Changing Your Mind to Have More Fun

Welcome friends! We're so excited that you’re joining us for our FIRST EVER episode of the Tune Up podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin is joined by his friend Zaira, age 8, to discuss flexibility and write a brand new song about it. The episode begins with an open and meaningful conversation between Benjamin and Zaira about what it means to be flexible and some times when Zaira has had to be flexible with her thinking. Benjamin’s puppet friend, Bloop, joins the conversation and role-plays different social and emotional scenarios with Zaira related to flexibility. Zaira concludes that when she’s flexible, she’s able to have more fun. For example, she might have to play inside if there’s bad weather — but she can still play and it’s still fun! After discussing flexibility, Benjamin and Zaira collaboratively write a song about being flexible using the Tune Up method — which is designed to adapt the words and ideas of children into empowering songs that can help them to cope with hard things and overcome day-to-day challenges that all kids experience in a joyful way. The episode concludes with the original music video of the song that Benjamin and Zaira wrote. The song is called FLEXIBILITY.  Perfect for kids ages 3–10 and for listening together as a family.Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Learning By:🌟 Asking your child: "What are some things about being a kid that are tricky?” “What are some things about being a kid that are fun?” 🌟 Asking your child: “What does it mean to be flexible?”🌟 Saying, “Yes, being flexible is being willing to change or compromise. Sometimes plans change, or you can’t do the thing that you want to do; being flexible is when you’re OK with something different.”🌟 Asking your child: “Can you think of a time when we have had to be flexible?”🌟 Discussing: “What does it feel like when we have to be flexible (before, during, after)?”About the Tune Up Podcast:Tune Up uses the healing power of music to help children (and the adults who love them) tackle challenges of early childhood, from cleaning up to including others. In each episode, teacher and musician Benjamin Weiner chats with a child about a difficult topic. Together, they write an empowering song to take on the challenge. Tune Up helps children to build social and emotional skills, growth mindset, coping skills, emotional regulation, resilience, and mindfulness skills. It's also FUN and a perfect co-listening experience for kids and their grown-ups.About Host Benjamin: Benjamin Weiner is a writer, composer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. He writes for shows including Dora on Paramount Plus, Rosie’s Rules on PBS, and Vida the Vet on Netflix, and makes kids music as Princess Backpack and Benjamin. His first picture book is in the works with Simon & Schuster.Subscribe, Rate, and Share: If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Tune Up.🎧 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TuneUpSparkler  📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuneupsparkler 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tuneupsparklerCredits:Tune Up is hosted by Benjamin Weiner. Produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Brittany Sommer Katzin and Dana Stewart. 🌈 Visit The Tune Up Website: https://playsparkler.org/tuneup