Trying something new that my mentor @Katya McEwen has implemented in her community, a brief overview of the week ahead. I’m going to try a new approach with Story Lab this week. You will still have 5-6 activities but rather than post the whole activity in the feed, I’ll include the activity link and share ideas to bring it to life. That will start Tuesday. For those new to the community, each month four new labs are introduced in the classroom. Curious Kitchen, Build, Play, and Story. Each lab includes all gear, how to play, a twist, and suggestions for adapting to different ages. I’m working on more detailed teaching guides. I took Sunday off to rest and play and I’m excited for the week ahead. While I create, why not check out these summit sessions for some fun story ideas? #Play It Again, Claude! with Tosca & Christopher #My Robot Story Helper with Paula #Illustration Scholarship Journey with Beth #From Story Moment to Art with Joanne

Sorry about that folks. One snuck in. The spammer has been banned.

Here’s some more pre-recorded sessions you don’t want to miss. @Jen Staniforth shares ideas around #Emotional Regulation Through Play w/Jen a great segue to our play sessions later this week. @Betty Jo Winters has a fun and upbeat session designed to help you #How to Choose the Best Toys with Betty Jo for your kids. With back to school and the holidays approaching, it’s worth a listen. One aspect many families find challenging is how to teach kids about money and finance, @Gopika Ashok M has us covered with an excellent session on #Finance in 60 Seconds Be sure to check the calendar for the times of today’s live sessions. We have more fun in store.

Wow, thank you to everyone who attended live sessions, watched replays, or explored the classrooms yesterday. I hope you were able to walk away with one or two nuggets. One of the most uplifting things I heard yesterday was when a participant told Chef @Andrew Brooks he was the first person to make nutrition make sense (I'm paraphrasing here). Here's the cool part - all of our speakers are also in the community so don't hesitate to strike up a conversation and ask your questions. If you have a question, my guess is someone else does, too. Okay, on with the plan for today. First, if you have pre-teens or teens in your life who like to draw, I suggest you pop over to the #Illustration Scholarship Journey with Beth to learn how your artist could potentially be published. Coming up today we have several live sessions, all are Central US Time. At 9:00 we have @Tosca Fasso and Christopher with Play It Again, Claude! Where you will learn four simple prompts to turn Claude (a free AI tool) into a creative play partner. At 10:00 @John Futch will be sharing beginning guitar. If you have someone in your family who is interested in learning an instrument, this is a great starting point. At 12:00 @Brenda Chilstrom and I will be discussing Emotional Regulation in Children. I encourage you to watch the video here #The Missing Piece of Emotional Regulation - Brenda before the session. Then at 5:00 this evening @Nat Carey will be joining us from "down under" to talk about what happens when dad's have nothing left. We also have quite a few pre-recorded sessions for you and your family, why not take a look at role playing games through the lens of DnD over here: #Dungeons & Dragons for Families with Cam, if gaming isn't your thing, check out #Praise What Can Be Repeated with Max

We're thrilled to have so many fresh faces joining us this week, just in time for the Unplug and Play summit. I know that each of you is bringing your own flavor of curiosity and commitment to play. @Ayisha Taylor is a mom of 5 looking to ease the screen time struggle with her 1.5 and 4-year-old, and she's here to learn alongside us. @Alex State from Las Vegas came through a @Dale Cox invitation and is fully committed to homeschooling two little ones through play. @Alida Vermeulen from South Africa is stepping into grandparenthood and is excited to be here. @Tami Ekpo has a 14-year-old with a passion for the science behind cooking, and she's diving into ideas for meaningful connection around food and learning. You'll definitely want to visit the Culinary Classroom and the Curious Kitchen Classroom. @Melinda Pate from Southern California is a homeschooling mom of 5 and creator of fun-based learning printables. @Patrick Taylor from Central America has that adventurous, inquisitive child in him that makes play so alive. @Chris Pallister from Clevedon is a newly-retired granddad to 4 who loves the idea of helping kids discover life beyond screens, and he's rekindling his passion for photography too. The photography session with @Cristal Vancarson tomorrow may be of interest. @Frances Scully is a curious educator and grandmother of 8 who coaches others on child engagement. @Khanyi Mzolo wants to rejuvenate connection between his son and grandson through intentional play, what a beautiful three-generation goal. @Demetrice Odds from Florida is a veteran and AI consultant focused on calm creativity, and she wants to connect her godchildren with life off their tablets.