NARRATOR: Coming up next on "Betsy's
Kindergarten Adventures."
-I decided that instead of just handing out your Valentine's
Day cards, we should mail them from our very own post office.
-Ooh!
-We can be blueberry buddies.
-Blueberry buddies!
-So, all you ate this weekend was blueberries?
[THEME MUSIC]
-(SINGING) ABC, and , , .
It's kindergarten time for you and me.
So climb aboard and take a seat for kindergarten fun
with Betsy.
We'll meet new friends along the way
and have adventures every day.
It's "Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures."
-Woah!
Watch where you're riding, young fellow.
-Sorry, Mr. Twilley.
-Mom?
Mom?
Mom.
I am so excited about Valentine's Day.
I made cards for everyone in my class.
-I know, Betsy.
Now finish your breakfast.
The bus will be here soon.
-I know, but I just wanted to tell you how excited I was.
[DOG BARKING]
-Oh, my goodness, no-- Gracie, no!
Gracie, no!
No, no, no.
Bad Gracie.
We do not destroy the mail, Gracie.
No. No.
No.
No.
[BABY GROWLING]
-See what you've done?
You have taught Kevin to do something naughty.
[DOG WHINING]
-Is that the mail?
-Uh-huh.
-Anything for me?
[BABY GROWLING]
-Do you have everything, Betsy?
Lunchbox?
Backpack?
Valentine's Day cards?
- All set, Mom.
This is going to be a great day.
I can't wait to give everyone their Valentine's Day cards.
Bye-bye, Mom!
-Buh-bye, sweetheart!
-Bye, Kevin!
[BABY BARKING]
-OK.
Bye-bye, Doggy.
[BABY HOWLING]
-Good morning, Betsy.
-Good morning, Bus Driver Bob.
Happy Valentine's Day.
-My goodness.
For me?
-Uh-huh.
-Well.
Roses are red, school buses are yellow, thanks
for being a jolly good fellow.
From your friend, Betsy!
Well, isn't that nice?
Thank you, Betsy.
Thank you very much.
-You're welcome.
[CHATTERING]
-All right, everyone.
Inside voices, please.
That's much better.
I'm going to start morning circle time a little bit
early today, because I know everyone wants to get started
passing out all their Valentine's Day cards.
[LAUGHTER]
-Now, then.
When we pass out holiday cards or letters in the classroom,
we simply hand that card or letter
to the person we want to give it to.
Right?
-Yes.
-However, I have a letter here that I
want to send to my Aunt Rose in Florida.
How would I get this to her?
-Billy?
-Are you going to visit your aunt?
-Well, Florida is pretty far away,
and I don't have time to take a trip.
Sarah.
-You could just slam dunk that letter into a mailbox
and have the postman give it to your auntie.
-That's a great idea, Sarah.
But how does the post office know where my Aunt Rose lives?
Well, then, it's a good thing I asked a very special friend
to stop by on his way back to the post office.
Good morning, Mr. Twilley.
-Good morning, Mrs. O'Connor.
Good morning, children.
-Good morning, Mr. Twilley.
-How nice to see you all today.
Mrs. O'Connor asked me to tell you
a little bit about the post office.
Now, then, suppose you had a letter
you wanted to send somewhere.
-As a matter of fact, I do.
-Hmm.
Everything seems to be in order.
You've printed the name of the person who'll
be getting the letter very neatly.
You've also written down the street address, city,
and state, and you've also added the postal delivery code.
-So now the post office will know
where to deliver my letter?
-Exactly.
You've also put your return address
in the upper left hand corner of the envelope.
-That way, if the letter has to be returned for any reason,
the post office will know who sent it.
-Yes.
And it's a good thing, too, because I'm
afraid this letter wouldn't make it to Florida.
-Oh?
And why not?
-Because you've forgotten to put something else on your letter.
Something very important.
-I did?
Oh, no.
Does anybody know what I've forgotten?
-I know, Mrs. O'Connor.
-You do?
All right, Betsy.
What did I forget to put on my letter to Aunt Rose?
-A stamp.
You forgot to put a stamp on your letter.
-I sure did.
-Yes.
That should do nicely.
-Will you be taking my letter to Aunt Rose?
-Me?
Oh, goodness, no.
This little letter will be going to Florida without me.
-But how will it get there?
MR. TWILLEY: When I get back to the post office,
I'll dump all the letters I've picked up into a large cart.
The cart will then be taken to where our sorters will bundle
up letters and packages that are going
to different parts of the country.
Some letters will travel by truck.
Some by train.
While others will travel by airplane.
When the mail finally reaches its destination,
it's sent to a main post office, where it's sorted yet again.
Once that's done, letter carriers
will then take all the letters assigned to their routes
and deliver the mail that's been posted to their mail bags.
And that letter carrier will deliver your letter
to your Aunt Rose in Florida.
Well, I hope that gives you some idea of how
your mail is handled at the post office.
-It certainly does.
Thank you for coming by out classroom today.
-It was my pleasure.
Goodbye, Mrs. O'Connor.
Goodbye, children.
-Bye, Mr. Twilley!
-And don't worry about this letter to your Aunt in Florida.
It's in good hands.
-I've decided that instead of just handing
out your Valentine's Day cards, we
should mail them from our very own post office.
-Wow!
-The first thing you'll all have to do is buy some stamps.
I made some play money last night.
Soctt, will you please give everyone $ each?
-You bet, Mrs. O'Connor.
Here you go, Billy.
One, two, three, four, five.
-Look!
The money has Principal Warner's picture on it!
-Here's some money for you, Betsy.
One, two, three, four, five.
-Thank you, Scotty.
BETSY: This was so neat.
We were going to have our very own post office.
As soon as we got our play money,
we all lined up at Mrs. O'Connor's desk
and bought our stamps.
When we had our stamps, we placed one stamp
on the upper right hand corner on each of our letters.
When we finished putting stamps on our letters,
Mrs. O'Connor had us put all our cards
into a big, blue box next to her desk.
She said that was the classroom mailbox.
Everyone was given a different job to do.
Molly and Sarah emptied the box next to Mrs. O'Connor's desk.
-All set, Molly?
-All set.
Make way.
Official post office worker coming through.
Here you go.
Hmm.
And there's more on the way.
Clear the way.
I'm on official post office business.
BETSY: Billy and Scotty were sorters.
Billy had a green rubber stamp, and Scotty
had a red rubber stamp.
-There.
That one's.
-This is so totally cool, Scott.
I've done eight already.
BETSY: Kenji was in charge of putting the stacks of cards
in piles for Maria and me, because we
were the class letter carriers.
-Oops!
Sorry!
BETSY: Maria and I delivered all the cards to everyone.
-All of these are for you, Mrs. O'Connor.
-Oh, my.
Thank you, Maria.
-Wow.
I didn't know delivering the mail was such hard work.
-Looks like this one is for you, Kenji.
-Oh, thank you, Betsy.
-So is this one.
-Thank you.
-And so is this.
-Thank you very much.
-Hmm.
It looks like all the cards in this pile are for you.
-Thank you once again.
-You're very welcome.
Ahh!
Pretty cool card, huh?
It's from me.
-Billy!
-What?
-Oh, my goodness.
-Do you like the card, Mrs. O'Connor?
It's from me.
-Billy--
-I get the feeling that Billy doesn't
quite understand Valentine's Day.
I had a lot of fun at school today.
The Valentine's Day party was great.
I liked making valentines for all my friends,
and I really liked the cards I got from them, too.
Today at school, I really learned a lot
about how important the post office is.
Now all I have to do is teach Gracie.
[DOG GROWLING AND BARKING]
-No, Gracie.
This is Mr. Twilley.
He's our friend.
That's better.
The mail is very important.
-Here you go, young lady.
-Thank you.
Bye, Mr. Twilley.
-Goodbye.
[BABY BARKING]
BETSY: One of the things I really like about kindergarten
is that you never know what to expect each day.
Weekends are fun, but I like school better.
BETSY: I remember the first time I ever tasted a blueberry.
Mmm.
It was so good.
It was the same day Mrs. O'Connor
taught us about eating healthy food.
-Can anyone tell me why it's important that we eat?
-Oh, because if we didn't eat, we would be hungry.
-That's right, Molly.
Food is like fuel for your body, the same way
that gas is fuel for your car.
And without fuel, you wouldn't be able to keep moving.
-So, eating food is like putting gas in our car?
-Yes.
Food gives you energy, but you also
have to be careful what you eat.
Some foods can make you overweight
or even make you more tired.
-I only want to eat good food so I can be good at soccer.
-To eat right and get all your vitamins,
you have to eat many different kinds of food.
These foods are separated into food groups.
Does anyone know any food groups?
-Candy!
-Cookies!
-Mashed potatoes!
-All of the food that I'm holding
fall into different food groups.
The first one is meat.
This includes steaks, chicken, fish, and all that great stuff.
-Fried chicken, too?
That's my favorite.
-Yes, Scott.
Fried chicken, too.
The next group is dairy.
That's all the stuff you get from a farm,
like eggs and milk and cheese.
The third group is grains.
This would be rice and bread.
Another group is fruits, and another one is vegetables.
Apples, bananas, and berries are fruits,
and broccoli and spinach are examples of vegetables.
But fruits have seeds and are usually sweeter.
-We have a blueberry bush in our backyard.
Blueberries are really yummy.
-To eat healthy, you should eat from these food groups.
-Are blueberries good for you?
-Sure.
They're fruit.
Fruits and vegetables are very good for you.
-Yeah, my mom says that we need to eat
fruits and vegetables every day.
-That's right.
So this weekend, I want everyone to pay
attention to what you eat.
Candy and cookies taste good, but they don't really
fit into any of these food groups.
-So, we shouldn't eat them?
-You can eat them sometimes, but try to stick with good food,
like fruits and vegetables.
-No problem.
-I'm going to eat good food all weekend.
-Me, too.
I'm going home right now to have some blueberries right
off the bush in my yard.
Want to come over?
-I never had blueberries, but it's
a fruit, so I guess it's OK.
-Oh, it's way better than OK.
-I can't believe that you have these growing in your backyard.
-My dad says this bush is wild, but it's OK to eat the berries.
OK, that's good.
Before we eat them, we just have to wash them off.
Here.
You go first.
-Mmm.
I like that.
-They taste like candy, but they're not.
They're good for you.
-I can't believe we at all of them.
-I could eat them all the time.
For breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
-We could do that, you know.
Eat them all weekend?
-Mrs. O'Connor said they're a fruit,
and fruit is good for you.
-Wouldn't that be great, to eat only blueberries
for the whole weekend?
-Let's do it.
We can be blueberry buddies.
-Blueberry buddies!
-You sure that's all you want to eat for dinner, Betsy?
-I picked them in Billy's backyard today.
We learned all about it in school today.
-The taught you to just have blueberries for dinner?
-Mrs. O'Connor said there are many different food groups.
And blueberries are in one of them, with fruits.
-That's right.
But--
-And after school, Billy and I became blueberry buddies.
So that's all we're going to eat this weekend.
-You sure you won't get sick of eating just one thing?
-Gracie only eats one thing.
It doesn't bother her.
-No, it doesn't.
But Gracie is a dog, and everything she needs to eat
is all in her dog food.
-But I'm a blueberry buddy, and everything I need
is in my blueberries.
-Then blueberries it is.
All weekend long.
-I'll see if I can whip up a few special treats for tomorrow.
-All right.
-Do I smell pancakes?
-Blueberry pancakes!
-I hope you don't mind, Betsy.
I invited Billy over to spend the day with you,
and he brought blueberries for the pancakes.
-Sounds fine to me.
-I just want to make sure that my blueberry buddies are happy.
-Mmm.
Mom, they're delicious.
-I think Kevin agrees with you.
Blueberry buddies headquarters is now complete.
-I think it needs a moat.
And we can fill it with blueberry juice.
-Great idea.
-Lunch is served.
Blueberry jam sandwiches, blueberry
muffins, and blueberries in cream.
-Wow!
That's the perfect lunch for us blueberry buddies.
-Betsy, your mom is the best.
-Is it OK if Billy stays for dinner too, Mom?
-Of course it is.
I already talked to your mom, Billy, and she says it's fine.
-All right.
MOM: Dinner's ready, kids.
-I hope the blueberry buddies are
ready for a really special dinner.
-What are we having?
-Well, the two of you are having,
for starters, some nice, fresh blueberry soup,
blueberry chicken for your main course with creamed blueberries
and blueberry salad, and for dessert, blueberry pie.
-It's all--
-Blue.
This is what you're eating, too?
-No.
We're having meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
That used to be your favorite, didn't it?
-Used to be, before I became a blueberry buddy.
-And remember, eat everything on your plate.
We don't want to waste anything.
And, just wait until you see what I've
got planned for the blueberry buddies tomorrow.
-Oh, can't wait.
-Want some creamed blueberries, Kev-Kev?
[BABY CRYING]
-Oh, no!
My lips!
My fingers!
I'm turning blue!
What will they say tomorrow at school?
Hi, Molly.
What happened to you?
You're bright red.
-Yeah, well, I'm only eating strawberries these days.
They're so good for you.
Nice shade of blue on you, Betsy.
Oh!
You, too, Billy.
-Hi, Billy.
Hi, Betsy.
Want a lime?
-No, thanks.
-What's wrong?
Feeling a little blue?
-Ow, my stomach!
-Morning, Betsy.
How's my little lady this morning?
-Ugh, morning.
-Sorry I didn't come over yesterday.
I wasn't feeling too good.
-That's OK.
I had a little bit of a stomachache.
-You did?
Me, too.
Little bit.
-So, I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Did you all pay attention to what you ate?
-I ate a little bit from every food group.
-And how do you feel today?
-Great!
I even gave up candy for the weekend.
-Good for you.
How about you, Kenji?
-My mom and dad helped me out.
They made me a dinner with a little bit of everything.
-Sounds like you kids did great.
-Mrs. O'Connor?
-Yes, Betsy?
-I thought you said that blueberries were a fruit,
and it was OK to eat fruits and vegetables.
-That's right.
You should have some fruits or vegetables with every meal.
-Some?
What if that's all you had to eat?
-If you only ate blueberries for a whole weekend,
I would guess you'd have a pretty sore stomach
by Monday morning.
-Ah.
You'd guess right.
-So all you ate this weekend was blueberries?
-We're the blueberry buddies.
-Spinach is one of the best things you can eat,
but it doesn't have all the vitamins your body needs.
So if all you ever eat is spinach,
your stomach isn't going to like it too much.
-And blueberries are the same way?
-That's right.
You can eat spinach, and you can eat blueberries.
You can even eat cookies and candy.
You just can't eat too much of any one thing.
-So we don't have to be the blueberry buddies anymore?
-No, you don't.
-What a relief!
-Betsy, I sure am glad you said something to Mrs. O'Connor
about the blueberries.
-Me, too.
-I don't think I could have eaten one more.
-Fresh from the oven.
Blueberry pie.
-Mom, the Blueberry Buddies kind of stopped eating blueberries.
-Really?
You think you had enough?
-For a long time.
I only want blueberries once a month now.
-That sounds like a good idea.
How about a couple of bananas?
-Great!
I love bananas.
They're also with the fruits.
-Mmm.
I love bananas.
-Me, too.
I bet I could eat bananas all the time.
-What do you mean?
-Banana Buddies?
-Nah.
BETSY: And that's the story of when
I first tasted blueberries.
I still like them, but eating the same thing all the time
can make you a little sick.
Besides, there are so many types of fruits and vegetables
that eating the same thing over and over
doesn't seem like a good idea anyway.
NARRATOR: Visit the "Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures"
website and see how Betsy's getting ready for school,
play games, color pictures, and meet all of Betsy's friends
at pbskids.org.
BETSY: My friends and I love to ready.
You can find all kinds of fun and interesting books
to read at your local library.
Visit the library in your town today
to have your own adventures just like me.
-Of course, garbage will have to be taken out by somebody wrong.
-When someone gives you a responsibility,
you should always do your very best.
-How about Billy?
-All right!
I get to take out the garbage.
[THEME MUSIC]