(gentle music) - Hello, little learners, happy Monday.

Today is day one of five of our week together here.

My name is Miss Lara, can you tell me your name?

I love hearing your name.

I'm so excited because this week we're going to continue our talk about culture and food.

Did you have any conversations with your family about your culture?

I can't wait to hear about all the things you've talked about.

Let's start our day off with a song and then I'll tell you what we're going to be doing today because it's a lot.

Ready?

I have Sonia Snail here with me today, so let's sing our good morning song with Sonia.

Ready, Sonia?

Here we go.

♪ Good morning, good morning.

♪ ♪ It's a sunshine kind of day.

♪ ♪ Come join Miss Lara for some learning and some play.

♪ ♪ Will we sing a song?

♪ ♪ Of course we will.

♪ ♪ Make our brain strong.

♪ ♪ Like super strong.

♪ ♪ So come a long.

♪ ♪ Yes, come on friends for some learning and some play.

♪ Now we're gonna get to see Sonia a little bit later.

She's gonna travel the world and she might get just a little bit dizzy afterwards, so I can't wait for you to see her story.

So I'm gonna put her down and I'll explain what we have going on today.

So Miss Maria already delivered the mail, our letter is behind the door.

So we'll get to read that and introduce a new book character.

After that, we'll get to watch a video story and do our foundational skill.

Today, we're gonna focus on retelling the story.

After we do that, I'm going to leave you with a traditional arts and crafts from the Philippines.

We're gonna make a parol, which is a star shaped lantern.

I can't wait to share that activity with you.

Now, I think I hear the doorbell.

(Doorbell dings) Is that?

Oh, that is, it's the mail.

So, let's see what our letter says today.

All right, of course.

It always starts with dear Miss Lara, do you remember where we start reading?

Have you been practicing?

That's right, we start on the left, which is this side and then slide to the right.

Let's sing our song together.

♪ This is the left ♪ (snaps) ♪ This is the right ♪ (snaps) ♪ when we read, we start at the left and slide to the right ♪ (snaps) All right, let's read.

It says, Dear Miss Lara, Can you remind me what culture is again?

Do you remember that word culture?

We started learning about it last week.

It means the things that a group of people do or believe in and sometimes eat.

Can I be part of more than one culture?

You can.

We read the book, "Jalapeno Bagels," where we learned the main character was part Mexican and part Jewish.

That's being part of two cultures.

I like to make dolmas with my family.

Is this part of my culture?

Yes, dolmas is a traditional Armenian or middle Eastern food.

I make that too with my step family who is Armenian.

That is definitely part of your culture.

You know, being part of different cultures is what makes the world exciting.

Now, Ms. Maria dropped off a book for us that's gonna talk about our differences.

It's gonna talk about our skin colors as different foods.

Are you ready to read "The Color of Us?"

That's our book today.

The author is Karen Katz.

Now, take a look at the front cover.

You'll see different girls and there are all different skin tones, enjoying what looks like the beach.

Let's open it up and read "The Color of Us".

Oh, look at it.

They're even painting.

Here we go, says, "My name is Lena and I am seven.

I am the color of cinnamon.

Mom says she could eat me up."

Take a look at your skin colors, is it cinnamon color, like Lena?

"My mom's the color of French toast, she's an artist.

Mom's teaching me how to mix colors.

She says that if I mix red, yellow, black, and white paints in the right combination, I will have the right brown for a picture of me.

'The right brown?

But Mom, brown is brown.'

I say.

'That's not so.'

Says mom.

'There are lots of different shades of brown.

Let's take a walk and you'll see.'"

So there she is.

I love this outfit, reminds me of Mrs. Reed right with her barett.

We go to the playground where we see my friend, Sonya.

Sonya is a light yellow brown mom says, just like creamy peanut butter, my favorite.

Look at Sonya's skin.

Does her skin looked like creamy, peanut butter?

I wish my skin did.

Isabella is chocolate brown, like the cupcakes we had for her birthday.

Ooh, yummy.

Those cupcakes look delicious.

Lucy has skin that's peachy and tan.

My best friend, Jo Gin lives close to the playground.

Jo Gin is the color of honey.

Two streets over we meet my cousin, Kyle.

His skin is reddish brown like leaves in the fall.

Now I want you to take a look at your skin.

What color would you describe your skin as?

Carlos and Rosita had brought their new puppy to the park.

Carlos is light cocoa brown and Rosita's skin looks like butterscotch.

All of these candy skin colors.

We passed by the pizza parlor, mom and I see Mr. Pellegrino flipping a pizza high in the air.

He is the color of pizza crust, a golden brown.

My babysitter Candy is like a beautiful jewel, bronze and amber she looks like a princess.

Look at all these different people that look differently.

Don't they, they all have different skin colors, different likes their hair's different.

They dress differently.

Mom and I walked to the park to eat our lunch.

Look at everyone's legs, mom, all different shades.

After lunch, we walked to mom's favorite store where Mr. Cashmere sells many different spices.

He's the color of ginger and chili.

Up the street is my Aunt Kathy's laundromat.

Aunt Kathy is tommy tan, like coconuts and coffee toffee.

Look at how happy they look.

After we go for our walk, my friends come over.

We take our towels to the roof and lie in the sun.

I think about everyone I saw today.

Sonya, Isabella, Lucy, Jo Gin, and Kyle.

Carlos and Rosita, Mr. Pellegrino and Candy.

Mr. Cashmere and Aunt Kathy, each one of them, a beautiful color.

My friends leave and I go downstairs.

I'm as happy as can be, and I get my paints.

Yellow, red, black, and white.

I think about all the wonderful colors I will make.

And I say their names out loud, cinnamon, chocolate, honey, coffee, toffee, butterscotch.

They all sound delicious.

At last, my pictures are done and I've painted everyone.

Look, mom, I say, the color of us.

The End.

I hope that you enjoyed that story, boys and girls.

Remember our differences are what make us special.

So I'm going to share a video story now with you about a little girl who shares a culture with her family, from the Philippines.

I hope that you enjoy that story and see how she's unique in her own way too.

Let's watch together.

It's Storytime.

Cora Cooks Pancit.

Written by Dorina K Lazo Gilmore.

Illustrated by Christie Valiant and retold by Miss Lara.

Cora loved the kitchen.

She loved to drink in the smells of Mama's Filipino dishes.

Cora's older sisters and brother got grownup jobs like shredding chicken or mixing noodles in the pot.

Cora was stuck with kid jobs like drawing pictures in the flour or licking spoons.

She longed to be a real cook.

One day Cora's older sisters and brother headed to the mall.

Now was her chance.

Cora popped her head around the corner.

What are we making today, Mama?

Mama wiped her hands on the front of her red apron.

What would you like to make today, she asked.

Cora began to think all her favorite Filipino foods danced in her head.

Lines of lumpia, pranced in rows.

Adobo chicken legs beat bopped in time.

And she saw a large bowl of pancit.

The thick noodles and vegetables, curled and swirled in a dance party.

Will you teach me to make pancit, she asked.

Of course said, mama.

Would you like to wear my red apron?

Cora felt like a real cook, now.

This apron belonged to Lolo, your grandpa, said Mama.

He wore it When he first came to California, he was the cook for the Filipino farm workers who picked strawberries and grapes in the fields.

Did Lolo teach you how to cook, Cora wanted to know.

He did said Mama.

I followed him each day to the big kitchen.

While he cooked he told stories about the Philippines, where he was born.

Cora knew the rules in Mama's kitchen.

She scrubbed her hands with soap.

Mama dug in the cupboards and refrigerator for the ingredients for pancit.

Don't forget the noodles said Cora.

Oh yes the noodles said, Mama.

Let's get started Mama told Cora.

Open the bag of rice noodles and put them in this bowl of water.

We soak them, so they get soft.

Want to help me shred the chicken, asked Mama.

Cora's eyes grew wide, a grownup job.

She was ready.

She pulled the chicken pieces apart and even snuck in a tiny bite.

Mama, chopped celery, stalks, carrots, cabbage, and onions.

When mama started slicing onions, tears ran down Cora's cheeks.

Onions make us cry, said, mama.

They both laughed.

Mama took out her huge pancit pan with the shiny copper outside and big handles.

She added vegetables and oil to the pan.

Can you check the noodles, Cora asked Mama.

Cora thought she should sniff the noodles, but she picked up the bowl too quickly, and water swooshed onto the floor.

Silly Cora you just need to touch the noodles with two fingers to see if they're soft said Mama.

She handed her a towel to mop up the mess.

Now for the fun part said Mama.

Let's add the noodles to the pancit pan.

Can I stir asked Cora?

She knew this was another grownup job.

That night mama brought food to the table.

Mama sat the steaming clutter of pancit it in the middle of the table.

You made pancit without us hollered Cora's brother.

Mama said yes and Cora did all the grownup jobs.

Cora wonder, did she do everything right?

Would they like it?

Would Mama tell about the accident with the noodles?

Pretty impressive smiled Cora's, sister, Irene.

Not too bad, Cora's brother said, Daddy sat back in his chair.

This tastes like your Lolo's pancit he said.

Cora beamed with pride.

Salama she cried out.

Thank you.

The family laughed, Cora was still wearing Mama's red apron.

The end.

So what did you think?

Did you like the story?

Cora Cooks Pancit?

She ended up making pancit at at the end for her whole family, didn't she?

Now in order for us to remember what happened in the text, we're going to retell the story.

And you know, I have a song for you.

Are you ready?

It goes like this.

♪ When I retell a book to a teacher or a friend, ♪ ♪ I tell the beginning and the middle and the end.

♪ ♪ First, next and last are the words that helped me out.

♪ ♪ When I retell a book, ♪ ♪ I tell what it's about.

♪ So I have some pictures to help me out and a quick tip for my teacher, friends watching.

I usually create these kinds of picture diagrams of the book and put them near the writing center or the art center.

So that children feel inspired to draw or write what they read in a text.

So let's see if you remember what happened to Cora.

So first there was a little girl named Cora.

She's our main character or who the book is about.

And do you remember, she was so sad at the beginning because she didn't get to do any of the grownup jobs in the kitchen.

All they did was let her play with flour or they let her lick the spoon.

She couldn't chop or stir.

And this made her sad.

But then one day her brothers and sisters went off to the mall and Cora said, this is my shot.

So she went into the kitchen and she said, Mom, can I help you?

And mom said, of course you can Cora, what would you like to make?

And she said, I want to make pancit.

And Mom put on her red apron on Cora, right?

And Cora felt like an adult in the kitchen.

Come to find out that red apron was Lolo's that used to help teach Lolo and their mother how a cook together.

So they made pancit and they made noodles, but Cora, she didn't know what to do, right?

So when mom asked her to go check on the noodles instead of kind of dipping two fingers in she tried to smell it and then, there goes the bowl with some water, with the noodles.

Look at Cora, she's very surprised.

Oh, but at the end, Cora did end up making her pancit.

She shared it with her family and they loved it.

Don't you love a happy ending boys and girls?

All right, so in the book, Cora Cooks Pancit.

Cora is actually part of the Filipino culture.

So I thought that we would start an activity today that will continue on tomorrow.

We're going to make some stars that they call palor.

We're going to go over to our project place here.

I wanted to tell you a little bit about these stars.

So traditionally the palor stars are set out around Christmas time.

And they are lit from within and they're filled with all kinds of decorations.

But actually having lanterns to guide the way in the Philippines, has been part of their culture way before Christmas was even invented by the people who colonized the Philippines back in the days.

So I want to show you how to start and the materials that you're going to need.

Now we're not going to finish this activity today because we're going to run out of time.

But don't worry, we'll finish it tomorrow.

Okay, so first thing you're going to need are some straws, popsicle sticks, glue, a stapler, some tissue paper and any decorations you'd like course some scissors.

Now we're also going to need to know how to construct a star.

So this is a star shape.

What do you notice about the star shape?

Let's see, is it round?

Is it pointy?

I see points.

How many points are there?

Let's see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

There's five points, that's right.

All right, now, if we were going to use some straws to make a star, what might we do?

Do you think if I set them out in a square, I'd be able to do it?

No, that's not how I make a star.

Let's see, I want to end up with something like this.

Hmm.

I wonder if I start going like this and inner lapping them like this.

Go around like that.

I think I did it, I made a star.

It kind of looks like this one, doesn't it?

Now how do I hold them together?

I think I'm going to use the stapler.

So what we're going to do is take two straw ends and we're going to staple them so they kind of go out like this.

Now I wanted to tell you.

Like this.

They actually in the Philippines have these huge lantern festivals where they put parols out.

Again, like I said around the holidays, but the tradition has been around a long time back before I said Christmas was even known in the Philippines.

So, let's see if I staple it this way.

Now the traditional parol is made with wood and I'll show you how to make that in just a little bit.

And they actually make it with bamboo skewers or all kinds of other wood things.

And it's 3D meaning it has dimension.

So that way they could put a candle inside or they can put another light source.

I'm just going to put that in there.

So you kind of have play with it to get the shape that you want.

Again, it helps to have a reference.

Look at my stars, looking a little wonky, a little strange.

See, there it goes.

Then I'm going to staple it like this over here.

And actually part of the Filipino tradition is for the elder to decorate the star for their whole family.

And then the family would gather around and watch them decorate it.

So this is how to make a star with a straw.

This is our base and we're actually going to decorate it tomorrow.

If you wanted to make it out of wood, I can show you very quickly how to do that.

For the wood pieces, I'm using Popsicle sticks and we're actually going to need five, are you ready?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

And then I'm going to glue the ends.

Again, making my star shape.

I think in my culture, this reminds me of a pinata, because it also uses very colorful decorations and it has kind of a, a hollow inside for us.

We put candy inside.

In the Philippines, they fill it with light.

So when it hangs it glows beautifully.

Okay.

Let's see, have I made a star?

You see, it's kind of tricky.

I can't lift it up for you.

You can kind of see my star right there and you have to play with it.

If you're starting to looking like a bunch of trees in a row, don't worry.

Keep trying.

Okay, so now that we have our wooden star and our straw star, we kind of have to decide which one that we're going to decorate.

For me, I like this straw star because it's a little bit wider and bigger.

So there's more room to add decorations.

So tomorrow let me tell you what we're going to do.

We're actually going to take some tissue paper and we're going to take some glue and we're going to cover our star, just like this.

Okay, that's going to be our next step.

So if you want to follow along with me, make sure you bring your star, some tissue paper and some glue, and I'm going to show you how to make strings that come out of it.

And I even have some little stars to go on our big star.

So don't forget to join me tomorrow for that.

All right.

It looks like we have just enough time to sing our alphabet song and then say goodbye.

I have new alphabet cards.

I wonder if any letters will be missing or on vacation.

Let's find out A, B, C ya later.

D, E, F, G, I'm gonna miss ya.

H, I have to go now.

J, K, buh-bye now L, M, N, and O, I, had a good time.

P, Q, R, ya gonna miss me?

S, T, U, are my best friend.

V, W, X, Y, Z.

All right, boys and girls, I'll see you tomorrow.

Looks like none of my letters were on vacation today, which is good.

They all came to work.

Now, if you have a copy of Cora Cooks Pancit, make sure that you bring it because we're going to read it live here.

And you can read along with me, bring a book buddy, if you can.

And before I go, I want to leave you with one book recommendation.

It's one that I've recommended before, but I have it here handy.

It's called Crafts of many cultures.

So if you liked our parol from the Philippines, you can actually check this out at your local library.

I'm not sure if it's on the Sorr app, but you can check and see all the wonderful crafts that you can make from different countries and places around the world.

It's almost as good as making recipes, but I still prefer the food.

How about you?

Okay.

So remember to join me tomorrow for more learning fun until then, Miss Lara's going to send you a big squeeze.

Did you feel that all the way where you are?

I hope you did.

And a big smooch.

That one was a little sloppy, Miss Lara.

Just going to remind you to read and to play, to use your five senses and imagination every single day.

Remember to look at the world around you, explore, wonder, play, enjoy.

Alright, we'll see you again tomorrow, boys and girls.

Goodbye.