>> Funding for this program was made possible in part by Amazon.

This program was also made possible by Thistle Theatre, and by grants from the following organizations.

Finally, Look, Listen, and Learn was made possible by contributions from viewers like you.

[ Music ] >> You are the best you the world will see.

Come along now and share you with me.

Let's learn something new and share feelings, too, because these are the things to do to be the best you.

[ Music ] >> Hello, friends.

Hello, Possum.

>> Oh, hi, Auntie Lena.

>> What you got there, Possum?

Are you practicing for the opera?

>> No, it's the words to the solo I'm singing in the school concert.

>> Oh, that's great, Possum.

Congratulations.

>> Oh, thanks, Auntie Lena.

>> But, Possum, you don't seem excited.

>> Well, I love music and singing when I'm alone or with Mama Possum, but singing in front of a bunch of people I don't know?

Oh, I don't know if I can do it.

>> It sounds like you're worried about this, Possum.

Tell me more.

>> Well, how am I going to sing a solo in front of everybody?

And what if I get a note wrong, or what if my singing isn't good, or what if I forget the words?

Oh.

>> You need some confidence in your singing.

>> Confidence?

Like feeling good about something?

>> Yes.

Singing in front of people is new to you, so naturally you're worried about doing a good job.

>> Yeah, I am.

>> Listen, Possum, your music teacher asked you to sing the solo, so they must have confidence in your singing voice, right?

>> My music teacher said they heard me singing on the playground and thought I'd be good at singing the solo.

>> Well, there you go.

Your teacher has confidence in your voice.

Maybe that can help you feel a little better.

Think about her compliment.

How does it feel?

>> Well, it feels good.

I feel kind of gooey in my heart.

>> Oh, that's sweet, Possum.

You know, I remember you were worried about playing the concertina in front of people, but you gave it a try -- >> And I practiced and practiced, and I'm not nervous anymore when I play a concert.

So I just need to do the same thing with singing?

>> You got it, Possum.

You're trying new things, just like Gabby in the book I read last night.

>> Ooh, what's the book called?

And do you want to read it again with our friends?

>> Sure we can.

It's called "When Gabby Finds Her Song" by Gabby Latimore.

Let's go to the Douglass-Truth Library and listen as Miss Monique reads to us.

>> Hi, friends.

I'm Miss Monique.

>> I'm Marcus.

>> And today we're reading "When Gabby Finds Her Song" by Gabby Latimore.

You ready, Marcus?

>> Yup.

>> You see the character's name is Gabby and so is the author.

Do you think maybe it's the same person?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah, okay.

Let's find out.

Okay, once upon a time in a peaceful town, there lived a sweet and curious little girl named Gabby who loved to explore and dream.

Gabby was a quiet soul, but she was always listening to the world around her.

She enjoyed hearing the leaves dancing in the wind and the rhythmic drops of the midday?

>> Rain.

>> Rain, yeah.

Oh, it's coming down in that picture.

And owls hooting throughout the night.

>> Hoot-hoot.

>> Good job.

That's exactly how an owl sounds.

Have you ever seen one?

>> Yes.

>> Yeah, they're cool.

Gabby had a deep dream within.

She wanted to discover her voice, a special melody that was uniquely hers.

What's she doing in that picture?

>> Singing.

>> Yeah, do you like to sing?

>> Yeah.

>> Singing is a really good way to, like, express how you're feeling.

Is that what you do sometimes?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah, good.

She longed to share her thoughts and feelings with the world, but whenever she tried to open her mouth, her words would hide from her.

One joyous day, as Gabby skipped through her favorite park, she discovered a secret forest beyond the river.

In the heart of the forest stood a wise old tree named Harmony.

What do you think of that tree?

Does it look nice?

>> And tall.

>> And tall, yeah.

It does look like a really tall tree.

Let's see what happens.

The mighty tall tree could feel Gabby's deepest dream and offered to help her find her voice.

>> Close your eyes, dear Gabby.

>> Harmony whispered.

Do the next part?

>> And listen to the music within your heart.

>> Yeah.

As Gabby closed her eyes, she felt a warmth in her heart carrying sweet melodies.

She realized that the music she saw was already inside her waiting to be heard.

So what do you think Gabby's going to do now?

Now that she knows that the music is inside of her?

>> Sing to people?

>> Yeah, she's going to share it.

You're right.

With each passing day, Gabby began to hum and sing -- >> Her own unique tunes to herself.

>> Her first time sharing her voice was with a group of deer in the secret forest underneath Harmony's branches.

Her melody soon brought all the animals in the forest to listen as they praised her with delight, causing Gabby to sing even louder.

Look at all these animals.

What kind of animals do you see on this page?

>> Fox.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Robin.

>> Mm, good.

What are these?

>> Deer.

>> Deer, yeah.

All the animals came out to hear Gabby sing.

As her melody carried from the forest to the rest of the town, everyone was soon enchanted by Gabby's sweet songs.

One sunny afternoon, the townspeople covered the park with colorful decorations and held a musical celebration in Gabby's honor.

Isn't that so nice?

All her friends and family came out to hear her sing.

>> As Gabby stood in front of everyone, her heart beating with excitement, she opened her mouth and let the music pour from deep within.

>> As she sang, all the townspeople were filled with joy and warmth as her voice touched the hearts of everyone.

From that day forward, Gabby's voice became a cherished part of the town's melody.

Her dream had finally come true.

She continued to explore the world, sharing her songs and spreading joy and light wherever she went.

The once quiet girl had found her voice, and in doing so, she had discovered the power of self-expression and self-love.

She looks really happy.

Why do you think she's so happy now?

>> Because she found her voice?

>> Because she found her voice, yeah.

And so Gabby lived happily ever after, with her sweet melodies echoing through the streets.

Remember, we all have a unique song to share with the world.

We just have to look deep within our hearts to find what has been there all along.

And look, what's the tree doing?

>> Winking.

>> It's winking, yeah.

>> The end.

>> Good job.

>> Thank you for reading with me today.

>> Thank you.

You're very welcome.

It was fun.

Why don't we say goodbye to all of our friends?

Ready?

Bye, friends.

>> Wow, Gabby found a lot of confidence in her singing, and sang solos in front of the whole town.

Oh, I hope I can sing my solos as well as Gabby.

>> And do you remember how she found her song, her confidence?

>> Mm-hmm.

She went to the park and closed her eyes.

>> And listened.

>> And then she started dreaming about stuff she'd like to do.

>> Dreaming is a great way to imagine yourself doing something different, and doing it well.

>> And like me, she enjoyed singing, too.

>> Trying new things, learning what we like to do and what we're good at, it all helps to build a confidence.

>> Well, I have confidence in some things, but how do I get more of it?

And how do we find out what we're good at?

>> Well, Possum, like we've talked about before, you have to try new things.

>> Oh, I like trying new things, Auntie Lena.

I just don't know how to choose.

There are so many things that I could try.

>> You can do what Gabby did.

Dream about the new things you'd like to try.

I can help you, Possum.

>> Oh, I'd like that.

>> Okay.

First step, think about three things you'd like to try.

What are you curious about?

One, two, three, go.

>> Oh, okay, doing a puzzle.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> And, oh, learning to line dance.

And then, oh, making a blueberry treat for you.

>> Oh, those sound great, Possum, and guess what?

>> What?

>> My friend, Miss Suzanne, is going to teach us how to do a new dance step today.

I can ask her to show us how to line dance at Wa Na Wari Art Center with our friends.

>> Oh, yippee.

>> Hi, friends.

I'm Miss Suzanne, and I'm here with my friends today, Sydney and Aziah [phonetic].

We are at Wa Na Wari Art Center, and we're going to teach you how to do a line dance.

I hope you'll join us.

Are you ready, girls?

>> Yeah.

>> Let's do it.

So let's freestyle a little bit.

Just warm up to the music.

Feel the beat.

To the right, and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

To the left, and one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

And tap it right, kick left, kick right, and eight little steps, one, two, three, four, five, six to the right.

Here we go, and one, two, three, four, five, seven.

To the left, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Kick it out, kick right, kick left, kick right, kick left.

And march, two, three, four, five, six.

And one more time, to the right, two, three.

Make it special.

To the left, use your arms, two, three, four, yeah.

Kick it out, kick right, kick left, kick right, kick left.

Little marches, five, six.

To the right, to the right.

Let's add your own flavor.

To the left, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Kick it out, and one, and two, and three.

Take it low on those little steps.

Take it low, two, three, four, five, six.

Good job.

To the right, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

To the left, down one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Girls, you've done such a good job today.

Thank you for dancing with us.

We're almost out.

It's time to say goodbye.

Goodbye to our friends at home.

Bye, friends.

And five, six, let's head on out.

Let's go.

Let's dance.

Let's dance.

Let's dance.

[ Music ] [ Laughter ] [ Music ] [ Laughter ] >> What's orange and sounds like a parrot?

A carrot.

>> What did the snowflake say to the road?

Let's stick together.

>> Why was ten afraid of seven?

Because seven ate nine, ten.

>> What gets more wet the more it dries?

A towel.

>> What did the triangle say to the circle?

You're pointless.

>> Oh, Auntie Lena, I had so much fun line dancing with you and our friends, and now I can do another kind of dance.

>> Look at you, Possum.

You're practicing and gaining more confidence in singing your solo.

You're learning new dance moves.

>> Oh, now can we try another new thing?

I'm on a roll.

>> Okay, Possum.

It sounds good to me.

Let's see.

You're already confident in your cooking.

So would you like to try a new recipe?

>> Yeah.

>> At my Berry Good Blueberry Party, my friend gave me a recipe to make my very own blueberry cheesecake bites.

>> Mm-mm.

That sounds really good.

>> Yes, it does.

>> And can you show me how to make it?

>> I've got a better idea.

>> But we're still going to make something to eat, though, right?

>> Oh, don't worry.

Yes, Possum.

My better idea is to go to the DayoSense Kwanzaa campus and Chef Dayo can show us how to make very good blueberry cheesecake bites with our friends.

>> Oh, goody-good-good.

>> Hi, friends.

My name is Chef Dayo.

>> And my name is Erin.

>> And we are here at the Kwanzaa campus in Seattle, Washington.

Today we are making something that is going to increase our confidence by dealing with everyday ingredients from our kitchen.

Are you ready?

>> Yes.

>> We are going to make a blueberry cheesecake bite, something that is really, really easy, but something that you can serve to anybody and they're going to love.

Erin, would you like to introduce to them what ingredients we are using today?

>> Sure.

So we have blueberries, cream cheese, sour cream, and honey.

>> Absolutely, and the star of the show is our graham crackers.

Nice and easy.

Okay, let's get started.

You want to break the graham crackers down for me?

>> Sure.

>> Lay it out.

And now we're going to make our mix.

So the first thing that we can do is make the yummy creamy sweetness that's going to go spread all over the graham crackers.

How about you grab up the sour cream and I'll get the cream cheese.

We'll put it in the bowl together.

Now, the key to this mix tasting like cheesecake is you have mainly the cream cheese in there, and the sour cream gives it the little tart bite to it, and what makes it nice and flavorful are a couple of things.

We have vanilla extract that we're going to put a couple of drops in.

I'll twist it off for you.

You can pop that in there.

Just boop-boop.

Perfect.

And then instead of putting sugar in there, we're going to put raw honey in there.

If you can pour about two seconds of raw honey in there, that would be perfect.

A little bit more.

Perfect.

There we go.

Now we're going to work together to mix it up.

Oh, yeah.

This is so fun to do.

Cream cheese sometimes comes out the refrigerator really hard, so when you mix it with the sour cream and the honey and the vanilla, it makes it nice and loose and spreadable.

Have you made cheesecake before?

>> Yeah.

>> Have you?

Nice.

The process is a little bit different when you do it in the oven, isn't it?

Yes, yes.

I love this recipe because it takes something that is pretty difficult to make, you know, the big adult-sized version of a cheesecake, and it makes it really simple that even you can just go in the kitchen and do yourself and surprise everybody.

Absolutely.

Okay, well, next thing, we mixed it up really well, now we're going to take our knife and start spreading it on our graham crackers.

What type of things do you like to cook?

>> I made cheesecake before, but with strawberries.

>> Oh, that is yummy.

That is yummy.

Well, today I heard that Auntie Lena had a blueberry party, and so this is some of the leftover blueberries from her gathering, so let's see how this is going to taste.

I love it.

Oh, that's perfect.

That's perfect.

Let's do a couple more.

What other things do you like to bake at home?

>> I make coffee cake, which is like really good.

>> Oh, wow.

That sounds so delicious.

>> Sometimes I get two pieces without my mom knowing.

>> Oh, absolutely.

I mean, that's what it's all about, is kind of sneaking little bites here and there.

I love it.

That is great.

I love baking things as well, and this is a perfect little bite to have.

Okay, I'm going to start, as you are spreading on the cheesecake spread, I'm going to give everybody three blueberries.

>> What have you made?

Like, what do you make?

>> I like to make cobblers, which is lots of -- >> Oh, that's good.

>> Yes.

Cobblers with cold ice cream with it is like one of my favorites.

I love making pies as well, sweet potato pies, and I love cheesecakes because you can put all sorts of really fresh fruits on there.

Would you like to put a couple blueberries on there?

>> Sure.

>> What other fruits do you think would be really good with this cheesecake bite?

>> Sometimes I do raspberries because they're like [inaudible], like, yeah, so they're really good.

>> Nice, nice.

Yes, raspberries, strawberries, all sorts of berries.

It just seems like we got a berry theme going on here.

I love it.

Well, I think the last thing, which will be like the little razzle dazzle that we put on the top, will be a little drizzle of honey.

Yes.

So you could get that and kind of pour it on top of our graham crackers.

Oh, yeah.

Perfect.

Perfect.

There we have it.

Did you want to taste it?

>> Sure.

>> Perfect.

[ Music ] >> Mm.

>> Mm.

>> They're good.

>> Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah, they're going to love it, absolutely.

Erin, it seems like you love cooking different things.

How did you start building your confidence in the kitchen?

>> Because I work with my mom, and I'm like, okay, I feel like this is not going to work out, and then we try, and then I just try new things, so -- >> Yes, yes.

That's exactly what I absolutely love about cooking in the kitchen.

>> Yeah.

>> You can bring family together, learn from your older family members, and then even if you mess up, you just learn real quick what works and what doesn't work, and you know exactly what to do next.

>> Yeah.

>> Sometimes you make an even better recipe if you do that.

>> Yeah.

Thank you for making me blueberry cheesecake bites.

>> It was such a pleasure working with you, Erin.

Hope this was nice and easy for you, and it's definitely yummy.

>> Yeah.

>> Cheers.

Bing.

Let's say goodbye to our friends.

>> Bye.

>> Bye, friends.

>> It's time for Movement Minute.

[ Boing, boing, boing ] >> Hi, friends.

I'm Coach Charmaine, and welcome to Movement Minute.

Today we're going to be working your upper body.

So for this, you're going to need two cans from your kitchen.

The first one we're going to do is a bicep curl.

So your palms face up, you bend your arms, and then you bring your fists closer to your shoulders.

Trying to move as slow as you can, bringing your hands closer to your shoulders.

Next, we're going to do a shoulder press.

So your arms go to a goal post, palms face forward, and then you're going to punch up towards the ceiling, and then back down to a goal post, again, moving as slow as you can, keeping your palms facing forward.

And next, let's add a twist.

So you go to your goal post, bring your right arm to your left leg, and then go to the other side, left arm to your right leg, making sure you're twisting to each side.

And that is your Movement Minute for today.

So thank you for joining me, and I'll see you next time.

>> What did you think of your blueberry cheesecake bites, Possum?

>> Oh, yum, yum, yummy.

It's totally awesome.

Oh, try yours.

>> Oh, yeah.

Okey-doke.

I sure will.

Let's see.

Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.

Ooh, they are scrump-delicious, Possum.

You know, you've also tried another new thing now.

>> Oh, I sure did.

>> You know, it's almost time to go, but I have one more thing I'd like to share with you today.

>> Oh, okay.

What is it?

>> [laughs] Da-da-da-da.

>> Auntie Lena, it's a puzzle.

The last thing on my list.

>> It sure is, Possum.

I knew I couldn't go wrong picking this one out for you.

>> Oh, me and Mama Possum can do it right now.

>> Well, yes, you can, Possum, but first, let's say goodbye to our friends.

>> Oh, right.

And I forgot to say thank you, Auntie Lena.

Thank you for helping me with my confidence.

>> You're welcome, Possum.

And friends, thank you for taking the time to look, listen, and learn with us today.

Remember, you're the best you that the world will ever see.

>> Bye for now.

>> Bye-bye.

>> Now for Auntie Lena's Parent Tip.

>> If I asked you to name three things that you're good at with a one, two, three, go, how long would it take you to come up with your list?

Like Possum, we all have things we don't mind doing but we're not fully confident about.

Helping early learners find comfort with their discomfort can help deepen their sense of self-awareness to ensure they feel confident and set up for success.

Auntie Lena reminded Possum that his teacher was already an admirer of his talents.

All he needed to do was find his own confidence.

These types of intentional conversations and experiences help children broaden their self-awareness and self-determination.

When we help our early learners master a thing, throwing in a "You're so good at X, Y, Z" or asking them "Tell me how you did that" gets them talking about the process.

Building our confidence through identifying our strengths and talents is a clear path to helping one ease on down the road to being the best that they can be.

[ Music ] >> Funding for this program was made possible in part by Amazon.

This program was also made possible by Thistle Theatre, and by grants from the following organizations.

Finally, Look, Listen, and Learn was made possible by contributions from viewers like you.