When children are immersed in nature, they gain self confidence, grit, and problem solving skills that they can use to thrive in all areas of their lives. At Wasatch Nature School our goal is to help each child plant seeds of the wonder that will sprout into a lifelong connection to nature and learning.
Kristy Nuttall, Marketing Director/Head Nature Teacher
We believe during these hard times, the world needs something to keep them motivated and stay safe. That’s why we wrote this song – to remind our young audience that we are in a pandemic and the only way out is to follow guidelines and regulations. Unfortunately, we are not able to go out as often or see friends and family, so music is something that is bringing us together.
-Paridice Music
-Lorrie Holmes, Editor, Kids News & Reviews
Photo by @karribrantleyphoto
My name is Brayden Eaton, I’m a 13 year old actor that is based in Los Angeles, CA. I am originally from Detroit, MI, and I have been a professional actor now for 3 years. Since I was 5 years old, I had begged my parents to become an actor. Being the good parents they are, they made me wait until they knew I was really serious, which was when I turned 10 years old. They allowed me to do local stuff like musicals and local commercials, but I wanted to do more. I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It wasn’t a hobby, it’s something I loved to do, so much so, I wanted it to be my job. I’m excited to be sharing my story with you today as an example that no matter your age, if you believe in yourself while pursuing your dreams and you work hard enough, you can make them happen.
Brayden Eaton, Actor
Changing the world means making the impossible possible. It means having a vision, setting big, scary goals, and accomplishing them. It means believing in yourself no matter what.
Dana Perella, Founder of Cookies4Cures
Today we are excited to create this book review about Zoe the Crab who is the perfect
Growing up in Brazil and living in six different countries provided me an amazing opportunity to learn a lot about the children I worked with in all these multicultural environments. These children inspired me to create an imaginary world – one full of animals and fantasy.
Lucia Matuonto, Children’s Author & Illustrator
Interviewed by Lorrie Holmes
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself. Why you created your children’s books and what they are about.
LUCIA: I am a physiotherapist. I specialize in working with children with special needs, and I have enjoyed doing this for the past 14 years. For many years, I taught and treated children with motor and cognitive disabilities, and I have learned a lot about children through these experiences.
By CELESTE & NINO, aka the @rockinsiblings!
Pumpkins Can Have Feelings Too offers an important message about how to be accepted; to adapt to new environments, and to be proud of who YOU are.
Isabella Murphy, Award Winning Youth Author & Poet
KIDS NEWS & REVIEWS: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
ISABELLA: I’m the author of From Dark To Light. It’s a popular picture book for children and their families. I’m also the proud recipient of First Place Winner of the Penn Craft Award in the category of children’s books. I also write poetry and won the 2018 Half Moon Bay Library Teen Poetry Contest for my poem, “I Felt Rhapsodic,” inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson. I have presented numerous readings of my work to youth and adult audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. I love writing and sharing my stories, and also enjoy acting, playing guitar, singing, and golf.
Rising to take care of our children’s emotions during Covid is no easy task. According to Dr. Deborah MacNamara, showing up to take care of them has got to be one of the most daunting and yet rewarding parts of being a parent – especially at a time when we have so many extra emotions ourselves and feelings of uncertainty. I also think this is where the fulfillment happens. When we can get this piece, I think it’s such a big part of fulfilling the dance as a parent. It’s going to test every ounce of emotional maturity that we have and show us where we fall short of what we want from ourselves.
-Dr. Deborah MacNamara
As part of our Back To School theme, we are exploring many different ways to learn – from outdoors to in-class, online to at home. We will continue to share these resources for families during these unprecedented times. Today we are happy to include this homeschooling story about a mother and her daughter and how they went about finding their own resources for learning at home, and how this all grew into a joint project that has continued on.
What started out as a common interest in reading, creating, and exploring new places lead us to become the bloggers of My Kidz Bookshelf. We recently celebrated our one year ‘Blogiversary’ and are so excited to be featured by Kids News & Reviews today!
April
By Lorrie Holmes
Getting outdoors with our kids is a theme that I decided upon many weeks ago when focusing on Back To School recommendations for our families. It felt like an obvious choice to consider around social distancing. It wasn’t until I arranged to spend an afternoon joining in one of the forest camps offered by Saplings Outdoor Program that I was able to see for myself just how much is involved in such a program. This reaches far past the safety of taking learning outside while we are all wanting to have our own space, and delves deep into the areas of mindfulness, education, and overall health of each child who is lucky enough to participate.
Saplings Outdoor Program is located on Vancouver’s breathtaking North Shore. On this particular day, forest camp was in session at Douglas Woodward Park in West Vancouver. What an eye opener this was for me to witness how kids naturally self regulate, explore, and learn through play in the outdoors. Heather Fraser, Owner and Forest Educator, was there to greet me at the entrance, where I followed her and a small group of children into the woods. Off we went along a trail, then one by one, we climbed up onto a fallen tree, and crossed it to the other side. This is where we met up with the rest of the group who were busily exploring their surroundings around the base camp which was set up here for the day.
The goal of my program is not to educate children about nature, but to learn within it. Through play, exploration, and wonderment, learning about nature has become a natural byproduct of the program.
Heather Fraser, Owner/Forest Educator