Photo Credit: Sesame Workshop

According to recent statistics, 16 million children (1 in 4) live in households with limited access to nutritious foods.  Walmart recently partnered with Sesame Workshop on a prime-time special to address the problem of child hunger.  Growing Hope Against Hunger offers an educational, poignant look at child hunger, while offering practical solutions and hope.  Real stories of children who have directly experienced hunger are portrayed, but all end positively. The Muppets, including Lily (a new Muppet who’s family struggles with hunger), and Brad Paisley present strategies  like holding a food drive, planting a garden, and volunteering at/donating to a food pantry.

Photo Credit: Sesame Workshop

It’s a special I feel families should watch together, as children will likely have questions.  It’s important for children to understand and be sensitive to the issue, since they may be attending school with a child facing hunger.  And my own children need to understand how blessed they are to have something as simple as a meal available to them whenever they desire.

Walmart’s grant made possible the future national television broadcast of Growing Hope Against Hunger. Here is a short clip from the special:

I highly recommend visiting Sesame Workshop for resources and tips. You can also watch the entire special via the website.

Disclosure: I participate in the Walmart Moms program and am compensated for my time and honest opinions.

Earlier this month, we celebrated Elmo’s Birthday and the return of The Body Exhibit at the Cube.  Sesame Street Presents: The Body is a hands-on, interactive exhibit designed to promote active living and a healthy lifestyle. Most children know and adore the Sesame Street gang and this is what will initially excite them. The exhibit features a variety of age-appropriate experiences that allow children at varying developmental levels to explore the human body and how to keep it healthy.  Parents can pick up an accompanying guide to talk to their children further about the concepts presented at the exhibit.  If you have an active preschooler like my son, you might find this to be more achievable at home.

The Body is part of Sesame Workshop’s “Healthy Habits for Life” initiative, which was created in response to the growing crisis of childhood obesity and designed to address the importance of establishing an early foundation of healthy habits.  The exhibit emphasizes scientific investigation and targets children between the ages of 2 and 8.

Each time we drive past the Cube, my son excitedly tells me all about how he danced with Grover, dressed Elmo for winter, and picked out fruit and veggies at the store (Mr. Hooper’s Store). My son was barely 2 when we experienced The Body for the first time and I don’t know that he remembered much of it.  Going through the exhibit was new and exciting for him and I feel like he got more out of it this time.  We’re definitely heading back before the exhibit closes on May 1st.

This weekend (February 19th-21st), Elmo will be at Discovery Science Center for a special Meet & Greet at 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.  You can find more information about The Body on their website.

No compensation was received for this post. We were invited to a media preview which helped facilitate this review.

Children are naturally curious about their bodies.  My son is getting to the age where he wants to know why and how things work.  A little over a year ago, we experienced The Body in Los Angeles.  The exhibit, presented by Sesame Street will return to Southern California on January 29th.

This hands-on exhibit is divided into five areas that feature a variety of interactive hands-on exhibits designed to teach children about the human body and how to keep it healthy.  Parents and children will count their organs with the Count, watch the process of digestion with Oscar the Grouch, help Elmo ride a bike, dance along with Grover and Rosita, and learn about healthy eating at Baby Bear’s Mini Mart.

My son was a bit young when we frequented the exhibit.  It’s designed for children ages 2-8 and I think he’s going to enjoy and understand the exhibit in a meaningful way this time around.  Many children know and love the characters from Sesame Street and I can’t think of a better way to learn all about their bodies.  And as a special treat, Elmo will be available for a Meet & Greet every Saturday and Sunday through February 28th.

Did you know that Elmo’s birthday is on February 3rd? It’s news to me too!  To celebrate, Discovery Science Center will hold a very special VIP celebration complete with an allergy-free birthday cake, VIP access to the Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit and a special visit with Elmo.  The VIP celebration will be held at Discovery Science Center on February 3rd from 6-8 pm.

Win It! Two FAMILIES will join me at Elmo’s VIP birthday celebration! Simply leave me a comment with one thing you and your child are looking forward to learning at The Body. Comments will close on January 20th, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST and I must have your RSVP in by the 21st.  US Residents only.  Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one. Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

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No compensation was received for this post. I will be attending a the event, courtesy of DSC.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Sesame Street released two new educational games for preschoolers:  Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure and Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival.  The games, which are based on the television series, encourage early literacy and math skills.  My preschooler has yet to play either the Wii or the DS, simply because he doesn’t have the dexterity to do so.  Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Sesame Street addressed that gap by introducing kid-friendly “gameplay helpers” to simplify gameplay controls with the goal of helping children understand which buttons to push on the remote.  They’re designed to resemble Cookie Monster and Elmo, which was definitely appealing to my son.

Here is a quick summary of the two games:

Elmo and Zoe head to the zoo in Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure, where they explore exciting zoo habitats and play games based on a variety of literacy skills. Players learn such skills as letter identification, letter sounds and word families in the Aquarium, Savanna, Jungle, Wetlands and Arctic habitats.

In Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival, kids join Cookie Monster and Big Bird at a fun-filled carnival with gameplay steeped in math skills, including number identification, counting, shapes and pattern recognition.

Last week, we had the privilege of being the invited guests of Warner Bros. Studios for a media preview of Sesame Street’s new video games.  While the adults ate lunch and received a demo, the kids had an opportunity to try out the DS versions.  When I picked up my son, he was sitting quietly playing Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure.  My son rarely sits quietly for anything so I know that he enjoyed the game.

Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, the Vice President of Education and Research at Sesame Workshop, led an interesting discussion about how the games were developed.  Dr. Truglio is responsible for the development of Sesame Street’s interdisciplinary curriculum and oversees all educational research related to the development of the show’s content.  The developers wanted to address the academic, social, and emotional needs of children while focusing on literacy and numeracy.  Recognizing that the needs of children change over time, they developed both games to include three different levels.  Once a child’s profile has been created, the game will retain that info for future play.

One of the most important aspects of the game is that is designed to be played with your children.  Sesame Workshop believes that media platforms should be shared with children, rather than serving as a babysitter (and I agree!).  The games possess a Parental Assist Mode that allows the use of a second Wii-Remote to assist the child through the game without taking the remote away from the child.  Preschool children like my son, strive to be autonomous, even if they’re not necessarily mature enough to do everything on their own.  The game was designed to be challenging but not frustrating. Parents can use those moments when a child answers a question wrong as a learning opportunity.

I didn’t get a chance to get hands on with the DS or Wii versions because I opted to go on a tour of  Warner Bros. Studios and Museum.  But we’re scheduled to receive the Wii version so I’ll update you on our experience soon!

Cookie’s Counting Carnival and Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure are available now for Wii, DS, and PC.  You can save 10% when you enter the code MOMMY on their website (valid through December 20)

No compensation was received for this post.  I was invited to a media preview, courtesy of Warner Bros. and Sesame Workshop.

Last year, I took my son to see Elmo’s Green Thumb at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and he absolutely adored the show.  So this year, we went back for 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends.  The show, which features the entire Sesame Street gang, is lively, musical, and educational.  The entire cast sings and dances through a variety of far away, imagined places and teaches children that they can do a myriad of things with their imagination.

The stage is bright and colorful, the characters come to greet the kids down the aisles, and my son danced to the music. Here are some pictures from the show:

There are currently three Sesame Street Live shows touring throughout the country. For information on tickets and showtimes, just visit the website.

No compensation was received for this post.

We’ve planted flowers in the past, but he was too young to be overly interested in it.  But a few weeks ago we planted sunflowers.  My son looks at the pots where the leaves have sprouted and talks excitedly about how he planted those sunflowers which are now starting to grow.

If you’re looking for a fun, educational activity to do with your children this month (which is Earth month), consider planting a tree or a garden.  Planting a tree or growing your own vegetables in a garden are simple, effective ways to help the environment.  Trees minimize the effects of global warming by trapping CO2 emissions, cool your home, reduce urban runoff and capture dust particles from the air.  Growing your own vegetables in a garden minimizes chemicals and pesticides, lowers emissions, and reduces the amount of trash that ends up in landfills (Practical Environmentalist).

This week, my son and I planted tomatoes (let’s see how well we did in a few weeks!) with Sesame Street’s My First Gardening Kit. Lowe’s now carries Sesame Street seeds and gardening items.  The product line features familiar characters like Elmo and Abby and includes gardening totes, a mini garden kit, and a mini greenhouse kit.  Children can plant watermelons, pepper, sunflowers, pumpkins, garden beans and tomatoes.  My World is Green and Growing is an initiative launched by Sesame Street to support children’s innate curiosity about nature.  Each of the gardening products include educational materials to teach children how fruits and vegetables begin with seeds and grow to become food.  The new line also compliments Sesame Street’s Healthy Habits for Life initiative, designed to help children develop healthy lifestyles they can practice through fun, simple every day activities.

The projects are simple, affordable ($4.99-$10.99), and fun.  Sesame Street has taken gardening and made it into an interactive learning experience for kids.  I appreciate the activity booklets (which are in English and Spanish) designed to help parents discuss important concepts related to growing a garden.  For more information or to purchase Sesame Street’s new line of gardening products visit your nearest Lowe’s!

I did not receive compensation for this post.  Product samples were provided to facilitate this review.

Sunny Days…Ok…so I’ve been singing this with my little boy the past few days (giggle!).  I grew up watching Sesame Street.  In fact, my mother tells me that at the time, it’s really the only television show she’d let me watch.  My son loves watching the show and his favorite character is Elmo. My mother-in-law gave my son my husband’s stuffed Elmo from when he was a child.  My point is, Sesame Street has been around a long time (40 years to be exact) and a lot of history has been made.  It’s interesting to watch the same show we watched as children with my son.

On November 6, 2009, Sesame Street:  40 Years of Sunny Days will be released on DVD.  Since I haven’t seen it yet, here is a little more information from the site:

For 40 years, sunny days have swept the clouds away and inspired preschoolers to learn, grow and achieve their highest potential.  Relive the best-of-the-best when SESAME STREET: 40 YEARS OF SUNNY DAYS debuts as a two-disc DVD set November 10 from Vivendi Entertainment and Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street. Premiering on November 10, 1969, Sesame Street is the longest running children’s series and “…arguably, the most important children’s program in the history of television” (Newsweek.com). Featuring nearly six hours of everyone’s favorite Sesame Street stories, songs, Muppets™ and celebrity segments, the SESAME STREET: 40 YEARS OF SUNNY DAYS collectible set spans the renowned show’s four decades, includes never-before-seen archival footage and a limited-edition hard covered commemorative book.

I am so excited about seeing this.  I have no idea if I’ll remember any of the episodes but it’s going to be fun reliving those memories.  Tomorrow is the release (did you happen to see Google yesterday and today?) and the two-disc set will be available for $29.93.

Win It! Two of you will win a copy of this DVD and one of you will win a copy of the DVD PLUS a copy of Sesame Street: A Celebration – 40 Years Of Life On The Street.  Simply leave me a comment with your favorite Sesame Street moment.  Comments will close on November 20, 2009 at 10 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

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Get to know what’s under your skin at Sesame Street Presents: The Body, an amazing new educational attraction featuring Elmo, Oscar, Grover and the rest of your Sesame Street friends. This new interactive exhibition teaches children how their bodies work and how to keep them healthy as they hop, jump, run and dance their way through this hands-on Sesame Street adventure.

The exhibit is divided into 5 main areas, Sesame Street, Your Outsides, Your Insides, How You Work, and Staying Healthy.  Included is a guide that allows parents to expound upon the topics raised during their exploration.  What makes this exhibit attractive to kids is the tie to familiar characters and the hands-on experience.  As soon as we walked in my son recognized Oscar the Grouch’s trash can and those famous steps to the 123 Building where he met and talked with Elmo. My son kicked a ball, learned all about brushing his teeth, combing his hair, and washing his hands, dressed Elmo, and got sneezed on.  We “pumped” the heart, inflated the lungs, and even experienced the entire process of digestion (from food to poop!).  My favorite part, of course, was the Count Organ’s Organ where we learned all about our vital organs.  My son’s favorite part?  Super Grover’s Obstacle Course, of course. This is a padded (thankfully) area where kids can climb, slide, crawl, jump, and generally just release energy!  I think the best part of this exhibit is the fact that it teaches kids important lessons on how to take care of their body.  Mr. Hooper’s Store is the place where children can shop for healthy foods and learn about the importance of a healthy diet. My son spent almost as long in the store as he did playing in the Obstacle Course.  Here are some pictures I took at the event:

Sesame Street Presents:  The Body, ends it’s tour in Los Angeles on April 26th but be sure to check out their site for an update on where they’re headed next!

Information:  The exhibit is designed for children ages 2-8 and tickets are $10 (accompanying adult is free).

Ahoy mates!  (cheesy?)  My son’s favorite furry red monster is back for more adventures in his latest debut…Elmo and The Bookaneers:  Pirates Who Love to Read.  Elmo AND books?  My son is sooo there!  Bert, Ernie, Abby and your favorite Sesame Street friends will join Elmo in his reading adventure! Here is a little more information about the latest release fromt the site:

The Bookaneers led by Tina Fey have come ashore on Sesame Street and they want to plunder Elmo’s bookshelf.  When Elmo finds out how much they love to read, he can’t wait to become a bookaneer himself.  Can he pass the test and help them find their treature?  In ‘Elmo’s World:  Books,’ Elmo invites you to learn all about the books he treasures.  Sing along with Abby in a song about something she treasures:  words!  Bert and Ernie are also on the hunt for treasure in an episode from the fantastic new claymation series ‘Bert and Ernie’s GreatAdventures.’

Elmo And The Bookaneers: Pirates Who Love To Read debuts April 21, 2009 and will be available for purchase (MRSP $14.93).

Win It! I have 3 copies of Elmo And The Bookaneers:  Pirates Who Love To Read to give away!  Simple head on over to Sesame Workshop and come back to leave me a comment with something you liked or learned on the site.  Comments will close on May 2, 2009 at 10 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.

Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Vote for your favorite classic Sesame Street clip to be included in a DVD compilation due out later this year and leave a comment.  The clip with the most votes will be featured in Sesame Street:  40 Years of Sunny Days. This must be done before April 28th and comments left after that date won’t be counted  (obviously this is on the honor system but it’s really neat so you should check it out!)

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