Explore ‘Communities’ with Ms. Lauren (Day 4) ???? | 17 minutes | Learn At Home FULL EPISODE

Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:

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Welcome back! It’s so good to see you on this terrific Thursday. How are you today? I have a good feeling about today! We’re going to learn the next part of our community chant, share some fast facts, read a great poem, and ask an expert about their job. We’ll also learn about the places animals live and visit our friends, Professor Squirrel and Nutley. And of course, we have another “Move It” segment as we continue to learn all about community.

As we’ve been learning about communities, I’ve been paying close attention to all the people that live in mine. There are so many people who work together to help my community run smoothly, like the people who collect the trash every week, those who work at the market down the street, the people who clean my neighborhood, and the mail carriers. As you go about your day, count the people you see in your community and notice which ones are helping others.

Speaking of community, are you ready for the next part of this week’s community chant with Mr. Dan? Oh good, let’s go!

Hi everyone, I’m Mr. Dan! Today’s community helpers are doctors, and our verse about doctors sounds like this:

“If it’s time for your flu shot, or your head is extra hot, doctors help you feel your best with medicine and lots of rest.”

Alright, you know what happens next! I’m going to say it first, and then you’ll repeat it after me. Ready?

“If it’s time for your flu shot, or your head is extra hot, doctors help you feel your best with medicine and lots of rest.”

I’m so impressed with how much you’ve learned this week! Tomorrow is our last day, where we’ll learn our last verse about a community helper and then put the whole thing together. I’ll see you tomorrow!

Thanks, Mr. Dan! We love starting our day out with a chant, isn’t that right, class? Yes!

Alright, here’s one of my classroom helpers, Armand, with our first fast fact of the day.

Here’s a fast fact: almost every resident in the Alaskan town of Whittier lives under the same roof! That’s nearly 200 people all living in one place. This building is 14 stories high and has a post office, police station, health clinic, church, and laundromat. Talk about a close-knit community!

Thanks, Armand! Wow, that is a very close-knit community. I wonder what sort of community helpers live there. Can you think of any? Yes, firefighters, bakers—there are so many!

But let’s learn about another special helper that we haven’t talked about yet—someone who can teach us how to stay healthy and strong, someone we visit when we’re sick or hurt. Sometimes this person will even listen to our heartbeat. Can you guess who this community helper is? Let’s find out!

Doctors work to keep you well. That’s what doctors do; they want you to grow up to be strong and healthy. Did you guess right? Our latest community helper is a doctor! Doctors are community heroes; they work hard to make sure we stay safe and healthy.

Do you ever imagine what doctors do all day? Well, guess what? We actually get to hear from a real-life doctor! Yanis is going to ask him some questions so we can learn more about his job.

Hello, it’s me, Yanis, and today I’m asking a real-life doctor some questions about what their job is like.

Hi, Dr. Raymond!

No problem! My first question is, what kind of doctor are you?

I work in the ER, or the emergency room.

What are some things you do each day?

Good question! I work with a lot of really smart and great nurses and other doctors to make sure that sick people get better. I also make sure that people with really serious conditions, like strokes and heart attacks, get treated as quickly as possible.

Have you always wanted to be a doctor?

Oh yeah, since I was 5 years old!

What is your favorite thing about being a doctor?

I think my favorite thing is seeing people get better. A lot of times when people come to where I work, they’re really sick and scared, but after we help them and they get better, I love seeing them happy and feeling well again. It makes me feel good about myself and what I do.

Great! Thanks again, Dr. Raymond. The kids at home have learned a lot about being a doctor. I know I did too! Hope you have a great day at the hospital!

That sounds like such an amazing job! Did you learn anything new from Dr. Raymond?

Yes! In order to be a doctor, you have to learn all about our bodies. The job takes a lot of hard work, but how great is it to know that you’re helping people every day? Would you want to be a doctor when you grow up? Yes, some of you do!

For some people, like doctors, their job lets them help out their community. And you can help out your community too in smaller ways, like helping an elderly neighbor clean up their yard or teaching friends a new dance. Speaking of dance, do you know what time it is? That’s right, it’s time to “Move It”! This is one of my favorites—the freeze dance!

Are you ready to move it? Then let’s go and do the freeze dance!

Wow, you sure know how to move it! See you next time!

I really do love to dance! Did you know dancing is another great way to stay healthy and strong? You can try it at home—pick a song, bust a move, or do a little jig, and when the music stops, you stop too!

But for now, let’s keep moving because we’re going to visit some animal friends and see the special places where they live.

Do you remember the word that describes where animals live? That’s right, it’s called a habitat! Let’s meet some amazing animals that have adapted to live in their special habitats.

In our next book, “Home Sweet Home,” animals live in many places. Some animals live in water; this pretty fish lives in the river and has many colors like a rainbow. Some animals live in grasslands; this big bison lives in the grasslands and has sharp horns on its head. Other animals stay away from the bison’s sharp horns.

Some animals can live on rocks where the land is very hot and dry. The lizard lies in the sun to get warm, then goes under rocks to cool off. Animals live in many places: some live in water, some in forests, some in grasslands, and some where it is very hot and dry.

Isn’t it amazing that animals can live in so many different habitats—oceans, deserts, forests, grasslands, and more? There are so many amazing animals! I think manatees are really cool. It’s amazing how they can dive down to the bottom of the river and eat seagrass. I’d love to see one in its natural habitat someday.

Here’s a fast fact: every winter, hundreds of West Indian manatees swim from waters as far north as New England to as far west as Texas to the waters in and around Crystal River, Florida. This habitat has lots of seagrass they can eat and warmer waters they can enjoy during the cold winter months. You can even swim with the manatees there—pretty cool, huh?

Alright, now let’s go see the place Professor Squirrel and Nutley call home. Do you know what sort of habitat our squirrel friends live in? It has lots of trees, grass, bushes, and a beautiful stream with rocks in it. Any guesses? Professor Squirrel and Nutley live in a forest habitat! They’re going to show us how all the parts of their habitat work together.

Let’s watch!

What are you working on, Nutley?

Only the greatest amusement park known to squirrels—Nutley’s Land of Wonder!

Oh, very exciting, Nutley! Where’s this amusement park going to be built?

In the meadow, after we get rid of all that pesky grass.

But what will the rabbits eat?

What they always eat—grass! But you want to get rid of the grass, so the rabbits have to hop a little further to find some.

No biggie!

Oh, but it is a biggie, Nutley! Getting rid of the grass can lead to all kinds of changes to our home. We might even lose all of our acorns!

Grass and our precious acorns have nothing to do with each other!

You might need to sit down; you’re thinking too hard. Come on, just take a seat, let me explain.

All things that are alive, like animals and plants, are called living things. And do you remember what we call the total number of squirrels living in an area like ours?

Yes, Professor! I do! It’s a population of squirrels!

And there isn’t only one population of animals and plants in our area; there are lots of them!

Right! But I still don’t see what getting rid of a little grass has to do with our precious nuts disappearing.

Please tell me that was just my imagination and our acorns didn’t disappear!

It was just your imagination, Nutley. But while you’re using your imagination, let’s talk a little more about our community of plants and animals. Our community is part of something bigger. If you look around, you’ll see that in addition to the living things around us, there are non-living things.

Non-living things?

Yes! Things like sunlight, water, soil, and rocks. Anything that’s not alive is called a non-living thing.

So what’s the bigger thing you were talking about?

Well, all of the living things in an area put together with the non-living things that the living things use—that’s all called an ecosystem. In an ecosystem, when one thing changes, it can affect many other parts.

Like this tree, for example. This is a cottonwood tree. Because it needs a lot of water, cottonwoods usually live near streams like this one. Now, Nutley, imagine this stream dries up.

Imagining changing a non-living thing in our ecosystem, like the water in the stream, can cause another part of the ecosystem—the cottonwood tree—to die because it can’t get enough water. You see, the living and non-living things are connected.

Oh, okay, but I still don’t understand how getting rid of the grass will make our acorns go away.

Now imagine all the grass is gone in the meadow; it’s just a field of dirt. Imagining all the rabbits, field mice, and insects that rely on grass will either move away or die off. If that happens, what will the foxes and the snakes eat? And if there are no foxes around, all of the squirrels in the forest would want to live right here with us, where it’s safe, and there go our acorns!

I don’t mean to discourage your plans, Nutley. I’m only saying that it’s important to understand how a change to one part of an ecosystem can affect other parts. Instead of an amusement park, maybe I’ll just put in a swing.

Yeah, this will be much better!

Even though Nutley decided not to build an amusement park, his swing of wonder fun still looked pretty cool, didn’t it?

Yes! That story is a good reminder that everything in an ecosystem works together, just like in a human community. When one person helps their neighbor, it actually helps everyone in their community.

Well, my friends, I’ve had a terrific time with you today! I hope you enjoyed learning more about our communities and the special helpers that live in them. And don’t forget, we’ve put together some of the very best stories, math games, and other activities for you to continue learning after this. Tomorrow is Friday, so be sure to join me as we wrap up our week on community. I have a few more surprises in store for you too! See you soon!

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