Watch and Play: Elmo's Space Adventure

In the Sesame Street episode Elmo’s Space Adventure, (available now on Netflix and PBSKIDS), Elmo is excited to pretend he’s an astronaut going on a mission to Jupiter.

He’s about to blast off when his Sesame friends decide to join. They blast off together, but soon his friends are talking and singing, pressing the buttons on the spaceship and sitting in the captain’s chair, disrupting Elmo’s focus. Cookie Monster even eats part of the ship! Elmo feels annoyed; he planned to play all by himself. His friends realize they’ve messed up his plans and apologize. Elmo apologizes too. He should have told them how he was feeling and that he wanted to play alone. So, Elmo takes one more trip to space all by himself — and when he returns, he takes his Sesame friends on a mission to Neptune, together.

Preschool is a critical time when children learn to build and navigate friendships. Sometimes little ones may enjoy playing by themselves, while other times they may prefer playing with others.

Children at this young age are beginning to recognize the feelings and emotions of others as they develop new relationships. Preschoolers are also learning how to get their needs and wants met when playing with friends. Like Elmo, some children need help to identify what they’re feeling and encouragement to express themselves. Help build your little one’s emotional vocabulary with words like frustrated, excited, or disappointed. Giving them the language to name how they feel can help them communicate more effectively and navigate their social world with more confidence. Check out the additional resources below: