A new partnership between Sesame Workshop and Discovery Education leverages social and emotional development and learning for a whole-child approach that will target early learners in grades PreK-2.

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Discovery Education‘s K-12 digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. The new Sesame Workshop-branded early learner channel will include high-quality video content; lesson plans and educator resources; interactive games and activities for kids; and family partnership supports–all focused on a whole-child approach.

Incorporating social and emotional competencies into early learning is critical, and it’s especially important for children who are entering preschool for the first time–they are “pandemic babies” who likely missed group early learning opportunities due to social distancing and pandemic policies.

“We know that children are just barely emerging out of social isolation. This coming school year for 3-year-olds will see the COVID-born babies hitting our school systems, and we need to pay attention to that,” said Akimi Gibson, Vice President & Educational Publisher, Sesame Workshop.

The resources will also help educators identify where learning disruptions are most pronounced–and they’ll also be able to identify strengths, including unexpected strengths, children developed during the pandemic.

Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

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