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Episode 7: Barney's Special Day
On Barney's Special Day, it's Barney's birthday but all the other vehicles go about their business as if it's just any other day. Barney is surprised that no one has remembered. This makes him sad. But what Barney doesn't know is that his friends are preparing a surprise celebration for him when he gets back to the junction that evening.
Key emotion: Surprised
Additional emotions: Excited, Happy, Sad
Note: for the sake of simplicity, disappointment was broken down to surprise followed by sadness throughout the episode. If the child you work with can understand the concept of disappointment, you can introduce it in this episode.
Themes in Barney's Special Day
Why we feel surprised
We become surprised when we expect something to happen and it doesn't, or when something that we didn't expect happens. Surprise can be good (eg getting a present you didn't expect) or bad (eg finding that someone has eaten the chocolate you were keeping).
Ask the child:
What did Barney expect his friends to do when they saw him?
When they didn't do it, how was he feeling?
Was it a good surprise or a bad one?
Did Barney expect to have a party when he got back to the junction?
How did he feel?
Was it a good surprise or a bad one?
Your child and feeling surprised
Ask the child:
Has something happened to you that you didn't expect?
What was it? Was it a good or a bad surprise?
How did it make you feel?
How might others have known that you were surprised?
Different people know different things
Ask the child:
Did the Transporters know it was Barney's birthday?
Did he know that they knew?
Did Barney know his friends were preparing a party for him?
Discuss how not knowing about something allows others to surprise you.
Withholding information
Ask the child:
If the Transporters knew that it was Barney's birthday, why didn't they wish him happy birthday?
Why was it important that they didn't tell him they knew?
Discuss the importance of withholding information to create a surprise.
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