'Sesame Street' guide; Learn at Home the Sesame Street Way, by Sara Bonnett Stein. New York: Simon and Schuster $12.95

Here is a handbook for parents which explains the teaching principles used on the "Sesame Street" television program and shows how these can be used in the home. Busy parents are told that the book is not intended to be read straight through but should be used as a reference and looked through "whenever you have the time." The index is extensive and lists skills, materials, and types of activities.

This book shows how to make everyday things and identifies occasions for learning. The tools are whatever you have in your home. The learning opportunities are the routines of daily living, children's games, and accidental or spontaneous events.

A little more than 10 years ago "Sesame Street" began its successful run on Public Broadcast System stations. Hardly a child in the United States under the age of 15 hasn't been touched by it. The educational goals of the program, around which this book is written, are divided into three categories: cognitive, affective, and physical.

Cognitive goals are those usually associated with preparation for school, such as learning numbers, the letters of the alphabet, and the names of shapes. This category also includes vocabulary building, relational concepts ("up" and "down"), discrimination skills ("different" and "same"), comparison skills, classification skills (sorting by characteristics), and problem-solving skills.

Affective goals concern one's feelings and relationships with other people. They include cooperation and self-image.

Physical goals have to do with health and physical fitness.

The activities that support these educational goals are organized into chapters that reflect the activities of everyday life: daily activities, quiet times, creative materials, dramatic play, and special (holiday) times.