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Please send us a voice memo, drawing, or letter at hello@likeyoupodcast.com. We play a voice memo from a listener at the beginning of most episodes. If your child wants to be included, record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us. Your child can introduce themself and then say a favorite affirmation, sing a line from a Like You song, say what they like about the show, or share whatever they feel! Keep it short (10-20 seconds), send it to our email, and then wait patiently. It is our goal to share every recording eventually!

Like You is a production of Perpetual Motion. The show is written and produced by Noah Glenn. The show’s artwork was illustrated by Mia Saine. Episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn.

This episode features original music by Noah Glenn, as well as additional music by IMAKEMADBEATS.

This episode’s affirmations were read by Mia Saine.

Find Like You online at likeyoupodcast.com.

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Noah: Hello! I’m Noah and this is Like You, a mindfulness podcast for kids. Today we’ll try our best to make a batch of cookies, and talk about what we do when things don’t turn out the way we expected. First, a word for the grownups. Like You is listener supported, so if you’d like to help us continue making new episodes, join us at patreon.com/likeyoupodcast for early access to every episode, and other special perks. We also appreciate it when you spread the word about our podcast by telling friends or leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Alright, listeners of all ages, find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe. You’re an important part of this podcast, so I invite you to answer questions aloud and participate in our activities. Of course, if you’d rather just think your answers quietly in your head, that’s ok too.

Let’s do a breathing exercise. Instead of the long deep breaths I usually I ask you to take, we’ll try something a little different. I call this one surprise and relief. First imagine you see something shocking, surprising, and unexpected. What sort of breath would you do if you were surprised or shocked? Maybe something like this [gasp]. Now imagine that you take a closer look, and the thing that caught you by surprise was actually something very ordinary, like your family pet, or a pile of dirty laundry, or a ham sandwich. When you realize it’s nothing shocking or scary, you might let out a sigh or relief like this [sigh]. So let’s try doing a few breaths like this. And we’ll add some movement as well. When you take that short, shocking gasp of air, tighten up your shoulders, and when you sigh, let your shoulders relax. Let’s try it. First take a quick shocking gasp of air [gasp]. Then let out a long sigh of relief [sigh]. Once again. Something surprising makes you gasp and tighten up [gasp]. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, so you relax your shoulders with a sigh of relief. One last time, take a quick gasp of surprise. Then slowly sigh and relax your shoulders.

Now on the count of 3 we’ll all say I like me. 1-2-3. I like me.

I like you too. I like you for who you are inside, not just because of the things you do. Even when you make mistakes, or make a mess, that doesn’t change how likable you are.

Today we’re going to imagine baking cookies. Have you ever helped make a batch of cookies before? I have a new recipe to try, and you can pretend you’re baking along with me. If you want, you can close your eyes and picture yourself adding each ingredient. Or you can get up on your feet and act out each step. Here we go.

First add butter and sugar to your imaginary mixing bowl. Turn on the mixer, and in your mind, you can picture the mixer spinning around and around blending the butter and sugar together. Or you can stand up and spin around like you are the mixer. Next, crack a couple of eggs. You can imagine the gooey yolks, sliding out of their shells. Or if you’re acting it out, curl up in an egg shape yourself, then spread your arms and legs out to relax like a runny egg. Next pour in the flour, and stir it with a spoon. Now the dough is getting more firm, so you might spin slowly. Now the fun part. You can pick your favorite stir in treat. Maybe you like chocolate chips, or big chocolate chunks. Maybe you could stir in M&Ms or sprinkles, or coconut, or any other kind of treat you think would make your cookies special.

Now we’ll scoop out a few cookies onto a baking sheet, pop it in the oven, and wait. I’ll set a timer and it will ding when the cookies are ready.

While we wait for the cookies to bake, take a deep breath in, and a long breath out. [ding] That means the cookies are ready! Put on an oven mitt, and take your cookies out of the oven.

Oh no! These cookies don’t look right! They are dense and hard instead of soft and chewy. I think we made a mistake with the recipe. We left out the baking soda. Baking soda is what helps make cookies light and airy and just the right amount of chewy. Now we can’t eat these cookies because of our mistake! What should we do?

Did you say make more cookies? Sounds like a good idea to me. We can learn from our mistake. This time we’ll read the recipe closely and make sure we don’t leave anything out.

So add the butter and the sugar… and a little bit of baking soda… and mix it up.

Then crack a couple of eggs and stir again. Next add the flour. Mix until the dough is firm. Finally, pick you favorite stir in, like chocolate chips or candy pieces. Now we’ll scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and pop it in the oven, and wait.

While we’re waiting, take a deep breath in 1-2-3, and out 1-2-3. Now take another deep breath in 1-2-3 and out 1-2-3. Still waiting. One more deep breath in 1-2-3 and out 1-2-3. Hmmm… I don’t think we had to wait this long for the last batch of cookies to bake. Something seems wrong. Is that smoke coming out of the oven? Oh no! I forgot to set a timer! Let’s open up the oven and take a look. Our cookies are burned! I made another mistake! It seems like baking cookies is a lot harder than I expected it to be.

It doesn’t feel good to make a mistake. How do you feel when you make a mistake? Do you feel frustrated or a little angry at yourself? Maybe you feel disappointed, or a little embarrassed? Can you think about a time that you made a mistake, and how that made you feel?

Let me tell you something. EVERYONE makes mistakes. I make mistakes all the time. You make mistakes too. Your parents, and your teacher, and your cousins, and professional basketball players, and your next door neighbor’s great aunt’s mail carrier. They all make mistakes. If you’ve never made mistake, that means you’ve never tried anything new.

So what do we do when we make a mistake? Well some people shut down, give up, and feel bad about themselves. They may even feel ashamed, call themselves names, or want to hide. Is that how you feel when you make a mistake? Well remember everyone makes mistakes. And it’s ok to make mistakes. In fact some people even say making a mistake is a good thing. Do you know why? A mistake is an opportunity to learn something new. You can see your mistake as a problem to solve, a puzzle to figure out, and you can learn from your mistake and try again. That’s how we all learn and grow, and get better. By making mistakes, learning from them, and moving on to try again.

So let’s try making these cookies one last time. Will you speak up and help me remember not to make the same mistakes again?

Here we go. Start by adding butter and sugar, and was there something else? Baking soda! That’s right. Mix it up. Then we’ll crack our eggs and add them in. Next add  flour, and stir some more until the dough is firm. Mix in your favorite extras. Scoop the dough out onto a cookie sheet, and pop it into the oven. And am I forgetting something? That’s right the timer!

Now take a deep breath in 1-2-3, and out 1-2-3. [ding] There’s the timer. Thanks for remembering that. Put on an oven mitt, and take the cookies out of the oven.

They look perfect! Now imagine taking a bite and slowly chewing the tastiest cookie you’ve ever had.

And that brings us to today’s affirmations. Affirmations are words you can say about yourself to remember how wonderful you are. Welcome our friend Mia to say today’s affirmations.

Mia: It’s me, Mia! Will you repeat these affirmations with me?

It’s ok to make mistakes

All of my problems have solutions

Every day I will learn and grow

I can do hard things

It is enough to do my best

I am proud of myself.

Thank you Mia. Now let’s smile and take a few slow, deep breaths as we wind down our time together.

I can’t wait to spend some time together again soon. Until then, I like you, I’m proud of you, and I’m glad we are friends. Have a happy and peaceful day.

Like You is a production of Perpetual Motion. It is written and hosted by me, Noah Glenn. I also composed and performed the Like You theme music and other music that appeared in the episode. Additional music for this episode came from IMAKEMADBEATS. Our podcast cover art was illustrated by Mia Saine, who also said today’s affirmations. Our episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn. Our podcast is listener supported, and you can be a part of supporting us by joining our Patreon group at Patreon.com/likeyoupodcast. Other ways to support the show are by telling your friends, writing a review on Apple Podcasts, or checking out our online shop at likeyoupodcast.com. Our website also features show notes for every episode. We love hearing from listeners. You can send us voice memos, drawings and pictures by having a grownup send an email to hello@likeyoupodcast.com. Be sure to follow us on instagram, Facebook, and twitter @likeyoupod. Thanks for listening!