The Very First Episode
From Mister Rogers' Neighborhood · 1968
Summary
The one that started it all, from February 19, 1968. Mister Rogers arrives, sings “Won't You Be My Neighbor?”, puts up a new swing and gets a speedy delivery from Mr. McFeely, while Lady Elaine Fairchilde rearranges the Neighborhood of Make-Believe without asking anyone. A gentle first look at being welcomed exactly as you are — and at how it feels when someone changes things on you.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
The very first visit to the Neighborhood is about welcome, change, and liking people as they are.
- What does Mister Rogers do to make a visitor feel welcome?
- Lady Elaine moved the buildings without asking. How do you think the others felt?
- Mister Rogers sings “I like you as you are.” What does that mean to you?
- What is one thing you could do tomorrow to be a good neighbor in our class?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: neighbor, welcome, change, swing.
Try it: Draw yourself doing one neighborly thing, and write a sentence about it.
Try it: Finish the sentence: “I like myself because …”