has nothing to do with the rest of the show? Is it the Trash Gordon segment that alerts me it’s about time to get off my chair and do some real parenting?
No. Her favorite Sesame segment is the introductory song to the day’s game. It’s the rock song that starts with the lyrics, “Come on, come on, it’s time to play. This is the game we’ll play today.” When she hears this song start, which usually appears some time around lunch, she immediately shouts, “all done,” and demands to be released from her booster seat. She then finds a ball, and throws it while smiling, emulating the silhouettes dancing across the screen.
It’s an odd favorite, but it keeps her happy. I hope she chooses a more substantive favorite segment soon. Mommy hopes she chooses something with a Muppet.
* There’s a large break in typing activity here while I check the Internet for nostalgia on these two shows.
It took a few weeks for Abbie to accept Sesame. I kept showing it to her as an alternative to watching an identical episode of “Dora the Explorer” several times a day. She kept losing interest and verbally berating me turning off Dora. Eventually I realized that the first 15 minutes of the show couldn’t keep her interest. Never mind that that’s the part with the puppets and the story, I just fast forward through those initial, plot-driven minutes.
Now that she’s had a couple weeks to watch “Sesame Street,” she’s chosen a favorite segment. Is it the letter of the day segment where Cookie Monster always eats the letter of the day in a disturbing lack of self-control? Is it the Elmo’s World segment that has nothing to do with the rest of the show? Is it the Trash Gordon segment that alerts me it’s about time to get off my chair and do some real parenting?
No. Her favorite Sesame segment is the introductory song to the day’s game. It’s the rock song that starts with the lyrics, “Come on, come on, it’s time to play. This is the game we’ll play today.” When she hears this song start, which usually appears some time around lunch, she immediately shouts, “all done,” and demands to be released from her booster seat. She then finds a ball, and throws it while smiling, emulating the silhouettes dancing across the screen.
It’s an odd favorite, but it keeps her happy. I hope she chooses a more substantive favorite segment soon. Mommy hopes she chooses something with a Muppet.
* There’s a large break in typing activity here while I check the Internet for nostalgia on these two shows.
posted by Matt at
11:02 PM
2 Comments:
I loved Sesame Street, too. Between my mother constantly reading to me and Sesame Street, I entered Kindergarten being able to read. Like REALLY read. My teacher was shocked.
I have tried B&B on it, but they're like Abbie. They're beginning to show mild interest. My game plan now is to replace the Dora/Backyardigans/Little Bill/Blue's Clues DVD we have in our car to the Sesame Street one. That's when they are a captive audience.
By
Amy, at 9:55 AM
Abbie's favorite DVD is "Sesame Street's 25th Birthday - A Musical Celebration." It's a collection of most of their favorite songs with a few short skits added to invent a story tying them together. Abbie isn't crazy about Sesame yet, but she'll watch that one at least twice, sometimes three times on a three-hour car ride before getting cranky. I'd recommend this one as a good starting point if you need it.
As for Sesame's educational value, meh. It's entertaining, demonstrates good values, and helps with rote memorization of the alphabet and numbers. Otherwise I haven't been too impressed with it as a learning tool. I think Dora and Diego are great for the way they emphasize problem solving and audience participation. I'm probably starting a giant war with this :)
By
Matt, at 4:23 PM
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