Coming soon: a great new video series about hibernating animals from my dear friend and collaborator *kids in the hive* (The Boy Who Was Fire)! Ranger Robin is delightful, sharing fun facts and animal noises, along with mindfulness and prosocial behavior building activities, all from the breathtakingly gorgeous Arcata Community Forest. ❤️
Be sure to Subscribe to their YouTube channel so you don’t miss any fun!
🔥 Video Premiere!🔥
In commemoration of International Earth Day, I am pleased to premiere a new video in collaboration with Pockets of…Publishing & Kids in the Hive.
The Boy Who Was Fire is a children’s book written by Marcus Kahle McCann & illustrated by Zita Varga. It begins with a small fire born to a tree and a bolt of lightning. This is a lyrical story of growth, redemption, and new beginnings. Appropriate for ages 5 years and older.
I am moved by this creative vision of what might happen if we put our fears of the unknown aside and lean into each other with compassion, recognizing the beauty and humanity of the person in front of us.
If you enjoy the book, you can purchase a signed hardcopy from Pockets of…Publishing.
I am grateful for MaryAnn Clark (MAC, All Play Productions/*kids in the hive*) reaching out early on in pandemic to ask if I wanted to collaborate on a video for The Boy Who Was Fire. She is a joy and I look forward to many more cooperative playground outings!
Happy 3rd birthday to my story baby, Lightbulb Heart!
Birthday #2 was rightfully sidelined by pandemic. I consoled myself that I had at least gotten to eat cupcakes and read aloud with kiddos at the Paper Bag Princess events at Epic Books.
This last year has been hard for us all, and I’m taking a moment to mark some of the hurdles, disappointments, and joys I’ve encountered with my little biz child. I started a YouTube channel and more intentionally locally lending my library, wrote (and rewrote) a ton, made some noise for local equity and access orgs, and began a couple of local and cross-border collaborations that have been incredibly rewarding – one of which you’ll get to see the fruits of on March 20, so stay tuned!
I’m so grateful for all of the caregivers and teachers who entrusted their kiddos to me over Zoom, FaceTime, MarcoPolo, Messenger, and YouTube. You have been a real source of solace and purpose for me this last year and I cannot thank you enough!
I also could not have gotten through all of these months of isolation without the beautiful people of A Shared Table’s Storylab who kept me inspired, making, and going. 🥰
I’m taking a breath, blowing out some candles, and on to year 4!
In January, 2020, I joined a small group of co-facilitators to plan curriculum for what we intended to be three IBPOC-centered creative lab sessions and a public pop-up for stories to be told, art to be shown, and food to be shared in March and April. Cue pandemic. Co-facilitators and Artists alike pivoted gracefully and exceeded our wildest expectations. We’re now in month 10 of online gatherings for what we affectionately call “Storylab,” sharing life and new and in-progress creative works of all kinds. We are happy to announce the launch of an online exhibit on January 11, 2021!
This community of Artists is balm and magic. Please check out the promo video below, created by the incredible Vuelo con Los Angeles, and follow @asharedtable.ca on Instagram for more information on all of the Storylab participants and the upcoming exhibit!
My creative process was cracked wide open in Storylab by the wisdom and openness of the Artists on this journey. I create work differently now because of them. (IG links in the video post above!) Rafay makes gorgeous music. Rucha is full of deep creativity and a commitment to wellness for self and others. I don’t think there’s anything Sobia can’t do creatively or in any other realm. Sarah puts beauty and goodness into the world.
And dear Co-Facilitators:
Eli Farinango, Kichwa Photographer/Beautiful Human, encourages me to just make things rather than editing and filtering myself before I even begin. I’ve started creating in different media that I was too afraid to choose before my time with her. I encourage a deep dive into her photographic world.
I first heard the rich storytelling gifts of Pat Wright (G’ama Trica) at A Shared Table’s “Sankofa” event in September, 2019. I have benefitted greatly from her creative prompts and guidance about storytelling craft, teaching, and life.
Extra special shout out to Bernadette Arthur, Founder and Chief Experience Officer of A Shared Table. She challenges me to step up in hard, necessary, and beautiful ways, encourages me, and holds me accountable. She also makes me laaaaaaaugh and takes wonder-filled crunchy newfallen snow walks in the woods. It is my deep honour to call her friend.
Joy.
MAKE SOME NOISE! Do you love an equity/access organization in your community that’s working for justice, safe water, youth wellness, food/housing/income security, etc.? If the answer is YES, make some noise and tell me about them! Use the form below and let me know who they are and what they’re doing that makes you excited. If you work for one of these organizations, you are more than welcome to participate!
WHY? I will promote their beautiful doings.
THEN WHAT? You’ll be entered into a drawing for a FREE personalized, online storytime for you and your kiddos. You can also donate your storytime to that organization you love for a fundraiser, programming, or however else it might be useful to them!
Enter now through midnight on July 18. I will promote your submitted organizations as they are received. On JULY 19, I’ll draw FIVE submissions and announce the storytime winners. (FAQ below entry form.)
(Your contact information is only gathered here for purposes of contacting you if you win the giveaway. It will not be retained for any other use.)
WHAT CAN I WIN?
A personalized storytime for you, your kids, or kids you love, presented on your preferred online platform. If you are in the Hamilton area, you can also choose to bank your storytime for a later date when we can be together in person! Each winning submission will receive their own storytime. After the drawing, I’ll follow-up with the five recipients to ask about reader age(s), what kind of books they like, what kinds of things they’re interested in, whether or not they like to sing silly songs…and settle on an online platform and date/time. If you wish to donate your storytime to the organization you submitted, I’ll work to make that happen!
I’M NOT IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA – CAN I STILL ENTER?
YES! Make some noise for an organization you love where you live! Please note that donation of storytime to an organization in your area will be possible only through an online platform.
DOES ___________ ORGANIZATION COUNT FOR THE DRAWING?
If an organization’s primary focus is justice/equity/access work, then YES! You are also welcome to boost specific programs for justice/equity/access at a larger organization.
Let me know if you have other questions!
Lightbulb Heart 