Trying Again (Tape 6)
Artist: Fred Rogers
Date: 1979
Format: Cassette
Label: Hubbard
Series: I Am, I Can, I Will
Catalog: 000-8700
Running Time: Approximately 10:03
Copyright © 1975 Family Communications, Inc.
Transcription
Even when I was a boy, I liked to do things for myself. One time I wanted to make a kite so I started out to make one all by myself. But the kite I made didn’t look anything like a real kite. It didn’t look like one and, what’s worse, it didn’t fly like one. It just bonked along the ground when I pulled the string. I was really mad about it until my father came and helped me work on it some more. And finally – together – we really made a kite that looked like a kite and flew like a kite.
All children sometimes need help from grown-ups. It shows we’re growing when we’re able to ask somebody for help when we need it. Of course, there are many things we can do for ourselves. Doing things for yourself often gives the best feeling of all.
[Sings You’ve Got To Do It]
I have a young friend who has a handicap called cerebral palsy. That makes it hard for him to dress himself and to eat by himself. But he sometimes says, “I’ll do it myself. Don’t help me” and he just takes his time and does it.
Are there things that are hard for you to do? Just taking your time can be hard sometimes, can’t it? Children often wish they could do things really fast. Even working a zipper can take time because the zipper can get stuck if you hurry too much. But I’ve often found that taking my time with hard things really helps me to get them done.
[Sings I Like To Take My Time]
If we take our time when we’re learning something, then after a while we can often do that same thing a little faster.
Do you like to try new things? I do sometimes. But it’s not always easy to get starting doing something new. For instance, if a person has always used a spoon for eating it might be hard to start using a fork. Of course, the more you try the more you’ll be able to do. That’s the way it is for everybody.
You know, I like to be told what’s going to happen when I try a new thing. That way I know what to expect. If you’re going to go into the water to learn to swim, you like to be told about the water before you go in. Or if you’re going to read Braille with your fingers, you like to be told that at first it will be hard. But you also like to be told that reading Braille can be fun.
It’s easier to start something new when you have a person who loves you and thinks you can do it. Knowing what to expect can make a person feel better and can also make a person want to try.
[Sings I Like To Be Told]
Many children wish that they could do things that are just too hard for them right now. And waiting to grow and get strong seems to take such a long time. People can really get discouraged by a lot of waiting.
But there are things that we can do right now that we don’t have to wait for. You know what those things are for you. Of course, there are some things that we’ll never be able to do no matter how much we grow or how strong we get. That’s true for everybody – you, your friends, the grown-ups you love. Everybody.
It’s not easy to do something when you have trouble with it the first time. And the second time. And the third time. But if it’s something that you know you’re going to be able to do and you work at it over and over again, you can have such a good feeling when you finally do it well. You can feel very proud of yourself because you tried and tried and tried. I’m proud of you.
[Sings I’m Proud of You]