Why Our Site Works
Sesame Street has been educating and entertaining children for nearly 40 years.
We succeed because we work directly with children to identify their needs, and then use what we discover to produce media that kids love and learn from. Here’s why our approach works, and how you’ll see it at work on this website.
We focus on the whole child
Sesame Street is best known for its proven ability to help your child learn skills and behaviors that are central to school success. But we also address a wide range of life skills that will help your child grow to become a happy, healthy person. These skills range from expressing emotions, persevering, and sharing to developing sensible eating habits, creative self-expression, and respect for people all around the world and for our planet.
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We've harnessed the power of interactivity
The material on our site is the direct result of many years' experience. We've been developing interactive educational games since the early 1980s, when we saw that computers and video games could be powerful learning tools.
We build content around children's needs
We've done extensive research with children to help us understand how they use computers. The special features and customizations you see throughout our site address those needs, so you can feel comfortable that your child will find it both easy to navigate and an engaging way to learn.
Our characters help your child along
A Sesame Street friend hosts each activity, following your child's progress through a game and offering encouragement along the way. Learning in the company of a trusted friend or adult can make a meaningful difference to children, and our characters serve as that kind of companion. We strive to foster a safe and trusted learning environment, and our fuzzy friends are central to your child's learning experience.
Our games meet varying needs and abilities
Our site caters to children with a wide range of abilities. Based on our research, we know that younger preschoolers tend to find it difficult to play computer games with a mouse. Therefore, we've developed a variety of games that do not require mouse skills at all, but allow them to interact with the content simply by pressing any key on the keyboard. We've tested these games with young children, and the appeal is very high. We also have mouse games, which encourage our older users with more developed motor skills to click the mouse. Both types of games offer clear, child-friendly interfaces that encourage exploration.
We give children specific feedback
As your child plays a game, we pay attention to each mouse click to see how she is responding and learning. If she gets stuck on a particular challenge, the game's host gives her specific feedback that guides her through the activity. This directed support and encouragement helps your child progress through games at her own pace while being consistently challenged but not frustrated by the experience.
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We also focus on the needs of parents and caregivers
We've developed several features just for you, including PlaySAFE, Sesame Playlists, and My Street. We've also added Parent Tips to our games, so you can read real-time information about what your child is learning as he plays. Follow the links below to learn about these unique, free features, which help you create a personalized Sesame Street experience for your child. We encourage you to have fun as you help your child learn and grow – and we're excited to be part of that experience.