(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 ♪
(cheery music)
- Hi, Auntie Lena.
- Oh, well hello, Possum.
And hello, friends.
- What you doing Auntie Lena?
- Oh, I'm learning how to crochet.
- That's awesome.
What are you making?
- Well, I'm trying to make a neck scarf, Possum,
but I sure am making a lot of boo-boos.
It's frustrating, but I'm not stopping
until I can do it right.
- Well, I'm making boo-boos too, Auntie Lena.
I got a bad grade on my math test today.
- Oh. - Oh, subtraction is
just so hard.
- Oh, I understand, Possum.
Learning new things can be hard,
but there's one thing I know.
If we wanna win at something that's hard,
we need to keep working at it and we'll get it.
- How can I win at math?
- Practice and patience.
Let's think about this.
Why might math be important to you?
Or what about math is fun?
- I don't know, Auntie Lena.
I have to take math.
I'm in school.
- Okay, well, let me ask you this instead.
Do you enjoy playing the concertina?
- I love playing the concertina.
I've been practicing and getting better
and it took courage, just like we talked about.
But now I have three songs memorized.
- Oh, that's wonderful, Possum.
Then you must know, that to play music
you have to count beats.
And counting is math.
And cooking is something you like to do too, right?
- Well, you know how much I love cooking with Mama Possum.
- Yes, I do.
When you cook, you have to measure ingredients
like one cup of flour or three tablespoons of milk.
Measuring is also math.
- I never think about math when I cook or play music.
I'm just having fun.
- Surprise, knowing how to do math can help you have fun.
- But Auntie Lena, making boo-boos isn't fun.
- Well, I hear you Possum,
but those boo-boos can help us learn.
Making mistakes and working through hard times,
it isn't easy, but it's worth it.
There's even a story that shows us why.
It's called "The Girl With A Mind For Math,"
by Julia Finley Mosca.
- Who has a mind for math?
- Let's find out with our friends at Woodland Park Zoo.
(whimsical music)
- [Both] Hi friends.
- I'm Miss Susan.
- And I'm Kate.
- And we're at the Woodland Park Zoo.
Today I'm reading this book called,
"The Girl With A Mind for Math, The Story of Raye Montague,"
written by Julia Finley Mosca
and Illustrated by Daniel Rieley.
You ready? - Mm-hm.
- Okay.
[Miss Susan] "If there's something you want,
but it seems out of reach, here's a story for you,
a great truth it will teach.
When you focus your mind, you'll succeed through
and through, like one bold engineer by the name Montague.
In a state we call Arkansas, one winter day,
a baby was welcomed, a girl they called Raye.
She was bright as a star, super smart from the start.
She was headstrong, this child, and not faint of heart.
Yes, this girl had potential, her granddad was proud.
He told her, 'Work hard, you'll stand out from the crowd.'
Then something she'd cherish, when Raye was just seven,
he took her to see her first ship.
It was heaven.
'A real submarine!'
Her eyes opened wide.
'Who made it?' she asked,
as they followed the guide
'Engineers," set the man, giving Raye's head a pat.
'But my dear, you don't need to know all about that.'
At the time the man's insult went over her head.
'No, you can't,' were the words he had meant, but not said."
Kinda mean, right?
I know, I don't like that part.
"'Engineering,' thought Raye, and her life's dream began.
Except most people laughed when she told them her plan.
'Stay strong,' said her mom.
'Use your brains.
You'll be fine.
There will always be people who pay you no mind,
just because you're a girl and because you are black.
Don't let them or the state of your school hold you back.'
You see, schools in those days
were what's called segregated.
The black and white students were kept separated.
'That's wrong!' you exclaim.
It was dismal, no fooling.
And worst of all, white kids received better schooling."
Is that fair? - No.
- Yeah, I know, this used to happen.
"But Raye studied hard.
She had grit, taught herself.
She was gifted in math and read books by the shelf.
When the time came for college, she knew what to choose.
She'd learned to build boats, but she got some bad news.
'Engineering's not taught to black students,' they said.
Her heart hit the floor.
'I'll take business instead.'
She'd learn what she could and she'd learn the rest later.
Their rules were unjust
but that school wouldn't break her.
Raye finished with honors.
Oh boy, what a smarty.
She said her farewells,
there was no time to party.
'I'm off to a place filled with history's greats,
the capital city of all fifty states.'"
Do you know what that city is?
- No. - It's called Washington, DC.
It's the capital of the United States.
- Oh. - Yeah.
That's where the president lives.
- Makes sense. - Yeah.
"Now, finding a job?
It turned out that took time.
She looked and she looked.
Raye was not one to whine.
Then it must have been fate,
at least that's what it seems;
She was hired to type where they built?"
Can you say it? - Submarines.
- Yeah.
Can you believe that?
That's a good coincidence, right?
- Yeah. - 'Cause she really
loves submarine.
And then she got a job working
in the same office they do that.
- I can't believe that happened.
- I know, the story's getting good.
"The Navy!
That's right!
Oh, but hold all your cheers.
Ship designing was only for trained engineers."
Look, they're all white guys. - Mm-hm.
- "So, she watched as they worked,
and she learned every task,
even studied computers by night in a class.
Then her big break arrived,
the whole staff got the flu.
Raye did all of her work,
and the engineers' too!
Her boss was in shock.
'H-H-How?!' he exploded.
'From memory,' said Raye.
And with that, got promoted.
Life should've been swell, yet that wasn't the case.
Her boss treated her poorly because of her race.
Many people like him tried to make her feel small.
Raye just held her head high and she outworked them all."
You see, it doesn't matter.
You work hard, things can happen.
"What next?
From the White House there came a command.
The president ordered a ship:
'Make it grand and quickly,' he added.
Well, that didn't fly.
All those plans would take engineers months to supply.
Here's the thing about that:
When designing a boat, there are thousands of measurements
one needs to note.
All those numbers take math, and that takes some time.
Ah, but Raye had been working on something sublime."
What do you think it is?
- Machines to do it for her?
- Yeah.
She knows how to do it with a computer.
"She took a deep breath.
'I can solve this', she said.
'I'll come up with a system to do it instead.
It'll draw the plans faster,' she told them.
'Don't fret.
I'll design the first ship by computer!
No sweat.'
How long do you think that might take?
What's your guess?
Would it take her a month?
Maybe weeks for success?
Well, it took calculations, and tons of caffeine.
But Raye finished in hours, just over eighteen!"
This is the first time they used computers.
Before then they did all the math by hand.
"her program, it worked!
All the blueprints were done.
The ship was constructed.
The engineers?
Stunned.
'You did it!' they cheered,
and her boss had to say
that her quick mind for math had in fact save the day."
[Miss Susan] Look, they all have thumbs up,
but he doesn't look very happy, does he?
- [Kate] I don't think the two men look very happy.
- [Miss Susan] Why do you think they're mad?
- I think they're mad
that she could accomplish more than they could.
- Mm-hm.
She continues though.
"The end?
No, not quite.
When Raye's ship was unveiled
only white men could go.
And Raye's invite?
Not mailed.
Say what?
You heard right?
No invite?
Abhorrible!
In fact, some might say it was downright deplorable.
Yet Raye kept her cool, gave her best every day,
and in time all her skills were applauded.
Hooray!
People learned of her work.
'Who's this Raye?' they demanded.
When they met her, they stared.
They expected a man!"
Right?
'Cause back then women couldn't have
the same opportunities that men had.
And even now, today, it's still hard for women.
- Yeah.
- "Yes, that happened a lot.
Many could not believe
that a woman of color did all she'd achieved.
Some even thought Raye was a maid, sad, but true.
When they'd order a drink, she'd say, 'Bring me one too.'
All her humor in wit served her well through the years,
as she battled the hard times with laughs and not tears.
And that boss in the Navy who'd been so unkind
made Raye the first woman to lead ship design.
More honors would follow.
Her fame picked up steam.
And finally, at last, she accomplished her dream.
That title she'd worked for, an engineer!
Score!
Now the world knows her feats.
She is hidden no more.
So, the lesson to all is don't ever give in.
Take a chance.
Rock the boat.
If it sinks, you can?"
- Swim. - Yeah.
"When a storm comes your way, hold your course,
and don't stress.
Never quit, and like Raye, propel straight to?"
- Success. - You got it.
And then there's a letter from Raye.
"Dear Reader, if you have a dream like I did,
study hard and stay focused!
Always remember that Just because someone says,
'you can't" that doesn't have to stop you.
You might have to go in a different direction
and it might take you a little longer,
but you can achieve your dreams!
Raye Montague."
Look at all these degrees.
She's like swimming in degrees.
Hey, Kate, did you like the story?
- Yes. - Yeah?
What did you like about it?
I liked that it's a real story
and that she accomplished her dreams
even when people said that she could never.
- Right.
Yeah, I like that too.
All right, should we say bye to our friends?
Bye-bye, thanks for joining us.
(magical chime)
- Auntie Lena, I thought it was so wrong
that people thought a black girl couldn't build submarines.
I think it's awesome that she did.
- That's right.
She wanted to be an engineer to build things.
And the thing that she wanted to build most was a submarine.
- But well, she knew why she wanted to be good at math.
And I don't.
- You know, Possum, this reminds me
of when you had to paint a mural and you weren't sure
what you wanted to paint.
- Oh, yeah.
Well, you helped me to shake things up
and we learned about Capoeira with Mastre Silvio.
- Right.
So let's shake things up in another way.
Let's get curious and ask some questions about subtraction.
You have any?
- Hm, yes, I do.
Well, Auntie Lena, how does subtraction help you?
- Well, it can help me share with others.
Subtraction is when you take one number
away from another, right? - Mm-hm.
- Let's say I have four cookies.
- [Possum] Mm-hm.
- And you ask me for two, four minus two equals two.
- And then we both have two cookies.
- That's right.
Subtraction can make things equal.
- Oh, yeah.
And what else does subtraction help you do?
- Hm, well, when I use my box of 12 crayons,
I like to scatter them all over the table.
When I return the crayons to the box, and I only have 10,
I know that two are missing.
- So subtraction helps to share
with others and find out something's missing.
- Yes.
And it also helps me know how much money I have to spend.
If I have $5 to buy a present for my friend's birthday,
but I get hungry and buy a snack for $2,
how much would I have left to spend on a gift?
- Oh, I know, I know.
Five minus two equals three.
So you'd only have $3.
- Very good, Possum.
- $3 isn't much money for a gift though.
- That's true, but by using subtraction now I know
that I might need to be creative
and make a gift instead of spending money on one?
- Hm, what would you make, Auntie Lena?
- Hm, I'm not sure.
But Mr. Jermell is great with coming up with creative ideas.
Let's visit him at Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery
and see what he's making.
(magical chime)
(Cheerful music)
- Oh, hi friends.
It's Mr. Jermell.
I am here at Nepantla Cultural Arts Center
and I am from "Zeno Math."
Today we are gonna talk about patterning and sequencing.
And patterns are things that oftentimes happen
over and over and over again.
And sequencing is putting things in numbers.
Like what's first, what's second?
What's third or what's fourth?
Are you ready?
Let's get to it.
[Mr. Jermell] We are going to make bookmarks.
I love reading all kind of books, and I love bookmarks.
So listen.
First, we're gonna figure out how we're going
to make the bookmarks in order.
Are you ready?
Okay, first, can you say first my friends?
First we're going to cut this piece of paper
into threes, shall we?
(Mr. Jermell humming) (scissors cutting)
One, (laughing).
(Mr. Jermell humming)
Two, and then three.
Now, my friends.
First we cut.
Second, we are going
to take our hole puncher
and punch a hole (laughing) in our bookmark.
Okay.
Third, we are going to cut a piece of our string.
Then we are going to put it through our hole
just like this.
And we're going to tie it.
(Mr. Jermell chuckles)
Now we have a bookmark to decorate.
My friends.
Let's count.
First we cut it
then we put a hole in it.
That was second.
And third, we cut the string.
And fourth, we put the string through the hole.
Four, four.
All right, my friends.
Now, we are going to decorate our bookmark.
I think I want to first,
put on
my bookmark, an owl.
An owl is going to go on my bookmark first.
(Mr. Jermell humming)
(Mr. Jermell gasps)
Whoa, my friends, one owl.
Second, I'm going to put a flower.
(Mr. Jermell laughing)
Third, I wanna use a treasure chest.
And fourth, I want to use a music note
because Mr. Jermell loves to sing.
All righty.
Oh, now we have an amazing sequence.
We have first, our owl.
Second, a flower.
Third, our treasure chest.
And fourth, we have our music note.
Now my friends, I'm gonna turn it around
because I'm gonna make a pattern
on the back using my stamps. (laughing)
Okay.
So first I want an orange circle.
As you can see, we have our orange circle.
Next, I want a
blue square.
Ah, a blue square.
Ah, so first we have an orange circle.
Second, we have a blue square.
Next, I want another orange circle.
(laughing) Another orange circle.
And then lastly, we want another blue square.
Okay, my friends.
First, we have an orange circle, blue square,
orange circle, blue square.
And if we were to make another one, what would it be?
You think it would be another orange circle?
Or you think it would be another blue square?
(laughing) You all are so smart.
It would be another orange circle.
Patterns, they tend to repeat themselves,
over and over again.
Oh my goodness, my friends, this is so fun.
And whatever pattern you wanna make at home, feel free.
Alrighty, my friends, thank you so much for joining me today
on "Look, Listen, and Learn," and I will see you next time.
Bye-bye, friends.
(cheerful music)
- [Possum] Its time for Movement Minute.
(Possum bouncing) (cheerful music)
- Hi friends.
Welcome to Movement Minute.
I'm Mr. Tyler.
And today I'm gonna teach you how to be able
to catch a football.
Alright, you guys ready?
So you wanna be able to keep your eye on the ball
and position your hands in a way that's gonna be able
to give you the best chance to be able to catch the ball.
Now, always keep your focus.
Don't get distracted.
because you never know when the ball's gonna come.
And when that ball comes,
you wanna be able to see it, catch it, and tuck it in.
Everybody get ready.
We're gonna practice it on the count of three.
One, two, three.
Eye on the ball, position your hands, catch it
and then you want to be able to tuck it in.
Now, don't be discouraged if you drop the ball.
Sometimes dropping the ball makes the best catchers.
And if you are good at catching the ball,
stay good at catching the ball.
All right.
Thank you guys for watching.
- So Possum, now how are you feeling about math?
- Oh, I feel better.
When we started talking, I didn't wanna tell you
that I got a bad grade on my math test.
- Mm, I understand.
It's natural to wanna get away from things
that don't make us feel good,
but challenges and mistakes can help us see
where we're stuck and where we can try to improve.
- Well, can you help me with my subtraction homework,
so that I can win at math?
- Yes Possum, I sure can.
I want you to feel proud about your math skills,
but before we hit the homework, let's shake things up
and make some music with our friends.
- Oh, awesome.
What should we play?
- Let's go back to Woodland Park Zoo and find out what kind
of music Miss Leanna can teach us today.
- [Both] Hi friends.
- My name is Miss Leanna.
- And I'm Carmela.
- And we are here today at the Woodland Park Zoo.
And do you know what we are talking about today?
- Math.
- We're talking about math.
That is right.
We're talking about math, but we're also going to do it
with these instruments right here.
I think you know what this instrument is called.
Can you tell me what it is?
- [Carmela] It's called a ukulele.
- [Miss Leanna] It is called a ukulele.
So we're going to use the ukulele today to talk about math
because believe it or not, music is all about math.
So, let's start with the easy one.
How many strings do we have?
- Four. - Four strings.
If I'm gonna take my thumb,
I'm gonna put down on one string at a time.
I'm gonna go one, two, three, four.
Can you do that for me?
(ukulele strumming)
Nice, that sounds really good.
I love that you stayed in the same time
or tempo that I gave you when I said the numbers.
I went one, two, three, four.
(ukulele strumming)
So when we play one note per beat for each number,
that's called a quarter note.
You can think of it like four quarters in a dollar.
So we have four quarter notes, one, two, three, four.
But we can do other numbers too.
We could do half notes, which are two numbers per note.
So instead of going one, two, three, four.
I'm gonna have you try something a little different.
We're gonna strum all of them and we're gonna do that
for two beats each, which sounds like this.
One, two, three, four.
Can you try that with me?
Here we go.
I'm gonna count to four first
and we're gonna do it together.
One, two, three, four.
Nice.
We're gonna try to put them together.
You think you can do that?
Cool, so we're gonna go one, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Got it?
Let's do it together.
One, two, three, four.
Very nice.
So we've done quarter notes, we've done half notes.
The last one that I want to add in there is whole notes.
So we've put together our quarters,
we've put together a halfs,
which means that we finally have a whole.
The whole note takes all four beats
and it lasts for the same amount of time.
And because I know you're a little bit
of a pro at the ukulele
we're gonna add one more level of difficulty.
So when we do the whole note,
I want you to put down this finger.
Yeah, so that we make this chord.
(ukulele strumming)
Yeah, nice job.
- That's like C, right?
- That is C.
You are so right.
So we are doing the C chord
and we're going to hold it for four whole beats.
It's really easy to hold a whole note
because you just have to hit the one
and let everything else ring.
Make sense?
We're gonna do it together.
I know you're gonna do great.
Here we go.
One, two, three, four.
(ukulele strumming)
Yes, that was really good.
So let's put it all together.
One, two, three, four.
Yeah, nice job.
That was so good.
I would like you to come up with four quarter notes
and they can be any note.
So you don't have to just go down.
(ukulele strumming)
You could go in a different order.
(ukulele strumming)
Or you could use your fingers.
(ukulele strumming)
If you want.
So can you come up with four quarter notes for me?
(ukulele strumming)
Ooh.
(ukulele strumming)
Nice.
Let's do that.
Here we go.
One, two, three, four.
(ukulele strumming)
Pretty, that sounds really good.
So we've put together a lot
of notes with all of these numbers.
So why do you think math is important to music?
- Because you have to memorize numbers to keep the beats.
- Absolutely.
You have to be able to keep the time
in your head and remember how long each
of these notes go for how many beats.
And so that is a lot of math to keep track of.
So if you are learning music,
you definitely want to be learning your math too.
Did you have fun playing with me today?
- Yeah. - Oh, I'm so glad.
Well, we're gonna say bye to our friends
and then let's keep playing for a little bit afterwards.
Okay?
Bye friends.
- Bye. - Here we go.
One, two, three, four.
(ukulele strumming)
(magical chime)
- Possum, look.
- Oh, is that the neck scarf you were making?
- It most certainly is, my friend.
I kept practicing.
- Wow, I love it.
Oh, and if you make one more scarf,
then you'll have two scarves.
- Correct.
And if I give you one scarf, then how many will I have?
- Oh, two minus one is one.
- That's right.
And here's one for you.
See Possum?
Look at that.
Your subtraction is already adding more fun to your life.
- Oh, thank you so much, Auntie Lena, I love it!
Oh, and thank you for helping me win at math.
- 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.
- Byee.
(cheerful music)
Please stay tuned after the credits
for Auntie Lena's parent tip.
(cheerful music)
- [Commentator] 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)
- It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.
Mrs. Raye Montague's journey was not easy,
but her perseverance was worth it.
The ability to stick with a task
or a goal until it's completed is called self-efficacy.
It's the ability to persevere and believe in oneself,
or as my dad would say, "Have some stick-to-it-ness."
As caring adults, we can foster these traits
in our early learners by challenging
their negative thoughts and behaviors.
When they're feeling stuck,
help them to identify their strengths
and find fun ways to problem solve.
Then, when things do go right, offer specific praises
for their accomplishments and efforts.
There are countless examples
of people who've overcome challenges
without privileges and have soared to new heights.
Bruce Lee, Wilma Mankiller, Harriet Tubman,
and of course, Mrs. Raye Montague.
What stories do you have about your own family?
By sharing these stories
you remind your little learners that they aren't alone.
Whether your child struggles with math or tying their shoes,
sometimes simply knowing that someone believes
in them is all the motivation it takes
to become the best that they can be.