Helpful Headphones 🎧: a calming meditation and kid's story

0:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello, Awe Islanders. [SPEAKER_00]: We're so glad you're here. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see if you have everything you want to be calm on Awe Island. [SPEAKER_00]: Are the lights in your room dim or off? [SPEAKER_00]: Do you have your favorite blanket or listening buddy? [SPEAKER_00]: Before we begin our story, let's relax by taking a nice deep dragon breath.

0:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Breathe in through your nose, filling up your lungs, and then out through your mouth, imagining you are breathing fire like a dragon. [SPEAKER_00]: Ready? [SPEAKER_00]: Deep breath. [SPEAKER_00]: In and out. [SPEAKER_00]: Good job. [SPEAKER_00]: Today, we're going to relax our entire bodies.

1:31 [SPEAKER_00]: First, wiggle all your toes and then squeeze your toes together and relax them. [SPEAKER_00]: Then lift your leg up just a little. [SPEAKER_00]: and let it float down. [SPEAKER_00]: Now lift your other leg just a little. [SPEAKER_00]: And let it float down. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's take another deep dragon breath in and out.

2:24 [SPEAKER_00]: Next, squeeze both your hands into tight fists, and then release them. [SPEAKER_00]: As you relax your hands, reach your arms around your chest and give yourself a big hug. [SPEAKER_00]: Now, make a very grumpy face, squeeze your eyes shut, squinch up your mouth, and hold that grumpy face.

3:08 [SPEAKER_00]: And let it go. [SPEAKER_00]: Now your whole body is relaxed. [SPEAKER_00]: So let's take one final, deep, dragon breath, [SPEAKER_00]: great job everyone. [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you are tucked in. [SPEAKER_00]: Nice and cozy. [SPEAKER_00]: We're ready to begin our story. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's be calm on our way island.

3:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Our story today is helpful headphones. [SPEAKER_00]: Anora stared out the car window, feeling excited about the afternoon ahead. [SPEAKER_00]: Her dad was driving her to the art nook, an art studio in downtown Awe Island, where she and her friend Ian were going to learn how to make pottery.

4:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you looking forward to the class? [SPEAKER_00]: Her dad asked. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Sedanora. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I want to make a bull or a mug. [SPEAKER_00]: It's so cool that we get to make something we can actually take home and use. [SPEAKER_00]: Her dad smiled. [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, today you'll only sculpt your creation.

4:45 [SPEAKER_00]: The art nook will dry it and fire it in a special oven called Akilom. [SPEAKER_00]: You'll come back another day [SPEAKER_00]: I know," said Annora. [SPEAKER_00]: She knew it would be hard to wait weeks between classes. [SPEAKER_00]: When they arrived at the art nook, Annora spotted Ian and his dad near the front door.

5:11 [SPEAKER_00]: Ian waved, and Annora hurried over. [SPEAKER_00]: What are you going to make? [SPEAKER_00]: She asked. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know yet, [SPEAKER_00]: With that, they went inside. [SPEAKER_00]: Immediately, a Nora could tell pottery class was very popular. [SPEAKER_00]: Long tables filled the center of the room, already busy with children of many different ages.

5:42 [SPEAKER_00]: Their laughter and chatter bounced off the tall walls of the studio. [SPEAKER_00]: After their dad's checked the man and said goodbye, Anora and Ian found seats beside each other. [SPEAKER_00]: At each place, said a soft gray lump of clay, and a few wooden tools. [SPEAKER_00]: The instructor called for the kid's attention, [SPEAKER_00]: Today, we're making pinch pots.

6:10 [SPEAKER_00]: She explained first, you will roll your clay into a ball, just like this. [SPEAKER_00]: She placed the clay between her palms and rolled it until it was smooth and round. [SPEAKER_00]: Next, press your thumb into the center. [SPEAKER_00]: Then pinch all the way around the sides to form your pot.

6:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Once you have the basic shape, you can decorate it however you like using these tools. [SPEAKER_00]: The instructors set down the clay ball and held up several finished pinch pots as examples. [SPEAKER_00]: One had two pointed ears and a little cat face painted on the front. [SPEAKER_00]: Another spread out like a fan and had been painted to look like a seashell.

7:01 [SPEAKER_00]: A third had curves pressed into its rim, [SPEAKER_00]: Ian leaned toward a Nora when he saw the flower bull. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to make something like that, he said. [SPEAKER_00]: A Nora studied the examples, but none of them felt quite right for her. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I want to try making a frog she decided.

7:29 [SPEAKER_00]: The children began working. [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora rolled the cool damp clay between her palms until it became a smooth ball. [SPEAKER_00]: Then she pressed her thumbs into the middle and pinched around the edges. [SPEAKER_00]: Pinch, pinch, pinch. [SPEAKER_00]: Slowly, the plain lump of clay turned into a small bowl.

7:54 [SPEAKER_00]: beside her, Ian carefully followed the same steps. [SPEAKER_00]: As everyone worked, the room grew noisy again. [SPEAKER_00]: Children talked, chairs scraped across the floor, and the hubba above the room echoed off the high ceilings. [SPEAKER_00]: Then someone dropped one of their wooden tools.

8:16 [SPEAKER_00]: It struck the table with a sharp clatter before bouncing onto the floor. [SPEAKER_00]: out of the corner of her eye, a Nora saw Ian lift his arms and cover his ears. [SPEAKER_00]: A Nora stopped working and looked over at him. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian's face was scrunched up. [SPEAKER_00]: When the noise faded, Ian lowered his hands and looked down at his clay again.

8:43 [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora returned to her work, too. [SPEAKER_00]: As she continued, she noticed that the art look was much louder than she had expected. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it was difficult to hear the instructor when several children spoke at once. [SPEAKER_00]: The voices, scraping chairs, and tapping tools all seemed to mix together.

9:07 [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora glanced at Ian again. [SPEAKER_00]: He was no longer working on his bowl. [SPEAKER_00]: He stared around the room, his eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth in a frown. [SPEAKER_00]: He had formed the basic pot, but he had not made any of the petal shapes he had planned. [SPEAKER_00]: Are you okay, a Nora asked?

9:33 [SPEAKER_00]: Ian did not answer. [SPEAKER_00]: Onore wondered whether he had heard her. [SPEAKER_00]: She leaned a little closer and spoke more loudly. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian finally, Ian looked over. [SPEAKER_00]: What is it? [SPEAKER_00]: I asked if you were okay. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Ian said, a nearby chair scraped across the floor, and Ian pressed his lips together.

10:04 [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of loud in here, a Nora said. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian nodded, I feel like I can hear everything he said. [SPEAKER_00]: The friends returned to their projects. [SPEAKER_00]: After a little while, the instructor showed Ian how to pinch small curves around his bowl to form petals. [SPEAKER_00]: Then she helped Anora attach four pieces of clay beneath her frog bowl and flatten the ends into webbed feet.

10:37 [SPEAKER_00]: By the end of class, Ian's bowl had a ring of white petals, and Anora's had big froggy eyes on the rim and four little feet at the bottom. [SPEAKER_00]: Both friends were very proud of what they had made. [SPEAKER_00]: Your bulls need time to dry, the instructor explained. [SPEAKER_00]: Then we'll fire them in the kiln.

11:00 [SPEAKER_00]: When you return into weeks, they'll be hard and ready to paint. [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone helped clean the tables and return the wooden tools. [SPEAKER_00]: He and left with his dad, and soon a Norris Dad arrived too. [SPEAKER_00]: On the drive home, a Nora described the noisy art studio, and how hard it had seemed for Ian to focus.

11:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Her dad nodded. [SPEAKER_00]: Some people can tune out background sounds more easily, he said. [SPEAKER_00]: Others notice every sound at once. [SPEAKER_00]: A Nora remembered Ian telling her how he felt like he could hear everything. [SPEAKER_00]: I wish there were a way to make it quieter, she said.

11:50 [SPEAKER_00]: There are tools that can help her dad said. [SPEAKER_00]: Noise reducing headphones softened some sounds. [SPEAKER_00]: They don't make everything completely silent, but they can make busy places more comfortable. [SPEAKER_00]: could in where them at the art knuck? [SPEAKER_00]: He might like to, her dad said, we can ask his parents whether he would want to try a pair.

12:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Could I try some? [SPEAKER_00]: I thought it was loud to, a Nora asked. [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, that evening, father and daughter looked up headphones made for children. [SPEAKER_00]: A Nora [SPEAKER_00]: and after her dad reached out to Ian's dad and got his approval, she picked a blue pair for Ian.

12:44 [SPEAKER_00]: Before the next class, she wrapped them in bright yellow paper. [SPEAKER_00]: Two weeks later, a Nora met Ian outside the art knuck and handed him the package. [SPEAKER_00]: I brought you a gift, she said, you don't have to use it, but I thought it might help. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian opened it and found the blue headphones.

13:10 [SPEAKER_00]: These are for me, a Nora nodded and put on her green pair. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian put on his, and together they walked inside. [SPEAKER_00]: The art nook was just as busy as before, but it did not sound quite as loud. [SPEAKER_00]: The chatter and hubbub were softer, like it was farther away.

13:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Wow, Ian said, these really help. [SPEAKER_00]: Their fired bulls were waiting on the table, now pale and hard. [SPEAKER_00]: Anora painted her frog bull green with yellow spots and white eyes. [SPEAKER_00]: Ian painted the middle of his flower bull purple and gave each petal a different color.

14:01 [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora glanced over at Ian. [SPEAKER_00]: His brow wasn't furrowed, and his mouth wasn't frowning, and he looked very focused on painting his ball. [SPEAKER_00]: He seemed much more comfortable than he had during their first visit. [SPEAKER_00]: When class ended, the friends placed their bowls with the other finished projects.

14:25 [SPEAKER_00]: The art nook would fire them once more, so the glaze became smooth and shiny. [SPEAKER_00]: Their parents would bring them back later to collect their finished creations. [SPEAKER_00]: As they waited to be picked up, he interned to a Nora. [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora grinned. [SPEAKER_00]: They helped me too.

14:53 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm glad we found something that works for both of us. [SPEAKER_00]: That evening, a Nora changed into her pajamas and placed her green headphones on the table beside her bed. [SPEAKER_00]: She climbed beneath her soft blankets, hugged her pillow close, [SPEAKER_00]: As she nestled into her warm bed, a North thought of all she had to be grateful for.

15:29 [SPEAKER_00]: She felt grateful for the two visits to the art nook, and the frog bowl she had created with her own hands. [SPEAKER_00]: she was also grateful for the noise-reducing headphones that had made it easier to focus. [SPEAKER_00]: Anora snuggled deeper beneath her blankets and took another deep dragon breath in and out.

16:29 [SPEAKER_00]: most of all, a Nora was grateful that she had noticed how Ian was feeling and found a way to help them both enjoy the art look. [SPEAKER_00]: She felt happy knowing that friends could help one another by paying attention and listening. [SPEAKER_00]: a Nora gave herself a hug and took one final deep dragon breath in and out.

17:13 [SPEAKER_00]: her mind quieted and a Nora fell asleep, dreaming of picking up her bright painted pottery creation. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for joining us to be calm on Awe Island. [SPEAKER_00]: See you next time.