The life of 4-year-old Daniel Tiger and his friends as they learn fun and practical strategies and skills necessary for growing and learning.
Today is Daniel Tiger’s birthday! Daniel is very excited to go to Baker Aker’s bakery to help his Mom pick out a cake for his party, and so proud that his mom lets him carry the cake himself. But when they arrive back home after a bumpy ride on Trolley, he discovers that his birthday cake is smooshed! What a disappointment. His father helps him see that there are good things even in a smooshed cake – it’s yummy.
Daniel Tiger and his friends Prince Wednesday and Miss Elaina are having a picnic at the park near the clock factory. When it starts to rain, their picnic is ruined, leaving them very disappointed. Dad Tiger helps them turn their disappointment around with an inside picnic instead – inside the clock factory where the friends find something else good when they get to hear “chime time” together.
Daniel is visiting school for the first time and is a little nervous because he doesn’t know what it will be like there. He packs his backpack with his favorite playthings from home – a lot of things! Teacher Harriet shows him around his classroom, and Daniel is surprised to find so many familiar things there. He learns that asking questions is one way to learn about something that’s new – and to feel more comfortable there.
Daniel goes to the doctor for his regular check up. Before his visit, he’s feeling a little uneasy – about one stripe scared, even if he knows he will not need to get a shot. Daniel and Mom Tiger talk, draw and play about some of the things that Dr. Anna will use – a stethoscope, an otoscope, a scale and more. With Tigey and his homemade doctor book in hand, Daniel learns that it also helps to talk with Dr. Anna about what will happen.
Mom and Dad Tiger are going out for the evening, and Prince Tuesday comes to be Daniel’s babysitter. As Daniel gets ready for bed, he misses his Mom and Dad. But Prince Tuesday reminds him that his parents will be back soon. When Tigey goes missing right before bedtime, Daniel learns what a grr-ific babysitter Prince Tuesday is. And his trust continues to build when he sees that his parents do come back, just as they promised.
Daniel joins his friends Prince Wednesday, Katerina Kittycat, O the Owl and Miss Elaina at school, but doesn’t want his Dad to leave, until Dad Tiger reminds him that ‘grownups come back.’ Miss Elaina is missing her mom and has lost her special locket with her mom’s picture in it. The children help Miss Elaina find her locket. Before long the school day is over and, just as promised, the grownups come back to take their children home.
Daniel Tiger and his friend Prince Wednesday are very excited to play at the beach today. But then it rains, and Mom Tiger says they cannot play outside, making them very mad. Mom Tiger helps the boys with their mad feelings and find ways to calm down and think. They take a deep breath, count to 4, and that helps them make a grr-ific new plan — to make an inside beach instead!
Daniel and his friends are excited to be able to try the new instruments at Music Man Stan’s Music Shop. But Katerina Kittycat really wants to play the triangle. She gets very,very mad when someone else picks the instrument she wants to play. Music Man Stan helps Katerina find ways to deal with her mad feelings – like taking a deep breath, counting to 4 – and then dancing and stomping and singing.
Friends Daniel and Katerina Kittycat are playing “house” today at school. Prince Wednesday wants to play too, but he wants to be a loud dinosaur. Katerina tells him that loud dinosaurs are not allowed! He’ll wake the baby! The friends work on finding a way to play together, and Prince Wednesday joins in by pretending to be a quiet, friendly dinosaur.
Friends Daniel and O the Owl are at Miss Elaina’s house in the Museum-Go-Round today. She’s very excited because she has planned a special “backwards day.” But O isn’t excited about this backward play – in fact he’s quite uncomfortable about so many backward things. With the help of Miss Elaina’s father, Music Man Stan, the friends find a way to play together.
Daniel has come to play with Miss Elaina today! They decide to play “outer space,” but Miss Elaina gets upset when her cardboard telescope and spaceship accidentally break. Her mother, Lady Elaine, helps the friends see that they can still have fun together, even without the toys – just because they’re friends! They use their imaginations to keep playing, which is just as much fun!
Daniel is visiting Prince Wednesday at the Castle and Daniel is excited about all the things Prince Wednesday has in his room – especially his rock collection. But the rocks aren’t for playing – they’re just for looking. Daniel and Prince Wednesday learn that friendship is about more than just playing with each other’s toys – it’s about being together!
Daniel is visiting his friend Katerina Kittycat who has planned a special tea party. When Katerina accidentally knocks the tea set on the floor, she is sad and upset. But she learns that there are lots of ways that friends help each other, and putting everything back is just one of those ways.
Daniel is visiting at O the Owl’s house and Daniel is excited to see how many books O has. The boys choose a special book to read – a book about dinosaurs. But they discover that the last page of the story is missing! O gets very flustered, but his friend Daniel helps him use his imagination, and together they have lots of pretend fun making up their own end to the story.
When Dad receives a letter from Grandpere, Daniel sees how happy Dad is. Daniel really loves Dad, so he decides to send him a letter too. Then he goes to the Post Office with Mom, where he learns how letters are sorted and mailed. He even joins Mr. McFeely on his “speedy delivery” to give Dad his very special letter!
Daniel wants to surprise Mom Tiger with her favorite banana bread because he knows how much she likes it – and “making something is one way to say I love you.” He and Dad go to Baker Aker’s Bakery, where they learn about the bread-making process. They return home to surprise Mom and she happily shares the banana bread gift with them too!
The Tiger family is making strawberry pancakes for breakfast this morning, but they are out of strawberries. Mom, Dad and Daniel all head to the Enchanted Garden so they can pick their own strawberries. Daniel is very curious, and learns that if he looks closely, he may be able to learn something new as he answers his own questions about how strawberries grow.
Daniel Tiger, Miss Elaina, and Katerina Kittycat take a trip to the factory to see how people make crayons. Their friend O the Owl has to stay home because he’s not feeling well. At the factory, the children watch the crayons being made. Daniel looks and listens closely because that’s one way to learn. Daniel has an idea to take pictures at the factory and give them to O at the end of the day, so that O can learn about crayons too!
Daniel and his friends are playing together in the park. Daniel has a new toy car and isn’t ready to share it with the others. But with his Dad’s help, Daniel learns that sharing means someone else gets to take a turn, and then he’ll get it back.
Daniel is playing at Katerina’s house and the friends decide to perform a Jungle Dance show. Daniel wants to be a lion, and Katerina wants to be a dancing flower, but they both need the same tutu for their costume. With Henrietta’s help they find a way to share the tutu and perform a grr-ific Jungle Dance show!
Prince Wednesday is in the block corner at school building the “tallest tower in the world!” Even though he needs to go to the bathroom, he doesn’t want to stop what he is doing. Teacher Harriet helps him learn how important it is to stop and go right away.
Dad Tiger’s trumpet is broken, so he takes Daniel along to Music Man Stan’s Shop to get it fixed. While at the shop, Daniel needs to go to the bathroom, but thinks he will have to wait until they get home. Music Man Stan explains that everyone goes to the bathroom, and Daniel learns that he can use the bathroom there – or anywhere else in the neighborhood.
Daniel and his friends are enjoying a Fruit Festival in the Enchanted Garden. Prince Wednesday is upset because his big brother Prince Tuesday can pick the highest fruit off the tree branches, but he can’t. He wishes he wasn’t so little! Then, when the festival-goers spot a very special magical golden pear on the ground, Prince Wednesday is the only one little enough to reach it.
Dad Tiger is building a playhouse, and Daniel wants to help. Daniel is frustrated that he is not big enough to use the grown up tools. Dad Tiger shows Daniel that there are things he can do to help that he’s just the right size for.
Daniel is so excited to share a book he made with his class at “show and tell,” but he’s finding it very difficult to wait. He finds that doing something, like singing on Trolley, playing during science time and imagining make the waiting much easier!
Daniel and his family are going out to dinner, and Katerina is coming too. Daniel and Katerina have a hard time waiting at the restaurant, but soon learn ways to make the waiting time easier…and even fun!
Grandpere Tiger comes to visit, but Daniel is sad that Grandpere can’t stay for the special “Thank You Day” celebration later that day. Daniel learns to be thankful for the time they DO have together, and is then surprised when Grandpere appears at the celebration after all!
It’s Thank You Day in the Neighborhood– a special celebration when each of the neighbors puts a note in the “Thank You Tree” as a way to say thank you to one another. Daniel has trouble deciding who of his neighbors he wants to thank with his note. The episode ends with a Thank You Day feast with all the neighbors celebrating together.
The Tiger family is going to Clock Factory Park today to hear a big announcement from King Friday. Daniel has to make several choices throughout the day, culminating in one BIG group decision: King Friday announces that the children can choose one new piece of playground equipment by voting for the one they want.
At school Daniel and his classmates get to choose their new class pet. Teacher Harriet explains that they can either get a bunny or a turtle. The children learn what it means to ‘vote’ and that sometimes it doesn’t always turn out your way. Each of the children find something to love about their new pet, ‘Snowball’!
Teacher Harriet introduces Daniel and his friends to the school’s vegetable garden and asks them to help her pick out some healthy vegetables for their snack. They explore the garden, picking and trying different vegetables…but not everyone is eager to taste the new foods.
Miss Elaina is having dinner with the Tiger family and she encourages Daniel to try some new food: Vegetable Spaghetti and Banana Swirl. Daniel is convinced he won’t like Veggie Spaghetti, even though he’s never tried it before. Miss Elaina encourages him to be adventurous and try the new food. She does the same herself, and even though she doesn’t like all of it, she’s proud of herself for trying.
It’s a typical morning in the Tiger household, and Daniel has to get up and get ready for school, but his playing and imagining distract him from his routine. Daniel learns that his morning routine helps him be ready in time for Trolley to take him to school.
Tonight, Daniel is pretending to be Super Daniel! But after dinner, he has to follow his nighttime routine even though he would rather play. Young viewers follow Daniel as he gets ready for bed and learns that even superheroes get sleepy and go to bed, too.
Daniel has an appointment at the doctor today and he has to get a shot. He is very apprehensive and does not want to go. So Daniel asks Mom Tiger questions about the shot, and she shares her trick for staying brave in scary situations. And Daniel finds that the shot was not so bad after all!
Daniel and O the Owl are having fun playing outside in the rain until a thunderstorm builds up and worries them. When Mom Tiger teaches them to think of something happy, O and Daniel learn that the thunderstorm is not so scary after all!
Daniel, Miss Elaina and Prince Wednesday are at the park with Prince Tuesday. They decide to play a game with a ball. Daniel struggles to catch the ball and gets very frustrated. All of his friends remind him that if he keeps on trying, he’ll get better.
In the block corner at school, O the Owl is determined to use all of the blocks to build the tallest tower in the world. When the blocks keep falling O feels ready to give up, but Teacher Harriet and his friends encourage him to keep trying.
Daniel goes to his friend Prince Wednesday’s for a sleepover. They brush and wash and get ready for bed, but as they get ready to go to sleep they notice some things that could be just a little bit scary. Once they investigate further, they learn the things they are seeing actually aren’t scary at all!
Daniel and O the Owl are camping in the backyard with Dad Tiger. This is O’s first time sleeping in a tent and he is feeling a little unsure. Once he examines this new setting closely, he learns that it’s not so scary! In fact, different can be fun!
The children are putting on a show at school today, each doing something that makes them special. O the Owl wants to be just like the others but, with a little encouragement, he learns that there are things that make him special, too.
Daniel and Dad take a walk through the neighborhood, admiring the colors of the leaves. On their way, they meet Miss Elaina and O the Owl who each do special things that make Daniel wonder if he is as special as they are. Dad reminds Daniel of the things that make him special, like his whimsical imagination!
In school the children are all helping Teacher Harriet with a big art project: creating a dancing dragon! Everyone is eager to finish so the dragon can dance, but they learn that they need to work together so the big project can be finished.
It is Teacher Harriet’s birthday and the children want to surprise her. Mom Tiger helps them decorate the classroom with streamers and the children learn that they need to work together to make a special birthday present surprise.
Daniel and O the Owl are playing “farm” at Daniel’s house. They are having a lot of fun, but are making quite a mess! After losing his watch in a messy room, Daniel realizes that cleaning up and putting his toys away will help him find it.
A wind storm has made a mess of the Neighborhood playground and no one can play. When King Friday proclaims that it is Clean Up Day, everyone helps by throwing away and recycling the trash. The children learn that they can all work together.
Daniel's teacher has her students use their imaginations while playing with a cardboard box, but O the Owl has some trouble; while pretending to be superhero with Grandpere, Daniel notices his dad forgot his lunch and decides to bring it to him.
Daniel and Grandpere are at home pretending to be superheroes when Daniel notices that Dad has forgotten to take his lunch to work with him. He and Grandpere take Dad’s lunchbox to the Clock Factory and Daniel uses his imagination to have super adventures along the way.
Daniel is having lots of fun playing “farm”, until, as Mom Tiger is cleaning up, she accidentally ruins Daniel’s game. Grrr! Mom helps Daniel use his words to tell her how he is feeling so she can understand why he is upset.
Daniel and his friends are playing “train” at school, but things aren’t going Katerina’s way. Meow! Katerina learns that others will not be able to help her if they don’t understand why she is upset. She finds a way to use her words and her friends find ways to help so that they can all play together!
