| Category | Details |
| Episode Number | 4503 |
| Season | Season 45 (2014–2015) |
| Air Date | September 17, 2014 |
| Word on the Street | Skin |
| Guest Stars | Lupita Nyong'o, James Monroe Iglehart |
| Snazzy Society President | Segi |
| Key Song | "The Color of Me" (Celebrating shades of brown) |
| Abby's Fairy School | Field trip to Colonial Trolliamsberg |
| Smart Cookies/Spy Parody | The Spy Who Loved Cookies (Double Stuffed 7) |
| Elmo the Musical | Karate Master the Musical (vs. The Ooze) |
| Murray's News Flash | Special Abilities (Mandarin counting, puppetry) |
| Key Muppets | Segi, Elmo, Abby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Count von Count |
| Human Cast | Mando, Chris, Leela |
| Letter of the Day | Y |
| Number of the Day | 9 (Nine Spanish Dancers) |
| Educational Focus | Self-Esteem, Diversity, Active Listening, Shapes |
| Sponsors | Y, 9 |
Facts
Segi's Real-World Inspiration.
Joey Mazzarino, the head writer, came up with the character Segi to support his adopted daughter, who is Black. The character first appeared as a nameless girl in the "I Love My Hair" music video back in 2010. By 2014, she had been officially named and given this lead street story to deal with the deeper issues of skin colour and representation.
The "Snazzy Society" and Media Influence.
The plot is about Segi rejecting her identity because of a book. This script is a tool to help kids understand that media, like the Snazzy Jazzy series, can sometimes be biased. It gets young viewers to think about what they read instead of just taking it at face value.
Lupita Nyong'o and Skin Tone Literacy.
Lupita Nyong'o's look was all about celebrating the feel and look of skin. The segment shows kids that skin is an organ that protects us and also makes us look good. This moved the conversation on from the more abstract idea of "diversity" to the more specific concept of body positivity.
The "Color of Me" Vocal Layers.
The song "The Color of Me" features Chris, Mando, and Leela. Music directors Bill Sherman and Jake Huffman used acoustic instruments to keep the tone intimate and down-to-earth. This made the message feel more like a friendly chat between neighbours than a lecture.
Karate Master the Musical and CGI Geometry.
Hey, did you know that Karate Master the Musical uses extensive blue-screen technology? The "Ooze" character is a digital effect layered over physical sets. This part of the course is all about learning geometry by doing it, and it looks at shapes like octagons and rhombuses by how many sides and angles they have.
The 'Pinocchio Process' in Colonial Trolliamsberg.
In Abby's Flying Fairy School, the setting is a parody of Colonial Williamsburg. The "Pinocchio Process" story arc is used to teach sequential logic. To become his true self again, Blögg has to complete three different "old-world" tasks that mix history with problem-solving.
Murray's News Flash and Mandarin Integration.
Murray's report on "Special People" includes a child counting in Mandarin. It was a clever move to make multilingualism seem like a "special skill," making language learning something to be proud of.
Cookie's Crumby Pictures and Executive Function.
The Spy Who Loved Cookies is a bit of a joke about the James Bond franchise. It's all about helping people improve their auditory working memory. Cookie Monster (Double Stuffed 7) has to remember and do a series of verbal instructions from "Ladyfinger" to succeed in his mission.
The National Coalition of Resting People.
The "National Coalition of Resting People" sponsor gag is something we've seen a lot of in Season 45. It's a way of helping people to make the right behaviour. It gets the child's brain ready for the show's less energetic bits and a return to a calmer state.
Parent's Guide
Segi gets upset while reading a book because she feels her brown skin isn't nice. Mando, Chris and Leela help her see that beauty comes in every shade. They sing a song called The Color of Me. Elmo and Lupita Nyong'o are teaming up for a segment to encourage kids to love their skin. This is a really important social and emotional learning tool. It helps preschoolers develop a healthy sense of self-esteem. Physical differences are something to celebrate. You could use this story to get a chat going with your child about self-acceptance.
Elmo and his friends introduce the letter Y with a lively song. This helps to develop phonics and literacy skills. Kids often connect the letter's shape to the sound in words like yellow and yes. You can use these examples to help your child identify the letter in your home.
Students get to go on a field trip to Colonial Trolliansberg in a fairy school segment. Gonnigan's going to have to work out how much wax is needed to make a candle. This introduces the STEM for preschoolers concept. It's a key skill to be able to make an educated guess based on what you've seen. Blogg uses his unique background to save the day. This shows that being different is a superpower when it comes to solving problems.
Count von Count and his friends celebrate the number 9 with a song. Then there's an animation with nine Spanish dancers. There's also a spicy detective segment where the characters count puffs of steam. These visual and auditory cues help to reinforce number recognition. Kids get how you go from one to nine using one-to-one correspondence. Try out these different examples to help your child get better at counting.
Cookie Monster plays Double Stuffed 7 in a movie parody. He's got to follow complicated instructions to save a cookie crown. This is a top-tier executive function exercise. It teaches preschoolers the importance of active listening and following directions. Paying attention becomes a cool spy skill. This makes a difficult task feel like a grand adventure for your child.
Murray interviews children about their unique abilities in a news flash segment. Kids show how they count in Mandarin or make puppets. It gets you thinking about your own work and seeing what your colleagues are doing well. Everyone's got something special they can offer the community. Use this to help your child identify their own strengths.
Summary
What's the Word on the Street?: In Sesame Street Episode 4503 we see the word skin, it means that the thin layer of tissue forming the natural outer covering of the body of a person or animal.
SCENE: At the beginning of the scene, we see Mando, he draws a portrait of himself. He sees Elmo, Abby and Big Bird, all dressed in snazzy outfits for today's meeting of the Sesame Street Snazzy Society. They wait their president Segi to start. Segi comes and begins dance.
Segi will read the latest addition to the Snazzy Jazzy book series - Snazzy Jazzy and the Snazziest Toy. Suddenly Segi stops reading and escapes with the book.
Mando finds her while she tosses her tiara into the trash. She explains why she behaves like this. Because She has brown skin and that causes her not be snazzy, Snazzy Jazzy does not find brown is snazzy.
Shethinks it must be true because she sees it in the book. Mando, Leela and Chris sing "The Color of Me" . They want to show her the different shades of brown and how great they can be.
Song: Sesame Street Episode 4503 goes on with song part, James Monroe Iglehart sings "My Beautiful Skin."
Muppets - Celebrity: We see Lupita Nyong'o and Elmo. They talk about their skin.
Muppets: Murray gives a report, he is in a Sesame Street News Flash. His interview with special people.
Cookie's Crumby Pictures presents The Spy Who Loved Cookies: We see Cookie Monster as Agent Double-Stuffed 7. He is sent to retrieve the queen's stolen cookie crown from Ladyfinger.
Muppets: The letter of the day is Y in the Sesame Street Episode 4502. Elmo presents the letter.
Cartoon : The cartoon is about the letter of the day, "Why Do I Love the Letter Y".
Abby's Flying Fairy School: Murray and Avery announce Abby's Flying Fairy School. There is travel time at school. trip location is Colonial Trolliamsberg.
Muppets: The number of the day is 2. Count von Count and his friends sing a song about it.
Cartoon: There are nine Spanish Dancers in the cartoon part.
Animation: In the animation part we Salty and Pierre, spicy detectives. The animation is about the number of the day, it is 9.
Muppets : "Spanish Me, English Me"
Song : Sesam Street Episode 4503 goes on with song part, the name of the song is "Count Me In"
Elmo the Musical: Karate Master the Musical. Elmo dreams himself as a karate master. Elmo meets The Ooze that is a gelatinous antagonist. Elmo must use his karate chopping abilities to stop The Ooze because The Ooze destroys all the shapes in the town.
Sesame Street sponsors are the number 9 and the letter Y. At the end of the Sesame Street Episode 4503 Murray announces the sponsors and the episode ends.
