Speaker 1: You're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast.
Speaker 2: Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
Speaker 2: that this podcast is recorded on. Hello to all our
Speaker 2: little builders and their grown ups. Welcome to how to
Speaker 2: Build a Universe Where stories build worlds. This is a
Speaker 2: show you listen to with your little one to connect
Speaker 2: together through storytelling as we invite you to play along.
Speaker 2: I'm Jen Muer. I'm a parent, educator, author and a
Speaker 2: mum to four, and my co host is.
Speaker 1: I'm Tom Lyon. Mama Me is official chief of Fun. Hello.
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. I'm just gonna get these sparkles off
Speaker 1: them everywhere in my socks. I don't think a tiny
Speaker 1: unicorn might have nestled in my pocket. Thank you, Kevin,
Speaker 1: how't you get Oh golly, look, I'm so excited for
Speaker 1: today's adventure because I'm taking you into an enchanted forest
Speaker 1: and there's a funny little possum called Nibbles waiting there
Speaker 1: to meet Jap.
Speaker 2: I can't wait to meet Nibbles. And you know what
Speaker 2: I love about magical forests, som as we adventure through
Speaker 2: the rivers and meet all the animals. It offers a
Speaker 2: beautiful opportunity for a deeper connection. We all want a
Speaker 2: good relationship with our kids, and we want our kids
Speaker 2: to know they are loved unconditionally. One of the best
Speaker 2: ways to have our kids feel loved is through nine
Speaker 2: to ten minutes of really focused playton. The world our
Speaker 2: kids live in is part fantasy, and this podcast is
Speaker 2: intended to help you with that creative imagination. My challenge
Speaker 2: today as you enter the forest is to really become
Speaker 2: aware of what your child is noticing. Join them without
Speaker 2: leading and see the world through their eyes, just to
Speaker 2: get a glimpse into their world.
Speaker 1: Okay, kiddo, it's our time. We're going into an enchanted
Speaker 1: forest called the Whispering Woods. That's right, the Whispering Woods.
Speaker 1: The animals in the forest need your help to find
Speaker 1: a magic sparkleberry tree. I'll see you after this quick break,
Speaker 1: and we're heading in. Welcome little adventurers to the enchanted forest.
Speaker 1: Do you know what an enchanted forest is? Well, it's
Speaker 1: a bit like a regular forest, but enchanted forests are magical.
Speaker 1: Are you ready for a magical journey? Great, let's start
Speaker 1: by standing up and stretching our arms up high. Come on,
Speaker 1: if you're sitting down or listening in the car. You
Speaker 1: can reach up in your seat like we're reaching for
Speaker 1: the tallest trees. Can you do that with me? Stretching
Speaker 1: up and up up? That's it. Wiggle your fingers towards
Speaker 1: the treetops. Great, good stretching. Now, let's tiptoe into our story.
Speaker 1: Sh can you tiptoe to great? We are entering the
Speaker 1: enchanted forest, and this forest is called the Whispering Woods.
Speaker 1: The whispering woods. I want you to imagine big towering
Speaker 1: gum trees and bright purple chaparandas. These trees have branches
Speaker 1: that are perfect for climbing, and there are all sorts
Speaker 1: of colorful wildflowers bursting up from the soil. The flowers
Speaker 1: are all shapes and sizes, and all the colors of
Speaker 1: the rainbow. What's your favorite color? Hey? I know you
Speaker 1: want to go on bick a flower?
Speaker 2: Go on?
Speaker 1: What color did you pick? Good choice? I might pop
Speaker 1: one in my hair. Oh, I look fancy. So many
Speaker 1: animals call this forest home. It's their happy place. Do
Speaker 1: you know the feeling of when you're happy, when your
Speaker 1: heart feels light and playful. For me, it's a nice
Speaker 1: feeling in my face. I can feel it when I smile. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's step further into the forest together. Are you ready?
Speaker 1: Can you take another three steps forward? Go on, let's
Speaker 1: count them one, two, three, fantastic. The forest floor is
Speaker 1: soft and green. Can you feel the fuzzy moss under
Speaker 1: your toes? H let's keep walking. I've fallen. Sough. Oh,
Speaker 1: that moss can be very slippery. You gotta tread carefully
Speaker 1: in here. Look around. If you listen carefully, you can
Speaker 1: hear the leaves whispering and rustling in the breeze. Have
Speaker 1: a listen. It almost sounds like they're singing a song
Speaker 1: or a chant as the wind rustles in their branches.
Speaker 1: Go on, listen in Oh, what's that up there in
Speaker 1: the branches? Do you see that cheeky possible with the
Speaker 1: very twitchy whiskers. His name is Nibbles. Oh, he looks
Speaker 1: a bit worrying. Let's listen carefully to what Nibbles is
Speaker 1: trying to tell us. M m oh, really, come on?
Speaker 1: Are you sure? Oh? Good lord, Nibbles is squeaking quite
Speaker 1: a lot, he says. The Yeah, the sparkleberry tree is
Speaker 1: losing it sparkle. Oh no, the sparkleberry tree is the
Speaker 1: queen tree. The mother of this whole enchanted forest. Now,
Speaker 1: if she loses her sparkle, the whole forest could lose
Speaker 1: its magic. We can't have that, can we, Possum says.
Speaker 1: She wants us to help the sparkleberry tree get her
Speaker 1: glow back, and we'll need to search the forest for clues.
Speaker 1: What do you think, my mini explorers? Are you with me?
Speaker 1: If I said, are you with me? Come on? Should
Speaker 1: we help out? Well, it's a silly question. Of course.
Speaker 1: We should put your hand in the air. If you
Speaker 1: think we can help. Great, Let's put her now, pretend
Speaker 1: explorer hat and follow that possum. Our first stop is
Speaker 1: the bubbling creek. Can you hear that water?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 1: There's a frog guarding the crossing. Her name is Bella,
Speaker 1: and she's got our first clue. Uh huh, okay, yep, yep,
Speaker 1: I Bella, come on, I get it. Okay, she says.
Speaker 1: To cross her creek, we'll need a bridge made of
Speaker 1: things that float. Hmmm, can you tell me something that floats?
Speaker 1: What could we use? It could be anything in your house, leaves,
Speaker 1: your lunch box, grandpa's undies, anything else. What can we
Speaker 1: use to float? Good? Those are splashtastic ideas. Now, let's
Speaker 1: use our imaginary floating objects to cross the creek. Pick
Speaker 1: them up, put them on the water. That's it. Pop
Speaker 1: them down on the water and climb on. Wow, that
Speaker 1: water feels so relaxing on my legs. Oh wil splash,
Speaker 1: she floats to floatsy. I love the feeling. I love
Speaker 1: the feeling of floating on the creek. We made it,
Speaker 1: well done. What's that sound? Whoa? It sounds like someone snoring.
Speaker 1: It's coming from those giant rocks over there. Look to
Speaker 1: your right, can you hear it? Look ahead to see
Speaker 1: those giant rocks there is because Mom and dad they're
Speaker 1: sleeping so dreamily. But we will need to wake them
Speaker 1: up to pass through. Do you know what we could
Speaker 1: do to wake them up? What sound do you make
Speaker 1: to wake up Mum or Dad in the morning? Great,
Speaker 1: I'm sure they love that. I'm wondering how we could
Speaker 1: wake up these rocks. I know we could sing a
Speaker 1: special song. A song would surely wake them up. Do
Speaker 1: you like singing? I love singing? La lah la lah me.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I've gotta be carried away there. Do you
Speaker 1: know what kind of music rocks like? Have a thing? Well,
Speaker 1: it's rock music, of course. Whoa, let's rock on. We
Speaker 1: can do this one together. Let's sing an easy song
Speaker 1: to wake up those sleeping rocks. If you're standing up,
Speaker 1: you can dance along too. Let's get moving. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: sing it. It's easy. I'll let you know the bit
Speaker 1: to join in.
Speaker 3: All these rocks sleeping on the ground, stay and quiet.
Speaker 3: Not a single sounds. We'll tiptoes up take it. So
Speaker 3: it's time to let them know.
Speaker 1: That's snousan. Oh no, they ain't moving.
Speaker 3: We're seeing our song to wake them up, we gotta
Speaker 3: say smarkle berry tree.
Speaker 1: So cock its sing with me. Wake up brox Let's
Speaker 1: rock and roll.
Speaker 3: Wake up rocess, rock and roll, Wake up Rosa's rock
Speaker 3: and roll, Wake up Rocks.
Speaker 1: That's rock and ro sing. Wake up rocks.
Speaker 3: Let's rock and roll, Wake up rox U's rock and roll.
Speaker 3: The sunshiny ear, It's time for us.
Speaker 1: And this is not a lullaby. Wake up. Great singing.
Speaker 1: That was awesome. Oh look, their stony faces are smiling.
Speaker 1: I think it worked. Okay. The giant rocks are pointing
Speaker 1: towards a glowing tree that must be the Sparkleberry tree,
Speaker 1: and nibbles. The possum is running towards it. But wait,
Speaker 1: oh no, we've got one more thing to do, because
Speaker 1: the sparkleberry is covered in tiny prickles. Yes, nibbles. Okay,
Speaker 1: so these prickles are called grumble thorns, and they must
Speaker 1: be why the tree is losing her sparkle. So what
Speaker 1: can we do to remove those pesky prickles from the
Speaker 1: poor sparkleberry tree? Have a think? What's gentle enough to
Speaker 1: remove the prickles without hurting the berries? Okay, nibbles is
Speaker 1: up there. Yeah, I can see her. She's trying to
Speaker 1: whack the prickles off with her tail. She's she's using
Speaker 1: a bit of a brushing motion. What could you use
Speaker 1: a feather a soft paintbrush. I know this will sound crazy,
Speaker 1: but what about some tickling? What if we tickle that tree?
Speaker 1: Maybe with some tickle power, we can shake and jiggle
Speaker 1: those pickles away. Are you ready, let's all tickle the
Speaker 1: tree tickling fingers go. I can hear the tree laughing.
Speaker 1: She's shaking those pickles everywhere. Yes, it's working. Great warrant, team, tickle,
Speaker 1: we tickle those grumbles away. Oh yes, laughter is always
Speaker 1: the best medicine. I say, oh, look, all the sparkleberries
Speaker 1: are glowing again, and all the animals in the chanted
Speaker 1: for us to whispering. Thank you. Our possum nibbles look
Speaker 1: so happy. Now It's time for us to head home now,
Speaker 1: but the magic of the whispering woods will always be
Speaker 1: with us. Next time you're outside playing, what might you
Speaker 1: find in the garden that could be magical? Maybe that
Speaker 1: pebble over there is a sleeping rock. Well that flower
Speaker 1: is a tiny sparkleberry tree waiting to glow. You know,
Speaker 1: exploring this forest today reminded me of something. It felt
Speaker 1: so good when we danced around and how to laugh
Speaker 1: when I'm feeling a bit glum. I like to move
Speaker 1: my body by running, dancing or even singing helps me
Speaker 1: feel happy and ready to rock my day. Did you
Speaker 1: like moving and dancing with us today?
Speaker 2: I loved moving and dancing. And what I loved most
Speaker 2: about the forest today was it In under ten minutes,
Speaker 2: we've completely joined our kids in their world. This fills
Speaker 2: their emotional cups to the brim while also supporting their creativity.
Speaker 2: I have a tip for parents. As you tuck your
Speaker 2: child into bed tonight, just let them know how much
Speaker 2: you enjoyed going into the enchanted forest with them. This
Speaker 2: makes kids feel amazing, and this connection often brings about
Speaker 2: a deeper cooperation, which is a lovely bonus and for some,
Speaker 2: a completely new phenomenon.
Speaker 1: While speaking of something new, next week, we're going on
Speaker 1: a completely different adventure. I heard there might be some
Speaker 1: splashing involved and maybe even some mermaids. Are you ready
Speaker 1: to dive under the sea with me?
Speaker 2: And until then, remember stories build.
Speaker 1: Universes, and your imagination is always ready for an adventure.
Speaker 1: See you next time, builders.
Speaker 2: Bye.
Speaker 1: The executive producer of How to Build a Universe is
Speaker 1: Courtney Amenhauser, with story writing and sound designed by me
Speaker 1: Tom Lyon. Thanks for listening to today's episode of How
Speaker 1: to Build a Universe. We'd love to know what you
Speaker 1: thought of it. You can fill out our survey and
Speaker 1: go in the running to win one thousand dollars. There's
Speaker 1: a link in the show notes.