(Cheerful piano music begins) ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ 'Cause these are the things ♪ ♪ To do to be the best you ♪ (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) - Hi, Auntie Lena.

- Hi, Possum.

And hello friends.

- Do you know what day it is Auntie Lena?

- Hmm?

Well, I know it's not your birthday.

- No.

It's Teacher Appreciation Day.

- Oh, I didn't know that.

Thanks for telling me, Possum.

Did you and your class do anything special at school?

- Oh yeah.

Well, we had a big party for all the teachers at recess, and made them thank you presents.

I showed the other kids how to make a kindness flower.

- Like the ones we made together?

- Uh-hmm.

And the teachers loved them.

- Oh that was very sweet of you, Possum.

And I'm glad that you were able to share something that we learned with our friends.

- Oh, me too.

It was so much fun.

But I wish frog could have been there.

- Oh, well, was she out sick?

- No.

Frog started homeschool with her dad two days a week.

So she was at home and I didn't know parents can be teachers too.

- They sure can, Possum, and they are.

Anyone can be a teacher.

Even you.

Well, me?

But I thought teachers had to be older than me.

Like an elder.

- Well, most elders are teachers because they have a lot of knowledge, and wisdom to pass down.

But a teacher is anyone who teaches.

And you taught your class how to make kindness flowers today, right?

- Oh yeah, I did.

- Have you ever read the story, "The Squirrel Who Homeschooled" by Kacie Washington?

- No.

Is the squirrels teacher their dad too Auntie Lena?

- Let's listen and find out with our friends at Woodland Park Zoo.

(magical chime - Hi, friends.

- I am Miss Kacie - And I am Harper.

- And today we are at, where are we at?

- Woodland Park Zoo.

Today we get the opportunity to read my book, "The Squirrel Who Homeschooled."

And guess who's the illustrator?

Kath Grimshaw.

Are you ready?

- Yeah.

- Let's do it.

[Miss Kacie] The air was crisp, and the apples were hanging from the trees.

There was a boy who was ready to go to school.

He packed his backpack, put on his shoes, picked up his lunch, grabbed his coat, and headed to the door.

His mother rushed to stop him.

She said, "Did you forget?

You are already at school.

This year you are going to homeschool?"

She said, "I am excited to be your teacher.

We are going to have fun together."

The boy said, "Mom, you are a ton of fun, but what about my friends?"

She replied, "You have a sister.

She's your forever friend.

And a fish and two cousins, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 friends we see for play dates and field trips.

Over time you'll meet more friends too."

The boys said, "I guess you're right."

"Well, let's get started.

First up, Morning Meetings."

said the mom.

They sat at the dining room table, and started the day.

The boy sat by the window that looked into the backyard.

Every day at the same time, the boy noticed that a squirrel would peek in the window.

Some days he would have a nut.

Other days he would just look around.

The boy decided to give him a name.

Max McNutty.

Every day the boy would talk to the squirrel telling him how he was feeling, and what he was doing that day.

- Max was a great listener.

- He was a what?

- A great listener.

- Are you a great listener?

- Yeah.

- I love it.

I hope you too friends are great listeners.

[Miss Kacie] One day the boy decided to share what he was learning with the squirrel.

The boy told him about how there are 365 days in a year, seven days in a week, and 24 hours in a day broken up by day and?

- [Harper] Night.

- Max was excited to learn.

He took the knowledge, and ran as fast as he could across the backyard, up the gate, over the bush, up his tree and into his den.

He thought these facts would be important to store for future use.

The next day, the squirrel came back at the same time eager to learn more.

This time the boy told Max all about how sharks and alligators like to eat the larger number.

And if you add two to an even number, the answer's always even.

And if you add two to an odd number, the answer's guaranteed to be odd.

The squirrel thought to himself, "I'm not sure how to use these facts just yet, but it's fascinating."

So he rushed off across the backyard, up the gate, over the bush and up his tree.

The next day he came back, and the boy was sitting outside waiting for him.

He said, "I have a very important lesson for you.

Did you know when you plant a seed in the ground that's called germination, and it needs water and sun?

Then eventually it will grow, and it will need bees."

He told Max how the roots feed the plants.

They suck up the water, and give each leaf the nutrients it needs.

The squirrel thought, "This is great news.

Now I know how to make my food grow."

He was so excited he could hardly stand it.

He ran as fast as he could across the backyard, up the gate, over the bush, and up his tree where he treasured the lesson he learned.

The squirrel was so... - Grateful.

- Yes.

Are you grateful to learn new things?

- Yeah.

- Like it.

Me too.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

[Miss Kacie] The next day, Max went back to the window.

He smelled the most delightful aroma coming from inside.

The boy came to the window and said, "I have something very important to tell you.

If you ever get bored eating apples, you can make apple chips.

All you do is slice them thin, add a pinch of sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, mix them up, then lay them on a pan covered with parchment paper.

Bake them at 250 degrees for 90 minutes.

Then voila.

You have delicious apple chips, and a home that smells delightful."

Have you had apple chips before?

- No.

- Oh, you're gonna have to make some this summer.

[Miss Kacie] The squirrel was overjoyed.

Sometimes he did get bored with plain apples.

He set out across the backyard, up the gate, over the bush and up his tree where he treasured all the information from his friend.

He thought how grateful he was for all the lessons the boy was sharing.

He decided he would bring a gift, and say thank you.

The next day, Max took a peanut to the window.

The boy was excited and said to the squirrel, - [Harper] "Gracias."

- [Miss Kacie] Which is Spanish for thank you.

The squirrel was tickled by the boy's response.

He took his new words, and ran as fast as he could across the backyard, up the gate, over the bush and up his tree.

The boy knew all the facts he was sharing with the squirrel were gifts his mother shared with him.

The boy wondered, how can I be as thoughtful as Max?

How can I show my gratitude to my mom?

He thought long and hard about something she might love.

He could draw a picture.

Then he decided, no.

That would not do.

Maybe a song?

No.

He thought that won't do either.

Hmm.

How about cereal in bed?

Nope.

Not that either.

He suddenly said, "I've got it."

The thing she loves most.

So he ran across the house, up the stairs, over the sofa into the living room where his mother was watering her plants.

He reached up and gave her a big tight hug and said, "Thank you for all the things you teach me."

- [Harper] His mother smiled and said, "I love you."

You are welcome and the pleasure is mine."

- [Miss Kacie] The next day when the boys sat at the table for school, he looked up and noticed the backyard was filled with squirrels waiting for the boy to teach them something new.

The end.

Do you see squirrels, Harper, in your backyard?

- Yeah.

- Do you see them at school?

- No.

- Do you ever teach them something new?

- No.

- Do you think you will?

- Yeah.

- Friends, thank you so much for listening.

- [Together] Bye for now.

(magical chime) - Wow.

The boy taught the so many things.

- Yes, he did.

And what was that squirrel's name again?

- Max McNutty.

- That's right.

- And Max was a great student.

- Well, so is the boy, and he's lucky to have his mom as his teacher.

- He sure is.

Without his mom, the boy wouldn't have been able to share all the fun things he learned with Max.

- And then Max couldn't tell all his squirrel friends.

- That's right.

See, Possum.

Everyone can be a learner and a teacher.

Did you learn anything new from the boy?

- Oh, well I learned how to make Apple chips, but I thought chips were only made from potatoes.

- Nope.

You can make chips out of all kinds of fruit.

- Wow.

Well, now I'm gonna teach Mama Possum so that we can make them together.

- That's a great idea, Possum.

In the meantime, do you wanna learn another recipe with our friends?

- Oh, yes please.

- I thought you might say that.

Let's go to DayoSense Kwanza campus and see if Chef Tarik can show us how to make another yummy apple snack.

(magical chime) - Hi, friends.

- My name is Chef Tarek.

- And I'm Cameron.

- And today, we are going to make apple cake.

- Apple cake.

You ready to make it?

Yeah.

So in order to make an apple cake, [Chef Tarik] it requires just a handful of ingredients.

We have unsalted butter, - [Together] Sugar.

- Two eggs.

- Flour.

- Two cups of flour.

- And milk.

And of course we have some apples here with a little bit of sugar, water, and what do we want to call this?

Pumpkin pie spice?

- Pumpkin pie spice.

- We'll call this Pumpkin Pie Spice Apples.

So first, before we get started, the number one thing you want to do is wash your hands.

Make sure you wash your hands.

We washed our hands.

We're ready to go.

Right?

Right.

Next is, we need to grease our pan with either butter or spray.

And I want you to spread it around on the pan for me.

Can you do that?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

So you like apples?

- Yes sir.

- Yeah, me too.

I like apples.

- I like the green apples, and yellow apples the most.

See, this is why... - Exactly.

I am a green apple fan, but today we have to use Red Delicious today.

But I'm a green apple fan myself.

I like that.

I don't like 'em super sweet.

- I like every apple, but I really like the green apples the best.

- Yeah.

- The green apples ones are the best.

Okay, that looks good.

So now we have our pan lightly greased.

[Chef Tarik] Okay.

And so what we're gonna do is, make our batter for our upside down cake.

So, Cameron, how about you go ahead, put that whole stick of butter into this mixing bowl.

So that's one stick.

Okay.

It's softened.

Alright, we set that over to the side there.

All right.

And then we're gonna go in with our sugar.

This is two cups of sugar.

- All of it?

All of it.

More.

All right.

Sit that over there to the side.

And now you're going to begin to what we call creaming.

Creaming is combining sugar and butter to a point to where it becomes light and fluffy, and it's well-incorporated.

And this is what's used to make sure that the cake that we're making, the batter stays together, and it comes out nice and golden.

So keep at it.

Keep at it.

Now normally we would do this with an actual standing mixer, but since today, I'm gonna be the standing mixer.

(batter mixing) Yeah.

[Chef Tarik] We're gonna go really hard, right.

Really fast.

(batter mixing) Okay, guess what we're gonna do now?

We gotta put the egg in there.

So we gotta do one at a time.

- One egg?

- Can you do one at a time?

Put one.

Go ahead.

- Boop.

- Got it.

- There we go.

(egg whisking) Okay.

We're gonna mix this until the egg is well incorporated.

- That kind of looks like cheese.

- It kind of looks like cheese.

- It's like yellow and white, like popcorn cheese.

Like how they put popcorn there.

- Popcorn cheese.

Okay, now you're gonna put that egg in there now.

- Okay, now it goes.

- Put that final one in there.

- That can go.

- Okay.

So you're in school.

Do you have a favorite teacher?

- My kindergarten teacher.

- Your kindergarten teacher?

- Ms. Yauer.

And now she's my PE teacher.

- That's your favorite teacher for sure?

What's one thing that you appreciate about your teacher?

- That they're really nice.

- That they're really nice.

- Okay.

Okay, I'm with that.

While we were talking about school, and many other things, we were just going back and forth alternating the all-purpose flour, and the milk until we get a cake batter-like consistency.

Okay.

And what we're gonna do is, take our cooked apples that we use, sugar, water, a little bit of pumpkin pie spice that we like to call it, and we just cook them down to where like they're almost soft but still firm.

And so what I'm gonna have Cameron do, I'm gonna have him go ahead, and place these apples into the pan like so.

And until we make a nice fan.

Can you do that for me?

Yes.

Okay.

- So, okay.

So when I was your age, I'm trying to think, what was I doing when I was your age?

My mom was teaching me.

- Okay.

- So my mom taught me.

She was my teacher.

[Chef Tarik} So what, okay.

So this, we're talking about you appreciate your PE teacher, and I'm guessing you have to appreciate your coach too, right?

And you gotta definitely appreciate your dad for helping you get to that point to become... Oh, my goodness.

We have... No, that's all right.

That happens in the kitchen.

- Injury.

- Spills happens in the kitchen.

- Oh, lacrosse and tackle football last year.

Yep.

My dad coached.

Your dad is coach, okay.

Like he was like an assistant coach.

- Is he a pretty good coach?

He's learning a lot.

- He's is.

- This smells great.

- Smells good, right?

All right.

So now, Cam says we need to go ahead... - Put this in?

- You have to pour that syrup in there.

You want to pour a little bit of that in there?

Pour it all around.

There you go.

And that's good 'cause we put too much in here, it's gonna get too sweet, and we don't want it too sweet.

[Chef Tarik] And now our batter that we have here, what we're gonna do is basically... - [Cameron] Put a little bit on each of them - In each spot.

And then what we're gonna do, we're gonna spread it.

So the goal is, we're gonna make, this is gonna bake.

So we gotta basically cover up all the apples, right?

We're gonna leave a nice, build a nice thick cake on the on the bottom.

Okay.

All right so you want to go ahead, and spread some more of that on there, and finish that off for us.

All right.

So I think that looks pretty good.

So now, this will go into a 350 degree oven.

Ready to go?

All right.

So after about 40 to 45 minutes, the cake should be done.

Golden.

So what we're gonna do, we're gonna go ahead and pull it out of the oven.

We got it here.

And voila.

Thank you my good Sir.

Close.

And there you have it.

Nice golden cape upside down, but it's not upside down yet, so we're gonna go ahead and let it cool.

Now, we're gonna place the plate.

Do you wanna flip it or do you want me to flip it?

- I wanna flip it.

You wanna flip it?

Okay, see where our fingers are?

You gotta hold the pan.

Okay.

You gotta hold the pan in the plate at the same time.

We're gonna turn it one full flip.

1, 2, 3.

Ooh.

Okay.

It's the moment of truth.

What do you think?

Let's go for this.

Oh, oh, oh.

[Chef Tarik] Oh, oh, oh.

- Look at that.

- [Cameron] That's gonna be good.

- We're gonna eat good.

[Chef Tarik] Look at that.

Yeah, buddy.

What else do we need on it?

- Whip cream.

- Whip cream.

There you go.

Perfect.

Okay, wait.

You know what we should do?

Let's put a little bit of our pumpkin pie spice.

Exactly.

Let's put some right on the top.

Put it right on the top.

Sprinkle it right on the top.

Hooye.

Cheers.

Okay, I'm digging in right now.

Are you gonna start without me?

Okay, hold on.

Hold on.

Okay.

what do you think?

This is great.

- This is great.

It's pretty good.

Got cake on the bottom and apples on top.

Can't go wrong with it.

Oh yeah.

- Oh.

- Thanks for joining us y'all.

- Bye.

- Later.

- Later.

- Oh, this is good.

(cheery music) - It's time for Movement Minute.

(Possum bouncing) - Hi, friends.

Welcome to Movement Minute.

I'm Mr. Tyler.

And today we're gonna do a yoga position called the Three-Legged Dog.

So this is how we're gonna start.

Everybody get on all fours.

Now lift your knees up, and we're gonna start with our right leg.

So on the count of 3.

1, 2, 3.

Lift your right leg up.

1, 2, 3.

Right leg goes down.

Now we're gonna do our left leg.

On the count of three.

1, 2, 3.

1, 2, 3.

Left leg down.

Now we're gonna do it one more time.

Right leg up.

Now right leg goes down.

Now we're gonna go left leg on the count of three.

1, 2, 3.

Left leg up.

Now we're gonna bring the left leg down.

Good job.

Thank you all for doing this with me today.

(magical chime) - Auntie Lena.

I need to make more kindness flowers.

- Well, why is that, Possum?

- Earlier I thought that I only needed to make presents for my teachers at school, but well, there are so many more teachers I have to thank for Teacher Appreciation Day.

There's Chef Tarik.

Mr. James .

Mama Possum.

Grandma Possum.

Miss Deborah.

Whoa.

Hold on a second there, Possum.

That is very sweet of you, but it's gonna be a lot of work to make that many kindness flowers.

Oh, I know.

There must be something easier to make.

How about a thank you card?

- But just a card?

Yes.

There are a lot of creative ways to make a nice card.

Let's find out if Mr. Jermell has any ideas at the Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery.

(magical chime) - Hey, friends.

it's Mr. Jermell again.

I am here at the Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery, and let tell you something.

I've been thinking lately about all of my amazing teachers.

Oh my goodness.

I remember a teacher when I was in maybe kindergarten who used to always give me extra snack and who I used to look at with one eye open when it was nap time, and I think she knew that I wasn't actually asleep.

Anyway.

Okay.

So I wanna make my teachers a thank you card because they are so amazing.

You wanna make one with me?

Okay, come on.

Let's do it.

First, let me tell you what we got.

We have our piece of paper folded in half.

We have a napkin just in case something spills.

We have some watercolor paints, and all sorts of different colors.

Then we have our paint brushes.

We also have some water that we have to dip our paint brushes in.

And then we have a white crayon.

One white crayon.

Now this is gonna be a thank you card, so we're gonna say thank you on the front of our white paper.

Let's do it.

You can also put your favorite teacher's name on it if you want to, and you can put all of the beautiful, amazing things that they do for you on the inside.

Okay.

Let's go.

So we have thank you here.

You can't really see it because it's in white, and it's on white paper.

But I'm gonna show you a magic trick.

Let's go.

Now we're gonna take our handy dandy paintbrush.

We're gonna put it in the water, and then we are going to pick a color.

I think I want purple because my teacher's favorite color is purple.

So we are going to dip it in the purple.

Now we're gonna go over our white "Thank You".

Oh my goodness, my friends.

I think something's happening.

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Wait, I want another color.

And now some more blue.

[Mr. Jermell] Blue, blue, blue.

Blue, blue, blue.

Now let's paint over the rest of our "Thank You" okay.

Boop boop.

Oh my goodness.

I think I have the thank painted.

How about the you?

You wanna paint the "you" with me?

Okay, let's go.

I want another color.

Put it in the water.

Pat, pat, pat.

Pat, pat.

[Mr. Jermell] Okay, let's see.

I think I got enough.

Let's paint the "you".

Boop boop.

Oh my goodness, my friends.

Oh, I got something to show you that's amazing.

Like, let me put this in my water.

This is so cool, it's like magic.

Oh, it says thank you.

Oh my goodness.

I think that your teacher is going to love your card, and my teacher is going to love mine.

For all my amazing teachers out there, you are the best.

And make sure you're really nice, and kind to your teachers, okay?

All right.

Now my friends, I gotta go.

I'm sorry.

But until next time, Mr. Jermell will see you later.

Bye-Bye.

(magical chime) - I finished my first thank you card Auntie Lena.

- Wow.

Let's see.

Hmm.

This is a beautiful card Possum.

I love all the purple.

Who are you planning to give this to?

- Well, open it up.

- Oh.

- Surprise.

- It's for you.

- For me?

- Uh-hmm.

- Oh.

- Because you're one of my favorite teachers.

Oh, I'm so proud to be one of your teachers.

And I love that we get to learn together with our friends too.

- Uh-hmm.

We are like the boy and the squirrel in today's story.

- Exactly.

Hey, Possum, you know, you better go get started on all those other thank you cards.

- Oh, yeah.

- Oh, thank you Auntie Lena, and happy Teacher Appreciation Day.

- Thank you, 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.

(bright music) Please stay tuned after the credits for Auntie Lena's parent tip.

(bright music continues) - [Narrator] Brought to you by Public Health.

Protect yourself and your family from serious illness by staying up to date on your COVID boosters.

Resources and information at KingCounty.gov/vaccine.

(cheery music) - Who was your favorite teacher growing up?

For me, it was my Aunt Shirley.

She taught me how to sing and make her favorite dish, spaghetti.

Whether your favorite teacher was one from school or your family, there are all different kinds of teachers in our lives to celebrate.

That includes you.

As a caring adult, you are your little learner's first teacher, and the home is their first school.

It's easy to forget the many ways that we shape, and impact our children's lives, but learning happens all the time in everyday moments.

From reading stories to making meals or just playing outside.

Just like Auntie Lena and the mother in today's story, you pass down important lessons that help your child to grow and learn about the big, wide world around them.

By simply spending time with your child, and sharing in their discoveries, you inspire them to always be curious, and teach them to be their best selves.

You show them that everyone can be both a learner and a teacher.