Fred Rogers wrote these tips for parents on how children can learn about being helpers. The emphases on cooking and working towards a goal relate to a particular week of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episodes. Mister Rogers bakes waffles with a few Neighborhood friends. He repairs a bucket that has a hole in it, and later in the week uses a hole-puncher and shows a film about woodpeckers.
In the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, the neighbors plan for a waffle, potato, and maple syrup festival. Lady Elaine Fairchilde learns how to use a drill. Everyone in the NOM helps make the festival a success.
The episode that Fred intended this song for is about building things by hand. Mister Rogers puts together a go-cart and Bob Trow shows a pulley system. Mister Rogers talks about wanting something that his parents couldn't buy him, so he made it instead.
Margy Whitmer was the producer of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and worked closely with Fred starting in the early 1980s. In this oral history clip she tells about the public service announcements Fred filmed during difficult times.
The Fred Rogers Institute Archivist is available for requests and inquiries from students and researchers.
