Thoughts for the Week:

We all feel good when we learn how to stop ourselves from doing something we shouldn't do. Learning to manage our feelings takes time. We all want things we can't have from time to time, but for children, it can be especially frustrating to have those feelings. They haven't yet learned how to manage their frustration or anger when they can't have what they want or when they can't do what they want to do. Children need the help of caring adults who will help them learn how to stop themselves by setting clear limits for acceptable behavior while allowing children ways to express their feelings by talking or playing about them.

Summary of the Week:

This week's theme of Go-Stop-Go is about impulse control. Knowing when to stop and when to go deals with some of the most essential things in childhood -- learning, getting along with others, toilet training, and safety rules.  There's a fire drill at a school and a visit to a Fire Department where Mister Rogers meets caring fire fighters. Mister Rogers shows a video of different kinds of fountains and shows how he turns the water on and off in his bathroom. Author/illustrator Marc Brown shows how he draws the "Arthur" character and introduces Mister Rogers to the teenager who does the voice of "Arthur" on PBS.

In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe story, Lady Elaine has trouble controlling her urge to squirt her Museum-Go-Round hose.  With the help of her friends, she finds that there are times when it's okay to squirt the water and times when it's not okay -- times to go and times to stop.