(upbeat music) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Teaching in Room 9," the region's... - Shapes are everywhere we look, but... - Good job.

Now, go ahead touch your throat right here and see how they feel.

- Can say to ourselves to be positive.

- Lemurs are found on the island of Madagascar.

- For one, when the numbers get bigger as we go across to the right... - We said that means taking a deep breath.

It may mean counting to 10.

- Today we're gonna start with a freestyle stroke.

So I gonna put my arms up, and I'm going to... - All righty, are you ready to learn?

Let's go!

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to "Teaching in Room 9," the region's largest classroom.

It is Dr. Sanders, and I am here in this amazing classroom where you can go anywhere and be anything.

(gentle lighthearted music) Huh?

What did you say?

What do you wanna be when you grow up?

Oh, that's right.

You can be a teacher just like me.

As we start our journey today, please remember, it doesn't matter if you're two or 102.

We will have some fun, F-U-N, fun.

We will have some fun while learning.

It is time to start this journey, but before we start, what do I need to do?

Yes, you are correct.

Let's take off my hat.

And you are correct again.

Let's spell some of my friends' names.

My first name today is Axel.

Hi, Axel.

(bell dings) How are you doing today?

Great, great.

Let's spell their name.

Capital A-X-E-L, A-X-E-L. Hey, Axel.

(bell dings) My next name, what do you think it is?

Oh, Jackson!

What letter does Jackson's name start with?

Jackson, Jackson.

- [Children] J?

- Yes, it starts with a J.

Let's spell Jackson.

Capital J-A-C-K-S-O-N, J-A-C-K-S-O-N. Hi, Jackson.

(bell dings) My last name is Christopher.

Man, Chris, let's clap those syllables real quick before we spell it.

Christopher.

How many syllables did it have?

- Three.

- Three.

You are correct.

Let's spell Christopher.

Capital C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R. Hi, Christopher.

(bell dings) Boys and girls, can everybody on three, can you shout your name to me so I can say hi to you?

One, two, three.

Hello everybody!

But guess what?

It is time to get on this journey.

Are you ready?

Good, good, good.

So let's go!

- Yay!

(children clapping) - [Child] Yay, all right!

(children chattering) - Hi, Glen, what are... Oh my goodness, what a beautiful outfit you have on, so many colors, and they even match the colors of the fruit in this basket.

This is amazing.

Do you know that colors are all around us?

Red and orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

It's important to understand what the colors are because they're everywhere.

Hey, I have an idea.

Would you like to use the fruit basket to play a color game with me?

I have some cards that have the color words written on them, and we can see if we can find the fruit that matches the color card.

How about that?

How about you?

Do you want to play too?

Okay, the first card that I have is red, red word on red paper.

Do we see anything in the basket that's red?

I do.

Ooh, a red apple goes with a red card.

Great job.

How about orange?

Orange is the second one, orange.

Do we see any orange in the fruit basket?

Mm, here it is.

Orange with orange.

Fantastic job.

How about this one, yellow?

Do we see a yellow fruit?

I do, banana, yellow, yellow.

Green, here's the word green on green paper.

Do we see a green fruit?

Ah, green pear.

Fantastic job.

Blue, do we see blue in here?

Oh, I see a dark blue blueberry, blue and blue.

And the last one is purple.

Do we see a purple fruit?

(gasps) I do, a purple plum to go with the word purple.

Fantastic.

Now we know all the colors and the color words.

Glen, you know the color words, and so do you.

That means you're ready to go to school.

(lively music) (water burbling) - Yee-haw, good to see you, Room 9.

It's me, Mrs. Williams, the woodland creature teacher.

When I'm not here teaching and learning with you in Room 9, I'm teaching and learning with all my first graders.

So, hi.

Lots of love to all my woodland creatures.

Today we're down on the farm to get planting.

Why are plants so important?

Hmm.

Let's think about all the things that plants do for us and our planet.

Plants provide oxygen.

Take a big breath (inhales) (exhales) and thank a plant.

All that lovely oxygen that you breathe in all day every day comes from our plant friends.

What other uses do plants have?

Well, plants like this aloe plant are medicine.

If you have a burn, a cut, or a scrape, you can just squeeze a little bit and rub it on your skin.

Ouch is all gone.

Thanks, aloe.

We know that plants can also provide food.

Stop and think about some of your favorite fruits and vegetables.

I don't know about you, but I love carrots, and these come from plants.

Wow, plants are awfully cool.

What else can they do?

Plants are also sweet and beautiful.

Some plants are for decoration like my heart plant.

We also have plants like lavender and roses that provide good smells.

And also lavender provides a calming effect.

What can't plants do?

Hmm, I don't know.

Well, if plants are so wonderful, what can you do to include more plants in your home and community?

Let's get growing and find out.

The first thing you need to know is what do you have to have to plant and make a plant grow happy and strong.

Stop and think about the places that you see plants growing.

What do they need, and what do they have?

Well, first that I think of is soil.

Plants need clean, healthy soil with lots of nutrients to grow strong and healthy and to spread their roots out.

What else will they need?

Yep, if you said water, you are right on the money.

Plants need a drink just like we do.

They need that clean, healthy water just like humans.

What else?

Well, they need fresh air and sunshine just like we do.

So if you have all of those things, you have the ingredients for a healthy, strong plant.

Now, if you'd like to plant some plants of your own, there are a couple more things that you'll need.

You may need some tools like these, shovels and rakes, if you're planting in a garden.

You may need things like pots or containers if you're planting indoors or on your patio.

However you're planting, you are gonna need a container to get started.

And since we're planting indoors today, I've brought a couple choices for you to see.

You could use a pot.

Make sure that it has good drainage in the bottom so that the water can run out, and it's roots don't get soak-y.

You could also reuse containers that you have.

Remember those plastics we talked about recycling or reusing, keeping those single-use plastics to a minimum.

You could have an adult help you to cut the top off of this container, put your soil right in, and plant those seeds.

I have another really cool option for you today that you can do with toilet paper or paper towel tubes.

Let me just get on my gloves so I don't get too dirty.

Now, I have here in this dish some seeds.

I have a paper towel tube that I've cut into three sections, and you can also see that I've put a little newspaper inside of my rolls.

Just a little strip crumpled up on the bottom will help to keep your soil from falling through.

I'll show you from this end so you can see the paper a little better.

That's in there to keep all of your soil from falling out, and you'll need just a little bit of soil.

When you plant this way, you can scoop it up with your tubes.

And then make a little hole for your seeds.

Usually just a pinch will do it.

And then cover those little seeds up.

Now I've brought some popsicle sticks to label my seeds so that I know which seeds are coming up in which container.

An easy way to remember is to put the first letter of whatever you're planting on the stick.

I planted some carrot seeds, so I'm gonna put a C here on the stick and poke it down into the very edge of the soil so that I remember what I planted.

What do you think my last step is?

Yeah, I need to give my seeds a little drink and put them in a sunny spot so that they could get growing.

All right, well, I hope that you enjoyed learning about plants and why they're so important.

I challenge you this week to start growing at your home, maybe on your patio, or even start a garden with your family.

I want you to think about the three things that you would like to grow and discuss that with the people in your home.

Thanks for growing with me, Room 9.

I'll see you again soon.

Bye.

(lively music) - Hi, everyone, I'm Ms. St. Louis, and I'm here to share another incredible story with you.

Today we're going to read "My Oh My, I Can't Wait to Eat This Pie!"

written by Chef Shavown Cox and Brittany Young.

So let's dive on in.

(page rustling) "'Good morning, Gana,' Antonio yawned.

'Good morning, Gana,' Vonnie stated right after him.

'Good morning!

Gana exclaimed, and took a sip of her coffee.

'What's on our agenda for the day?'

asked Antonio.

Antonio and Vonnie's parents had just dropped them off at Gana and Uncle Howard's house last night for a weekend sleepover.

They knew that Sunday was the big family get-together, but they weren't sure what they'd be doing on this beautiful Saturday.

'Well, the family wants me to make my sweet potato pies for tomorrow's Sunday dinner.

So, first we need to go out and get the sweet potatoes.'

(page rustling) 'Cool!

I'll get my money so I can buy some gum from the grocery store then,' said Vonnie.

'No ma'am, we're not going to the grocery store.

The best sweet potatoes come straight from the local farmers market.

That means we are going to the farmers market today.

We're going to see Farmer Bill at the Fort Washington Farmers Market,' Gana replied with a huge smile on her face.

'Now hurry and go get dressed so that we can make the most of the day!'

Antonio and Vonnie ran to put their clothes on.

They were excited to hang out with Gana, and they couldn't wait to get their hands on her marvelous sweet potato pie.

(page rustling) 'My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!'

sang Antonio.

He kept repeating his little song and started dancing down the hallway.

At first, Vonnie chuckled and looked at him like he was silly, but when she thought of Gana's sweet potato pie, she joined him and started dancing and singing too.

'My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!

My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!'

They sang their pie song all the way to the Fort Washington Farmers Market.

(page rustling) Once they arrived, they found Farmer Bill's stand.

'Hey, Farmer Bill, how you doin'?

I need some of your delicious sweet potatoes today,' Gana said to Farmer Bill.

Farmer Bill's smile faded.

'Aw man!

Unfortunately, I only have purple sweet potatoes today.

But my buddy Farmer John over at the Anacostia Farmers Market will surely have what you need.'

Gana, Vonnie, and Antonio's hearts sank at Farmer Bill's first words, but once he mentioned Farmer John and his sweet potatoes, they immediately perked up.

'My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!'

sang Antonio.

And the three of them danced their way to the car and drove off to the Anacostia Farmers Market.

(page rustling) They finally arrived at the Anacostia Farmers Market, and Farmer John's stand happened to be the first one they saw.

He had loads of fruits and vegetables and a brightly colored sign that said Farmer John's Fruits and Veggies.

'Hi!'

Antonio and Vonnie shouted as they ran up to Farmer John.

Gana was catching up behind them.

'Well, hello there!

How can I help you?'

Gana had finally caught up but needed some time to catch her breath.

So she nudged Vonnie to tell the man what they needed.

'Um, we need sweet potatoes, please!

My Gana is going to make her marvelous sweet potato pie!'

said Vonnie, dreaming of the flaky crust and the moist, creamy filling in her mouth.

'Aw, man, I'm so sorry,' said Farmer John.

At the word 'sorry,' Gana, Antonio, and Vonnie's hearts sank yet again.

'These here are yams, not sweet potatoes.'

'Aren't those the same thing?'

asked Vonnie.

Antonio looked on in agreement with his sister.

(page rustling) 'Nope, yams and sweet potatoes are two different things.

Most of the "yams" you see in grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes.

According to historians, the reason for the name mix-up is because in the 1930s, Louisiana farmers marketed a new brand of sweet potatoes as "yams" to distinguish their crop from the other states' produce, and it stuck.

What you're looking for specifically is a Beauregard.

It's a sweet potato that has purplish-red skin, deep orange flesh, and a sweet taste.

It works best when mashed in baked goods and desserts.'

'Wow, you sure do know a lot about yams and sweet potatoes!'

said Antonio in complete awe.

'I had no idea there was any difference between the two.

You're right.

They are two totally different things,' said Vonnie.

(page rustling) 'Too bad you only have yams today,' Gana said in disappointment.

'I guess my pie will have to wait until next weekend.'

'Well, I may not have any sweet potatoes today, but I know Farmer Olu will have them!

She's over at the Capitol Heights Farmers Market,' said Farmer John.

Antonio's face lit up.

'Woo-hoo!

My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!'

he shouted.

He grabbed both Gana and Vonnie's hand as he led them to the car in song.

'My oh my, we can't wait to eat this pie!'

'My oh my, we can't wait to eat this pie!'

Vonnie turned around and yelled, 'Thank you!'

to Farmer John, who waved back and laughed.

'Good luck!'

he yelled.

'My oh my, I can't wait to eat this pie!'

(page rustling) On the drive over to the Capitol Heights Farmers Market, Vonnie pondered to herself and asked, 'Gana, we've been to two different farmers markets today.

Now we're on to the third.

Why can't we just buy an apple pie from the grocery store and call it a day?'

'What?

No way!'

Antonio said, looking at his sister in horror.

'Apple pie is disgusting in comparison to Gana's marvelous sweet potato pie.'

Gana laughed and said, 'Thank you for that compliment, Antonio.

Vonnie, that's a good question.

Well, I believe that sweet potato pie is a cherished and sacred dessert in the Black community.

My great-grandma taught my grandma how to make it.

My grandma taught my mom how to make it, and my mom taught me.

It's my hope to teach you two how to make it today.

Today, we learned about the yam.

Well, the yam came from West Africa, and it was brought over by our enslaved ancestors.

However, as time progressed, our enslaved ancestors could no longer access the beloved yam, so the sweet potato took its place.

And we made all types of delicious dishes with the sweet potato, one of them being the sweet potato pie.'

'So you're saying the sweet potato pie is part of our heritage?'

asked Vonnie.

'Wow!

It's delicious and historical.

That's what's up,' said Antonio with pride and joy in his voice.

'Yep,' said Gana.

'My oh my, I can't wait to eat this delicious historical pie!'

she sang while laughing and parking the car at the Capitol Heights Farmers Market."

Hmm, I wonder if they're gonna find this at the Capitol Heights Farmers Market.

What do you think?

Well, I enjoyed reading you the story with you today, and we'll catch back up to read a new story next time.

Bye, everyone.

- [Children] A, B, C, D, E, F, G. - Welcome back, learners, to "Teaching in Room 9," our region's largest classroom.

My name is Ms. Knarr, and we're here for letters and sounds.

Today we're focusing our learning on rhyming words.

We're gonna be listening for words that sound the same at the end of the word, the vowel sound and the sounds that come after it.

Then we're gonna practice by looking at three words, deciding which two rhyme and then which one is the odd one out.

Let's start by singing a song about rhyming words.

♪ Rhyming words are words that have the same sounds ♪ ♪ They have to end in the same way ♪ ♪ Rhyming words have the same vowel sounds ♪ ♪ And the same sounds at the very end ♪ Nice job.

Now let's try practicing it together.

Here's your three words.

Are you ready to listen for those rhyming sounds?

All right.

Bus, art, cart.

Which two sound the same at the end, and then which one's the odd one out?

Nice job.

Yes, if you said art and cart rhymed, you are right.

So that would make bus the odd one out.

These are a little tricky.

Let's practice another one.

Low, bye, hi.

Which two rhyme, and which one's the odd one out?

Nicely done.

Yes, if you said bye and hi rhyme, and low is the odd one out, you nailed it.

Let's try another one.

Food, eat, meat.

Which two rhyme?

Eat and meat sound the same at the end, so food would be the odd one out.

Let's practice another one.

Say the words rope, done, cope.

Which two sound the same?

Rope and cope.

So done would be the odd one out.

The next one is, are you ready, dust, must, bed.

If you said that bed was the odd one out, you're absolutely right.

Dust and must have that same ust rhyme.

Let's try another one.

Fast, slow, last.

Yeah, if you said slow was the odd one out, you're totally right.

Ast was the rhyme on the last two.

All right, stop, hop, run, which one is the odd one out?

Very good.

If you said run was the odd one out, you nailed it.

Let's do one more, friends.

Bank, lift, tank.

And our odd one out is?

Lift, very good.

You really did a great job practicing rhyming words that sound the same at the end.

Kiss your brains.

(smooches) I'll see you next time.

Bye.

(tone chimes) - Great day.

This is "Candace with Chaos," and today we are gonna learn about the Chaos Kids.

And so the Chaos Kids are a group of kids that they're just like you.

Life has happened to them sometimes, but they've learned how to keep healing and overcoming struggles.

And so every day being a kid, you have to sometimes do things like sit still.

Sometimes you have to focus.

You gotta do different things like that.

And so I'm gonna tell you about one of the Chaos Kids.

His name is Xavier.

And Xavier has a hard time with focusing.

Do you ever have a hard time with focusing?

I know sometimes I do.

And so because of this, Xavier had to learn some skills so that Xavier can do things like learn in school.

He can do things like learn different activities, learn different sports, you know, those types of things.

And so, one thing that Xavier had to learn how to do is take deep breaths and get all of the wiggles out and then focus.

And so I want you to do it with me, okay?

And so first and foremost, I want you to get all the wiggles out.

You ready?

One, two, three.

Get the wiggles out, all of them.

Get 'em, get 'em out, out, out, out.

Shake 'em, shake your hands, shake 'em.

Get the wiggles out feet, all of 'em.

Shake 'em, get 'em out.

You got your wiggles out?

Okay, now that we got all the wiggles out, I want you to take a deep breath.

Let's go.

(inhales) In.

(exhales) Out.

(inhales) In.

(exhales) Out.

And now that we've gotten our wiggles out, and we've taken a deep breath, now we're ready, okay?

So I want you to be really still, and I want you to stand like a tree.

Be your best tree ever, okay?

And so I want you to be a strong tree, okay?

So I want you to stand, and I want you to let your body be really good and firm.

And then I want you just to pay attention to what's happening in front of you.

I want you to think about something good.

Think about something that you like or something that you really, really wanna do.

And I want you to just focus on that.

Can you do that?

Just focus.

You can keep your eyes closed, or you can keep them open.

I'm gonna close my eyes because I like to do that.

And I'm gonna focus.

And I'm focusing on playing baseball because I like to play baseball sometimes.

I'm not really good at it, but I like that.

And so I want you to be still and focus.

All right.

I want you to try that whenever you have a hard time focusing.

I want you to take some time and get all of the wiggles out first.

Then take your breaths.

Breathe in.

(inhales) Breathe out.

(exhales) Breathe in.

(inhales).

Breathe out.

And then I want you to be strong and like a tree, okay?

Because trees, sometimes they move a little bit, but they're strong, and that allows you to focus, okay?

You got this.

Let me know how it works if you try it.

Air hugs and cyber kisses.

(tone chimes) - Welcome back.

I hope you had a fantastic day of learning in "Teaching in Room 9."

You did?

Okay, so yes, yes, go ahead.

Tell me your favorite part.

(lighthearted music) Oh, yes.

Man, that was fun, wasn't it?

No, no, you're right, it was better than fun.

It was outstanding.

You are right.

Oh, you know I got a little dance to teach you today.

Now, don't take this dance anywhere else.

This is just for "Teaching in Room 9," okay?

I'm gonna show you real quick.

We gotta do a little pattern, and then we'll be ready.

You ready?

We gonna go one, two, three (claps) and then one, two, three, four.

Are you ready?

Okay, here we go.

Go with me, one, two, three.

(Dr. Sanders claps) (laughs) One, two, three, four.

Oh, can you do it on your own?

Let me see you.

(Dr. Sanders claps) Man, you are some good dancers.

Now put it to some music, and you gonna have it.

Just call it the Dr. Sanders dance, okay?

All right, all right.

All righty!

Oh man, you got your own dance.

Ooh, oh, man, I love it!

Oh, keep going.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

(claps) Oh, oh my goodness, you all are amazing.

But it is time for us to get out of "Teaching in Room 9."

But before we get out, let's spell our favorite word, nine, N-I-N-E, nine.

Thank you for being in Room 9.

Bye-bye.

♪ Hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Hey ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Yeah ♪ Whoo ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Yeah - [Announcer] "Teaching in Room 9" is supported in part by... ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey ♪ Yeah ♪ Yeah - [Announcer] Know who to reach out to when you need help.

There is hope.

Call or text 988.

(upbeat music continues)