Welcome to WFSU's Summer Challenge Kick Off with me.

Miss Haley.

Welcome to Every summer WFSU challenges you to learn something new, try something different and earn some prizes along the way.

And this year's Summer Challenge is all about well, challenges.

We all face different challenges that are kind of tough.

like learning something new in school or having to wait our turn during a really fun game.

It's like that part in the video game where you can't beat it until you level up.

If only there was a way to level up our skills in real life.

Well, that's it.

If we level up our skills like teamwork, like communication, like patience, we could beat any challenge.

But we can't do it alone.

Sometimes we need to practice with a mentor or a teacher.

If we want to level up our skills in real life.

Well, I've got some friends who have all sorts of skills and we're going to meet them today.

First, let's meet my friend Kyle who's a rock climber.

>>My name is Kyle Prim.

I'm the operations manager here at Alchemy Climbing.

What a rock climbing gym is, is we have artificial walls put up and then we have artificial holds connected to the walls.

Just like you would climb a tree, you would just reach up and start grabbing the holds and just climbing up towards the top.

So my favorite part about working at a rock gym is definitely working with people and kids coming in for the first time.

You get to help with that introduction into climbing, which can be scary, but once you show them that it's a pretty natural thing, then they start to open up and just have fun with it.

HALEY:As a climbing instructor, Kyle teaches people how to use their bodies and minds to reach their climbing goals.

With Kyle's help, I challenged myself to climb the rock wall.

First, I had to learn the beginning skills of climbing.

KYLE: Keep your arms straight.

You're almost kind of like resting.

You know.

if you were to just hang and then you want to get your feet up and then you want to not pull up with your arms.

but use your legs to get your weight over, get your weight over that foot and stand up on it.

So, climb on.

One of the skills that a good climber would need is route finding skills.

HALEY: A route is a path that climbers follow to get from the bottom of the wall to the top Climbers use route finding skills to map out their climb.

But that doesn't mean things always go according to plan.

>>Sometimes, you know, as you read it from the ground, when you get up there.

it's not quite the same.

And you're getting up the wall on, step at a time.

Coaching people to climb can be very challenging.

A lot of times, you don't want to just kind of give away the answer and just tell them where to put their foot.

KYLE: There you go.

So, yeah.

And then find a foot for your right foot.

There you go.

HALEY: When I was standing on the ground.

I wasn't scared to climb the wall.

But as I got closer to the top.

I realized just how high up I had climbed.

Maybe I'm getting a little scared now.

KYLE: That's pretty natural.

Not every climber doesn't have a fear of heights.

I'm still very afraid of heights.

Just when I'm climbing, I'm not focused on how high up I am.

I'm focused on what moves do I need to do.

Alright, you're almost there.

Grab the top.

There you go.

That's it.

I, you know, like most people, did not start out as a very advanced climber.

The biggest thing to understand about climbing is that we're all different and unique and have our own challenges.

And it's all about, you know, starting at the bottom.

And we got to find our own way up to the top.

>> Wow!

Rock climbing was kind of scary, but a lot of fun.

I really had to think ahead.

I had to be adaptable.

Adaptability means sometimes things don't go as planned.

And you have to try a new plan.

You have to do something a little unexpected.

Adaptability in rock climbing means maybe sometimes you have to stop.

You have to take a break.

And you have to come up with a new plan to get up the wall.

Sometimes, when you're overcoming an obstacle, you've got to be patient and get creative.

Here's an art activity that will help you practice creativity and patience.

This activity is a fun and a little messy way to get your creative juices flowing.

For bubble painting, you'll need some plastic containers, dish soap, straws, liquid watercolor or food coloring, water, and paper.

Cover the surface you'll be working on, this could get messy.

Pour some water into your containers and add some of your paint so the color is nice and bright, then gently stir in some dish soap.

Here's the tricky part.

Using the straw, blow carefully into the mixture to make a bunch of colorful bubbles, gently place your paper on top of the bubbles and pull it back.

See how the bubbles printed colorfully on the paper?

Art is a great way to practice patience because you have to try and try again to build up your creative skills.

Now, let's go meet another one of my friends, Eloy.

He fixes cars and I think he can help us level up with our skills.

>> Hi.

My name is Eloy.

co-owner of DT's Garage, along with my father.

We repair vehicles on a daily basis, just helping people get back on the road safely.

What an auto technician does is basically they try to figure out what's wrong with the car.

It's making clunk or a clank noise, they have to figure out where it's at.

It's kind of like being a detective.

You get to figure out what the problem with the car is and then you're able to fix it and end up with a beautiful sounding smooth machine.

HALEY: Auto technicians solve all kinds of car problems.

Today, Eloy is fixing a car that's making some funny noises.

ELOY: So this customer came in complaining that their car is running funny.

You can kind of hear it doesn't sound so good.

Let's go figure out what's going on with it.

So it looks like there's a cut on the ignition wire.

Let's fix this up real quick.

Should be good to go now.

All right.

Let's try it out.

Sounds much better.

It's running a lot smoother now.

HALEY: Eloy has lots of experience fixing cars.

but that doesn't mean he always knows the answers right away.

Sometimes it takes extra time to solve a difficult problem.

ELOY: You know you're going to hit a problem that you're not able to fix.

It's perfectly fine to take a break and take the step away and look at the bigger picture and be able to figure out exactly what it is.

Whether it's when you're sleeping at night.

you'll just remember that's where that bolt goes.

Or.

oh.

this is how this works.

But it's definitely... ...you know, you're determined to fix something.

Problem solving really gets you to the point where you can figure out the root cause of any issue and then overcome it.

whether it be stuff you have no idea of to stuff that you don't feel comfortable doing.

My favorite part about the job is to be able to fix people's cars that they didn't think was fixable.

To be able to have somebody come in that's upset and then leave with an extremely big smile on their face from being told that their car would never be able to be fixed and me fixing it in half the time that everybody else said in town.

I can go home with a smile on my face knowing I did my best for my customers.

I help the community hand in hand.

like.

right here and see the reactions.

it's fun.

I love it.

>> A car has lots of moving part and pieces.

just like a puzzle.

If you've ever put a puzzle together you've problem solved.

First, you have lots of different pieces and parts.

And one at a time, you put each piece where it goes in the puzzle until you make one big picture.

Sometimes it might feel frustrating or confusing.

but if you take it one piece at a time, you can solve any problem.

Do you hear that?

It sounds like an orchestra.

Do you know what an orchestra is?

My friend Allyson is a music teacher and she has a new skill that I think she can help us level up with.

Let's go meet her.

>>Hi.

I'm Allyson, and I am a violin and viola teacher, and I work with the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras.

So, an orchestra is a big group of people that all play different instruments.

So you have violins, violas, cellos, basses, and then you can have oboes and clarinets and trumpets and tubas and drums and all kinds of things.

And we all play different parts that create one piece of music.

HALEY: Every musician in an orchestra plays one instrument and every instrument works together to create one song.

Allyson teaches musicians how to play instruments called the viola and the violin.

But what makes a viola different from a violin?

>> So this is a viola.

you might think it's a violin looking at it right off the bat but it's not.

The viola is bigger than the violin and it's also lower than the violin.

You guys know this?

[ 🎵 Baby Shark ] I teach just about every day of the week.

I like that every student is different.

Each student is going to have issues with something different.

One of the most important things that they need to do when they start learning an instrument is set a daily practice time, because if they don't practice, they don't progress.

And then once they're past that point, the next step is for them to recognize: I'm having trouble with this and being able to identify what they're having trouble with so that they can come and ask me.

instead of just saying, well, I can't do it, so I gave up.

You always have to ask questions.

Three, four, one, two.

HALEY: When Allyson's students ask questions they use a skill called communication but asking questions isn't the only way to communicate.

Musicians use their bodies to communicate with each other when they play music.

We call this nonverbal communication.

ALLYSON: We use nonverbal commun in an orchestra because we can't talk to each other when we're playing.

We do.

We give cues with our breath because we can't talk to each other when we're playing.

Sometimes, if you sit close enough to an orchestra.

you'll hear the you'll see the movement.

And that's how we breathe together to know to come in together.

When we have to pitch together, it's a breath.

You'll hear the woodwinds and the brass all taking a deep breath together.

We also move when we play, when we're, like, passing passage to other people, we lean towards them.

It's kind of like a little musical dance.

It's a long road: the learning never ends.

It takes a lot of patience and time to master these instruments, but definitely be kind to yourself.

Not being nice to yourself is just going to slow down your progress.

>> Wow.

Who knew orchestras use so many different types of communication?

Do you ever get with somebody who's trying to tell you just by the sound of their voice like: wow.

I'm so happy.

Or, I'm happy.

Did you see the difference?

Or did you hear the difference?

I'm using so many different types of communication to tell you something.

Using the sound of my voice, the pitch of my voice, my body language, my facial expression.

There's so many different types of communication.

And you know what?

Everybody communicates just a little bit differently.

And I think that's something that makes each of us pretty unique.

Orchestras work together just like any other team.

Let's assemble some friends and try an activity that'll challenge our teamwork skills.

I've gathered a team of friends to help me create a tower of cups without using our hands to stack them.

First.

you want to get a first you want to get a rubber band, scissors, and some string.

Cut a string for every member of your team.

Then tie each end of the string to your rubber band to make a loop.

Then of course, you want to get some cups for stacking.

Each team member will hold the end of a loop and together, we slowly stretch the rubber band around the base of the cup and carefully pick it up and place each cup where we want it.

We had to concentrate, move slowly, listen to each other and encourage each other to help make the tower.

It was challenging, and sometimes we had to start over, but with some practice we made the tower of cups without using our hands.

Now it's time to meet one last friend who can help us level up our skills.

Let's go meet Crystal, who's a baker.

>> Hi.

my name is Crystal I'm the owner of SoDOUGH Baking Company.

I always knew I dreamed of owning a bakery one day.

I was in a beginning bakers class and that's kind of when my love for baking developed.

I started with a three-ingredient cookie recipe and I fell in love ever since.

HALEY: Every day, Crystal's bakery makes hundreds of yummy donuts to sell to hungry customers.

Bakers have to wake up really early to prepare fresh treats before the sun rises.

>> We come in when we bake at 4 a.m. in the morning and we turn the proofer on.

And the proofer is kind of like a warm bath for our donuts.

Then we'll fry the donuts and once they've cooled.

we get to put all of the icing and the fun sprinkles on them.

The sprinkles are my favorite part because they kind of jazz it up a little bit and then we open around 7 a.m.

So, around 6:30 I put some coffee on so people can have warm coffee to go with their donuts, and then we open around 7 a.m. Then at 7:00. we open up the shop so people can come in and take donuts to work or to their schools or just for themselves and enjoy a treat.

HALEY: For Crystal, making tasty donuts is just as important as making sure every customer is treated with kindness.

Not everyone can eat the same ingredients, so Crystal uses her listening skills to make sure there are donuts for every customer to enjoy at her bakery.

CRYSTAL: I put a post online on our website to ask what products we could put in our store that we don't currently have and we had a huge response from people with dairy and egg allergies that would like a donut that didn't have either one of those things.

So it was a real challenge for me to learn how to work with new ingredients like almond milk and coconut oil.

And it took several tries.

I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to put out a great product.

And then right when I was about ready to give up, we finally nailed it.

It's delicious and it's a huge crowd pleaser.

People come in just for that donut now.

It's always important to treat everybody that comes in our shop with kindness.

serving our sweets to the smile I always tell my staff, and I try to teach my staff to be kind to others.

You never know what people are going through when they come in our shop and I want to make sure that they leave with a smile on their face no matter what their day's doing.

It's so fun to get to come in and do what you love every day and it's infectious.

You know, when you're full of happiness and people come in, you're able to pour that into them whenever you pass the donut box over to them.

>> Who knew that kindness was a skill we could level up in every single day and think of all the things that we've leveled up in thanks to our friends.

They've helped us with problem solving, communication, with kindness.

with adaptability.

And I wonder what skills we could level up in next.

Oh, I've got one for you.

We have our Summer Challenge checklist.

The checklist is full of activities for you to check off all summer long and as you finish each activity.

you can earn points, and with each point you can earn a prize at the end of the summer.

To find the checklist.

visit WFSU dot org slash summer challenge.

You can also visit any Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library Branch to find a free Summer Challenge bag.

Well, I've had so much fun visiting with you friends during this amazing Summer Challenge Kick Off adventure and I hope you have an amazing summer leveling up.

Have a great summer and I'll see you next time.

Bye!