Long Live Sesame Street!!!

For some reason I never thought I'd be part of the "old generation" but I see more and more things everyday that put me in that kind of category.  For instance... I still know the lyrics to a bunch of songs by Kiss, Guns n Roses, Blondie, Wilson Philips, etc; I remember slouch socks and scrunchies, and I grew up on Sesame Street!  Sesame Street was the end all be all for children's educational entertainment in my day.  Yes I said "my day".  Today's kids watch Dora, Diego, and the WonderPets, which in all reality I can't say are too bad but they aren't as awesome as Sesame Street.  Now I'm totally admitting I'm biased but I really feel that today's kids are suffering because of their lack of interest in shows like Sesame Street and have such a crummy array of cartoons to watch.  How can Sponge Bob compare to Thunder Cats, David the Gnome, or the Care Bears?  I mentioned a classic Loony Toone character (the Tazmania Devil aka TAZ) to the 3rd/4th grade class recently and they looked at me like I was an alien.  Am I really that far removed?

I know what you are going to say, all people look back on their childhood cartoons/shows and they they were the best.  But that's not what I'm saying at all.  I was born in 1983 so I watched shows like Saved by the Bell, Family Matters, and Blossom but I also watched Mr. Ed, the Brady Bunch, and Gilligan's Island which were before my time.  The same can be said for the cartoons I watched.  I adored Grape Ape, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, and Bulwinkle (again all from before my time).  But they were still fun to watch and had a story line to them.  I thought that maybe it was my age that was making me so angsty toward present day cartoons and kids shows but I don't think that's it either.  I've shown some of the younger kids cartoons and shows from my generation and they have absolutely no interest in them.  I just don't get it!

Tully, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Cookie Monster made out of Fruits and Veggies!!!

So to all the moms, teachers, and child caregivers out there... keep the old school alive!!!  I had a massive grin ear to ear when a friend of mine shared an awesome snack idea for kids (again my preschool teacher spirit is coming out here).  Check out the picture above.  Each plate contains fruit, veggies, and cheese laid out to make Sesame Street characters.  I was so excited about trying this out on the preschoolers next year but came to the sad reality that many of them wouldn't have a clue who there classic characters were.  Cookie Monster, Tully, Oscar the Grouch, and Big Birdwere so common place to me that I can't imagine not recognizing them.  Such is life I suppose.  But if you are anything like me you'll love to make these Sesame Street snacks.  Maybe they are more for the mom's than the kids anymore but I still think its a fantastic and creative idea (and healthy to boot).