May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Sesame Workshop is bringing beloved Sesame Street characters out to help with a new organization focus on the emotional well-being of kids and their families.
Kicking off the new initiative is a 45-minute Sesame Street YouTube event featuring the iconic little red monster Elmo. “Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular” sends Elmo on a magical adventure as he learns about dealing with big feelings. The YouTube special includes guest stars like Juanpa Zurita, Jenny Slate, Fitness Marshall, Lauren Riihimaki (LaurDIY), and Marques Brownlee, as well as original music. Watch it below!
This isn’t all the new initiative is bringing, as Sesame Workshop has committed to multiple years of focusing on kids’ emotions, producing content across a variety of platforms. In partnership with the Ad Council, the organization has released a video with a new original song, “Me & My Grown-Up,” that features Elmo and other Sesame Street characters singing about the support they can receive from adults. Watch it below!
Sesame Workshop is also hopping back on the podcast train with its emotional well-being goals, with an episode of The Happiness Lab podcast featuring Sesame Workshop CEO Steve Youngwood as well as Kay Wilson Stallings (Executive Vice President, Chief Production and Creative Development Officer) premiering this spring. This fall, the podcast will also have a series of three episodes featuring happiness strategies with Sesame Street characters. The organization is also bringing a second season of the Goodnight, World! podcast with Headspace this summer, which helps kids get into the mood for bedtime.
May Clinic Press Kids is joining the mindfulness team as well, partnering up with Sesame Workshop to publish new content. A series of books planned for the fall of next year will focus on health, advice for anxious times, and more.
All this and more will take place with Sesame Workshop’s newest goal to help kids feel mindful and able to handle any emotions that come their way, even the big ones. Learn more and take a look at online resources from the new initiative at the official Sesame Workshop website.
