Outdoor Learning
Sesame Street in Communities
April 21, 2026
Our partners at Sesame Street in Communities is dedicated to supporting children’s growth through everyday experiences and have launched new outdoor learning resources to help nurture children’s curiosity and early development. The new resources include three videos, two articles, three printable pages, and a web-based adult learning app to help early childcare providers plan and play outside activities
Videos
Together with your child, watch this video in which Abby, her buddy Bunberry, Elmo, and Elmo’s mommy observe nature in their city environment. Elmo’s mommy explains that nature is everything around us that people didn’t make and that it includes living things like plants and animals and non-living things like water, rocks, mud, air, and sunlight. Move along to the song together!
Together with your child, watch this video in which Abby and Oscar share a moment of messy, joyful exploration and learning. After a rainstorm, Abby, who’s dressed for the mess, delights in looking at a bright green leaf, a shiny wet pebble, and a flower with tiny droplets on its petals. She notices the sound of raindrops falling off the trees and into the puddles and the squishy mud under her boots. Oscar, of course, loves the mess… and so does Abby.
Together with your child, watch this video in which Elmo, Abby, and Abby’s mommy notice a beetle on Abby’s backpack, and Abby asks if they can keep it as a pet. Maggie explains that beetles live outdoors and have an important job in nature, spreading pollen… then the flowers are food for the beetle. Nature is all connected, and we have an important job to do in nature, too — caring for the beetle and flowers.
Articles
Outdoor Play: A Marvelous Mess
It’s okay to get messy sometimes! Discover joyful, hands-on ways of connecting and learning with nature in this article.
The Beauty of Quiet Time Outdoors
There are many ways to experience the outdoors! Read this article to learn how children can begin to recognize nature as a place they can find calm... and be calmed.
Printables
Nature is Everywhere: Color & Sing Along
Print this page and watch this music video together. Then use this page with the song lyrics to sing along anytime!
Print this page, and together with your child watch this video of Oscar and Abby playing outside after the rain. Point out that they’re using four of their senses: touching, hearing, seeing, and smelling. Invite your child to color the picture as you talk
Caring for Nature: Let’s Color Together
Print this page and, together with your child, watch this video of Abby and Elmo taking care of nature by releasing their new beetle friend to its home outdoors.
Web-Based Adult Learning App
Outdoor learning can encourage creativity, exploration, and problem solving in children! Use this web-based app to help children learn about nature and the ways we can be smarter, stronger, and kinder, together!
For more resources visit Sesame Street in Communities School Readiness topic page.