Thoughts for the Week:

Pretending can take many different forms, but most of it seems to be a way of trying things out -- whether trying out what it would be like to be a grownup, a princess or a pilot; what it would be like to be able to solve problems magically; or even what it would be like to be in control of everything. Dressing up can be a part of that pretending as children put on the outfits of those they pretend to be. But sometimes pretending can seem so real that children may wonder if dressing up as someone else could maybe change the person inside the costume. It's important for them to know that although we can pretend to be someone else, we can never be someone else. We will always be ourselves.

Summary of the Week:

There's lots of dressing up and creative play with costumes in Mister Rogers' reality-oriented Neighborhood and in Make-Believe.  Mister Rogers tries on masks, fancy crowns, wigs and eyeglasses, reminding children that even though we can change our appearance on the outside, we don't change who we are inside.

In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, King Friday's crown is missing.  Ana and Daniel and Prince Tuesday are preparing for a school play, but Prince Tuesday's mind is on what happened to the crown -- and on his father, King Friday, who seems like a giant to him.