While navigating—and making the best of—change and uncertainty is a big part of military life, the last two years especially taught families to shift routines based on what we were learning about the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, opportunities to build resilience and practice new skills together in our everyday lives were created. Today, Sesame Street for Military Families launches a new digital resource called “Learning and Growing Together.”
Sesame Street’s Elmo and Rosita model the feelings and experiences children may encounter in videos, printable activities, and articles that cover four main areas: flexible thinking, a “we can do it!” attitude, learning at home and on the go, and learning together and apart.
New videos on the site demonstrate how riding the waves of unexpected change helps us learn flexibility and foster a love for learning.
In “Bounce Back,” the Sesame Street friends sing a song to remind children that they can “bounce back” when things change—useful for all children and especially military children and families who often may experience frequent transitions. Another video focuses on separation anxiety, a common “big feeling” for kids who may struggle when a parent leaves home.
In “Louie Goes Back to Work,” Elmo’s dad starts leaving their home to return to work, and Elmo is feeling anxious. Elmo and his dad talk through some of the changes to their daily routine.
Together, they come up with a creative way to cope and make the new routines something to look forward to. Printable activities serve as jumping-off points for family conversations. Articles for parents and caregivers suggest things to practice together and language to help explain that resilience means having ways to get through change to become even stronger—not in our bodies, but in our minds and hearts.
“Change in routines is hard to get used to, even when some are necessary transitions typical for military life,” said Jeanette Betancourt, Sesame Workshop’s Senior Vice President of U.S. Social Impact. “Our goal is to bring children and their caregivers a sense of stability and encouragement with resources centered around social-emotional resilience as they navigate discovering new routines.”
“When talking with military parents, we learned that the pandemic has created a ‘new normal of constant change that is an additional stressor on top of managing the demands of military life,” said Dr. Kelly Blasko, Counseling Psychologist, Defense Health Agency. “These materials are designed to boost their resilience skills to cope with this ongoing change and uncertainty.”
The new “Learning and Growing Together” materials join a robust lineup of resources to uplift and support military families through deployments, homecomings, long-term family caregiving, transitions in health care, and much more. The resources are free to families and providers and available in English and Spanish on sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org.
About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.
About Defense Health Agency
The Defense Health Agency is a joint, integrated Combat Support Agency that enables the Army, Navy, and Air Force medical services to provide a medically ready force and ready medical force to Combatant Commands in both peacetime and wartime. The DHA uses the principles of Ready Reliable Care to advance high-reliability practices across the Military Health System by improving our system operations, driving innovative solutions, and cultivating a culture of safety.
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