WXXI

Go Public

Education

Sesame Street: See Us Coming Together Special

It’s “Neighbor Day” on Sesame Street and everyone has something special to share! The special follows the Sesame Street friends through a community celebration with new friend Ji-Young—a 7-year-old Korean American character, performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim. Original music and celebrity guests like actors Simu Liu and Anna Cathcart, comic book artist Jim Lee, chef Melissa King, television personality Padma Lakshmi, and athlete Naomi Osaka round out the celebration! Also Available on PBS LearningMedia

and 

Ji-Young’s Song with the Best Friends’ Band

Summer Activities with PBS KIDS

Digital Resources

Summer Bucket List 2025

Summer Reading At Your Library with PBS KIDS Resources

WXXI Kids Facebook Daily Learning Updates: WXXI Kids provides regular updates on programming, digital resources, parenting, and education. WXXI Kids offer children, families, caregivers and teachers the opportunity to explore the world through quality television programming, exciting online games and valuable educational resources. http://facebook.com/WXXIKids

Watch Summer PBS KIDS Video Playlist:

Free Road Trip Games and Activities from PBS KIDS for Parents

Start with A Book: To ward off the learning loss that many children experience over the summer, Start with a Book offers parents, caregivers, summer program staff and librarians lots of engaging ideas for getting kids hooked on reading, exploring and learning all summer long — and beyond. (From Reading Rockets) http://www.startwithabook.org

PBSKIDS.org/learn: PBS KIDS provides parents with daily learning tips, extended learning ideas and recommended games and activities now through the end of August  at pbskids.org/learn. 

PBS Parents Summer Learning Resources: Parents can also be inspired to make this a summer full of learning and fun. Every week, parent bloggers will provide educational activities, crafts, experiments and other resources for parents to explore with their children at http://www.pbs.org/parents/summer/. 

PBS KIDS Apps: PBS KIDS offers a variety of free and low-cost apps for parents and kids to support summer learning, including the new PBS KIDS Super Vision App, PBS KIDS Video Player and PBS Parents Play and Learn. Information about the apps is available at https://www.pbskids.org/apps/filter/app/

PBS LearningMedia NY: Explore topics of curiosity with high quality public media video clips, games and interactives on topics across the curriculum. PreK-12 & Adult Education and Career Ready topics https://pbslearningmedia.org

Camp TV: Camp TV is a summer learning and exploration series that brings the day camp experience to children at home. It is available on television and on-demand at the websites below.

  • Weekly Camp TV Guides: Weekly guides with episode descriptions and a list of materials needed for the hands-on activities. 
  • Camp TV on demand: Watch episodes of Camp TV anytime!
  • Camp TV PBS LearningMedia Collection: Resources and activities to help extend the learning in each episode. 
  • Camp PBS KIDS: Summer is full of opportunities to play and learn! We know summer might look a little different this year, but Camp PBS KIDS is here to fill your days with creativity, exploration and fun for the whole family. Explore ideas, tips and activities around different themes with your favorite PBS KIDS characters!
  • Camp PBS LearningMedia! Whether you’re looking for music and dance activities, science experiments, family-friendly adventures, or learning about dinosaurs (plus more!), you will find media and activity resources in the Camp PBS LearningMedia collection.

Community Events:

Find Your Local Library by County: Look at their website to see what they have planned

OWLL Library System Public Libraries

Monroe County Public Libraries

Many local libraries are offering great summer learning events and performances! Don’t miss out

Monroe County Library Systems NYS Summer Reading Program Check out Monroe County Library System Summer Reading Programs.

Peg + Cat: Songs, Videos & Activities

Watch Full Episodes on the Playlist Above

Play games and watch full episodes of Peg + Cat on http://pbskids.org/peg

Peg + Cat follows the adorable, spirited Peg and her sidekick Cat as they embark on adventures, solve problems together, and learn foundational math concepts and skills. In each 11 minute episode, Peg and Cat are challenged by A REALLY BIG PROBLEM and they must find a way out of this messy funny crisis without totally freaking out! That’s what life is like for Peg and Cat, the heroes of this animated math-based series for children ages 3-5 years old. Play more Peg + Cat games and watch videos at http://pbskids.org/peg

Please note: All of the resources listed below and available through PBS KIDS are designed for co-viewing, co-learning, and co-participation – meaning that to create the most meaningful experience and takeaways, adults and children should use them together.

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite PEG + CAT Activities

Brother On-Demand

A filmmaker’s intimate phone calls with her brother explore his fragile recovery from opioid addiction. Using imaginative animation, they journey both into the cosmos—a place her brother has encyclopedic knowledge about—and an all-too-real world where shame and pain take their toll. From Independent Lens

Learn More: New York State Overdose Epidemic Project

College Behind Bars On-Demand

A four-part documentary film series that tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees.

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia and Peabody-Award winning filmmaker Lynn Novick has directed and produced a new documentary series, College Behind Bars, that reveals the transformative power of higher education through the experiences of incarcerated men and women.

This 4-part series is available in its entirety as well as in short issue videos with lessons and discussions for social studies and civics classes via PBS Learningmedia.

Watch Full Program & Find Education Resources

Raising the Future, The Child Care Crisis On-Demand

PBS NewsHour presents an indepth look at how the lack of affordable, quality child care is affecting American families. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed life for millions of parents and pushed the nation’s childcare system to the brink of collapse. A heated debate has emerged over what can be done to better meet the needs of parents and children. In this hourlong documentary, PBS NewsHour explores the burden costly childcare places on families, travels to cities and states experimenting with new ways of providing childcare, and delves into the political battle brewing over the idea of federally funded, universal childcare.

Local Childcare Challenges: 

Listen to childcare challenges in our region from these two WXXI News Connections shows

Sesame Street In Communities Digital Story Books

Sesame Street in Communities provides a variety of resource types for grownups to use with young children – one type is digital storybooks. 

Use this page and the downloadable list below to explore and share the different Sesame Street in Communities storybooks (on a variety of topics) with young children. WXXI Education created a downloadable and clickable document to help find and select digital storybooks that are available from Sesame Street in Communities. Each storybook is available in both English and Spanish. To toggle between English and Spanish resources, click “Espanol” or  “English” in the top left corner of the site. Below the downloadable list is a few of WXXI Education Team’s favorite digital storybooks – check them out!

Please note: All of the resources listed below and available through Sesame Street are designed for co-viewing, co-learning, and co-participation – meaning that to create the most meaningful experience and takeaways, adults and children should use them together.

Digital Storybook List of Titles
Click the image below to open the clickable document. 

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite digital storybooks and the Big Ideas that they touch on:

  • No Matter What: When the world around us looks and feels different, it’s important to remember the things that always stay the same, no matter what…like the love within a family!
  • Abuela’s Story Quilt: Art can tell important stories… and bring us closer to others.
  • A Blended-Family Celebration: Meet Sesame Street’s new Monster-Fairy Family—and celebrate the new possibilities that a blended family can bring.
  • Circle of Good:  It helps to remember that, even in the darkest times, people come together to help.  
  • Breathe, Buddy, Breathe!: Meet Buddy the monster, who feels anxious in the dark and needs to think through a solution. Kids will learn Buddy’s “Breathe, Think, Do” plan.
  • Furry Fuzzy Hugs: Hugs from people who care can help kids feel safe, loved, and more comfortable taking on challenges.

Sesame Street in Communities provides hundreds of bilingual multi-media tools to help kids and families enrich and expand their knowledge during the early years of birth through six, a critical window for brain development. Sesame Street’s resources engage kids and adults in everyday moments and daily routines—from teaching early math and literacy concepts, to encouraging families to eat nutritious foods, to serious topics such as grief and food insecurity. Through ongoing collaboration, training experiences, and local partnerships, the Sesame Street in Communities initiative evolves and helps make a difference. Sesame Street in Communities provides different topics, each with resources that help kids (and parents!) with what matters most in young lives. All are critical to children’s healthy development and together they build the foundation for a happy, healthy life. To learn more about Sesame Street in Communities and WXXI’s local work with this project, visit SSIC.org

Sesame Street: Songs, Activities & Videos

Want to have even more fun with your Sesame Street friends? Try listening to a Sesame Street playlist of music or watching some fun video shorts!

It’s not secret that we love Sesame Street – who doesn’t!? Here are some songs and short videos that you can have fun with wherever you may be. Listen to some Sesame Street songs in your car, on your phone, at home, in school – anywhere using Sesame Street’s Spotify channel. And access even more Sesame Street videos on their YouTube – have a Sesame Street dance party or sing-along with your favorite Sesame Street friends. Our WXXI Education team pulled together some of their favorite playlists too!

Please note: All of the resources listed below and available through Sesame Street are designed for co-viewing, co-learning, and co-participation – meaning that to create the most meaningful experience and takeaways, adults and children should use them together.

Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel
Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel is FULL of fun short videos – songs, dances, silly moments, and lots of learning.

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Sesame Street playlists:

Sesame Street’s Spotify Channel
Is it music you’re looking for? Sesame Street’s Spotify channel is full of your favorite new and classic music! Click the link above or image below to head to the Sesame Street Spotify Channel:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Sesame Street music playlists:

Sesame Street Websites: Games, Printables and More

SesameStreet.org

PBSKIDS.org/Sesame

Sesame Street in Communities provides hundreds of bilingual multi-media tools to help kids and families enrich and expand their knowledge during the early years of birth through six, a critical window for brain development. Sesame Street’s resources engage kids and adults in everyday moments and daily routines—from teaching early math and literacy concepts, to encouraging families to eat nutritious foods, to serious topics such as grief and food insecurity. Through ongoing collaboration, training experiences, and local partnerships, the Sesame Street in Communities initiative evolves and helps make a difference. Sesame Street in Communities provides different topics, each with resources that help kids (and parents!) with what matters most in young lives. All are critical to children’s healthy development and together they build the foundation for a happy, healthy life. To learn more about Sesame Street in Communities visit https://sesameworkshop.org/resources/

Keep informed about what’s happening in your community and WXXI by signing up for our newsletters.

Sign Up