Learn with Ms. Lauren: Discovering ‘Alike and Different’ | Toddler Activities & Songs

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

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Hello everyone, welcome back! I’m so happy to see you all. Do you know what day it is today? That’s right, it’s Monday! This means we have a whole week filled with stories, fast facts, videos, dancing, and some fun surprises. This week, we’re going to be talking about things that are alike and different. Have you heard those words before? Alike means that something is the same or similar. For example, every morning I get up at the same time, 6:00, and I eat the same breakfast: avocado toast and tea. Each day is alike because I get up at the same time and eat the same thing for breakfast. So, some things in my day are alike, and some things are different.

Different means that something is not the same. For instance, I really love to travel because I like exploring different cities around the world. If I always went to the same city, I wouldn’t get to see new and different things. Our music teacher, Mr. Dan, has a really fun music lesson that relates to alike and different. Let’s visit him now!

Hello everyone, it’s Mr. Dan! It’s time for music. Today we’re going to talk about high and low sounds. When you think about things that make a high sound, what do you think of? I think of birds or tea kettles when they get hot, or the sound of flutes. When I think about things that make low sounds, I think about garbage trucks or the sound of stomping feet or drums. Well, music can be high or low as well. I’ll show you what I mean with a simple little song:

Music can be very high,
Music can be very low,
Both are nice to listen to,
Both can happen fast or slow.

Now I’d like you to practice using your high voice and your low voice. See if you can make your voice as high as possible while still being understandable. Repeat after me: “I can make my voice really high.” Great! Now let’s try the other way: “I can make my voice very low.” Wonderful! Let’s do one more high again and low again. Great job! I hope you had fun using your high and low voice with me today. I’ll see you next time!

Thanks, Mr. Dan! Wasn’t that fun? People can look alike or look different. You might look like your parents because you might have the same hair color or skin color, or maybe you have the same smile. You might look different from your friends. People can also act alike or act different. Have you ever played Follow the Leader? Yes, it’s a fun game where you do the same thing as the leader. If I’m the leader and I say touch your nose, you touch your nose. You act like me!

Sometimes things are the same, and sometimes things are sort of the same but not exactly. The word for this is similar. These two apples look the same, don’t they? But if you look a little bit closer, you’ll see that they have a few small differences. Their shapes are a little different; one of them has a bruise, and one of them has a leaf on its stem. The apples aren’t exactly the same, but they’re similar.

This next music video will teach us a song all about words that have similar meanings. There are so many different words; which one should you choose? Sometimes it’s tough deciding just the right words to use.

Is that dog giant, huge, or big?
Is that kitten tiny or small?
Is that a rock or a boulder?
Is that a tall fence or a wall?
Did you look, squint, or peek?
Did I sleep or doze or snooze?

Understanding words like these will help you know which word to use.

Now you’ve learned some similar words. Look and listen for new words and keep them in your mind. What a great song! Did you know similar can be used to describe words too? For example, the words happy, joyful, and glad are all words for feeling good. They’re not exactly the same, but they have similar meanings.

Now it’s time to explore some things that are different. Look around the room you’re in. You might see a sofa, table, or chair. You might see toys and books. Notice how the things in the room around you are all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Some things are big, and some things are small. Some things are flat, and some things are round.

You know what else has legs? Dogs! I just love dogs. Do you love dogs? So, things can be the same and different at the same time.

Get ready because it’s time to move! Come on, stand up! Let’s join the time travel dance party! Ready to dance? Let’s travel back in time!

[Music]

Come on, everybody, let’s do the twist! Do the hustle!

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

I’m out of breath. How about you? Yes, sometimes after something exciting like dancing, it can be hard to calm your body. One way I like to calm down is by stretching and taking deep breaths. How about we play Follow the Leader again? I’m going to lift my arms up to the side. Can you lift your arms up? Now I’m going to lift my arms up to the sky. Let’s breathe in one, two, three, and then breathe out one, two, three. Let’s do that again.

How do you feel? Do you feel calmer? Good! I feel calmer too.

So today we’ve been talking about things that are alike and different. As we’ve seen, many animals have things that are alike and different about them at the same time. Words like alike and different can be used to talk about all kinds of things.

Have you ever heard the word climate? The word climate means the weather in an area like a city or a country or even a planet like Earth over a period of time. In this next video, we’re going to learn about the Earth’s climate. Make sure to listen carefully because I’m going to ask you some questions about what you learned.

Hey, it’s me, Ivan! Guess where I am? It looks like I’m on the moon, but it’s really just a picture made by my new invention, the Climate Finder. I’m actually here in my garage where I love to build things. Remember my weather machine? It makes all kinds of weather.

Climate is the weather that usually happens in a place. For example, even though it’s warmer in the summer and colder in the winter, it may or may not snow in the winter depending on the climate where you live. With my Climate Finder, we can look at the kinds of weather in some different climates on Earth.

Ready? Let’s take a look at the climate in a place that’s somewhere on the equator. This is a tropical rainforest on the equator. Let’s see what its climate is like. Whoa! It’s hot, and it’s hot all year, not just in the summer. That’s true in a lot of places that are near the equator. It also rains a lot here most of the days of the year.

Now let’s look at a place where the weather changes more. This looks good! In this kind of climate, they get some rain and snow in the winter when it’s cold, but they also get plenty of sunshine in the summer when it’s hot, so they can grow lots of food.

Let’s see what it’s like down a little closer to the South Pole. This is Antarctica, one of my favorite places! During some parts of the year, the sun doesn’t come up at all, and when the sun does come up, it doesn’t get very high in the sky. That’s why it’s so cold that there’s ice on the ground all year long, even in the summer.

Wow, we sure learned a lot about climate from Ivan! Did you learn something new? Yes, I learned that I definitely do not want to live in Antarctica. The penguins are cute, but the climate is much too cold for me. Where I live here in Los Angeles, the climate is mostly warm and dry. Sometimes we get a little rain. What’s the climate like where you live?

I actually have a joke for you: What falls in the winter but never gets hurt? Our friend Armand has a pretty amazing fun fact for you about different climates on Earth.

How often does it rain where you live? The wettest place on Earth is Mawsynram, India, which gets 467 inches of rain a year. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama Desert in Chile; it gets nearly no rain at all. If I lived there, I wouldn’t need a raincoat anymore!

All kinds of things can be alike and different, sometimes at the same time. Things can look different and act different and sound different. Things can also look alike, act alike, and sound alike.

Let’s play Follow the Leader one more time! Can you make an animal sound just like mine? Can you cluck like a chicken? That’s great! How about a gorilla? Can you act like a gorilla? Can you bark like a dog like this? Good job! Different kinds of dogs make different kinds of sounds. Some dogs bark really loudly, and some dogs bark quietly. My dog Pickles barks pretty quietly. Isn’t Pickles so cute?

Well, friends, it’s almost time to say goodbye. I had so much fun with you today! Did you have a good time too? I’m so glad! We have some games, puzzles, and activities for you to play now. I think you’re really going to like them. Remember, the more you learn, the more you will love learning. I’ll see you again tomorrow! Bye-bye!

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