Listening to Sounds and Appreciating Quiet
Thoughts for the Week:
We all have a need for times of
peace and quiet. Yet there are times when it's all right to be noisy. Learning
when to be quiet and when we can be noisy is a part of growing up. Young
children may not notice when they are being too noisy for other people because
they have a hard time seeing things from someone else's point of view. They may
not realize how loudly they are talking or how much noise they are making
because they are still learning how to control the amount of noise they make.
One of the things we can do is to help children find acceptable ways to be
noisy ... and to help them see that they can begin to control noise levels in
small ways.
In today's very busy world, all of us need a little time for peace and quiet.
Sometimes children need to take time away from the group to be alone and to
have some quiet time. This might be time away with a friend, with a grownup, or
just by themselves. Giving children a cozy place where they can look at a book
or talk quietly with a friend helps them find the balance between being noisy
and being quiet.
-- Fred Rogers
Summary of the Week:
This week of
Neighborhood programs is filled with unusual noises and the usual quiet. Some
of the unexpected noises come from fish, with the help of marine biologist,
Sylvia Earle, and a percussionist who introduces Mister Rogers to a wide range
of musical sounds -- from the noisiest crash cymbals to the quietest shaker.
In the Neighborhood
of Make-Believe story, the neighbors find a way to quiet a noise that's
annoying. Commands don't work, but when neighbors discover that fear is behind
the noise, they calm the fear and quiet the noise.
