Preparing Children for a Lifetime of Learning

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Babies are natural learners, picking up knowledge from the day they are born and learning thousands of things by the time they enter school. A child's parents are an integral part of this process, providing the first "classroom" experiences in the home, the car, the grocery store, and most importantly, the lap. But when it comes to preparing a child for the real classroom, how does a parent know what skills to teach their child to ensure school readiness?

Sesame Workshop researchers asked parents and teachers for their thoughts on this issue, and the responses showed that the two groups had very different opinions. Sesame Workshop's director of outreach and content design, Rocío Galarza, explains that according to early formative research, teachers believed social skills to be more important for school readiness, since a child who enters the classroom able to handle social and emotional challenges is better equipped to learn. Parents, on the other hand, indicated that the emphasis for school preparedness should be on literacy and math skills.

Addressing teachers' and parents' needs

Bearing these differing viewpoints in mind, the Workshop addressed both groups' needs and developed Happy, Healthy, Ready for School, which helps parents enrich a child's everyday routine with learning experiences.

"The initiative took the points of view of both parents and caregivers, and created an approach that used three different buckets of skills that children can develop in order to get ready for school," Galarza explains. "There was an area for social and emotional skill development, which was suggested by teachers. There were general knowledge or cognitive kills that came from parents. And also ideas for physical, health, and hygiene skill development."

The project's resources help parents maximize the time they spend with their children, underscoring the idea that learning can occur anywhere from the dinner table to the grocery store, and any time from breakfast time to bedtime.

Focusing on social and emotional and general knowledge development

Happy, Healthy, Ready for School offers recommendations that will help a child prepare to enter school strong, healthy, rested, energetic, and ready to learn. Nutrition and hygiene play a key role along with social emotional and general knowledge skills, so the resources include tips on making a healthy breakfast, ways to keep physical active and other important recommendations as keeping immunizations up-to-date.

To address social and emotional skill development, the project offers guidance on helping children express their emotions constructively while encouraging them to understand other people's feelings. It includes material on sharing with others, understanding different perspectives, and coping with everyday challenges.

On the general knowledge front, the resources include tools parents can use to engage children in activities to establish the early foundations for literacy, such as engaging in conversations, pointing out surrounding print around their neighborhoods, and understanding the importance of experimenting with scribbles or drawing.

Response from parents and teachers

When the team conducted research to see how the project was working, they discovered that their attempts to please both parents and teachers had succeeded. Galarza says that this research showed that parents find the materials very useful in understanding and navigating the complex issue of school readiness.

"Parents felt that the project really helped them have a definition [of school readiness] that they could actually do something about," Galarza explains.

Based on the success of Happy, Healthy, Ready for School, Sesame Workshop and PNC Bank launched a follow-up project, Learning Is Everywhere.



Funding Partners

PNC Financial Services Group