Sesame Workshop is breaking new ground through the introduction of an innovative research-based DVD series for parents and young children that encourages learning through parent-child interactions. Based on research that shows that young children learn best when experiences are shared with a loved one, these DVDs -- Sesame Beginnings -- are specially designed to help parents and caregivers encourage their child's curiosity and interest in learning during everyday interactions.
Sesame Beginnings offers age-appropriate content while entertaining, engaging and encouraging interaction between caregivers and their children. Featuring baby versions of the Sesame Street Muppets and their caregivers, these characters provide fun, engaging examples of these kinds of moments, while the various songs, activities and stories provide parents and caregivers with fresh material for interactions they can enjoy with their child throughout the day. The DVDs are also supplemented by a printed guide, offering parents additional tips for ways to extend the learning after viewing through activities such as feeding, bath time and playtime.
Thirty-six years ago, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that created Sesame Street, broke new ground in television by proving the medium to be a positive learning tool for preschoolers. Today, Sesame Street is considered to be the world's largest informal educator of children. Now research is revealing that millions of children under the age of two are watching TV and videos, including Sesame Street. Consequently, Sesame Workshop felt a responsibility to better serve the families of children under two by creating programming that is specially designed to be developmentally appropriate for this younger age group, as well as, model interaction between caregiver and child.
Sesame Beginnings content was developed in collaboration with an advisory board of child development and media experts and ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit organization comprised of pediatricians, child development experts and researchers dedicated to promoting the healthy development of infants and toddlers. ZERO TO THREE is the primary source for development of the parenting content in the program, as well as, accompanying print materials written specifically for parents and caregivers.
Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Sesame Workshop's Vice President of Education and Research, commented: "Research indicates that children learn best when experiences are shared with a loved one. In the style of Sesame Street, Sesame Beginnings was created with this dual audience in mind; while there's age-appropriate content for the young child, the playful Muppet caregivers model fun songs and activities to be adapted by the adult viewers to create their own special moments with their children."
"Our own research showed that Sesame Street videos were among those frequently viewed by the under two set, in spite of the fact that the content and curriculum of Sesame Street is designed for ages 2-5," noted Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President, Sesame Workshop. "With the Sesame Beginnings DVDs, we're providing parents and caregivers of children under two with content specifically designed to use media as a tool to further adult/child interaction."
"Quality early learning experiences are grounded in strong parent-child interactions," said Claire Lerner, L.C.S.W., ZERO TO THREE's Director of Parent Education. "Sesame Beginnings DVDs offer parents a developmentally appropriate, interactive viewing experience."
The DVDs, "Beginning Together" and "Make Music Together" created by Sesame Workshop and distributed by Sony Wonder will be in stores in April 2006. They will join the wide-ranging product line, Sesame Beginnings, which Sesame Workshop introduced last year, that currently includes apparel, books, products for health, body and home as well as seasonal products. As with all Sesame Workshop licensed products, proceeds from the sales of these videos help fund the Workshop's educational projects for children around the world.
ABOUT SESAME BEGINNINGS
Sesame Beginnings meets the needs of infants and parents by providing opportunities for enhanced parent/child interactions while offering accessible research-based developmental information, all with a name and characters that parents, and grandparents, already know and trust. In the same way that Sesame Street educates preschoolers with a "whole child" curriculum, Sesame Beginnings encourages "whole infant" development. From the child development experts at Sesame Workshop, on-product tips give parents the tools to support their child's cognitive, physical, social and emotional development during everyday opportunities for interaction. Parenting tips are designed to be integrated into daily routines such as feeding, soothing, bedtime, bath time, playtime and travel.
The Sesame Beginnings brand features all-new baby versions of the Sesame Street characters parents know and love, along with new designs and packaging. Sesame Beginnings provides an opportunity for parents of infants to introduce the beloved Sesame Street characters to their children from the very beginning.
Sesame Beginnings also features innovative, creative, high-quality books from some of the industry's top manufacturers. Random House and Soft Play launched successful publishing programs designed to encourage new parents to start reading to their children from birth in order to develop language and literacy skills. The leveled books provide parents with a guide to age-appropriate stories to foster a lifelong love of reading with their child.
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO TO THREE's mission is to support the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families. ZERO TO THREE is a national, non-profit, multidisciplinary organization founded in 1977 that advances its mission by informing, educating and supporting adults who influence the lives of infants and toddlers. For more information, please visit: www.zerotothree.org.
ADVISORY BOARD
As with all Sesame Workshop projects, the content for Sesame Beginnings was developed in collaboration with an advisory committee of national child development and media experts including Daniel R. Anderson, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Rachel Barr, Ph.D., Georgetown University; Lori A. Custodero, D.M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University; Claire Lerner, L.C.S.W., ZERO TO THREE; Kyle Pruett, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine; Claudia A. Saad, M.A., CCC-SLP, American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
ABOUT SESAME WORKSHOP
Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in children's lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award-winning programs like Dragon Tales and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales and Sagwa products right back into its educational projects for children around the world. Find the Workshop online at www.sesameworkshop.org.
SONY WONDER
Sony Wonder is the children's and family division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
