Pretending with Wolves and a Father-Son Visit
From Mister Rogers' Neighborhood · 1990
Summary
Kent Weber brings two real wolves, Shaman and Little Dancing Bear, to meet Mister Rogers and Chuck Aber. In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Neighbor Aber puts on a wolf costume and frightens Henrietta Pussycat — a clear, calm lesson in the difference between pretend and real. Later, Mister Rogers' own son and grandson come to visit.
Viewer safety
A costumed 'wolf' briefly frightens a puppet around 12:00; the episode immediately explains it is only pretend.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Real wolves, a pretend wolf, and a visit from three generations of one family.
- What did you learn about real wolves that you didn't know?
- Why was Henrietta scared of Neighbor Aber in the costume?
- How can you tell when something is pretend?
- Mister Rogers' son and grandson visit. Who visits your family?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: wolf, costume, pretend, real, generation.
Try it: Make a two-column chart: PRETEND and REAL. Put three things in each.
Try it: Draw the people in your family and label who is older and who is younger.