Wish Upon a Star: Why Humans Make Wishes

Why do people make wishes when a shooting star flashes across the sky? And can a wish become more than something we quietly hope will happen?

In Wish Upon a Star, young explorers journey through meteor science, history, and cultural traditions to discover why the night sky has inspired wishes for generations. We’ll learn what a “shooting star” really is, explore how meteor showers form, and uncover the history behind the familiar “Star Light, Star Bright” rhyme.

Then we’ll travel to Japan for Tanabata, the Star Festival. Listeners will hear the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi and learn why people write wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku.

Along the way, children will consider how wishes, prayers, and other expressions of hope can reveal what matters most to people.

But a wish does not have to remain only a wish. Through imagination, movement, and reflection, children will explore how one small action can help a hope begin to grow.

In This Episode, Young Explorers Will:

Discover what a shooting star really is
Learn how meteor showers form
Explore why rare moments in the sky have inspired wishing traditions
Hear the history of the “Star Light, Star Bright” rhyme
Visit Japan to learn about Tanabata
Meet Orihime and Hikoboshi through a beloved star story
Learn how tanzaku are used during the Star Festival
Imagine watching a meteor shower
Join a shooting-star movement activity
Play Wish, Star, or Step
Practice turning a meaningful hope into one manageable action

Play Along: Wish, Star, or Step

Can you tell the difference between a wish, a fact about the night sky, and an action someone can take?

During Wish, Star, or Step, listeners sort statements into three categories:

Wish: Something a person hopes will happen
Star: A scientific fact about meteors or the night sky
Step: An action that can help a hope grow

Try creating your own examples after the episode. Begin with a wish, and then name one safe, realistic step you could take.

This Week’s Challenge: Star Seed Steps

Choose one hope that matters to you. It might be something you hope to learn, improve, create, or change.

Next, choose one small action you can take this week. Your step does not need to accomplish the entire goal. Like planting a seed, it simply helps you begin.

Celebrate taking the step... even if the complete wish has not come true yet.

Belief Backpack Takeaway

Today’s idea to carry with you is:

Hopes become stronger when we turn them into actions.

Wishes can help us recognize what matters to us. We cannot control every outcome, but we can look for the choices that are ours to make. One thoughtful action may be the beginning of something meaningful.

Continue the Conversation

After listening, ask:

What surprised you about shooting stars?
Why do you think people make wishes during unusual or beautiful moments?
What did you learn about Tanabata?
How is a wish different from a step?
Which hopes can our actions influence?
What is one small step you could take this week?

Listen to Wish Upon a Star with your family, class, homeschool group, or curious young stargazer—and discover how science, tradition, wonder, and action can meet beneath the same night sky.

Visit FaithfullyExplore.com for more episodes, educational resources, book recommendations, and activities that help children explore world beliefs, cultures, stories, and big ideas.

Laura: 00:00:00

Explorers, I have a question for you.

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Have you ever made a wish?

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Maybe you wished on birthday candles.

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Maybe you wished on a dandelion puff.

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Maybe you wished really, really hard

that the broccoli on your plate would

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magically turn into mac and cheese.

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No judgment, I understand.

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Today, we're talking about one of the most

famous wishes of all, a wish upon a star.

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Picture it.

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You're outside at night, the sky is

dark, you look up, and suddenly, whoosh!

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A bright streak of light

zips across the sky.

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A shooting star.

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Quick, make a wish.

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Wait, why do people make

wishes when they see one?

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I'm Laura.

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Today in our Faithfully Explore

series, Sky Stories: Wonder Written

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in the Stars, we are exploring wish

upon a star, why humans make wishes.

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Let's look up, wonder together,

and faithfully explore.

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Faithfully Explore! Intro:

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faithfully Explore!

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is the name.

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Learning together is our aim.

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Beliefs around the globe we'll track,

filling up our Belief Backpack.

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Laura: All right, explorers,

let's begin with a sky surprise.

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A shooting star is not actually a star.

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A real star is a huge glowing

ball of hot gas like our sun.

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A shooting star begins as a

much smaller piece of rock

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or dust moving through space.

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While it is still in space,

it is called a meteoroid.

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When it races into Earth's

atmosphere, the air around it

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becomes extremely hot and glows.

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That quick streak of

light is called a meteor.

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So when you see a shooting star,

you are really seeing a meteor

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moving across the sky, which is

less poetic, but still amazing.

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Imagine a tiny space crumb yelling, "Wee!"

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as it zips through the atmosphere.

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During certain times of year, Earth

passes through trails of rock and dust

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left behind by comets or asteroids.

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Then we might see lots

of meteors in one night.

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That's called a meteor shower.

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Not a shower like in your bathroom.

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A meteor shower is when many

streaks of light appear in the

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night sky because Earth is passing

through a dusty space trail.

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Some famous meteor showers happen

every year, like the Perseids

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in August, the Geminids in

December, and the Lyrids in April.

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So science says a shooting star is a

meteor, but humans say, "Make a wish."

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Why?

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Because it is sudden.

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Because it is beautiful.

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Because it disappears quickly.

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Because for one bright

second, the sky surprises us.

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And when something rare and

bright happens, people often

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feel like it means something.

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And now that we know shooting

stars are not stars, does that

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mean wishing on them is silly?

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No.

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A wish is not a science fact.

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A wish is a way to name what your heart

hopes for, and humans have been naming

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hopes under the sky for a long, long time.

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Long before movies told

people to wish upon stars,

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children were already doing it.

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In an English language folk tradition,

children watched the evening sky and

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waited for its first bright star.

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When one appeared, they recited

a little rhyme, "Star light, star

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bright, first star I see tonight.

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I wish I may, I wish I might,

have this wish I wish tonight."

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Then they quietly made a secret wish.

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No one knows who invented

"Star light, star bright."

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It belongs to the world of folklore.

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Rhymes, stories, and customs passed

from one person to another, often

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long before anyone writes them down.

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One of the earliest known

written versions appeared in an

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American book published in 1866.

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Its words were almost

but not exactly the same.

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Instead of saying "First

star I see tonight," it said,

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"First star I seen tonight."

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That tiny difference gives us a clue

about how folk traditions travel.

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Children hear the words, remember

them, repeat them, and sometimes

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change them along the way.

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The custom of wishing on the

first evening star might be even

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older than the printed rhyme.

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By the early 1900s, the rhyme had

reached Britain, and it eventually

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became familiar in many other places.

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And here is a sky-watching surprise.

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The first star a child spotted may

not have always been a star at all.

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Sometimes it could have been

Venus, a bright planet that often

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appears shortly after sunset.

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But the important part was the pause.

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For one quiet moment, a child looked

up at the enormous sky and thought

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about something they deeply hoped for.

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Children who say the rhyme today are

joining a chain of wishers stretching

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back more than one hundred fifty years.

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Now, let's travel to Japan for a festival

filled with stars, wishes, and bamboo.

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In Japan, there is a summer

star festival called Tanabata.

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Tanabata is connected to an old story

about two stars, Vega and Altair.

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In the story, the star Vega is connected

with Orihime, the weaver princess Altair

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is connected with Hikoboshi, the cowherd.

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Orihime and Hikoboshi love each other,

but they are separated by the Milky Way,

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imagined as a wide river in the sky.

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Once a year, on the seventh day of the

seventh month, they are allowed to meet.

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Birds called magpies form a bridge

across the sky so the two can cross.

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If you listened to our Milky Way episode,

you may remember the River of Heaven.

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During Tanabata, people often write

wishes on colorful strips of paper called

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tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches.

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These tanzaku wishes might be

about school, friendship, family,

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health, dreams, creativity, or

becoming better at something.

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The beautiful part of Tanabata

is that the wish is written down.

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It becomes visible.

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It hangs in the breeze.

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It is shared with the stars.

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Writing a wish can make it feel more real.

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Tanabata wishes are not only about

wanting, they are often about becoming.

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Becoming braver, becoming

wiser, becoming more skilled.

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A wish can point us

toward who we want to be.

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Now let's talk about another

way humans share hopes: prayer.

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In many religions, people do

not call their hopes wishes.

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They might call them prayers.

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A prayer can be a way to

speak, listen, thank, ask,

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praise, or hope with the heart.

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Some people pray to God.

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Some pray to many gods.

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Some pray to ancestors,

saints, or spiritual beings.

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Some meditate.

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Some send loving thoughts.

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Some people do not pray at all.

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That is okay too.

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Faithfully Explore is a place

where we learn with respect.

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A wish and a prayer are

not exactly the same thing.

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For many people, prayer is sacred.

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It is connected to their faith and

relationship with God or the divine.

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But wishes and prayers can

both show us something.

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Humans hope.

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We hope when someone is sick.

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We hope when we feel scared.

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We hope before a big day.

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We hope for food, safety, friendship,

courage, forgiveness, and love.

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Think about that.

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A kid whispering a prayer before bed,

a family lighting a candle, a person

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writing a wish on paper during Tanabata, a

child looking up and saying, "Star light,

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star bright, first star I see tonight."

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All of them are saying in different ways,

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"This matters to me."

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"I hope."

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"Please."

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But here's the tricky part about wishes.

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Saying the wish is only the beginning.

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If I say, "I wish to learn to

ride a bike," but I never touch a

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bike, my wish may just sit there

wearing a tiny helmet and waiting.

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If I say, "I wish to be kinder,"

but I never choose kind words,

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my wish stays in the sky.

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If I say, "I wish to make a friend,"

but I never smile, share, or say hello,

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My wish may not know where to go.

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Wishes need action steps.

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Let's practice.

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I'll say a wish, and

you tell me an action.

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Wish: I want to be a better reader.

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Maybe an action could be

read a little bit each day.

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Wish: I want to make a new friend.

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Maybe your action could be to say

hello or invite someone new to play.

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Wish: I want to help the planet.

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Action: pick up litter,

recycle, or use less waste.

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Wish: I want to be brave.

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Action.

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Try one small, scary, but safe thing.

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You are turning wishes into action steps.

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That is powerful.

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Now, before we cross our friendship

bridge, let's return to the

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night sky and meteor showers.

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Imagine with me

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Imagine laying on a

blanket outside at night.

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The air is cool.

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You are looking up.

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At first, nothing happens.

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Still nothing.

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Still nothing.

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Then whoosh, a meteor

streaks across the sky.

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Everyone gasps.

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Then another whoosh, and

maybe another whoosh.

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Meteor showers teach us

something about patience.

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You cannot rush a meteor shower.

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You cannot stand outside and

shout, "Excuse me, sky, I

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ordered three shooting stars."

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You wait, you watch, you keep looking up.

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That is a little bit like hope.

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Some hopes happen quickly, some

take time, some require patience,

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some need us to keep showing up.

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And sometimes, after waiting in

the dark, something bright happens.

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Let's do a meteor shower movement.

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Start by crouching low like a quiet night.

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Now, slowly look up.

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Wait.

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Wait Wait.

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Now shoot one arm across the sky.

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Whoosh.

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Crouch down again.

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Wait.

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Wait.

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Shoot the other arm.

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Whoosh.

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Now stand up and make tiny

star fingers all around you.

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Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

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Beautiful meteor shower.

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Again, we waited first, then we moved.

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Hope often asks us to wait and act, both.

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Not just wait, not just run around

wildly yelling, "I have a dream."

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Hope needs patience and practice.

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Let's cross our Friendship Bridge.

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Today, our friendship bridge is

made of wishes tied to stars.

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On one side, we have science.

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A shooting star is really a meteor,

a bright streak caused when a

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tiny space rock or dust particle

burns through Earth's atmosphere.

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Meteor showers happen when Earth

passes through trails of space dust.

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On another side, we have kids

saying, "Star light, star bright."

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On another side, we have Tanabata,

and people writing wishes on

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colorful Tanzaku paper and hanging

them on bamboo beneath the stars.

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On another side, we have prayers and hope.

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People around the world lift up what

matters to them in many different

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ways: prayer, meditation, wishes,

songs, candles, silence, and action.

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Different cultures, different words,

but one shared human feeling: hope.

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Hope says things can change.

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Hope says I can become.

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Hope says the future is not finished yet.

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And now, my hopeful

explorers, it is game time.

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It's game time.

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Welcome to Wish, Star, or Step.

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Here is how it works.

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I will say something.

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You decide if it is a wish, a

star fact, or an action step.

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If it is a wish, put your

hand over your heart.

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If it is a star fact, point to the sky.

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If it is an action step, march in place.

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Ready?

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Round one.

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I hope I can learn to swim.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Wish.

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Hands over your heart.

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Round two.

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A shooting star is really a

meteor, not an actual star.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Star fact.

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Point to the sky.

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Round three.

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I will practice kicking in the

pool with a grown-up helping me.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Action step.

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March, march, march.

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Round four.

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During Tanabata, people write wishes

on tanzaku and hang them on bamboo.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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That one is a star tradition fact.

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Point to the sky and maybe

pretend to hang a paper wish.

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Round five.

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I hope our family has a peaceful year.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Wish.

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Hands over your heart.

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Round six: I will use calm

words when I feel frustrated.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Action step.

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Round seven: I wish my

room would clean itself.

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Wish, star fact, or action step?

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Wish, and a very popular wish.

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But what action step could help?

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Maybe I will put away five toys.

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Let's march in place and

pretend to pick up five toys.

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One, two, three, four, five.

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Look at that.

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Your wish just became an action step.

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Give yourself a round of applause.

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What's inside our belief

backpack this week?

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Today we explored why humans make wishes.

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We learned that shooting stars are

really meteors, bright streaks of

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light from tiny space rocks or dust

burning through Earth's atmosphere.

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We learned that meteor showers happen when

Earth passes through trails of stardust.

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We learned that American kids have been

wishing on stars for over 150 years.

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We traveled to Tanabata in Japan,

where people write wishes on

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tanzaku and hang them on bamboo.

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We thought about prayers, hopes,

and wishes, and how people around

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the world lift up what matters

to them in many different ways.

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So what goes in our Belief Backpack?

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Today's Belief Backpack takeaway is:

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Hopes become stronger when

we turn them into actions.

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A wish is not bad.

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A wish is a beginning.

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A wish says, "This matters."

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But an action step says, "I will help."

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If you wish for friendship,

try saying hello.

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If you wish to be brave,

try one small brave thing.

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If you wish to help the

world, start one kind action.

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This week's challenge is

called Star Seed Steps.

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Here's how it works.

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First, choose one hope.

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Second, write it, draw

it, or say it out loud.

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Third, choose one tiny action step.

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Not a giant step.

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Not, "I will become the world's

best soccer player by Thursday."

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A tiny step.

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"I will practice for 10 minutes."

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Then do the step.

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That's it.

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That is how a wish becomes a star seed.

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Thank you for joining me for the

final episode of "Sky Stories:

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Wonder Written in the Stars."

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In this series, we have followed rabbits

on the Moon, hunters and bears in the

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constellations, rivers of stars, Moon

phases, and wishes carried into the sky.

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And do you know what we discovered?

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The sky is not just

above us, it is a mirror.

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People look up and see stories,

questions, calendars, memories,

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: 00:21:35

hopes, and directions.

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: 00:21:38

The sky helps us wonder,

and wonder helps us grow.

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: 00:21:43

So the next time you see a constellation,

the Moon, a meteor, or even one tiny

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: 00:21:50

sparkle through a cloudy sky, remember,

you are part of a world full of stories.

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: 00:21:57

You are part of a universe full

of wonder, and your hopes matter

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most when you help them grow.

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I'm Laura, and this has

been Faithfully Explore.

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Until next time, stay curious, stay

kind, and keep faithfully exploring

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that wonderful world around you.

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: 00:22:17

Oh, and if you see a shooting star

tonight, go ahead and make a wish.

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: 00:22:22

Then tomorrow, take one tiny step.

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: 00:22:25

Faithfully Explore! Outro:

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: 00:22:25

Faithfully Explore!

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: 00:22:28

is about you.

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: 00:22:33

Let's grow kinder together it's true!

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