Mon, Dec 23, 2013
Mr. Anthony and his students are building a papier maché pyramid, just like the one in the picture of Egypt hanging on their classroom wall, although Benny is more enthralled with the pharaoh's crown with the snake on it in the picture. When Mr. Anthony accidentally spills the pail of water, he asks Benny to get some paper towels so that he can wipe up the mess. However, the paper towel dispenser is empty, meaning that Benny has to get the towels from the cupboard next to the sink - that specific cupboard door which he's never seen open, and which he's always been scared to open not knowing what's inside. He finds it creepy, in the process making his hands sweaty in his fright. Mr. Anthony showing Benny how to do the whirly wind makes Benny's hands less sweaty, but still doesn't lessen his fright about opening the cupboard door not knowing what's inside. So Mr. Anthony tells Benny about the time Napkin Man helped a boy named Asim from ancient Egypt when Asim was scared to open the present chest he had never seen open before, even if it was to pick out a present for the pharaoh's birthday, a present like a snake crown.
Mon, Dec 23, 2013
Mr. Anthony and his students are playing a game where the students are supposed to jump, jump, jump while he plays the music, and then stop and be still when the music stops, then start jumping again when the music starts, and so on. However, Scott can't help but jump even when the music stops, he in the process accidentally knocking over Kendra and what she's doing a few times. Although he's sorry about what he does to Kendra, Scott says he can't help it as he just feels all these bubbles inside which are making him feel jumpy. Mr. Anthony shows him how to pop those bubbles to make him less jumpy, but the popped bubbles are eventually replaced by more bubbles which make him start jumping all over again. So Mr. Anthony tells Scott a Napkin Man story about the time he helped Larry, a finger painter. Larry wanted to paint a doghouse for the new dog Napkin Man painted for him, the dog who he names Lotsofspots for all the spots he paints on him. But the doghouses Larry paints won't stand up as in his jumpiness, the walls of the doghouses that he paints, he just can't paint straight.
Mon, Dec 30, 2013
The students are playing make believe, each pretending who they want to be. Scott, who was proudly pretending to be a super hero named Super Scott, all of a sudden becomes withdrawn and hides under a table. It's because some of the other kids started teasing him about his cape in reality being his "blankie", their taunts being that only babies have blankies. His hiding is so he can get small so no one sees him in his embarrassment. To help Scott feel less small, Mr. Anthony shows him how to do the growly bear stretch, which helps, but still doesn't make Scott feel any less embarrassed about having a blankie. So Mr. Anthony tells Scott about the time Napkin Man helped a boy named Ricky as another boy named Kevin always teased him for being a baby for still carrying around a teddy bear.
Mon, Dec 30, 2013
The students are having a costume parade. Vikram, dressed as a clown, isn't participating in the parade as he feels nervous not knowing the other kids well and not knowing if he should just join in, he, in the process, having a weird fluttery feeling in his tummy. To help Vikram with the flutters, Mr. Anthony shows him how to do the wiggle shake, which helps, but still doesn't make Vikram feel any less nervous. So Mr. Anthony proceeds to tell Vikram about the time Napkin Man helped his friend Vincent the Clown, who was nervous about clowning around with the other clowns with who he's never played.
Tue, Dec 31, 2013
During medieval play time, Benny, dressed as a knight, is trying to build a sand castle, but whatever he does, it just won't stand up. As such, he has the "grrr" frustrations. Mr. Anthony shows Benny how to do the balloon to get rid of the "grrr"s. It helps, but it still doesn't solve Benny's problem of the constantly collapsing sand castle. So Mr. Anthony tells Benny about the time helped his knight friend Salim, who has a pet dragon, Smoky. Salim wanted to build a castle on top of a sand hill, but was frustrated because he went from digging the moat, to building the stone walls, to building the stone tower with the flag on top, each job unfinished leading to the tower falling apart upon what Salim thought was its completion.
Tue, Dec 31, 2013
Mr. Anthony and his students are playing cowboys and cowgirls, when he notices that Suki is alone looking sad. She's sad because her best friend and fellow classmate, Mary, has just moved away, the two of them who used to play cowgirls together, which is making Suki wanting to be a cowgirl even less now. It is making her heart feel achy. Mr. Anthony tells Suki that sometimes one has to allow the feeling of sadness to happen, but that doing the achy shaky will help relieve the sadness when she's ready. Although it helps, doing the achy shaky won't bring Mary back. So Mr. Anthony tells Suki about the time Napkin Man helped cowgirl best friends Betsy and Jane when Jane had to move away because her father got a new job.
Wed, Jan 1, 2014
Mr. Anthony and the students are playing astronaut. During what is the countdown to the rocket being launched, Winston runs out of the rocket, his problem being that he doesn't have his favorite space helmet and he can't find it. Winston is overly hyper in his panic not knowing where his space helmet is. To help Winston slow down, Mr. Anthony shows him how to do the moon walk, which helps, but still doesn't relieve Winston's anxiety over the missing space helmet. So Mr. Anthony tells Winston about the time Napkin Man helped Arnie the astronaut, when Arnie couldn't find something crucial just before he was about to be launched into space specifically to bring his alien friend Dracket back home: the rocket.
Wed, Jan 1, 2014
Louise and Sally are arguing with each other as they are trying to get through the play tunnel which is wide enough for only one child, each going through the tunnel from different ends, neither wanting to give way to the other. They each want to go through the tunnel first before the other, Louise who just can't wait, and Sally who feels the need to go, go, go. Acting as a mediator, Mr. Anthony shows who he calls the two "wiggle worms" how to do the freeze to get them to slow down and be more patient, and it helps but it doesn't solve the problem that both girls want to go through the tunnel first before the other. So Mr. Anthony proceeds to tell them a Napkin Man story, when he helped his south pole penguin friends Pip and Pop who each went rushing to go down the new ice slide, but in their rush against the other neither who could even get to the top of the slide.
Thu, Jan 2, 2014
Sally, mad, no longer wants to play with her baby teddy bear, as she associates it with Sophie, her new baby sister at home. Sophie is taking all her mom's attention away, her mom who no longer has time to play with her. To get Sally to feel less scrunchy, Mr. Anthony shows her how to do the stompy stomp dance, which makes her feel less scrunchy, but doesn't take away her madness. So Mr. Anthony tells her a Napkin Man story about the time he helped a little girl named Suzie get over her anger about Barry, her new baby brother, and her mom running off to look after him every time he cried, it always seeming to happen when they were doing something fun together, such as making flippy floppy flapjacks.
Thu, Jan 2, 2014
Benny and Louise are both frustrated as there isn't enough clay for both Benny to make a lion and Louise to make an eagle, both demonstrating their frustration by crossing their arms tightly to their bodies. While Mr. Anthony showing them how to do the pretzel pull to uncross their arms may make them feel better, it still doesn't resolve the issue of Benny wanting to make a lion and Louise wanting to make an eagle with the limited amount of clay. So Mr. Anthony, building on a Moroccan magic carpet story he just told the class, tells them a Napkin Man story based in Morocco about guitarist Karim and drummer Amina who had to try and figure out what kind of song they would play at the Sultan's party, Karim who wanted to play a gentle slow song and Amina who wanted to play a zippy fast song. The story is designed to show Benny and Louise that they can both get what they want with a little compromise.
Sun, Jan 5, 2014
Mr. Anthony and his class are having a Mexican fiesta. Vikram's stomach is feeling all scrunchy in his unease, as he doesn't want to attend not knowing what a fiesta is, and even after learning that it is a party he is unfamiliar with all the Mexican customs and food still making him nervous. Mr. Anthony shows Vikram how to melt the scrunchies away with the ice cream melt, which helps but doesn't relieve his nerves. So Mr. Anthony tells Vikram about the time Napkin Man helped a little Mexican boy named Gonzalo, when he was nervous about attending a coconut fiesta, such an event which he had never attended and a coconut of which he had never heard or eaten.
Sun, Jan 5, 2014
Following pretending to be a human train, Mr. Anthony's class is having lunch. Mr. Anthony notices that Scott, who is sitting quietly by himself, is looking longingly over at the kids at the other table, looking more specifically at Benny's shiny new lunchbox which he wants. Scott is disappointed that his own lunchbox is old and scratched, he feeling all "humpf" in the process. To make Scott feel less "humpf", Mr. Anthony shows him how to do the monkey swing, which helps but doesn't lessen his disappointment about not having Benny's new lunchbox. So Mr. Anthony tells Scott about the time Napkin Man helped a train engineer named Timmy, who, when doing one of his favorite jobs of delivering a barrel of monkeys, wanted the shiny new blue train he saw on another track belonging to someone else instead of his scratched-up old red train.
Mon, Jan 6, 2014
Mr. Anthony and the students are performing the "Put Away Polka". As he is a new student, Vikram doesn't know the words or movements to the song well, he getting confused which is making his head go all in a muddle. Mr. Anthony shows Vikram how to shake the muddles out of his head, which makes him feel better but doesn't make him any less confused about the polka. So Mr. Anthony tells Vikram about the time Napkin Man helped his friend, Bart the Pirate, when he was confused about where and how to bury his treasure chest on the beach, he never having done it before.
Mon, Jan 6, 2014
Winston is concentrating really hard as he builds a toy rover to explore the moon. When it's time for lunch, Winston doesn't want to take the break from building the rover despite Mr. Anthony telling him that he should eat lunch. Mr. Anthony wants Winston to hit the proverbial stop button, showing him how which does slow Winston down, but doesn't lessen his want to skip lunch and keeping building the rover. So Winston allows Mr. Anthony to tell him a Napkin Man story - on the promise that it's short - about the time when he helped his astronaut friend Arnie who was too busy building a moon base to take a lunch break, despite he making lots of mistakes because, as he didn't realize, he was hungry.
Tue, Jan 7, 2014
While Mr. Anthony's class is playing with toy dinosaurs and learning about dinosaurs in general, Kendra won't share one of her two toy dinosaurs with Benny, who has none with which to play otherwise. Mr. Anthony giving Benny another toy to play with solves part of the problem, but not the fact that Kendra won't share hers, she feeling all tight and "grrr" inside in her anger in not wanting Benny to play with her toys. To get her to feel less "grrrr" and angry, Mr. Anthony shows Kendra how to do the pterodactyl stretch, which helps, but doesn't lessen her anger about sharing her toys with Benny. So Mr. Anthony tells Kendra about the time Napkin Man helped a little cave girl named Lexy, when she said she wouldn't ever want to let her friend Grugg play with either of the two triceratopses she just found.
Tue, Jan 7, 2014
It's after class, and as usual Vikram is the last student to be picked by his or her parent. His forehead is all crinkly as he's worried that one day his mom will forget to pick him up, meaning that he would have to sleep at the school by himself. Mr. Anthony shows Vikram how to do the eyebrow hop to get the crinkles in his forehead to go away, which does the trick, but which doesn't relieve his anxiety about his mom forgetting to pick him up. So Mr. Anthony tells Vikram about the time Napkin Man helped his friend, Lolo the lemur, as Leelee and Lulu's mothers picked them up after a day of the three lemurs playing together in the treetops, leaving Lolo without his friends and worried that no one would come for him.
Wed, Jan 8, 2014
Louise wants to help Suki build a Lego wall, but Suki wants to do it on her own even though the two of them usually do everything together. Louise doesn't think Suki likes her anymore, or even if she does, has the grumbles in her anger. To get rid of the grumbles, Mr. Anthony shows Louise how to do the dump trunk, which helps but doesn't get rid of her anger. So Mr. Anthony tells Louise the story of when Napkin Man helped his two builder best friends, Bella and Bertie, who built everything together until one day Bella just felt like building something on her own.
Wed, Jan 8, 2014
Mr. Anthony repairs the toy bulldozer by gluing the broken piece, but unlike what he tells Winston to do, Winston can't wait until the glue dries to play with it, breaking that piece once again which Mr. Anthony has to glue back together again. Winston says that he has a fluttery feeling inside due to his impatience. Mr. Anthony getting Winston to do the happy chicken alleviates the flutteriness but not the actual impatience. So Mr. Anthony tells Winston a Napkin Man story, where he helps his friend Bjorn with his impatience in his new job for Monsieur Boulanger in his bakery as a cake froster. Bjorn had to learn that he had to wait for M. Boulanger to mix the batter, bake the cake and let the cake cool before he could frost it. He also had to learn that he couldn't just frost all the other items in the bakery while he waited for the cake to be ready. But it's Winston who teaches Bjorn how to deal with the actual impatience while he waits.
Thu, Jan 9, 2014
Scott is frustrated as he's missing the most important piece of his jigsaw puzzle of a Scottish castle, the piece which shows the flag flying atop the building. Although the students admit they would rather not hear Mr. Anthony play his bagpipes, Mr. Anthony showing Scott to do a bagpipe breath at least gets Scott not to feel so scrunched up physically, but doesn't relieve his frustration of not being able to find the missing piece. So Mr. Anthony recounts a story of Napkin Man, in taking a kilt-adorned trip to Scotland, to help his friend Fergus find something, namely "Bonnie". The story shows Scott that sticking with the search pays off in a feeling of satisfaction in finding for what he's looking.
Thu, Jan 9, 2014
Kendra is the only student who doesn't want to play with the class' new pet hamster. She admits she gets the shivers from hairy animals with scratchy claws, she more attuned to soft, squishy animals like dolphins and whales. Mr. Anthony teaching her the shiver shimmy may make her feel less nervous, but it still doesn't alleviate her fear of hairy, and what she perceives as scratchy-clawed animals like hamsters. So Mr. Anthony tells her a Napkin Man story where he helped his friend, Cindy the dolphin, become friends with another creature that she was initially scared of, namely Wanda the whale.
Sun, Jan 12, 2014
Mr. Anthony, with a drawing of a big mountain hanging on the wall behind him, shows the students what yodeling is. They then proceed to build the biggest mountain they can. They run into a problem in that they don't have enough gray-colored clay to build a mountain the size they want. They proceed to brainstorm ideas, and while Vikram puts up his hand to share his idea, he's too scared to share it, his throat which just tightens up. To loosen Vikram up, Mr. Anthony shows him the yodeleyo. While it works to loosen Vikram's throat muscles, it doesn't relieve his fear in sharing his idea. As such , Mr. Anthony tells Vikram the story of when a lederhosen-clad Napkin Man helped his friend Leo, who resides in the Swiss Alps, overcome his fear in sharing an idea in front of his friends of how to contain his rambunctious mountain goat.
Sun, Jan 12, 2014
Mr. Anthony's class is temporarily moving to a new classroom for two days while their regular classroom is being painted. Kendra doesn't want to move, her nerves making her stomach do somersaults on her. Mr. Anthony teaching Kendra how to do the tummy tuba stops the somersaults, but doesn't relieve her apprehension about the move. So Mr. Anthony tells her a Napkin Man story, using a special napkin due to all the regular napkins being packed away, about a young viking girl named Erica who was nervous about moving to a new boat while her regular boat was undergoing repairs.
Mon, Jan 13, 2014
It's raining and thundering outside, meaning the class has to stay inside to play. Kendra is disappointed and slumpy as she wants to bounce her ball, an activity more suited to outside. To get her to be unslumpy, Mr. Anthony teaches Kendra how to march, which helps but doesn't stop the rain and her disappointment. So Mr. Anthony proceeds to tell her a Napkin Man story about the time he helped a girl named Delaney, who wanted to fly her fish kite outside but couldn't because there was no wind.
Mon, Jan 13, 2014
Bespectacled Mr. Newman, Mr. Anthony's twin brother, is the substitute teacher for the class. He's feeling a little nervous, and it shows. Louise suggests to him that he do the happy chicken to relieve his nerves. The happy chicken helps, but doesn't change the fact of the source of his nerves: teaching a class where he doesn't know the routine or know where anything is. Louise proceeds to tell him a Napkin Man story, the character who Mr. Newman has heard of from his brother, but a Napkin Man story which Mr. Newman has never heard. The story is about Napkin Man substituting for Farmer Simpson to run the farm. Although Napkin Man has a list of chores while Farmer Simpson is away, he doesn't know where anything is. Chelsea the chick, who lives on and thus knows the farm, helps him find whatever he needs for the job at hand.
Tue, Jan 14, 2014
While Mr. Anthony's students are doing gymnastics, Kendra can't help but feel frustrated - manifesting itself in her needing to say "rrrr" - as she can't walk across the balance beam without falling off. To get the "rrrr"s out of her, Mr. Anthony teaches her how to do the rrrribbon shimmy. It may help getting rid of the "rrrr"s, but doesn't help her walk across the beam without falling. So Mr. Anthony, once he gets the right attire for his hero, tells Kendra a Napkin Man story about the time he helped Penny during the championship T-ball game, then when she just couldn't hit the ball.
Tue, Jan 14, 2014
Winston is kind enough to bring his Galaxy Zoomer toy spaceship into class. He lets Benny play with it. Without Winston knowing, Benny breaks a piece of the engine off. Scared that he will get in trouble with Winston, Benny, who is jumpy and nervous, shows Mr. Anthony what he did. Mr. Anthony, who tells Benny that he won't get into trouble, shows him how to do the robot walk to help alleviate his nervousness. However, Benny is still scared to face Winston. So Mr. Anthony proceeds to tells Benny a Napkin Man story when he helped his friend Arlo, who lived in a robot world, face his friend Ollie when Ollie lent his best spaceship building robot, Dexter, to him to assist him in building a spaceship, Dexter which broke when Arlo was using it.