(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 piano music continues)
(magical chime)
- Hello friends.
Hello, Possum.
- Hi Auntie Lena.
How are you today?
- I'm happy to see you.
And how are you?
- Oh, well, I'm feeling safe and true.
- Just like the boy in the story we read,
The Boy and the Bindi.
- You remember?
- Yes, indeed. (Auntie Lena coughs)
Oh, excuse me.
(Auntie Lena coughs)
Excuse me.
I had a bit of a tickle and I needed a sip of water.
- Well, how does water help?
- Water helps to soothe and protect our throats.
In a lot of ways, water is like medicine.
- Medicine?
- [Auntie Lena] Yes.
All living things need water to live and grow.
It helps keep our bodies, Mother Earth,
and all her creatures healthy.
- Oh, like the plants in our garden.
Well, Mama Possum and I water them every day.
- That's right, Possum.
Water is sacred.
It's special.
It's something that you or I can't create on our own.
Water is a precious gift from nature
that we must protect and keep safe.
- Wow, how do we protect water?
- That's a good question.
There's a story called "We Are Water Protectors"
by Carol Lindstrom that talks about ways
that we can all protect water.
Let's go to Boulevard Park Library
and listen with our friends.
(magical chime)
- [Together] Hi friends.
- My name is Miss Tammy.
- And I'm Carmela.
- And we are at Boulevard Park Library today.
We are going to read "We Are Water Protectors"
written by Carol Lindstrom and illustrated
by Michaela Goade.
Water is the first medicine, Nokomis told me.
Do you remember what "Nokomis" means?
It's "grandmother" in Ojibwe.
[Miss Tammy] We come from water.
It nourished us inside our mother's body
as it nourishes us here on Mother Earth.
Water is sacred, she said.
- [Carmela] We stand with our songs and our drums.
We are still here.
- [Miss Tammy] The river's rhythm runs through my veins.
Runs through my people's veins.
My people talk of a black snake that will destroy the land.
Spoil the water.
Poison plants and animals.
Wreck everything in its path.
- It's actually not a black snake.
It's actually oil pipes.
- Right and look what's happening
to the the fish and the birds.
- Eek!
- When my people first spoke of the black snake,
they foretold that it wouldn't come for many, many years.
Now, the black snake is here.
It's venom burns the land,
courses through the water making it unfit to drink.
- [Carmela] Take courage.
- [Miss Tammy] I must keep the black snake away
from my village's water.
I must rally my people together.
Look at her hair.
It's like connected to the water and the animals, right?
- [Carmela] Ooh.
To stand for the water.
To stand for the land.
To stand as one against the black snake.
We stand with our songs and our drums.
We are still here.
- [Miss Tammy] It will not be easy.
We fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.
The winged ones.
The crawling ones.
What do you see?
- Hummingbird and a moth.
Creepy spider.
Ooh, grasshopper.
- Can't really speak up for themselves, right?
- Snake.
The four-legged, the two-legged,
the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, the earth.
- [Carmela] We are all related.
- [Miss Tammy] Tears like waterfalls stream down.
Tracks down my face.
Tracks down my people's faces.
Water has its own spirit, Nokomis told me.
Water is alive.
Water remembers our ancestors who came before us, she said.
Look what she sees in the water.
Ooh.
What is that?
- [Carmela] Our ancestors.
We stand with our songs and our drums.
We are still here.
- We are stewards of the Earth.
Our spirits have not been broken.
We are water protectors.
We stand.
The black snake is in for the fight of its life.
So what do you see when they say the black snake is in
for the fight of its life?
- They're like standing for the water.
- They're protesting, right?
What did the signs say?
- "Protect the sacred."
- It says water is life.
They're joining together.
- [Together] Thanks for joining us, friends.
Bye.
- Auntie Lena, so the black snake in the story is oil?
- Yes, Possum.
If too much oil goes into the water
then it becomes unhealthy and unsafe for us to drink.
- Can't we just get rid of the oil?
- It's not that simple.
Many people still use oil to do things
like drive cars and airplanes.
- Oh, yeah.
- It can be really confusing,
but that's why we have to do what we can
to protect the water.
- Well, I don't drive so I don't need oil,
but I sure wanna have water to brush my teeth
and wash my hands and make mud to play in.
- I understand, Possum.
I use water to wash my clothes and cook.
And I drink at least six glasses of water every day.
- Oh, Mama Possum uses water to make tea.
She loves peppermint tea.
- That gives me an idea, Possum.
Let's make a glass of iced tea.
- That sounds yummy!
- Let's look, listen and learn with our friends
at Nurturing Roots Farm.
(magical chime)
(cheery music)
- Hi friends, I'm Miss Nyema.
- And I'm EriBella.
- And we are here today at Nurturing Roots Farm
on Beacon Hill in South Seattle.
And we're here to talk all about water, right?
- Yeah.
- And make some amazing tea.
Do you have any idea why water is important?
- Well, without water in the Earth,
we would not be here because we need water to survive.
- That is right.
We all need water.
It's part of our bodies.
It's part of almost everything.
Did you know that all the water that's on the planet
was the water that was here in the beginning?
- No.
- It's true.
So a lot of the water that evaporates goes into the clouds
and then just comes back down.
So it's important that we hold onto as much
as our natural resources possible.
Are there any ways that you save water at home?
- You always have to make sure not to use too much of it.
Like if you're in the shower, don't over water yourself
because sure you need to smell good but without water,
nobody can survive in the Earth.
- That is true.
Some ways I save water is when I'm brushing my teeth,
I use it just to put on my toothbrush
and then I turn it off while I'm brushing.
So that's a cool way too.
- Yeah, that's a really good way.
- Yes, so water is definitely important.
And we are here to make some amazing herbal tea
'cause it's a great way to drink water
um, and then make yourself feel good too.
So today we were able to get some herbs in the garden.
Um, do you wanna smell some of them?
- Yeah.
- Do you remember what this one's called?
- The lemon dew or something?
I forgot the last name.
- Close.
Lemon balm.
- Ooh.
- You wanna smell some? - Yes.
I smelled some earlier.
It was really nice.
- Mmhm. Kind of like lemon.
This one's good and we even found some mint.
- I didn't smell that one yet.
- Go for it.
- Thank you.
- And the mint, you can even taste the flowers.
- Like this part or that part?
- The purple and it kind of tastes like mint.
- That's good.
- Mm hmm.
All right, are you ready to make our iced tea?
- Yes.
- Me too.
All right, so I pre-heated this hot water on the side.
If you're at home or you have a parent to help,
you can always use a hot pot on the stove.
But we did it this way.
Here we go.
So usually we pour the hot water over the herbs
and then we let it steep for a while
so that all the flavors can get in.
You wanna mix it down a little?
Maybe tap on the herbs?
That way we can get the flavors moving.
- [Miss Nyema] Shake it around a little even harder.
That's good.
- Do you think that's good? - I think it's good.
Might want some time to steep though.
So it should probably steep.
I would probably do about eight minutes with fresh herbs.
We just got these out of the garden
so it might take a little while
but usually when I start to see the color in the water
then you know it's pretty much done.
So when we make hot tea or when we make iced tea,
a lot of times we use strainers and the tea is still hot
so if you're ever at home doing this,
make sure there's an adult close by
that can handle the hot stuff.
So when we take it out, we make sure the herbs come out
but the essence or the color is still there.
Can you kind of see that?
- Oh, yeah.
It's like a lime green.
- Mm hmm.
All right, so now that we're done with that,
we can pour it into our ice.
(water pouring)
[Miss Nyema] Great job.
And then sometimes if you like it a little sweet,
you can add a little honey.
Swish it around maybe.
I'll put the lid on. Do you wanna shake it a little?
Sometimes I shake teas.
- I wanna try it.
- In a circle.
Nice.
Like this.
(ice rattles in container)
Go, go, go, go, go.
(both laughing)
But this way we make sure that all of our ice
can get around the warm water and make it iced tea.
Let's put some in our cups.
Would you like to pour it?
- [EriBella] Umm, sure.
- I'm excited to try it.
- Me too.
- It's refreshing.
- I like it.
- Mmhmm, me too.
Very healthy and very refreshing.
Thanks for helping me make this EriBella.
- Anytime.
- [Together} Thanks for joining us Friends!
(bright music)
- [Possum] It's time for Movement Minute.
(sound of spring bouncing)
- Hey everyone, it's Alicia from Rainier Health & Fitness
and we are here again for Movement Minute
and the exercise today is gonna be skaters.
Skaters are fun.
You're gonna step back with one foot, alternating.
I'm gonna give this to you one step at a time.
The next step, you're gonna touch the floor
while you step back.
Get used to this.
Let's do this two times on each side.
Stepping back, touching the floor.
All right.
Next thing, you're gonna add one more thing.
I want you to go a little faster and add a hop.
There you go.
Three.
Two.
And one.
Ahh!
You may notice you're a little out of breath for that one.
It is okay.
You're doing great!
See you next time on Movement Minute.
(magical chime)
- Auntie Lena, well I've been thinking about today's story
and do you think that I could help protect water?
- You know, Possum, you're already a great water protector.
You're a good community helper
to your friends, family, Mother Earth.
You're a mighty fine steward.
- A mighty fine what?
Oh, I heard that word in the story
but I don't know what it means.
- The word is steward.
Earth steward and water protector both mean the same things.
It means that you promise to protect and take care
of Mother Earth and all its living creatures.
- That's awesome.
- It sure is, Possum.
Protecting Mother Earth is something indigenous people
have done for thousands of years.
We can all be protectors and stewards
by turning off the water while we're brushing our teeth,
planting trees or joining a volunteer group
to pick up trash.
- Oh, you're right.
I already do those things.
So I guess I am an Earth steward and a water protector!
Oh, I love the earth and the animals
and the flowers and the water.
And you wanna know another reason why I love the water?
- Well, sure.
- Well, because it's fun to be in the water like a lake
or a pool or my bathtub.
And do you know what I love to do when I'm in the water?
- What?
- Splash! (Auntie Lena and Possum laughing)
Oh, I just think splashing is so fun.
- Me too.
And speaking of fun, let's go back to Nurturing Roots Farm
where we can see what else our friends are up to.
(magical chime)
- [Together] Hello friends!
My name is Miss Leanna.
- My name is Elijah.
- And today we're at Nurturing Roots
and today we're gonna talk a little bit about water.
So you've probably played with water a whole bunch
before but have you ever used water to make music?
- No.
- No, okay.
So first thing we gotta do is we're gonna have
to fill these cups but we're gonna need different sizes.
So I'm gonna start over here and we're gonna just try
to get bigger and bigger and bigger as we go.
(water pouring)
So just a little bit at first and a little bit more.
(water pouring)
And that kind of makes a cool sound on its own.
- [Elijah] Yeah.
- We're gonna make more cool sounds after that.
(water pouring)
There we go.
Last one, real big.
(water pouring)
[Miss Leanna] Okay.
We've got these spoons here.
So I want you to grab one of them
and we're gonna be really gentle about this.
So we're gonna tap the glasses.
But first, I have question.
- Yes?
- Do you think it's going to be a higher or lower sound
if there's more water?
- I think it's gonna be lower for more water
and higher for less water.
- Perfect.
So lower and higher.
Let's see if you're right.
Tap that glass. (glass tinkling)
Ooh.
Okay, we're gonna try this one. (glass tinkling)
Ooh, you're totally right.
So if we have more water, (glass tinkling)
we have a lower pitch (glass tinkling)
and if we have less water, we have a higher pitch.
Okay.
These look pretty cool on their own
but I think we should add some colors.
- Yes.
- Okay, spoons down.
Let's add some colors.
So let's start with these.
We'll just go for the first four, yeah?
[Miss Leanna] Yeah, cool.
So we've got red in the first one
and we can do like a different color on the next one, yeah?
- Let's do blue.
- Blue.
Great.
- Yes, very cool.
Okay, so we need to tap all of these glasses
in order to see what sound they make.
♪ Do, Re, Mi ♪
What's this? (glass tinkling)
- So?
Do, Re, Mi, So?
- Oh, you're so close.
♪ Do, Re, Mi, Fa ♪
You remember that one?
- Yes.
- Nice! (glasses tinkling)
Okay, can we make up a song using these glasses?
- Yes, I think. - Yes.
Okay, cool.
So for just a second, I'm gonna push these ones back.
Let's make up a three notes song.
So, you've got four notes that you can use
or four different cups of water.
So any three notes, what do you think?
- Okay.
(glasses tinkling and Miss Leanna humming)
- I like that.
That sounds a little bit like a doorbell, you know?
- Yeah. - Very good.
Can you make up another one?
(glasses tinkling)
Let's put those two together.
So we started with (glasses tinkling)
and then what did we do after that?
You remember that? (glasses tinkling)
If it helps you can think blue, green, red,
and then purple, red, green.
What happens if we hit two at the same time?
- Then they'd probably come together
and then make their own sound.
- They make their own sound!
So I want you to hit the red one
and I'm gonna hit the green one, you ready?
(glasses tinkling) Ooh, very cool.
Let's add this weird little yellow one back in
because I like this sound. - Okay.
(glasses tinkling)
- Okay.
Doesn't matter how many notes you pick,
I want you to try playing with rhythm.
So when we're playing with rhythm,
we're not just thinking about pitch.
We can think about making more than one note
(glasses tinkling)
Or you could do something like (glasses tinkling)
Right? - Yeah.
- Why don't you try something?
Play with rhythm a little bit.
- Try and go like-
- Sure.
Yup, scooch 'em.
(glasses tinkling)
Nice, I really liked your rhythm.
(glasses tinkling)
What'd you think? Did you have fun with this?
- Yes!
- Why is it so important
that we are thinking so much about water?
Do you know?
- Because you need while to drink in order to live.
- Absolutely.
You need water to drink in order to live, for sure.
And so do all these plants behind us too, right?
Thanks for making some music with me today.
- Thank you for teaching me.
- [Together] Thank you friends.
Bye.
- I love making up new songs.
- Oh, me too.
I always have so much fun with you, Auntie Lena.
- I always have fun with you too, Possum,
and no matter what we talk about,
I always learn something new.
- Thank you for teaching me about Earth stewards
and water protectors today.
Oh, I'm glad that I can help keep water safe.
- You know Possum, on the last page of today's story,
there's an Earth steward and water protector pledge.
A pledge is like a promise.
By signing the pledge,
that means you promise to do your best to help.
Do you wanna sign it with me?
- Yes, I do.
- [Auntie Lena And Possum] I will do my best
to honor Mother Earth and all its living beings,
including the water and the land.
I will always remember to treat the Earth
as I would like to be treated.
I will treat the winged ones, the crawling ones,
the four-legged, the two-legged,
the plants, trees, rivers, lakes,
the Earth with kindness and respect.
I pledge to make this world a better place
by being a steward of the Earth
and a protector of the water.
(magical chime)
- Thank you for citing the pledge with me, Possum.
Now, you can share it with your friends
so that we can all stand together and be water protectors.
- I can't wait to share it with Mama Possum,
Turtle, and Raven.
Oh, thank you, Auntie Lena.
- You're welcome, Possum.
And friends, thank you for taking time
to look, listen and learn with us today.
Remember, you are the best you that the world will ever see.
- Bye for now.
- Bye.
(light music)
- Please stay tuned after the credits
for Auntie Lena's parent tip.
(light playful music)
- [Announcer] Brought to you by Public Health.
The COVID vaccine is safe for you and your kids.
Your questions answered at kingcounty.gov/vaccines/youth.
(light music)
- This episode honors what indigenous people knew
and know no matter what continent they live on.
Water is sacred.
Water is a gift and water sustains life.
Therefore, water must be protected.
Today's story invites everyone to be protectors of waters
and stewards of the Earth.
As Auntie Lena talks about, a steward is someone
who promises to help care for Mother Earth
and all its living creatures.
There are many activities that we can do
with our early learners to help them grow
as Earth stewards and water protectors.
Showing kindness and respect to everyone including pets,
trees, and plants.
Taking shorter showers.
Collecting rainwater to water our gardens or house plants.
We can also join in peaceful protests
that send a united message about protecting waterways
from pollution.
I invite you to visit our website
and help your early learner fill out Carol Lindstrom's
Earth Steward and Water Protector Pledge.
It's one more tool to help them to be the best
that the world will ever see.