Clothes Don't Change Who We Are Inside
Thoughts for the Week:
During
the preschool years, children may develop very specific ideas about what they
will and will not wear. Naturally, those strong preferences will not always
agree with what adults want them to wear. These times can be opportunities to
work together on notions of "choice" and "control."
There are
times when children must wear certain clothes, like when it's cold, but you may
be able to let them choose, say between a coat or a sweater, or between their
red or blue overalls. Making even small decisions can give children a sense
that they can be in control of some things. That way, they may not have to
struggle so much about things they cannot control.
-- Fred Rogers
Summary of the Week:
Mister Rogers
helps children know that clothes don't change people or make them more or less
important; clothes are just something to put on the outside of us. Our real
value comes from who we are on the inside. There's a trip to a millinery shop
in Colonial Williamsburg to learn about hats people wore long ago, a visit with
an organist whose special shoes help him work the pedals, and a video about
different kinds of hats people wear.
In the
Neighborhood of Make-Believe, King Friday is delighted with his three-cornered
hat, resulting in his new rule that everyone must wear one. All of the
residents are glad to comply -- except for Lady Elaine Fairchilde. Being
resourceful (and independent), she finds a creative way to go along with the
king's command.
