If you’re a surface pattern designer, knowing what trends are coming up can help you know what people might be searching for, get ahead of the curve or perhaps for the contrarians among us, buck them entirely. But there’s no doubt that being aware of what your customers might be wanting to buy in the coming months can help not only your sales, but your creative output too. Spoonflower’s Senior Manager of Merchandising Emerson Jones drops by to share what trends she is seeing on the horizon, along with some tips on how you can incorporate them into your own work.
Friendly reminders:
• Regarding designs featured in this post, please respect your fellow artists’ work and intellectual property. Featured designs are for illustrative, inspiration purposes only and not for replication.
• All trending search percentages given below are based on the number of searches for those terms from January-April 2023 on Spoonflower.com as compared to the number of searches for those terms during the same period in 2022.
Emerson: In this version of our Trend Report, we are excited to share guidance and direction to help you create your own unique take on what buyers are looking for as we head into the autumn and winter seasons. We’ve been doing the research into industry trends and taking a deep dive into what our customers are searching for and buying in the Spoonflower Marketplace. Keep reading to learn how familiar trends are shifting as tastes evolve (welcome back, Grandmillennial!), and discover opportunities to experiment with new, emerging trends (hello, Wild West!)
It’s time to dispel the myth that neutrals are boring. Customers are gravitating towards bold design motifs in more subtle, neutral palettes. As we move into fall, we are all looking forward to the cozy season and comforting warm hues. Think colors like Pink Clay, Soft Terracotta, Ivory, Beige, Rich Oak, Taupe and Light Olive. So go bold, create interesting illustrations and unique motifs—but take an editing eye to your palette and experiment with these nature-inspired neutrals.
Rich robust reds are the perfect fit for holiday classics and cozy cabin vibes. Pair crimson with toned-down greens like sage (another trending color in its own right) and brown to give your seasonal designs a vintage, rustic feel. Crimson and Soft Pink make the perfect palette for a more modern look, while pairing saturated Crimson with jewel tones like Emerald and Deep Purple brings a glam vibe. Experiment with texture to create elevated holiday designs with home decor in mind.
• “Mushroom Wallpaper” +374%
• “Trippy” +273%
• “Psychedelic” +101%
• “Groovy” +69%
• “Mushroom” +60%
As this is a strong, long-term trend, think outside of the classic toadstool mushroom and explore the wider world of fungi for inspiration—experiment with creepy Cordyceps, ornate Oysters, magical Morels and lush Lion’s Mane varieties. If you’re looking for bold color, check out less common mushroom varieties like Indigo Milk Cap, Amethyst Deceiver and Blue Pinkgill. Dark, moody palettes and a rustic-foraged look are perfect for autumn interpretations. We do not see this trend slowing down anytime soon, but with a wide range of mushroom designs already in the marketplace, get creative to set your designs apart.
As 70s-inspired design has overtaken mid-century modern as our most popular vintage style, so has design influenced by the counterculture. This trend can be expressed as a cute cartoonish style depicting recognizable motifs of the era such as mushrooms, smiley faces, peace signs and groovy geometrics or it can take on a trippier aesthetic with vivid mathematical abstracts in a bold high-contrast color palette.
Pro tip: For each trend, the trending search terms and related percentages refer to how often rising trends were searched for on Spoonflower.com from January-April 2023 vs. January-April 2022. Therefore, “Arts and Crafts” has been searched for on the site 152% more this year during that time period in 2022, making it possible for some percentages to be over 100% based on their increasing popularity over time.
• “Arts and Crafts” +152%
• “Pop Art” +103%
• “Victorian” +80%
• “Rococo” +70%
• “Vintage” +35%
• “Toile” +25%
• “William Morris” +25%
Originating in the UK in the 1860s as a critique of the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society, the Arts & Crafts movement was largely influenced by nature, medieval Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau imagery. It was the Cottagecore of its time, providing escapism in the face of an uncertain future. Given the movement’s focus on the decorative arts, this era of design is a great place to take inspiration from when creating patterns for wallpaper and home decor.
Give historical portraits a funny facelift. Novelty print wallpapers are some of Spoonflower’s most popular products, and the “funny” search term is up 88% over this time last year. Historic portraits, creatively made new with the addition of humorous motifs, are the perfect fit for commercial projects and small spaces like powder rooms. Create a maximalist look by layering pop-art inspired portraits over florals, animal prints or abstract backgrounds.
• “Shells” +155%
• “Coastal” +89%
• “Under the Sea” +88%
• “Mermaids” +35%
• “Ocean” +33%
• “Waves” +24%
Distinctly not tropical, this trend is a very specific interpretation of New England coastal, with hints of Californian, Mediterranean and Adriatic living. Think luxurious, textured designs for home decor incorporating subtle nods to life by the sea, mixing vintage and modern styling. For autumn and winter, consider how you would cozy up a beach house for the season. Try warmer palettes and creative coastal holiday motifs. This trend is strong across all home decor categories—we recommend coordinating collections allowing customers to pattern mix across multiple products.
If your personal style is specific to the children’s market, you can play a bit more in the novelty space. Popular motifs include hand-drawn sea creatures, waves, shells and coral. Aim for an elevated feel when it comes to color palette, expressing whimsy through the motifs in your design. We recommend coordinated collections created with bedding sets in mind, along with complementary wallpaper to create a full room experience.
• “Green and Pink” +2,229%
• “Preppy” +287%
• “Hydrangea” +221%
• “Chintz” +127%
• “Golf” +56%
• “Chinoiserie” +25%
A trend we first called out last year remains strong, specifically in the interior design space. This style is defined by antique influences mixed with modern elements—think chintz florals, classic chinoiserie, ticking stripes and trellis motifs, paired with modern abstracts and botanicals. Popular palettes include blue and white, pale pink and green, and earthy taupe and brown. Cater to trade customers by designing coordinating collections with home decor and wallpaper in mind.
In line with general nostalgia for the era, we’re seeing a revival version of the preppy style popular in the 80s and 90s. Bright pastel palettes, pink and green color combos and quilted bags are gaining popularity. Explore classic motifs like floral, argyle and paisley in bright, unexpected colorways. Elements of country club athletics such as equipment (i.e., tennis rackets) and elevated plaid motifs are popular, particularly for wallpaper.
• “Whimsical” +225%
• “Wildflowers” +205%
• ”Frogs” +172%
• “Thistle” +172%
• “Sasquatch” +159%
• “Forest Animals” +148%
• “Fairy” +97%
While Cottagecore is still a strong trend, 2023 is seeing a move towards all things cabin. Searches for “Rustic,” “Mountains” and “Plaid” are all trending upward. Incorporate a vintage feel with textured designs in earthy, warm palettes. Mix traditional classic patterns with woodsy motifs, elevated for a more grown-up audience. Large-scale evergreens and neutral plaids are a good fit for cabin-inspired wallpaper and upholstery.
Nature-inspired fantasy landscapes offer escapism in a time with so much uncertainty and instability. Take your rustic, woodland designs and incorporate whimsical creatures and magical elements. Searches for “Hidden” are also trending upward, so experiment with hiding subtle elements of whimsy in otherwise elevated forest-inspired designs. Focus products are wallpaper and fabrics.
• “Masculine” +423%
• “Ticking” +235%
• “Checkerboard” +217%
• “Stripes” +144%
• “Ikat” +88%
• “Polka Dots” +88%
• “Paisley” +13%
From bold colorful cabana stripes to thin, traditional pin stripes, makers and decorators alike love mixing striped patterns to create a color-blocked look. Cater to this trend by designing a wide variety of scale options in trending colorways. Experiment with different stripe widths, intervals and directions. Try tone-on-tone palettes and unexpected color pairings.
Neutral, earth-tone plaids are trending with a growing interest in classic motifs on everything from wallpaper to bedding. Menswear-inspired collections that facilitate easy pattern mixing though complementary, textured stripes, houndstooth, herringbone, plaid and checks are a great way to tackle this trend geared towards a more masculine audience.
• “Western Toile” +713%
• “Cowboy Boots” +715%
• “Southwestern” +99%
• “Cowgirl” +96%
• “Buffalo” +56%
• “Cowboy” +34%
• “Western” +16%
Think fringe jackets, bejeweled cowboy hats and vintage western shirts, as the cowboy aesthetic has been adopted and made modern by a more diverse community. Explore western motifs like bandana prints and horseshoes with kitschy influences in unexpected color palettes. Bold boots, rowdy rodeos and colorful cow prints create a western fantasy for a new generation.
The wild west is alive and well. We see two-tone toiles depicting scenes of the American West gaining popularity in our marketplace and in the fabric and decor industry at large. We’ve seen cowboy motifs modernized by artists like Kacey Musgraves, Orville Peck and Lil Nas X and are looking forward to seeing increasingly more related designs depicting an inclusive story of western fantasy along with classic motifs such as horses, buffalo, mining towns, covered wagons and dramatic landscapes.
• “Dark Academia” +1,356%
• “Witchcraft” +1,106%
• “Moody” +336%
• “Witch” +257%
• “Dark” +157%
• “Cryptid” +109%
• “Occult” +105%
• “Gothic” +86%
If you wish every day was Halloween, this trend is for you. We are seeing terms related to all things spooky perform higher than average for this time of year. As shoppers adopt this dark aesthetic year-round, we see the style expressed as the dark side of Cottagecore. Potions, snakes, foraged mushrooms and symbols of the occult are presented with a rustic style in dark color palettes.
Just as the emo and goth eras have a revival in fashion, we see these motifs reflected in home decor as well. Moody florals, skeletons in love, dark damasks, dusty bookshelves and hidden skulls are popular motifs. Searches for “Black” and “Purple” are trending upwards, fitting well with the classic expression of this style. Consider ways to elevate these concepts for home decor and wallpaper applications.
Here’s a look at other one-off trending novelty motifs that don’t fit an overarching trends. This list of themes covers a lot of ground, but also shows how the search terms customers use on Spoonflower.com are as niche as they are broad.
• “Butts” +644%
• “Geek” +461%
• “Highland Cow” +237%
• ”Baseball” +144%
• “Music” +91%
• “Funny” +88%
• “Books” +85%
• “Cannabis” +82%
• “Pickleball” +80%
• “Dragon” +78%
• ”Dogs” +65%
Move aside, ‘Coastal Grandmother! The new aesthetic for winter is ‘Grandpa’s Cabin.’ Envision a vintage, rustic woodland escape—what prints and patterns would you expect to see on blankets, pillows, bedding and the walls? How would a space like that be decorated for holiday gatherings? Put yourself into this cozy mindset to create coordinating collections that evoke a warm, inviting escape from the harsh winter.
• “Fawn” +272%
• “Rustic” +220%
• “Woods” +114%
• “Cabin” +44%
• “Buffalo Plaid” +41%
• Textured Classics
• Vintage Illustrations
• Mushrooms
• Foxes & Fawns
• Songbirds
• Painterly Wildlife
• Patchwork
• Seasonal Landscapes
Look up to the skies for divine inspiration. Renaissance-inspired depictions of the heavens, as well as 90s sun-and-moon motifs are popular expressions of this trend. Recommended colors include Dark Greys, rich Blues and Deep Purples paired with pops of Golden or Ivory hues. There can be minimalist interpretations of this trend, but experiment with more ornate, maximalist designs that feature elements of whimsy and personified celestial bodies.
• “Moon” +93%
• “Stars” +88%
• “Space” +61%
• “Celestial” +56%
• “Sun” +13%
• Spooky Night Skies
• 90s Inspired Sun & Moon
• Winter Solstice
• Moravian Stars
• Star of Bethlehem
• Star of David
Modern minimalist aesthetics meet classic holiday and winter icons in neutral palettes to create a seasonal style with staying power and mass appeal. Incorporate graphic typography with seasonal sayings. Create abstract interpretations with line-art snowmen and Santas. Place classic motifs like menorahs or stands of lights on trendy backdrops of marble or checkerboard patterns. Don’t be afraid of color with this trend, but keep to a limited, monochrome palette for a simplistic look, and balance bold pops with more subdued hues.
• “Modern Abstract” +607%
• “Minimal” +290%
• “Line Art” +236%
• “Neutral” +57%
• “Marble” +32%
• “Pink” +31%
• Abstracted Holiday Icons
• Grid Backgrounds
• Checkerboards
• Graphic Silhouettes
• Contour Line Art
• Marbled Textures
• Soft Pink & Red Palettes
Glitz and glamour set the stage of elegant, exuberant holiday gatherings. Rich, bold jewel tones like Emerald Green, Garnet Red, Sapphire Blue and Deep Purple Amethyst, all balanced against a dark backdrop for dramatic festive holiday looks. Make nostalgic holiday icons feel current with intricate detail and simulated sparkle. The moody botanical trend also overlaps nicely when you opt for winter foliage and recognizable holiday florals.
• “Maximalist” +338%
• “Jewel Tone” +244%
• “Glam” +106%
• “Purple” +45%
• “Teal” +20%
• “Green” +21%
• Saturated Hues
• Ornate Illustrations
• Nostalgic Sweets
• Glam Ornaments
• Intricate Menorahs
• High Contrast
About the Author
The post Spoonflower’s Autumn/Winter 2023 Trend Report appeared first on Spoonflower Blog.
]]>The project was part of Mitzvah Day, an annual day of giving and service, a gift to our community from Synagogue of the Summit. Other synagogue members and friends painted Summit County Preschool, worked at Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center and packed bags for food insecure kids at Smart Bellies.
Our trail maintenance activity was guided by Lizzie Morrison, Friends of Dillon Ranger District programs manager, and Program Coordinator Maddie Retrosi. I’ve done yard work since I was a kid. Trail maintenance is the same, but different.
First I was clipping roots that were sticking out of the trail. The roots were left by a mini excavator, that cleared and leveled the trail. That machine also left a rather steep slope, that can lead to trail washout.
Our goal was to reduce the slope line to about 45 degrees, to reduce the speed of the water as it passes over the trail. As we cleared the debris from the slope, we tossed it back up higher. We were not to leave a berm on the down slope side because that would hold the water on the trail and make it mushy.
I used a McLeod, which is also a firefighting tool. It’s a wide hoe on one side, and a strong toothy kind of rake on the other. I definitely never used one of these in the backyard. Maybe I should have …. It’s very useful.
I’m grateful to be here. I’m grateful for Lizzie Morrison’s expertise, kindly redirection and patience with our aging bodies, which required frequent breaks.
All this work was made so much more delightful by our environment. We were graced with a sparkling, beautiful, sunny day. It was such a welcome relief after that mid-June week of rain and 50 degree temperatures.
The flowers are emerging, and with the information feature on my phone I was able to identify the red fairy trumpets and the white and blue flax. For a few hours, it seemed that there could be nothing wrong with the world, just this beautiful place that needed a little trail maintenance.
I’m grateful that some relative I never knew decided to take a chance and walked away from Belarus, now run by a dictator, a puppet of Putin. Belarus has just received nuclear weapons from Putin. It’s the first time nuclear weapons have been deployed outside of Russia since the dismantling of the former Soviet Union.
According to news reports, Belarus will soon be hosting the newly decommissioned former Putin mercenaries, the Wagner group. I’m glad I’m not there.
I’m very grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for its 6-3 decision in Moore v. Harper, which unequivocally dismissed the independent legislature theory, which I discussed in a couple columns. This decision affirmed our system of checks and balances and removed the shroud of doubt that was cloaking the viability of our great democratic experiment.
For the record, all the tricks attempted in the last election with alternate electors are now unquestionably illegal. The power of state courts to enforce their constitutions and negate gerrymandered districts is affirmed. The power of the voter and ballot box is affirmed with this important decision. But it won’t help North Carolina.
According to the Washington Post, Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch said the decision was moot because the newly elected North Carolina Supreme Court, now Republican, reversed its earlier decision clearing the way for the Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature to gerrymander districts any way legislators want.
I’m so grateful to be here in Summit County, Colorado. I won the lottery. I’m grateful to the new people who came out and helped clean the trail, who had never done anything like that before. One volunteer asked, “Who pays for Friends of the Dillon Ranger District?”
I said, “We do. It’s a nonprofit.” I told her it’s on my automatic bill pay. I’m grateful for all the people in all the nonprofits we helped Sunday. I’m so glad we had an opportunity to contribute.
When you help someone, you really help yourself. That creates a circle of gratitude.
]]>Whether your tweens prefer outdoor adventures or indoor projects, we've got you covered. From exploring nature's wonders to unleashing their creativity, these affordable activities are sure to make their summer memorable and enjoyable.
This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Summer is super important for tweens, those awesome kids between 8 and 12 years old. It's their time to shine and have some serious fun!
When school's out, they get a break from all the rules and structure, and that's when the magic happens. They can dive headfirst into their hobbies, try new things, and explore the great outdoors.
Summer lets them be their true selves, make new friends, and gain a sense of independence. Plus, it's a chance for them to chill out, recharge their batteries, and get ready for the next school year with a fresh outlook and a big smile.
These free or inexpensive summer activities for tweens provide opportunities for fun, learning, and memorable experiences without breaking the bank.
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt:
Organize a backyard or neighborhood scavenger hunt for tweens, complete with clues, hidden treasures, and challenges. It encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and outdoor exploration. Here's a printable summer scavenger hunt if the kids don't make their own.
DIY Crafts and Art Projects:
Engage tweens in various do-it-yourself crafts and art projects using recycled materials or inexpensive supplies. From creating jewelry to painting rocks or designing homemade bookmarks, these activities foster creativity and self-expression.
Library Summer Programs:
Many libraries offer free or low-cost summer programs specifically designed for tweens, such as book clubs, storytelling sessions, or arts and crafts workshops. It's a great way to encourage reading and engage with other kids in a fun and educational environment.
Backyard Camping:
Set up a mini-campsite in the backyard where tweens can experience the joys of camping without leaving home. Pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, tell stories around a campfire, and stargaze for an unforgettable outdoor adventure.
Bike Rides and Nature Trails:
Explore local bike paths or nature trails with tweens. Take leisurely bike rides, go on nature walks, and discover the beauty of the outdoors. It's a low-cost way to stay active and appreciate nature together.
Movie Nights:
Host movie nights at home or in the backyard. Choose age-appropriate movies, prepare popcorn, and create a cozy atmosphere for tweens to enjoy their favorite films with friends or family.
Neighborhood Games and Sports:
Organize outdoor games and sports activities in the neighborhood park or backyard. From relay races to soccer matches or water balloon fights, these games encourage physical activity, teamwork, and friendly competition.
Community Volunteer Work:
Engage tweens in community service projects, such as cleaning up local parks, organizing a food drive, or helping at animal shelters. It teaches them the value of giving back and making a positive impact on their community.
Cooking and Baking:
Encourage tweens to get involved in the kitchen by assisting with simple cooking and baking projects. From preparing homemade pizzas to baking cookies or trying out new recipes, it enhances their culinary skills and fosters a sense of accomplishment.
Nature Photography:
Encourage tweens to explore photography by capturing the beauty of nature. Take them on nature walks and let them use smartphones or inexpensive cameras to snap pictures of flowers, wildlife, or scenic landscapes.
DIY Science Experiments:
Explore the fascinating world of science with DIY experiments using household items. Create homemade lava lamps, make slime, or conduct simple chemistry experiments. It's educational and entertaining.
Outdoor Water Play:
Set up a water play area with reusable water balloons or a racing slip-n-slide. Tweens can cool off, have fun, and enjoy hours of refreshing water play.
Picnic in the Park:
Pack a picnic lunch and head to a local park or beach. Enjoy the outdoors, play games, and have a relaxing picnic while savoring quality time with family or friends.
Geocaching:
Introduce tweens to geocaching, a real-world treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. They can search for hidden caches in their neighborhood or local parks, adding an element of adventure to their summer.
Arts and Crafts Workshops:
Look for local community centers, art studios, or craft stores that offer free or affordable arts and crafts workshops for tweens. They can learn new techniques and create their own masterpieces.
Outdoor Concerts or Movies:
Check local event listings for free outdoor concerts or movies in the park. Pack blankets or chairs and enjoy live music or movie screenings under the open sky.
Create a Summer Journal:
Encourage tweens to document their summer adventures by creating a personalized summer journal. They can write about their experiences, glue in photos, or draw illustrations to capture memories.
Outdoor Sports Clinics:
Look for local sports organizations or community centers that offer free or low-cost outdoor sports clinics for tweens. These clinics often provide coaching and training in various sports like soccer, basketball, tennis, or baseball. It's a great opportunity for tweens to improve their skills, learn new sports, stay active, and meet other kids with similar interests.
Gardening:
Start a small garden or help tweens maintain an existing one. They can learn about plants, grow their own vegetables or herbs, and experience the joy of nurturing and watching their garden flourish.
DIY Obstacle Course:
Create a DIY obstacle course in the backyard using items like hula hoops, cones, ropes, and cushions. Tweens can challenge themselves and their friends to complete the course, promoting physical activity and fun.
The post Summer activities for tweens appeared first on Moneywise Moms.
]]>Over at the boys’ villa, Tia is moving hard. She’s feeling both Roberto and Great, and not exactly being subtle. Rob sees Great and Tia connecting, so asks Great about it. He admits he was going to ask Tia out on a second date, but this has now left the door wide open for somebody else. If Rob was single, I’d applaud him. But he’s not, so he has no business being jealous. Still, at least he’s gaining some clarity. He already doesn’t know if he’s going to leave the island with Vanessa.
Great is in high demand, as Tamie wants some commitment. She’s pissed she wasn’t invited on his first date, and wrangles an invitation for the next one. He’s later confronted by Nafeesah, who was the unfortunate soul who accepted an invite for his first date. She reveals he had asked her to go and cuddle in the room that night. Now that he’s making moves on other women, she lets him know that this won’t be happening.
Meanwhile, the girls are talking about the dates they’ve just been on with the single boys. Paris has no problem going into detail when she describes what she’d do to Christian if she wasn’t being filmed. After confessing she had more fun with Christian than she’s ever had with Great, she said, “If there were no cameras [here], I’d suck his d*ck.” We love a classy queen.
Later on, we discover Sebastian is salty about being paid dust by Marisela. He was expecting to go out on a date with her, and was left embarrassed when she asked someone else. Fortunately for him, she now has her eyes set on enjoying some time with him. Paris also sees her opportunity to get to know the man who has caught her eye since the experiment started: Tahjjic. “These girls finally woke up,” both he and Sebastian say after accepting date invites.
The next day, second dates are underway. The guys take their single girls on a buggy through the woods, while the girls enjoy a bicycle ride with the boys vying for their attention.
Hall and Makayla are on their second date, and the conversation is moving fast. She wants to know where he stands when it comes to family, and it turns out they’re both on the same page. They want kids in the near-future. He tells the boys the next day that he doesn’t see the same “light” in fiancée Kaitlin’s face when he talks about starting a family, that he saw in Makayla’s. Then, he goes and tells Makayla the same thing. OUCH.
Paris comes to the realization that Tahjjic isn’t the one for her. She tells the other girls that she’d “f*ck him, but wouldn’t wanna be with him.” She accuses him of having “no personality,” and doesn’t like the answer he gives when she asks him why he’s on the show: “to have fun.”
Over in the guys’ villa, a burlesque party is underway. The single girls are wearing some suggestive outfits, and shaking their thing. Hall notes that his brain is like “scrambled eggs” when he sees Makayla enjoying herself. It’s not all good vibes, though.
Tia is sad when she sees Rob flirting with her friend, Desiree. Rob seems to try and initiate a kiss with Desiree, but she pulls away. She wants him to speak to Tia, because she knows that they have been getting along. When Rob pulls Tia into the conversation, she feels disrespected that it’s not one-on-one. When they do get that alone time, however, Rob closes the door entirely. “That ship has sailed,” he says, despite Tia’s pleas and claims to being “one of the few” single girls looking to make an actual connection.
The girls’ villa are having their own party, Boys ‘N’ Babes style. There are roller skates, and intense conversations. Kristian likes “firecracker” Marisela, but says she’ll be a “tough nut to crack.” Vanessa, meanwhile, stakes her claim on Bryce. She tells him she “missed” him while out on a date today, and thinks he’s “treading too carefully.” He didn’t want to be “selfish” in stealing all of her attention away from the other fellas, but that’s exactly what she wants: a man to put her in her place.
Host Mark Walberg arrives, and tells the girls that they will be heading to their first solo bonfire of the season. It’s going to be an emotional experience, as they get to see a short but extremely telling clip of their significant other.
Kaitlin is first up, and sees Hall express his concerns about starting a family to both the boys, and Makayla. She admits that she’s not ready for kids, and sees that as something down the line in around three or four years. She wants to focus on her career and her relationship, and why shouldn’t she be allowed to have both? Mark notes that this is absolutely valid, but is she able to do that while remaining in a relationship with Hall?
Paris is next, and watches Great enjoy a lap dance. He speaks in confessional about having “fun,” and Paris says that she feels she “bullies him all the time.” She feels bad about the way she treats him, and gets to a point where she and Mark link it to the treatment she received from her father. Paris only met him when she was 11, but he has been “strict” on her ever since. Mark asks her to try and forgive her father for doing what he thought was best, and move forward.
Next up? Vanessa. Oh boy. She sees Rob speaking about how he always feels embarrassed to be around Vanessa. He then says he is “almost entirely sure I’m leaving the island by myself.” Anger consumes Vanessa, and she tells Mark she’s close to walking over to the other villa and knocking Rob “upside the head with a shoe.” She is hurt, and betrayed. Vanessa almost gets vulnerable with Mark, but holds a lot of it back. There’s a wall there, just waiting to crumble.
Finally, Marisela sees Christopher praising another woman, then dirty dancing at a party. She’s not where she wants to be “mentally, emotionally, and financially.” Marisela thinks that Chris could do better, and almost find an “upgraded” version of herself. Mark reminds her that there are plenty of people out there who will “love you just as you are.” She then opens up about how she feels constantly corrected by Chris, who is trying to mould her into his idea of perfection.
Then comes the teaser of the boys’ bonfire, ahead of next week. Chris sees Marisela emotional after they were separated. He thinks it’s good that she’s having her alone time. Then Great watches, as Paris makes her filthy comments about Christian. Cut to the credits; we’re going to have to wait for Episode 4 to see the fallout from this one!
Temptation Island continues Wednesdays at 9/8c on USA.
TELL US – WERE YOU SHOCKED AT THE COMMENTS MADE BY PARIS IN THIS EPISODE? SHOULD HALL END THINGS WITH CAITLIN IF SHE DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE A FAMILY YET? WILL VANESSA MARCH TO THE OTHER VILLA AND KNOCK ROB UPSIDE THE HEAD?
The post Temptation Island Season 5, Episode 3 Recap: Bonfire Bombshells appeared first on Reality Tea.
]]>While the no-school season is the perfect time to get outdoors and play, it is also a great time to be lazy with the family. With both new and classic films on every major streaming service, snuggling up in the living room on a rainy afternoon or setting up a backyard movie night sounds just about right. From modernized fairy tales to historical musicals, we found the best family movies streaming now (and a few more coming later this summer).
Nimona is a shape-shifting teenager in this techno-medieval animated film is an adaption of the graphic novel. Lord Ballister Boldheart is a knight falsely accused of committing a crime. He must accept help from Nimona, someone he is supposed to destroy.
Why it made our list: This family movie streaming now blends action and humor perfectly. Nimona also discusses important themes about judgment and acceptance.
Recommended ages: 13+ due to crude humor and some violence
PG
Release Date: June 30
Based on the humorous and popular book series by Dav Pilkey, the film follows two kids named Harold and George. They turn their grumpy principal, Mr. Krupp, into the comic book hero they created. When Mr. Krupp becomes Captain Underpants, misadventure ensues.
Why it made our list: Parents have been reading these wildly popular books to their children since 1997, and it is interesting to see the on-screen adaptation. While the humor can be simple-minded, it guarantees giggles and has a stellar cast including Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, and Jordan Peele.
Recommended ages: 6 and over, due to a bit of very mild language (stupid, weirdo)
PG
Release Date: July 10
Epic adventurer, Puss in Boots tries to reclaim his lost eight lives after realizing he is living his final life. He must go on his most important journey to find the magical star that can restore his lives, all while being hunted by The Big Bad Wolf.
Why it made our list: Puss in Boots was funny enough to find his way to the big screen in 2011 after playing a supporting character in Shrek 2. The latest installment in the series was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and has themes of positive thinking and teamwork.
Recommended ages: 8+ for some perilous situations, violence, and mild language
PG
Release Date: July 13
Based on the popular animated series, this movie is the backstory of how Ladybug became a superhero. Along with her male counterpart, Cat Noir, the teen protects the streets of Paris from evil.
Why it made our list: With a female and male superhero learning to work together, the film provides positive lessons on teamwork as well as two positive teenage role models.
Recommended ages: 7+ due to some action and peril
PG
Release Date: July 28
Join Gru and his crew for the first two films in the franchise. Despicable Me introduces villainous Gru plotting to steal the moon from his suburban lair alongside his merry band of minions, only to realize that the love of three orphans could upend everything. In the sequel, Gru must balance the demands of fatherhood with fighting crime as he helps the Anti-Villain League battle a formidable threat.
Why it made our list: These films are a delightful balance of humor and heart and feature the voice talents of A-list actors like Kristen Wiig, Steve Carell, and Will Arnett.
Recommended ages: 6+ for some mild violence and language
PG
Release Date: Aug. 1
Along with his magical fighting Stick, a Monkey battles dragons, demons, and ego on a comedic quest. Based on the Chinese legend, “Journey to the West,” the film is executive-produced by epic filmmaker and actor Stephen Chow.
Why it made our list: The film promises to provide humor and important lessons on casting aside one’s ego. Colorful animation also makes this action adventure a must-see.
Recommended ages: 7 and up for some violence
PG
Release Date: Aug. 18
This 2009 film features a young girl named Coraline who stumbles upon an alternate reality where her world becomes a darker version of the one she normally inhabits. Based on the classic children’s book by Neil Gaiman, the film has become as popular as the novel.
Why it made our list: Coraline is an interesting and formidable female character who realizes that sometimes real life, though not perfect, is far better than fantasy. Even her parents learn important lessons about being engaged and involved in their daughter’s life.
Recommended ages: 10+ due to frightening themes and images
PG
In this 2022 remake of the classic film, Andy Garcia plays the father of the bride who does his best to get through his daughter’s wedding. Gloria Estefan is the mother of the bride in the comedic journey parents go through when their children grow up and get married.
Why it made our list: The film features a tight-knit Cuban-American family and modern ideals surrounding marriage. Positive messages also abound in the latest version of this well-loved film.
Recommended ages: 13 and over because the film features language and drinking
PG-13
It’s Christmas in July! In this family movie streaming now, a father, played by Neil Patrick Harris, returns home and relays the story of one amazing childhood Christmas in the late 1980s. All he wanted was a Nintendo entertainment system and he was willing to do almost anything to get it.
Why it made our list: Parents may enough the nostalgic return to the yesteryear of late 1980-something featured in the film, which includes music and items from the era. Kids will love the camaraderie and comedy between the group of friends who share a love of video games.
Recommended ages: 8+ for some mild language and violence
PG
The latest installment in the Batman film franchise features Batman, played by Robert Pattinson, investigating his own family and corruption in Gotham to catch a serial killer who is targeting important political figures.
Why it made our list: With a fantastic cast including Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, and Peter Sarsgaard, in addition to Robert Pattinson, as the caped crusader, the film was also nominated for three Oscars. The Batman also features a diverse representation of characters.
Recommended ages: 14 and up due to intense violence and mature themes including drugs and sex
PG-13
A remake of the 1984 David Lynch film, based on the 1965 sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert, Dune tells the story of the noble Atreides family and their battle for control of a valuable resource that holds great potential for humanity.
Why it made our list: The film features an award-winning cast including, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. If the cast isn’t reason enough to watch, Dune also won six Oscars.
Recommended ages: 13 and over due to intense violence and adult themes.
PG-13
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Video game legends, the Mario Brothers (Mario and Luigi), must travel to an underground labyrinth and battle the villainous Bowser to save Princess Peach. Based on the popular video game, the film stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black.
Why it made our list: The film may appeal to parents who grew up playing the video game the film is based on. With realistic animation and nods to the Nintendo game around every turn, both kids and parents will find reasons to watch.
Recommended ages: 7 and up for some mild violence
PG
In the fourth and what is believed to be the final installment in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise, an experiment makes human Johnny a monster, while the monsters become human. With roles reversed, will things ever get back to normal?
Why it made our list: This fun franchise is humorous and filled with positive messages and role models. It is also a who’s who of comedic talent with a voice cast including Molly Shannon, Andy Samberg, and Steve Buscemi.
Recommended ages: 7 and over for some mildly inappropriate humor and cartoon nudity
PG
In this modern version of the timeless fairy tale, Cinderella proves that dreams can be about much more than snagging a prince. In this musical, Camila Cabello plays the title character, Ella who wants to start her own business designing dresses.
Why it made our list: This very postmodern take on Cinderella features an outstanding cast including Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, Billy Porter, and Pierce Brosnan. Its feminist spin is both refreshing and provides many positive female role models for young girls everywhere.
Recommended ages: 8+ for some suggestive humor
PG
Based on the video game of the same name, this sequel to the first film sees the return of Dr. Robotnik, played by the hysterical Jim Carrey. This time, Sonic has a new friend who will help him fight against evil.
Why it made our list: With social and emotional life skills like working together as a team and being responsible as a focus in the film, kids might learn these lessons right along with the furry blue hedgehog. Parents may enjoy Jim Carrey’s outlandish portrayal of the villain, Dr. Robotnik.
Recommended ages: 8+ for some perilous and potentially scary situations
PG
RELATED STORIES: Everything You Need to Make Your Next Family Movie Night Magical
This science-fiction sequel returns audiences to Pandora where Jake Sully now lives. When threatened by the RDA, the Na’vi work with Jake and Neytiri to save the home they’ve worked so hard to create and maintain.
Why it made our list: The long-awaited sequel took over a decade to make it to the big screen though when it did, it won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. Filled with positive messages about acceptance and peace, this blockbuster lives up to the hype.
Recommended ages: 13+ due to some intense violence and language and partial nudity
PG-13
Whether searching for a lost relic or fighting off the bad guys, Indiana Jones has been a staple in the action-film genre for four decades. Disney+ is currently streaming the first four installments in the series. The first film, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark won four Oscars and was directed by legendary filmmaker, Steven Spielberg.
Why it made our list: With the fifth in the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny coming to theaters this summer, it is a perfect opportunity to either rewatch the former films or to see them for the very first time. Filled with history, adventure, and some of the best action sequences on celluloid, this collection is a cinematic gem.
Recommended ages: 11 and over due to violence, some language, and peril
PG (for 1 & 2)
PG-13 (for 3 & 4)
It’s a family affair in the latest installment in the Ant-Man film franchise. Ant-Man Scott Lang, his daughter, and Wasp Hope Van Dyne, and her mother and father go on a journey into the Quantum Realm. Kang the Conqueror takes the stage as Ant-Man’s adversary.
Why it made our list: Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly return as Ant-Man and Wasp, while screen legends Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer round out the cast as Wasp’s parents. The film also features positive themes about teamwork and forgiveness.
Recommended ages: 13+ due to some strong language and violence
PG-13
Based on the work of author J. M. Barrie, this film finds Wendy worried about growing up. Boy-child Peter Pan whisks her (and her siblings) off to adventure in Neverland where they meet the malicious Captain Hook.
Why it made our list: The latest version of the classic tale focuses more on Wendy. With big stars like comedian Jim Gaffigan and Jude Law set to play Smee and Captain Hook, the film features an A-list cast.
Recommended ages: 10 and over due to some frightening scenes and violence
PG
Featuring the original cast from the Broadway show captured at the Richard Rodgers Theater, the film focuses on the life of founding father and American historical great, Alexander Hamilton. The musical features a magical blend of history and many genres of music including hip hop and jazz.
Why it made our list: The award-winning musical won both a Tony and a Pulitzer. The film offers those who can’t make it to Broadway the opportunity to experience the cultural phenomenon from the comfort of their living room.
Recommended ages: 12 and over due to mature themes and strong language
PG-13
When historically unlucky teenager Sam finds a lucky penny and then loses it, the world as she knows it will never be the same. She must figure out how to turn her bad luck around while learning some valuable lessons.
Why it made our list: Some notable voices can be heard during the film including Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg. With beautiful animation, the film is filled with positive role models and messages about resiliency, family, and compassion.
Recommended ages: 5+ for some very mild danger
G
This Apple Original film features a young girl, Robyn Goodfellowe, and her father as they head to Ireland to hunt and wipe out the last pack of wolves. Things get interesting and complicated when she meets a girl who may be able to transition into a wolf when the moon rises.
Why it made our list: This Oscar-nominated film reveals some of the history connecting Ireland and England. It is filled with themes about not judging by how people look or what their background is and acceptance of differing beliefs. It also features a young, strong female lead who exhibits a significant amount of growth throughout the film.
Recommended ages: 8+ for some perilous moments
PG
Released in 2019, this documentary focuses on a herd of elephants led by Elephant Queen (and mother) Athena. The film features narration as the herd must leave their waterhole and journey to find a new home.
Why it made our list: With the beautiful scenery of the African savannah, this film is a fascinating tribute to mothers and the love they feel for their families. It also shines a spotlight on one of the most interesting and loyal animals, elephants who value family ties more than humans probably realize.
Recommended ages: 10+ due to the death of a baby elephant and some themes surrounding starvation and drought
PG
When an astronaut and horticulturist finds himself trapped on a dwarf planet, he meets a woman and they create a future together. This 10-minute short film is an Apple Original with a lovely storyline surrounding love.
Why it made our list: This computer-animated film though brief tells the sweet story of a relationship that grows over many years. It is the perfect thing if you are short on time but want to watch something with the family.
Recommended ages: 5+ as death is a theme
PG
]]>By Emily A. Thomas, PhD
Parents and others must remain vigilant about the ongoing danger of children and pets dying in hot cars, because heatstroke can be a four-season threat in some parts of the country. About 38 children die each year from vehicular heatstroke, according to KidsAndCars.org and NoHeatStroke.org. Heatstroke is the leading cause of death in vehicles (excluding crashes) for those 14 and younger.
There were 36 hot car deaths in 2022, and there have been eight so far in 2023, according to KidsandCars.org. In most cases, the children were unknowingly left behind in the vehicle. As families prepare for the transition from summer activities to the school routine, it’s important to remember that research shows these tragedies can happen to anyone.
Historically, about a quarter of hot car deaths are the result of the child gaining access to the car on their own, according to NoHeatStroke.org. In the hustle and bustle of summer activities, parents and caregivers need to be extra mindful of their children’s whereabouts. And they need to keep vehicles locked in the garage or driveway, and the keys out of children’s reach. Even if you don’t have children, it’s important to take those precautions to protect neighboring families.
If your child is missing, always remember to first check your pool, if you have one, and then your vehicle, including the trunk.
It’s never safe to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Even with the windows cracked or the vehicle parked in the shade, the interior temperatures within the car can reach dangerous levels in a short period of time.
Even on days with mild temperatures, the heat inside a closed vehicle can reach dangerous levels within an hour, posing major health risks to small children or pets left inside, Consumer Reports says.
CR’s testing found that even when it was 61° F outside, the temperature inside a closed car reached more than 105° F in just 1 hour, an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal level for a child.
The CR test results help dispel the myth that hot car deaths or heatstroke happen only on blisteringly hot days in the dead of summer.
And the idea that your car’s color can significantly mitigate the heat inside the vehicle is also largely a myth, based on CR testing.
“Children should never be left unattended in a car for even a short period of time,” says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center. “Even when it’s not that hot outside, our test results show how quickly temperatures inside the car escalate, regardless of whether your car is light or dark.”
And research shows that drivers shouldn’t rely on the shade to cool the cabin, either. Researchers at Arizona State University and the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine evaluated cabin air temperature and surface temperatures in identical vehicles placed in the shade and the sun. Their study estimates that even in a shaded vehicle, a 2-year-old child’s core temperature could reach a dangerous—and potentially deadly—104° F in a little less than 2 hours.
The danger from high temperatures is particularly acute for young children because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than adult bodies, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
That’s because young children, especially babies, lack the ability to efficiently regulate their body temperature. Children dehydrate more quickly than adults.
Some automakers have begun integrating detection-and-alert technology into vehicles to remind parents or guardians that they might be leaving a child or pet behind.
Consumer Reports conducted several temperature tests inside closed vehicles at CR’s Auto Test Track in Colchester, Conn., to better understand how rapidly the rising cabin temperatures can become unsafe. The experiments were conducted with precision instruments.
On a June day when it averaged 61° F outside during the first hour of testing, the inside of a parked car reached more than 105° F.
On a July day when it averaged 78° F outside during a 1-hour test period, the inside of a lighter-colored sedan reached more than 104° F. And during the same 1-hour test period, the inside of a dark-colored sedan reached more than 109° F.
CR reported the readings at the end of an hour. But interior temperatures continued to rise as more time passed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has warned that on a 60° F day—something akin to spring weather—the temperature inside a vehicle can reach a dangerous 110° F over the course of several hours.
The threshold for heatstroke in children is when the internal body temperature reaches about 104° F. And a child is at serious risk of death if their internal body temperature reaches 107° F, according to medical experts.
Heatstroke risk is a year-round threat in some regions with mild winters, including the South and Southwest.
The chart below demonstrates the rise in vehicle cabin temperature when CR tested the two sedans on a July day.
Closed cars get hot quickly because sunlight heats up inside elements, including the dash, upholstery, and steering wheel, according to NoHeatStroke.org. Those elements radiate their heat into the air, increasing the ambient temperature inside the car.
Why don’t cracked windows help enough? Partly opened windows allow some heat to escape, says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, but as long as the heat source (the sun) continues to beat down and heat up the inside car elements, the temperature can stay dangerously high.
Consumer Reports believes that automakers should integrate features that can detect children in the vehicle cabin and trigger an alert, and get the technology into as many models as they can, as soon as they can. Aftermarket products can fall short because they still depend on adults recognizing the risk and taking some sort of action.
"Automakers have demonstrated that it’s feasible to build integrated, protective systems into their vehicles. As these technologies advance, CR will evaluate them and advocate for strong standards to ensure that all new car buyers—not just those who pay for a premium upgrade package—get an effective detection-and-alert system they can rely on," says William Wallace, CR’s associate director of safety policy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also endorses the integrated approach.
“Having something that is in the vehicle that is a default, that you would have to opt out of, is the right way to go about it,” says Elizabeth Murray, DO, an AAP spokesperson. “These are not people making malicious decisions to try to hurt their children. These are terrible accidents that are happening, so if we can make it default to take any human error out of it, then that is the right decision.”
Just how hot can the inside of a car get? On the “Consumer 101” TV show, Consumer Reports expert Emily Thomas, PhD, shows host Jack Rico how rapidly interior temperatures can rise—and what you can do to protect your kids.
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2023, Consumer Reports, Inc.
]]>But it’s still low-stress. I parked, got through security and up to my gate in under 30 minutes. Made me wish I’d stopped for a real breakfast first. If you’re flying out of Berdoo International, you will have time to spare.
My destination: San Francisco.
People love to hate SF. Maybe in reaction, I’ve grown increasingly fond of it. Like New Orleans, SF’s atmosphere is so unique that it’s almost a foreign city on U.S. shores. By air from San Bernardino, it’s a mere 55 minutes — and a world — away.
You may recall my goal of seeing a game at all 30 Major League ballparks. Compared to distant cities that I may visit only once in my life, SF was so easy that I was in no hurry to cross Oracle Park off my list. But now felt like time.
Oracle is a great waterfront park, the Giants have an organist and the between-innings stuff was fun, like fans caught on video in the stands mimicking playing bongo drums.
After winning 10 in a row, the Giants were shut out by the Padres, 10-0. If you hate the Giants, there would have been a lot to like.
This was ballpark No. 15 for me. Halfway to my goal! But stay tuned for a column on an Ontario couple who’ve been to all 30. You won’t believe it.
Following my usual practice on vacation, I got around on public transit. As a solo traveler, it’s a lot cheaper than renting a car and paying usurious rates to park it. Buses, subways, walking, they can get you almost anywhere.
Also, I try to get to know a city in my own way rather than do touristy things. So I went to bookstores, which tend to be in interesting neighborhoods. And I sought out delicious meals: Detroit pizza, meat-and-three soul food, Chinese dumplings, French pastries, plus a burger and garlic fries at my favorite local chain, Super Duper Burger.
At Amoeba Music, as the clerk rang up my CDs by the Carter Family, Bud Powell, Bing Crosby, Robert Johnson and Tampa Red, none of which were recorded more recently than 70 years ago, I explained, “I try to stay on the cutting edge.” He said he could see that.
I met up with my writer pal David Ewers. With the ocean crashing nearby, we commiserated about bad perceptions of SF. Tech money had distorted everything, Ewers opined, and led leaders to imagine that every single neighborhood could be gentrified. Then the bubble burst.
We agreed that SF is still a fantastic place, one that can now remake itself on a humbler scale and more in keeping with its old values. As optimists, we’re rooting for the city to succeed where cynics are rooting for it to fail — which is kind of sad, isn’t it?
It’s got its problems, obviously. My hotel was by Union Square, where the fancy mall is fading fast — the owner, Westfield, is walking away from it — and the Nordstrom Rack across the street is also closing. And yet an IKEA is preparing to open and a Target is hanging in there.
Homeless people and junkies were prevalent in the neighborhood. I have never seen so much open drug use as I did along a few blocks of Market Street.
One afternoon a man lay sprawled at the street-level entrance to a BART station, having nodded off with his pants down around his knees — but underwear in place, thankfully. I don’t want to speculate on how he ended up in this pose. Presumably drugs were involved, and that’s a human tragedy, not an attack point.
A sunny stroll through Yerba Buena Gardens on my walk to the ballpark seemed to encapsulate the city.
Two guys were sharing a pipe, a disturbing sight in a public place. But a little farther along the path, a man was crouched down, camera up, smile across his face, photographing a bird perched just feet away. I stepped lightly to avoid disturbing either. Next were two adults on a park bench, digging into ice cream cones like kids.
Here were the contradictions of SF, misery and simple joys, all within a few yards.
Despite a lot of SF haters’ rhetoric, by the way, I never saw any human waste despite miles of walking. But as I type this on Monday afternoon in downtown Riverside, I saw that very thing in the stairwell of a parking structure earlier.
More evidence, perhaps, that Riverside is becoming a big city. Possible tourism slogan: “Riverside is the place to go.”
Speaking of treading carefully, my most ambitious outing in SF was conducted on foot.
I did the first walk from Adah Bakalinsky‘s “Stairway Walks in San Francisco” guide: Yerba Buena Cove, Telegraph Hill and Chinatown.
By the end, I’d seen the city’s narrowest building (130 Bush St.), a single block with four homes from the 1860s (Union Street), a plaque for a bank where future Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman had been on the board of directors and an Art Deco apartment building that was used in Bogart and Bacall’s “Dark Passage.”
Also, I’d detoured to visit City Lights, the famous bookstore, and to dine at the Tadich Grill, the 1849 restaurant and watering hole.
The highlights, though, were the stairs.
First came the Vallejo Stairs, two stairways bisected by gardens with lush plantings. Dragonflies flitted by. When had I last seen a dragonfly? And here were dozens of them.
Not much farther along were the Filbert Street Steps, an immense public stairway on the east side of Telegraph Hill.
The center plantings here are even more glorious. The garden was begun circa 1950 by a woman named Grace Marchant and continued by neighbors after her death in 1982. Modest houses line both sides, some dating to the 19th century, and are accessible only by the stairs.
Fellow tourists passed me on the wooden stairs up or down and gaped at the gardens. Were we really in a major city? If you think this is some sort of dystopian hellscape, you are doing San Francisco all wrong.
David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, which are all right. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter.
]]>Ready to embark on a visual adventure? Discover how a photography hobby can improve your health, elevate your relationships, and change your life.
If you’re searching for a hobby that combines creativity, relaxation, and even a chance to make a little extra cash, then photography might just be your perfect match. In a world filled with fast-paced routines and endless distractions, taking photos offers an escape – one where you can tell stories, record key events, and share experiences.
In this article, I explore 16 compelling reasons why you should pick photography as a hobby. From the therapeutic powers of capturing stunning images to the joy of sharing visual stories with your loved ones, you’ll learn the unique benefits of photography and what makes taking photos so special.
I might be a little biased, but here’s my guarantee: By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be itching to pick up a camera and start snapping photos!
Photography allows you to create images of special events, times, and places. It lets you record the specifics of an event – and it also allows you to share that event with friends and family, long after it’s done and gone.
By capturing a special moment in time, you can always remember it in crisp detail, even as your mental memories begin to fade. Plus, those memories will eventually become part of your history, perhaps even family lore. And they won’t just be passed down through stories; they’ll be passed down through images, too.
You can have so much fun with a camera.
You can head out with the family to the beach or on a picnic, shoot a local sports games, randomly roam your city streets photographing strangers, stalk wildlife, hike up a mountain for a stunning view, or stand under the stars at 2 AM and watch the Milky Way slowly move across the heavens.
In other words: Photography offers many opportunities to do new, interesting, and fun things with your camera – things you may not have done otherwise.
Plus, all sorts of things become interesting when they can provide you with material for photographic adventures. Cultural festivals, parades, sports events, a wander along the beach, exploring parts of your city previously undiscovered, architectural details on buildings, intricate details of flowers, people-watching, wildlife, meeting people who have different interests and hobbies, and much more; thanks to photography, it’ll be tons of fun.
Research shows that learning a new skill helps the brain and improves memory. And the more difficult the skill, the more you benefit.
Given that photography has so many elements – the science of light, the technology of the camera, the creative artistic side – there is a lot to learn.
So whatever your age, now is the perfect time to start a photography hobby.
Let’s face it: Life can get pretty hectic sometimes. Whether you’re juggling a demanding job, dealing with family responsibilities, or simply navigating the ups and downs of daily life, stress seems to be a constant companion.
But photography offers a unique escape, a chance to disconnect from the chaos and reconnect with your inner self. It’s a mindful practice that encourages you to be fully present in the moment. As you frame a shot, adjusting your focus and composing the elements just right, the rest of the world fades into the background. Your attention shifts to the details, the interplay of light and shadow, and the subtle nuances that make each scene come alive.
Engaging in slower-paced forms of photography, like capturing delicate flowers up close, architectural marvels, or sweeping landscapes, can be especially soothing. These moments of stillness can become your sanctuary, and the act of creating something beautiful with your camera can become an act of self-care.
Some describe the act of photographing as if they’re in a trance, completely absorbed in the process. Whether you’re venturing into the great outdoors or photographing everyday scenes in your own backyard, photography offers a portal to serenity.
Photography won’t just keep your brain in shape; it’ll keep your body in shape, too!
Getting out of the house, walking, and even hiking are common side effects of interest in photography. Do you like landscape photography? Then you’ll need to go where the landscapes are, and that often means some form of exercise. Do you want to photograph people? Then you’ll need to walk the streets, which requires plenty of physical activity.
Of course, not all forms of photography require strenuous exercise. If you prefer a more easygoing approach, that’s okay, too; genres such as macro photography and portrait photography will get you out of the house, but won’t make you feel like a marathon runner. Make sense?
One caveat: Camera gear is heavy, so it’s important to be aware of any health or safety concerns. Carrying a camera on a strap around your neck (plus a backpack on your back) for a long time can be quite painful. Fortunately, there are many lightweight cameras available, not to mention excellent camera-carrying devices, compact tripods, and other burden-easing equipment.
In her book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about creativity and inspiration. She says that creativity is good for us as individuals, and that the feeling you get when you finally capture an awesome sunrise photo, the feeling you get when you finally capture the image, is a wonderful thing.
But being creative is something we rarely do as adults. Enter photography, which is hugely creative and allows for endless flexibility in shooting and artistic style. That style can grow as you learn more and start to experiment with different genres.
Bottom line: Creativity is fun, and it provides a necessary counterbalance for the stressful demands of a modern lifestyle.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And let’s face it, sometimes finding the time to share what’s happening in your life with friends and family can be a challenge. Whether it’s due to busy schedules, distance, or simply feeling disconnected, photography can bridge those gaps and help you communicate in a meaningful way.
When you embrace photography as a hobby, you start capturing moments that matter. From your daily routines and workplace to your home, kids, or even your garden, you can use your camera to tell the story of your life. Then, instead of struggling to find the right words, you can share those photos with your loved ones, giving them a window into your world.
With each photo you capture, you’re giving your friends and family a chance to see what’s going on in your life. They can experience the joy, the challenges, and the beauty that surrounds you. It’s a way to strengthen those connections and ensure that distance or time constraints don’t hinder your ability to stay in touch.
If you’re the kind of person who always wants to give the perfect gift, then photography will help you succeed beyond your wildest dreams! After all, who doesn’t love receiving prints and other photo products as gifts? They’re highly meaningful because they took real love and care to produce, and they’re personal because they came directly from you.
Photography offers plenty of options, too. You can give canvas prints of your favorite shots; thoughtful photo books featuring your kids, vacations, or special occasions; and even mugs and t-shirts with family photos or other captivating images.
So next time you’re wracking your brain for the perfect gift, pick up that camera. It’s a surefire way to offer presents that’ll be treasured for a lifetime!
Here’s another likely outcome of taking up photography:
You’ll travel all over the place, from different parts of your own city or country all the way to the other side of the globe. There is so much interesting stuff to photograph in other places, including landscapes, wildlife, architecture, and people from other cultures.
Now, travel broadens the mind and exposes you to new concepts and ideas, plus it’s an excellent learning opportunity. It provides so much creative variety and possibilities for personal growth.
Also, travel is just tons of fun!
So if you do take up photography, make sure you jump on the opportunity to travel, even if you only go a couple of hours away. It can provide entirely new situations and vistas! Be brave and venture forth.
Feel like you have too much time on your hands and don’t know what to do with it all? Well, photography might just be the perfect solution. Instead of spending hours mindlessly watching YouTube videos or endlessly scrolling on your phone, why not channel your energy into a fulfilling hobby?
In my experience, photography gives you a purpose, something to strive toward. Whether it’s capturing beautiful images of your grandkids, documenting the world around you, or creating breathtaking landscape shots that generate buzz on social media, photography keeps you engaged and motivated. It’s a wonderful feeling to have a creative pursuit that constantly pushes you to improve and learn new techniques.
The best part is that photography is flexible and fits into your schedule. You can grab your camera and shoot at any time of the day, allowing you to indulge in your hobby whenever you have a free moment. From the early morning golden hour to the quiet serenity of night photography, there’s always an opportunity to capture something remarkable.
Plus, you’ll never run out of subjects to photograph! From the smallest details in nature to bustling city streets, every scene holds the potential for a captivating image.
Looking to meet new people and make new friends? Well, meeting interesting people during your photographic adventures is pretty common. For instance, you might ask a local for advice on how to find a certain viewpoint – and they’ll end up showing you the way!
Or you might start talking with someone who is curious about your photography, which can lead to a great afternoon of conversation.
Once you get serious, you can even consider organizing a meetup with local photo enthusiasts in your area. And who knows? You might make a new adventure buddy and a new friend!
By the way, if you are friendly and courteous with your camera, many people are often happy to pose. Engaging with other people ensures you make more of a connection, and the resulting images are often powerful and emotional. So while keeping personal safety in mind, be brave and say hello.
The photography community – both online and in person – can be very supportive. After all, sharing your passion with other people around the world who speak your language, understand your challenges, and have had similar experiences can be very helpful.
So I highly recommend you engage with a photographic community of some sort.
What communities are best? Well, online forums and social media platforms can be good places to find those secret local waterfall spots, where certain rare birds might be nesting, etc. People may be willing to give assistance with problems, critique your images, and provide an all-around welcoming place to hang out and chat about your hobby. (The dPS community on Facebook is a great place to start!)
Of course, you can also look at in-person options, such as camera clubs, meetup groups, photowalks, and more.
If you’re looking for a way to earn a little extra cash each month, then a photography hobby can be your ticket. While it may not make you a millionaire, it can certainly help you cover small expenses or treat yourself to little indulgences.
There are various approaches you can take that fit your schedule and interests. One option is shooting stock photos and uploading them online, allowing you to earn passive income as they get purchased by others. Another option is offering portrait sessions to your family and friends, capturing their special moments and creating lasting memories. And hey, if you have a soft spot for animals, you can even offer your photography services to capture the adorable antics of your neighbors’ dogs and cats.
If you’re feeling more adventurous, why not try selling prints of your best shots at local arts and craft shows? It’s a rewarding experience that lets you showcase your work and interact with fellow art enthusiasts.
Photography as a side hustle can be a fun way to monetize your skills and passion while keeping things manageable and enjoyable. So why not start that photo hobby and turn it into a little money-making venture?
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get caught up in the rush and miss the beauty that surrounds us every day. But photography has a way of changing that.
You see, when you pick up a camera, you start to see the world differently. You become attuned to the play of light and shadow, the intricate details that might have gone unnoticed, and the captivating moments that unfold in the blink of an eye.
Whether you’re strolling through a bustling city street or exploring the serenity of nature, photography helps you slow down and appreciate the beauty that often gets overlooked. It encourages you to pause, observe, and capture those fleeting moments that make life extraordinary.
As a photographer, you become a keen observer, finding inspiration in the simplest of things – the way sunlight filters through the trees, the laughter of children playing, or the delicate petals of a flower. Through the lens of your camera, you’ll uncover hidden gems in familiar places, finding beauty in the everyday and transforming ordinary scenes into extraordinary photographs. This newfound appreciation for your surroundings will not only enhance your photography but also bring more joy and fulfillment to your life.
You might think that photography is an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be! You can capture amazing photos without breaking the bank.
First off, if you have a smartphone, you’re already armed with a powerful camera. Those little devices have come a long way and can now snap sharp and detailed images with just a tap. So don’t underestimate the camera in your pocket, especially when you’re just getting started.
If you want to dive deeper into photography and have more control over settings and subjects, you can opt for a used DSLR and an older lens. With the rise of mirrorless cameras, secondhand DSLR gear has become more affordable, yet it’s still incredibly powerful.
So if you’re thinking about delving into photography, don’t let money stop you. You can jump into this hobby without emptying your wallet. Look for deals and explore secondhand options. You don’t need the latest and greatest equipment to take captivating photos. It’s all about your eye for composition, lighting, and capturing the moment.
No matter your passion, you can explore it via photography in whatever creative way you want. When starting out, it pays to have an understanding of the basic guidelines for composition and light, but don’t let them limit you. Challenge them, break them, and see what happens. It might work, it might not, but either way, it will be a learning experience.
Eventually, you’ll start to approach the world in a way that is specific to you. That’s when you’ll have developed a style of your own (which is a wonderful feeling, by the way!).
There are many different types and styles of photography, and you can adapt whatever you do to your individual desires and needs. There is space for all different approaches, from the classic landscape, nature, wildlife, street, portrait, and sports styles, to all the different variations in between. So don’t feel like photography constrains you – instead, you shape it!
Photography adds so much value to our lives – by recording special events, people, and places, while also helping us learn and grow as people. It allows us to share our lives and experiences in meaningful ways, and it allows us to engage and have fun with other people.
Choosing photography as a hobby will offer so many possibilities for creative expression and technical expertise. Age is certainly not a barrier here, and if all you have is the camera on your phone, that’s okay; you can start with that.
So here’s my challenge to you:
Head out sometime today and take your first photo.
Now let us know your thoughts:
Which of these reasons speaks to you the most? Do you plan to start a photography hobby? If so, why? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The post 16 Powerful Reasons to Choose Photography as a Hobby (in 2023) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Stacey Hill.
]]>I always splurge on a big bag of cotton candy at the county fair each year. It tastes great, and it also smells amazing.
For a healthier option, we love cotton candy grapes. They aren't easy to find around here, but I snag them when I see them at the grocery store.
We also love the smell of cotton candy, so I wanted to use it in a soap for myself and the girls.
For more fun melt and pour soap ideas, try these ideas:
Melt and pour soap is a popular soap-making method that involves melting pre-made soap bases and adding your desired ingredients to create customized soap bars.
Unlike cold process soap making, which requires working with lye, melt and pour soap allows you to skip the chemical reaction and jump straight into the creative part of soap making.
Advantages of using melt and pour soap bases:
When selecting a melt and pour soap base for your cotton candy soap bars, consider factors such as:
I recommend using melt and pour soap from HB Oils or Simply Earth.
To get started on your cotton candy soap-making journey, you'll need to gather the following ingredients and supplies:
Ingredients:
Supplies:
Now that your have the ingredients for your cotton candy soap, it's time to start melting and pouring the soap base. Follow these step-by-step instructions for a successful process:
Begin by cutting the melt and pour soap base into small, uniform chunks using a sharp knife. Smaller chunks will melt more quickly and evenly. Place the white soap in one container and divide the clear soap between the other two containers.
Choose either the microwave or double boiler method to melt the soap base. If using the microwave, place the soap chunks in a microwave-safe container and heat in short bursts, stirring in between until completely melted. If using a double boiler, fill the lower pot with water and place it on the stove over low heat. Put the soap chunks in the upper pot and stir until melted. Melt each container separately because the soap will cool between layers. I started with the white soap first.
Melt the white soap and add 1 teaspoon of Polysorbate 80, 1/3 of the fragrance oil or essential oils, and white mica. Stir well. Pour into the mold and spritz with rubbing alcohol. Let sit until cool before proceeding to the next step.
Melt one bowl of clear soap to create the next layer. Add pink mica, glitter, fragrance, and Polysorbate 80 and stir well. Pour over the white layer and spray with rubbing alcohol. Let cool completely before proceeding to the next step.
Melt the final bowl. Add the blue colorant, Polysorbate 80, glitter, and scent. Stir well. Pour over the pink layer and spray with rubbing alcohol. Let cool completely. Once cool, unmold and enjoy!
To ensure successful cotton candy soap making, consider these useful tips and troubleshooting strategies:
Now you know how to make cotton candy melt and pour soap!
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Have you ever thought, “Gee, I wish my treadmill took up more space?”
No?
Well I’m about to make the case for it. The Bowflex Treadmill 22 is the biggest treadmill I’ve ever laid eyes on… and I love it.
Mostly, I’m impressed with the 22-inch display, the ability to watch streaming video using the JRNY app, and the treadmill’s safety features.
Let’s talk about it.
The Bowflex Treadmill 22 is pretty impressive.
First of all, it’s roughly the size of a minivan. I received the giant 7-foot by 3-foot-4 floor mat a day before the treadmill arrived, and thought to myself, “Surely the treadmill isn’t this big.”
Well, it is. It takes up every bit of the floor mat. I had to rearrange my entire office-slash-workout room, and condemn my spin bike to the garage so it could fit (in addition to moving out my old treadmill).
Fortunately, it arrived unassembled. I had it assembled by pros when it was delivered, which I highly recommend. First of all, the box it comes in is huge, and it weighs 336 pounds. Next, it took two pros a couple of hours to put this thing together, so I can only imagine what a soul-destroying challenge it would have been for me. However, assembly will bump up the price a bit more — it’s $349.
Now that it’s assembled, I’m pretty sure it’s going to have to stay here if we eventually move. It’s that big — even when folded up. (And yes, it does fold up pretty easily so you can reclaim some of that space when it’s not in use.)
However, the size does make for a really roomy exercise area. The cushioned running belt is 22 inches wide and 60 inches long, which is more spacious than the industry standard of 18 to 20 inches wide and 55 inches long.
The star feature (and namesake) of the Bowflex Treadmill 22, though, is the 22-inch touchscreen display — but more on that later.
Beneath the display are the treadmill controls. This treadmill offers a pretty broad range of speed and incline levels, from 0 to 12 mph and -5 to 15 percent incline. (For comparison, the Peloton Tread goes up to 12.5 mph and offers incline from 0 to 12.5 percent.) Additionally, there are three different ways to control the speed and incline. The main controls are directly between the touchscreen, but there are speed and incline buttons on the heart rate grips and the hand rests as well.
The treadmill also features four bottle holders and a built-in fan.
Now let’s talk more about that touchscreen…
One of my biggest pet peeves about tech-connected fitness is equipment that comes with a big, beautiful screen that you can’t watch TV on.
Thankfully, the JRNY app — which is designed to work best with Bowflex and Schwinn products — lets you access your streaming services while you work out. You can watch Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Max on the JRNY interface. It definitely makes working out on a treadmill a little less boring.
JRNY also offers a ton of trainer-led workouts and scenic runs/walks, although so far I’ve spent most of my treadmill time on Hulu.
Like many other fitness apps, it also offers a gamified experience with achievement badges. You can also watch off-treadmill workouts on the treadmill’s display. However, the display is stationary, so it may not be the most practical to use for floor workouts.
The Bowflex Treadmill 22 comes with a free full year of JRNY access. Even after the year is up, JRNY subscriptions start at $99 per year. That makes it one of the least expensive streaming fitness apps, significantly less than some big names that don’t offer access to streaming video apps.
So far, I have been really satisfied with this treadmill. It’s comfortable to walk on, roomy, and very easy to make adjustments to speed and incline. When I’m feeling particularly lazy, it’s nice to have tons of incline options so I can get a better workout while still walking slowly.
I’m also not a regular runner by any means, but every year or two I get the “running bug” and I stick with it for a few months. Running on this treadmill is really nice, and I could see it being a great tool for more dedicated runners as a backup for cold temps or nasty weather.
I haven’t run into any issues with the performance of this treadmill, but I will say that it’s loud, especially at higher speeds. That’s totally to be expected with its size of course, so I wouldn’t consider it a negative.
When my son decided to set it to max speed so he could watch the people on a scenic run/walk move really really fast, it sounded like an airplane taking off. (And don’t worry, I was supervising this little experiment and he was not on the treadmill when we cranked it up to the max.)
With this giant treadmill in a home I share with two young children, safety was a huge concern for me — especially after hearing about deaths and severe injuries from children being pulled underneath similar treadmills.
Although I love being able to watch streaming shows on it, my absolute favorite feature of this treadmill is the child safety lock. Every time you start the treadmill, you have to enter a unique four-digit passcode before you have access to the controls. Because the passcode changes every time, your little ones won’t be able to outsmart it.
This function can also be disabled, because I can imagine it may be annoying if you don’t have young kids around.
Also, although the running deck sits pretty high off of the ground, there are supports beneath it to prevent children from crawling — or being pulled — underneath it.
At $2,999, the Bowflex Treadmill 22 is not a cheap treadmill. Still, it’s also not the most expensive, especially for the many features and range of speed and incline options it offers.
If you’re a serious runner, I think this treadmill would be a great investment. I’ve only had it for a few months, but it seems to be constructed really well, and I think I’ll be able to get several years of use out of it.
But, there’s another type of person I think this treadmill would be an excellent purchase for: The person who enjoys connected fitness, but who doesn’t want to pay insane prices for access to it. (Because let’s be real here, purchasing a piece of fitness equipment for thousands of dollars and then having to pay hundreds in membership fees every year is pretty lame.)
Although there is the initial investment of the treadmill itself, the first year of JRNY is included free. For subsequent years, the JRNY app is very reasonably priced for the features it offers, including access to streaming video apps. At the time of writing, a JRNY subscription starts at $11.99 per month or $99 per year.
Just remember: This treadmill is huge.
]]>When I visited in August 2022, that company—BeeHex—was just one of the 18 teams selected to compete in the Phase II of the Deep Space Food Challenge, a contest sponsored by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. The teams’ task: Create foods that will not only feed a crew of astronauts on a deep-space mission to Mars for at least three years but also improve life on Earth.
Innovators from around the globe signed on to design food-production technologies that could potentially earn cash prizes and even enter orbit. When the contest began in 2021, there were 239 teams from 29 countries vying for the opportunity to have their food tech included on a future space mission. And just last month, NASA whittled that figure down even further, to eight winners of Phase II. But before we skip ahead to the winners, it’s important to meet some of these teams and understand why such a contest exists in the first place.
With the successful launch of Artemis I (NASA’s first phase to get astronauts back to the moon, and then Mars) and recent announcement of Artemis II (a crewed lunar flyby test scheduled for 2024), NASA is one step closer to getting a crew to Mars. These expansions into space exploration come with questions about how to feed astronauts around 127.31 million miles away from Earth. Future foods should produce minimal waste, require minimal resources, and be actually tasty—something lacking in current and past space food.
In the 1960s, astronauts such as John Glenn squeezed out meat and applesauce from tubes while sucking their meals through straws and dining on freeze-dried foods. Powdered drinks and freeze-dried foods were also used on Gemini’s Earth-orbit missions. To spice up their bland diets, some astronauts took extreme measures: NASA pilot John Young made history in 1965 when he smuggled an unapproved corned beef sandwich aboard Gemini III.
Space food improved slightly for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first humans to set foot on the moon in 1969. As dehydrated foods replaced tube foods, Apollo astronauts were able to add water to dried beef and eat it with a spoon. Their meals were edible, but still a poor imitation of those available on Earth.
The 1980s brought about the Tang craze, when civilians bought the orange-powder drink to eat straight from the jar or mixed with water. Contrary to popular belief, NASA did not invent Tang, and astronauts did not love it. In 2013, Buzz Aldrin did not hold back when he told NPR, “Tang sucks.”
In the decades since, menu options, nutrition, and flavor options have improved (astronauts even get to taste-test meals ahead of time), but space food still has lots of room for improvement. To be fair, the food—all of which gets processed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas—must meet strict criteria for space. Food that produces crumbs, for example, could pose a danger to a shuttle’s system. Loose Cheerios or a cup of coffee could spell disaster in a zero-gravity environment. Bread is nonexistent in space, making a juicy burger served on a bun (or a corned beef sandwich) out of the question. Instead, astronauts rely on soft tortillas for sandwiches.
More work still needs to be done to be Mars ready. The challenge of creating sustainable and palatable food in a limited environment is one that NASA’s contest aims to address.
“We really looked at everything,” says James Hury III, director at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health and the lead judge for Phase II of the competition. “Crickets and insects, and things that may not sound appetizing, but you’re encouraging people to come up with ways to make them an appetizing source of protein.”
Over the course of this competition, I spent 18 months interviewing several teams in the United States and across the globe. They took time to share their knowledge and their dreams for a better future—and sometimes even the inner-workings of their labs or, in one case, their garage. Though each team differed in their approach—plant growth, manufactured foods, bio-culture, and more—they all had a common goal of making a positive difference on Earth and in space. The possibility of astronauts savoring a slice of good pizza or a real sandwich seemed light-years away—until now.
In 1962, The Jetsons debuted. In the cartoon, George Jetson flew a space car and his son, Elroy, could make his own dinner with a press of a few buttons—peanut butter, sardines, liverwurst, baloney, sardines—and, blastoff, a full hoagie shot into little Elroy’s hands.
Today, reality has caught up with science fiction: At BeeHex, a company in Gahanna, Ohio, a similar version of The Jetsons’ sandwich scene is taking place with 3-D printed foods.
Here, Anjan Contractor is creating 3-D printed foods for the Deep Space Food Challenge. Contractor and his team have designed what they’ve dubbed a Universal Food Fabricator (UFF) for missions to Mars. The machine uses a dehydration chamber where vegetables, fruits, and meats are changed to powder form. Then, the foods get stored in air-tight cartridges where they can be kept for years—a necessity for the long mission to Mars.
The UFF system, Contractor says, starts simply enough: It’s based on the same system of dehydrating foods and packaging them in a vacuum seal that NASA has been using since the 1970s. But BeeHex is adding a few tweaks.
“What if besides creating a long shelf life, we could improve the food’s texture using a 3-D printing food system?” Contractor asks.
It’s August 2022 and I’m sitting across from Contractor in BeeHex’s conference room. To illustrate how the process works, he holds up a clear capsule that looks similar to the tubes that come through a bank drive-through window. These cartridges hold powdered food ingredients that are the “printing material” that will create foods like pizza or steak. When the capsule is inserted in the machine, water is added and an extrusion process creates a palatable texture. Contractor says he’s able to create a juicy, meaty-tasting steak with a rich aroma that has the same appearance of steak served at any fine restaurant.
“If we can create foods that are exciting, with texture, taste, and smell, we can change the future of [space food],” Contractor says. “You could choose a 3-D printed steak and broccoli. Or pizza.”
Contractor leads me into a large lab where the atmosphere is buzzing with activity. One group of employees huddle around a screen looking over data, while another group troubleshoots a laser problem, and a few congregate near a kitchen counter lined with pizzas for a quick bite.
Using natural food ingredients, Contractor intends for his 3-D printed food device to be useful for the consumer market as well as outer space. To test the concept, he created a 3-D printed pizza and partnered with Donatos Pizza, a regional chain headquartered in Ohio. BeeHex even shares space with Donatos so they can better collaborate. While there, we walked past a mound of pepperoni about a foot high—part of thickness trials to create the perfect pepperoni slice.
“Pizza was a natural fit to begin with because it’s layer by layer—crust, then sauce, then cheese, and toppings—just like 3-D printing,” says Contractor. “But the market for a 3-D printed pizza is not there.”
Making pizza is not labor intensive, so making 3-D printed pizzas didn’t solve any labor issues. Cake decorating, however, is labor intensive, so BeeHex invented a 3-D Cake Writer that frosts and personalizes cakes. Contractor sells these devices to big-box stores for automated cake decorating to finance his deep space food project. But the dessert decorating doesn’t stop there: Contractor tests his 3-D printer prototype for NASA’s contest with the task of frosting cookies. Toward the back of the lab, the printer’s red laser beam scans across a sheet. After the sensor identifies each cookie’s location, a metal, robotic tube pipes white frosting in lines.
Space-funding skeptics often question if putting money into space exploration makes sense when there are pressing problems here on Earth. To that, Contractor argues that the two are not mutually exclusive. “Space food inventions have and will continue to improve life here on Earth.”
Contractor smiles and talks animatedly when discussing how his 3-D food printer will bring delicious foods with long shelf lives for astronauts. But his dark brown eyes turn serious as he speaks of solving big problems like food waste and food shortages. He believes this technology could be applied to refugee camps, Arctic laboratories, and disaster relief locations before they’re launched into orbit.
Later, he hopes for innovations like his printer to become mainstream to address more widespread issues, like food chain supply problems.
“The years when we have overproduction, the waste that we are creating can be saved for later,” Contractor says. “Even the edible parts of plants that we discard like the leaves, the roots—these can be dehydrated and stored for the long term. We can mix these foods with other 3-D printed foods, and make them palatable.”
To ensure this palatability, Contractor has hired an in-house chef. Just before I leave BeeHex, Contractor and the chef chat about the final details for a 3-D printed fish piccata. They’ve decided to use her classic chicken piccata recipe, but swap the chicken for cod. Their conversation is accompanied by the hum of the red laser scanning across sugar cookies.
Before leaving, I take one final look at the food innovation timeline in the lobby. My eye travels back to the glass panel that reads “Canning in 1795.” A quick internet search reveals that the invention of canning was the result of a French contest created to solve a problem. Napoleon offered a reward of 12,000 francs for the invention of a new food preservation method. Nicolas Appert won Napoleon’s award, changing food production forever. Now a new challenge looms: What obscure food idea of today will help our food landscape and be commonplace years from now?
Like many people stuck at home during COVID-19 lockdowns, Hope Hersh did a lot of baking. But this wasn’t just experiments in sourdough starters; Hersh was developing nutrient-packed bread for outer space.
“I was testing at low temps in my oven for long periods of time. All was going well until my oven broke,” she laughs.
Hersh, the leader of team Space Bread, is a PhD student in plant molecular and cellular biology at the University of Florida. When we speak over Zoom in August 2022, a big smile spreads across her face as she tells me about her longtime dreams of working for NASA. When she learned that the Deep Space Food Challenge would blend her passions for baking, plant science, and space, she jumped at the opportunity.
Safely making bread in space has been previously off limits since crumbs can disrupt sensitive equipment. Bread also lacks essential nutrients and is too large to store on a spacecraft. To address the crumb and nutrient issues, Hersh tinkered with a no-knead recipe known to produce little to no crumbs. She landed on a ciabatta-type bread that uses flour, yeast, and salt, along with edible algae for nutrients. To minimize space, all the ingredients can be stored in a reusable, food-safe plastic bag.
“The idea for the plastic bag came about when my [doctoral] advisor was getting his blood drawn,” Hersh says. “The idea is brilliant because the FEP [Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene] bags can tolerate high and low temperatures, ideal for space.” This means the bread can also be baked inside the bags: Hersh explains that gas flows between the plastic membranes, preserving the cells inside and creating an ideal environment for yeast to rise.
The result is a soft, chewy bread that doesn’t crumble. Hersh also notes that the algae doesn’t impart a swampy aroma or flavor: It looks, tastes, and smells just like home-baked bread, she says.
With its compact size and perfect portability, Hersh notes that Space Bread would also be ideal for disaster relief missions and in military meals. Not only that, but fresh-baked bread would offer something invaluable to anyone far from home, be it a soldier, refugee, or astronaut: warmth and comfort.
“I can’t imagine being gone for five years on Mars and never being able to smell fresh-baked bread,” Hersh says. “Bread is a reminder of home.”
Hersh isn’t alone in her belief in the power of bread. Nearly 1,800 miles from her university lab, another innovator is making great strides in the field of space baking.
On a sunny morning in Boulder, Colorado, several windows shine light into Jim Sears’s garage. “This is my lab,” he says as he walks me through a virtual tour during a Facetime call. “My wife is highly annoyed that we can never park our cars here.”
The garage is tidy with a wooden desk on one side and a section set up with a lathe and milling machines. Another area has a table lined with foods such as a giant box of Rice Krispies cereal, Bisquick baking mix, and pouches of dried potato flakes. Finally, he leads me to an unassuming machine that’s just slightly bigger than a toaster.
“This is where I get to geek-out,” he laughs. This is SATED, a space oven that could be the first oven to safely cook foods in zero gravity.
When I talked with Sears in March, SATED—an acronym for Safe Appliance Tidy Efficient Delicious—had been declared one the Deep Space Food Challenge’s Phase II Finalists, the stage of the competition when NASA judges visit teams on-site and conduct taste tests.
Sears says his small oven is ready for Mars and can brown foods like peach cobbler and pizza to perfection. Inside, food ingredients spin within a cylinder that uses centrifugal force to press them directly against a heated inner wall. With SATED, astronauts would be able to build their own meal by injecting ingredients into a central hole in the end of the cylinder. They can then add a variety of ingredients one at a time while varying the cooking temperature and time accordingly. Ingredients like baking mix, water, dried fruits, cheese, pepperoni, and many others can be sequentially suctioned into the cooking cylinder and baked. And, like magic (well, physics), a cylinder-shaped version of, say, peach cobbler is made in about 12 minutes.
Before Sears’s oven, many safety considerations have stood in the way of cooking in space. Trying to cook in a weightless environment, for one. And the risk of fire and smoke would be catastrophic to a space mission. SATED uses ceramic heating elements, not unlike those used in household ceramic space heaters, that automatically shut down before they ever approach the temperatures that could cause smoke or fire.
After spending years as a hardware systems engineer for a major aerospace company, Sears left to focus on his own entrepreneurial projects and inventions. In 2022, he founded his own company, Ascent Technology, specifically for the challenge.
“SATED is, by far, the most technically exciting and I believe, ultimately the most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on,” Sears says.
When the NASA judges made an on-site visit to test SATED in Sears’s garage, they witnessed how the fire- and smoke-free oven could cleanly bake, fry, and simmer ingredients ranging from dried fruits to dried cheese crisps to fresh vegetables.
“They ended up doing most of the cooking,” Sears says. “There was a thrill of discovery.” The judges made dishes including cranberry cobbler, shepherd's pie, and pizza. The fan favorite was an omelet made from dried egg crystals, bell peppers, and cheese crisps.
Operating the oven is simple: Sears made using SATED as easy as using a microwave. The newest model has just four digital readouts: one for cooking temperature, one for setting artificial gravity, one to activate a fan that sucks dried foods into the cooking rotor, and one for measuring the mass of ingredients in grams.
Sears envisions his oven not only in outer space but for safely cooking in tents, submarines, and other areas where a closed environment and water usage are an issue. But when it comes to space, he sees an advanced, yet easy-to-use kitchen as a crucial aspect of long-distance travel and even potential colonization.
“The ability to cook, serve, and gather around good meals is a necessity of human life that will become essential for sustainably colonizing space,” he says. “Being able to eat a genuine crispy, cheesy, tomatoey piece of pizza on the surface of the moon, or on the way to Mars, means you could actually be inspired to be there.”
In a video about NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, retired astronaut Scott Kelly reflects on his time growing red lettuce and orange zinnia flowers in space. “Growing, preparing, and eating good food makes you feel connected to home,” he says. “The food on the ISS was sufficient, but there’s always room to grow.”
The Deep Space Food Challenge has a few teams trying to crack the code of farming in microgravity. The Auto Terra Project (formerly known as Arrakis Terrarium) is one such team. When we speak in September 2022, the crew of UMass-Lowell undergrads is hard at work perfecting a third prototype for the contest.
“Essentially, it’s a community garden inside a terrarium enclosure,” team leader Ariel Shramko says. “Inside this terrarium, we can control temperature, humidity, hours of daylight. We’re creating an ideal environment.”
Shramko, an environmental engineering major, says her love of plants and the environment came long before college or contests.
“Creating ecosystems has been a childhood dream of mine,” she says. While other kids were playing hide-and-seek, she was making mini terrariums out of peanut butter jars. “I was a bit of a nerd.”
So far, Shramko and the Auto Terra team have grown tomatoes, celery, spinach, green beans, mushrooms, and potatoes in their enclosures. By making the system almost entirely automatic—with the terrarium self-regulating its humidity, air temperature, hours of daylight, and more—it would free astronauts to focus on other tasks besides the minutiae of farming.
But it’s not just about Mars. Their goal, Shramko says, is as much about space travel as it is about making fresh vegetables accessible for more people on Earth. By keeping the external environment separate from the internal environment, crops can be grown anywhere—from spacecraft to city apartments. The team has already built one version of the terrarium specifically for use in urban food deserts.
The team’s recent prototype design emphasizes this accessibility. “Our goal is to have all the fixtures of the unit available using 3-D printing,” team member Eliot Pirone adds.* In the background on our Zoom call, Pirone’s 3-D printer is spitting out a part for the terrarium from his home office. “We want to make this accessible to as many people as possible,” Pirone says. What can’t be printed can be purchased from a home improvement store.
The result is a printable prototype that is not only compact and portable, but cost-effective and easily replicated for use in lower-income communities. The terrarium’s exterior, for instance, is soft-sided like a canvas and has vertical supports that can be folded flat for easy portability. It’s a big improvement from their original. “Our first one was enormous, and we found out it was a total pain to move,” Pirone laughs. “We needed to have a unit that could fit through a doorway.”
“We’re university students,” Shramko agrees, chuckling. “We don’t have big cars.”
No matter the outcome of the Deep Space Challenge, Shramko notes that the ultimate goal is bringing their terrarium to communities coping with food scarcity.
“While the Mars stuff is cool and all, a huge part of our mission is about getting this to people who actually need it.”
Meanwhile, in an entirely different hemisphere, another team at another university is also looking toward the power of plants.
In Piracicaba, Brazil, Paulo Hercílio Viegas Rodrigues is looking at the Amazon rainforest to provide growth solutions for Mars. When we chat over a Zoom in October 2022, Rodrigues’s enthusiasm pours out through animated hands as he describes the botanical bounty of the region.
“The rich diversity of plants in the Amazon rainforest is a living laboratory for healthy foods found nowhere else,” he says.
One such food is taioba, a tropical plant native to Brazil and parts of Africa. Also known as arrowleaf or elephant ear, the plant’s leaves supply vitamin A, vitamin C, and phosphorus and have a taste akin to spinach.
Rodrigues’s team of agronomists and computer engineers from the University of São Paolo goes by LCTPO, short for the Laboratório de Cultura de Tecidos e Plantas Ornamentais (“Laboratory of Ornamental Plants for Tissue Culture”). Together, they’ve produced a unique farming system that can grow taioba plants that are small and lightweight but also highly concentrated with nutrients.
Since taioba plants typically produce large leaves, Rodrigues and his team use artificial blue light to reduce their metabolism, allowing the crops to grow slowly and limiting their size. “Our laboratory is like a space station,” he laughs, reflecting on how he must shut out Brazil’s bright sunshine and create a dark environment that glows with a soft, light blue.
Since the plants are smaller, however, Rodrigues and his team wanted to ensure they had a high concentration of nutrients. To achieve this, he adds terpenes, compounds known to particularly increase carotenoids. The result is nutrient-packed crops that grow in minimal light, require minimal space, and can be continually produced for three years—perfect for the long journey to Mars. Their space farm also features a space-conscious vertical garden and a tissue culture laboratory to maintain a seed bank.
Like the other teams, Rodrigues sees potential for improving foodways on Earth as well as outer space. If he can figure out a way to make a cost-effective version of the tech, he says, it could be applied to a vast array of different crops in different environments, “providing fresh and high-quality food anywhere on Earth,” from the cold climate of Canada to Middle Eastern deserts.
Rodrigues’s expertise may be plants on terra firma, but he’s had a lifelong fascination with outer space. During our conversation, he shows me a piece of paper. “This is from NASA,” he says, beaming. “I wrote to them when I was ten years old. They mailed this to me.” He’s holding NASA’s official reply with Neil Armstrong’s “one giant leap for mankind” declaration emblazoned on it. “And now I’m 58. I’ve saved it all these years.”
On Friday, May 19, the remaining teams waited anxiously for the big announcement that would announce the winners of Phase II of the challenge. Many teams flew into New York City to hear the results announced at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Others listened to the livestream.
Finally just after noon, NASA declared five American and three international teams the winners that would move ahead to the third and final phase of the competition. While BeeHex, Auto Terra, Space Bread, and LCTPO did not advance, Jim Sears’s SATED did.
“You don’t allow yourself to believe you can win until it actually happens,” Sears says. Sears attended the live event, bringing his invention from Colorado to New York, where he provided samples of fresh-baked space pizza straight from his oven.
Other winners included Florida’s Interstellar Lab, whose closed-loop mini eco-habitat produces microgreens, mushrooms, and insects; Sweden’s Mycorena, which created a system that combines microalgae with fungi to produce protein that “feels and tastes like meat”; and Air Company, a Brooklyn-based team that combines human’s exhaled carbon dioxide with hydrogen gas to produce yeast.
Angie Lee—a Phase II judge who worked for NASA conducting human metabolic research experiments with astronauts before becoming a professional chef—says she found projects like SATED particularly promising.
“The proposals I found most exciting are those that give astronauts the ability to cook in space,” Lee says. “Instead of food packets, they allow astronauts to prepare and cook a meal. This builds morale.”
The winning teams now advance to the third phase of the challenge, which will focus on testing each project’s ability to repeatedly and reliably produce food.
The U.S. teams that advanced to Phase III were awarded $150,000 each. Sears intends to use his financial award for further developing his oven. His plans include adapting technologies to be used in orbit and creating a better way to make space ice cream. “I’ve got cooking down,” he says. “Ice cream is next.”
But big dreams take big funds. Sears hopes to secure more money to experiment with parabolic aircraft flights, which reproduce zero-gravity—a highly expensive endeavor. For now, Sears is taking a moment to relax and celebrate his big win with a peaceful camping trip near his Colorado home. “Then, it’s back to work” and, with time, “onto Mars.”
* As of the publication date, Piorone was no longer on the Auto Terra team.
]]>Brownian Motion is named after a botanist, Robert Brown, who noticed pollen grains moving around randomly in water under a microscope. Even though pollen grains are much larger than water molecules, there were still enough collisions for them to be moved.
Robert Brown didn’t understand why the pollen grains he observed were moving, but he was the first scientist to document this kind of movement. It was Albert Einstein who explained that water molecules were moving the pollen grains, and Brownian Motion was used as evidence for the kinetic theory of matter.
This video explains Brownian Motion brilliantly!
Brownian Motion
Last Updated on June 26, 2023 by Emma Vanstone
The post What is Brownian Motion? appeared first on Science Experiments for Kids.
]]>Good morning. Before we turn to the Sunday culture edition of this newsletter, here are some of our writers’ most recent stories to help you make sense of the situation in Russia.
Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained.
Today’s special guest is Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer. Frank is currently at work on a book about the first two years of the Biden presidency; he has recently written for The Atlantic about controversies in the book world and the act of psychoanalyzing American presidents. He’s currently reliving a transcendent music experience he shared with his daughter, wishing he could find a TV show as good as Succession—especially in the art of “sibling razzing”—and watching Bill Nighy any time he graces the screen.
First, here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic:
The Culture Survey: Franklin Foer
Something delightful introduced to me by a kid in my life: When my oldest daughter was 3, I made a determined effort to teach her how to eat with a fork and knife, culturally speaking. I bought used VHS copies of one of the most improbable shows in the history of network television, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, in which a dashing Leonard Bernstein sweeps the hair from his face as he attempts to explain classical music to a CBS audience in the 1960s. For nearly two whole minutes, I managed to coerce her to sit on the couch with me in front of the black-and-white broadcast. Then she broke free and changed the channel to The Backyardigans.
I thought about this doomed experiment in parental pedantry recently because my daughter is now 18. A few weeks back, she graduated from high school, and she’s off to college in the fall. Just before the beginning of her second semester of senior year, we vowed (or was I coercing her again?) to watch every movie on the newly released Sight and Sound list of all-time greatest films. We were going to start with Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, the surprise at the top of the rankings. A family member dismissed the project as hopelessly pretentious, and sure enough, this plan didn’t fare any better with my daughter than my attempt to foist Bernstein on her.
But one of the joys of her teenage years has been our cultural convergence. Because she’s an enthusiast for gardening, a couple of months back, we jointly curated a Spotify playlist of songs about plants, which happens to be a ubiquitous musical metaphor.
During her senior year, we started going to concerts together for acts we both liked—to Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers, to see a group from New Zealand called The Beths. (Expert in a Dying Field is the impeccable title of The Beths’ most recent album.) For Chanukah, she bought us tickets for a brassy Brooklyn group called Rubblebucket. I had barely heard of it. But attending the concert was one of the great musical experiences of my life. The band was exuberant—horns blaring, lead singer pushing her anaerobic capacity with manic dancing—and so were we.
In their book, All Things Shining, the philosophers Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly argue that the transformative reading of Western classics—and moments of passionate engagement with culture—can help us rediscover purpose in a secular society, because it can supply a similar sensation of transcendence. (It’s a lovely short read.) They would call the experience of culturally induced sublimation “whooshing up.” At the 9:30 Club, with a band I barely knew, my daughter and I were, in fact, whooshing up. Because I knew that moment of fatherhood was so fleeting, it felt genuinely ecstatic.
The culture or entertainment product my friends are talking about most right now: I find it annoying how many conversations return to the inadequacy of television after Succession. They are annoying because they are true. Every suggestion for a replacement is impoverished by comparison.
Like many couples, my wife and I will frequently watch shows on our devices at our own pace. (Yes, it’s a mark of my selfishness—and my inability to pass the marshmallow test—that I annoyingly race ahead.) She’s still making her way through Season 4. I’m rewatching episodes with her just so I can study the poetry of familial teasing. It takes characters uninhibited by superegos and morality to realize the literary heights of the sibling-razzing genre. [Related: The Succession plot point that explained the whole series]
An actor I would watch in anything: Bill Nighy. I would even watch him as a catatonic English civil servant confronting his own mortality. That’s the conceit of Living, which just began streaming on Netflix. Kazuo Ishiguro wrote the screenplay, which is an adaptation of a Kurosawa film, which is an adaptation of a Tolstoy novella. The movie is borderline sappy but saved by its Englishness. In moments of catharsis, it pulls back just enough to stay classy, unable to fully express its emotions.
It’s disturbing to see Nighy play a character so old and inhibited, because he’s a balletic actor, usually bursting with charm. I love to watch him walk across the screen. He packs a Russian novel’s worth of character into his gait.
I’m an evangelist for his turn in the Worricker Trilogy, a series of BBC thrillers written by David Hare. The series is about the War on Terror. Nighy is a rogue MI5 agent who seeks to undermine the power-mad Tony Blair–like prime minister, played by Ralph Fiennes. For whatever reason, nobody seems to have ever heard about this miniseries, but it’s sitting there on Apple TV. [Related: The movie that helped Kazuo Ishiguro make sense of the world]
Something I recently rewatched, reread, or otherwise revisited: After Martin Amis’s death, I picked up a copy of his “novelized autobiography,” Inside Story, that was lying in the middle of a pile in the bedroom. It’s a book very much about mortality—that of his friends (Christopher Hitchens and Saul Bellow) and his own. Reviewing the book in The Atlantic, my colleague James Parker wrote, “He wants to lance the moment with language, and he wants his language to live forever.” Reading Amis’s own farewell, at the book’s end, it’s impossible to believe that it won’t. [Related: Jennifer Egan: I learned how to be funny from Martin Amis.]
My favorite way of wasting time on my phone: Searching for rumors about which players Arsenal Football Club might buy this summer.
The arts/culture/entertainment event I’m most looking forward to: I can’t wait to see the postponed Philip Guston exhibit at the National Gallery. The fact that this show was delayed has always struck me as the most ridiculous culture-war skirmish of our time.
The Week Ahead
Essay
The Elegant, Utterly Original Comedy of Alex Edelman
By Adrienne LaFrance
In the long and checkered history of possibly terrible impulse decisions, here’s one for the ages: A few years ago, the comedian Alex Edelman decided on a whim to show up uninvited to a casual meeting of white nationalists at an apartment in New York City, and pose as one of them. Why? He was curious. He wanted to see what it would be like to be on the inside of a gathering that would never have knowingly included him, given that he is Jewish.
More in Culture
Catch Up on The Atlantic
Photo Album
Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, a mass yoga session in New York City, and more in our editor’s selection of the week’s best photos.
Katherine Hu contributed to this newsletter.
]]>This homemade slip n slide will only cost you a fraction of its retail price! If you are looking to save some money while having some outdoor fun this summer, then try this DIY that will give the entire family endless hours of fun!
Roll out the 6-mill plastic and lay it flat on your assembly site or yard.
Neatly and tightly roll the edge of the plastic around the 2×4.
We know you're excited about the next season. Have some fun under the with these easy #Summer2017 crafts! https://t.co/1XSfbMzTo9
— DIY Projects (@DIYProjectsCom) May 15, 2017
Drill a hole on each end of the 2×4. Use a hammer to drive the stakes in and secure the stakes into the ground. Make sure the stakes are securely pounded into the ground so the plastic won't snag.
Place a sprinkler at the front portion of the slide and start from there. You can experiment to find out which placement of the water source will work for your slip n slide to have a better water distribution.
Before sending off the kids to experience the slide of their life, turn on your sprinkler and give it a test run. You can also add some dish soap or tear-free shampoo for added velocity. I bet it will work out perfectly and your slip n slide is now ready!
Let's watch this video from Matthew Grover and see how to make this homemade slip n slide in action:
Now that your slip n slide is ready, all you've got to do is sit back, relax, and wait for that perfect warm day. Gather the kids in your area, and turn your house into the best summer escapade in your neighborhood! If you haven't noticed, with only the stakes securing it to the ground, this wonderful thing is really quick and easy to disassemble and fold away for another day!
So, what do you think of this homemade slip n slide? We’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and let us know!
Want another great backyard project to try your hands on this summer? Check out this DIY mason jar solar lights and make your summer nights even brighter!
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]]>If your summer plans involve letting your kids experiment and enjoy unstructured play time, you're going to love these toys. Start your hunt on Craigslist or other pre-owned sites. Water tables can hold up to a lot of use. If you are buying new, here are my picks.
Related: Best sewing kits for kids
I'm excited about this new toy that offers a great update to a classic toy. KiwiCo is known for their thoughtful subscription kits for kids to stay engaged while playing, so I'm not surprised that the brand's newest offering, the Water & Sand Sensory Table is so well designed. It's a match for kids ages 3+, and features a rearrangeable stick-on pipe set, paint crayons, and the option to use both water and sand. It's adaptable for your family as your kids grown thanks to adjustable height settings, durable construction, and grow-with-me features.
IMHO water tables are a playtime investment that’s built to last. This unique twist on a playtime classic is now available for pre-order. All pre-ordered Water & Sand Sensory Tables will ship between July 1-7. ($159.99)
The Little Tikes Anchors Away Water Pirate Ship has been a favorite around here for years and is another great choice. It has a variety of different activities—so it’s great for solo use, sibling interaction, or group play dates. Everyone can “man” a corner of the ship and play the part of pirate—argh. The ship includes a squirting canon and shark for friendly water battles; and a super-neat spinner helps to create an underwater current that gently moves objects along the bottom. The water fountain keeps flowing—and there are lot of other features and figurines to keep little mateys amused. Get it at Walmart here ($79.99)
Water tables are great for babies and toddlers because they help encourage sensory play. You can fill them with cold water out of the house, use warm water with bubbles (cleans those filthy little paws too!), add ice-cubes, or try colored shaving cream. The options are pretty vast and endlessly entertaining.
I’ve rounded up my top six picks for water table fun (the last one is actually a totally amazing water wall). Get your pint-sized pirates in their swimsuits—and get ready for some splashing! Please note: all the Amazon links are affiliate links.
With all these great options your kids can stay cool and entertained for hours.
Need more ideas on what to do with the kids? Be sure to follow our Activities to Do with the Kids board on Pinterest here.
This is not a sponsored post. It may contain affiliate links. All opinions are our own.
]]>You can always count on science kits for kids to engage the kids in hands-on learning that feels like fun. We love doing science experiments at home. Since my children were preschool age, we made volcanoes, explored science using egg shells, and now we dive into interesting science units. As I plan the next school […]
Click to read the post Generation Genius Science Kits for Kids on The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide.
]]>Making your own homemade bubble solution is not only a good idea, it's also the perfect way to save money and it's a great summer activity you and your little one can do together. It is another way to introduce them to the wonderful magic of creating something just right in your kitchen. Here are 4 recipes for homemade bubble solution for hours of bubble-blowing. Have fun!
What you'll need:
Direction: Combine all the ingredients and stir until everything is dissolved. Leave overnight before using.
What you'll need:
Direction: Combine water and light corn syrup. Then, heat the mixture for approximately 2 minutes. Stir and add the dishwashing soap.
What you'll need:
Direction: Dissolve the gelatin in the hot water. Add the glycerine and dish detergent. Then stir the mixture. If you don’t use it all in one happy blowing session, reheat the solution the next time you're ready for another session. It will turn to gel as it sits.
What you'll need:
Direction: Combine all ingredients but make sure not to overmix.
Let’s watch this video from BeforeAndAfterTV and see how to make a homemade bubble solution in action:
Whether you're 4, 34, or 64, blowing bubbles is just one of those wonderful activities that give way to simple yet undeniable happiness. So, what are you waiting for? Go out and get blowin'!
Which homemade bubble solution will you try? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
Want more outdoor activity for the whole family? Check out here 15 DIY outdoor family games to have full blast this summer!
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]]>Embarking on the homeschooling journey can be both thrilling and daunting for moms. It’s like stepping onto a roller coaster ride with a backpack full of textbooks and a heart bursting with aspirations. However, amidst the excitement and noble intentions, it’s crucial to acknowledge that homeschooling isn’t always smooth sailing. Just like any other venture, it has its fair share of pitfalls. In this article, I’ll shed light on moms’ seven biggest homeschool failures that make even the most organized kitchen table feel like a chaotic classroom. But don’t worry. I’m not here to add fuel to the fire; instead, I’m armed with solutions to help you avoid these blunders and make homeschooling a great experience for you and your children.
We’ll take a look at three homeschool failures I see often:
Being aware of these homeschool failures before you start educating can help you avoid them and put into place a plan of action to counteract them.
Picture this: after enduring six long months in a school that your child isn’t enjoying, you decide to switch to homeschooling.
However, without allowing for a period of deschooling, you might encounter a major roadblock.
Asking your child to immediately jump into another six months of structured curriculum can lead to a negative perception of homeschooling.
So, how can you avoid this homeschool failure and ensure a smooth transition?
Deschooling, my friend, is the secret ingredient to success.
Deschooling involves the process of deinstitutionalizing individuals from their previous school experiences.
It’s about creating a space where learning feels exciting and fun once again.
By taking a break for a few months, you’ll allow your children to unwind and rediscover their natural love for learning.
Remember those days when their curious minds would bombard you with a never-ending stream of questions?
Deschooling aims to recapture that spirit.
During this period, you encourage your children to forget the notion that education equals “boring” or, even worse, “painful.”
It’s a time to relax and engage in enjoyable activities that spark their curiosity.
By distancing them from the school environment, you allow them to explore their interests and regain their enthusiasm for education.
Failing to prioritize deschooling before diving into homeschooling can lead to a frustrating experience.
Without this essential phase, your children may resist educational activities or anything reminiscent of the school setting.
In the words of American politician Newt Gingrich, “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”
This quote encapsulates the essence of a successful homeschooling journey.
It’s not always smooth sailing from the start.
You may find yourself grappling with unfamiliar laws, unsure of the best curriculum to choose, or facing criticism from others.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and contemplate giving up, thinking that homeschooling just isn’t the right fit for your family.
But here’s the truth: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a successful homeschool.
When you embark on the homeschooling adventure, there are numerous aspects to figure out.
Questions arise, such as:
At times, it may seem tempting to throw in the towel and declare homeschooling a failure, especially when these doubts arise just a couple of weeks into the journey.
However, it’s crucial to remind yourself to persevere and keep going.
Don’t believe for a moment that homeschooling, or you as a parent, are inadequate.
Instead, recognize that it may require some fine-tuning and problem-solving to overcome the initial challenges.
Two weeks is hardly sufficient time to truly evaluate if homeschooling is a better fit for your family compared to traditional schooling.
Give it more time – a year, perhaps – to truly immerse yourself in the experience.
You’ll find that many of the initial concerns and hurdles fade away as you become more familiar with your own personality, your children’s unique traits, and their individual learning styles.
One of the biggest mistakes new homeschool moms make is attempting to replicate school practices within the walls of their own homes.
This misguided approach can lead to frustration, burnout, and even prematurely sending children back to traditional schools without addressing the underlying issues.
There are two significant problems with trying to recreate a school environment at home:
Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not suggesting that you should avoid using prepackaged curricula from reputable homeschool providers, some of which overlap with Christian school curriculum materials.
The key is to embrace flexibility and be comfortable with your children not completing every single task assigned.
Certain curriculum providers tend to overload their materials, making it impossible for children to accomplish everything within the given timeframe.
For instance, BJU Press (which I love and use) occasionally does this.
While their curriculum may be of high quality, parents must recognize that it’s not always necessary to complete every single component.
So, what should you do instead?
Take a moment to explore the diverse range of homeschooling methods (you can use this quiz to help you)and select the one that aligns best with your needs and preferences.
Personally, I find the relaxed eclectic homeschooling method, with a focus on Charlotte Mason and Classical approaches, quite appealing.
This method allows you to cherry-pick the elements you appreciate from various educational methods and seamlessly incorporate them into your homeschooling routine.
It also promotes flexibility in other aspects, such as determining the ideal duration of study sessions each day (three hours being average, but you can choose less) and deciding which days to dedicate to studies (many homeschoolers opt for a four-day week).
These options can bring a sense of relaxation and reignite your children’s passion for learning.
In the world of homeschooling, it’s not uncommon to encounter curriculum packages that contain what can only be described as “busywork.”
This term refers to repetitive and unnecessary homework tasks that children already have a solid understanding of.
Unfortunately, these elements often find their way into curricula designed for traditional schools, where they serve the purpose of filling up the designated hours students spend in the classroom.
However, as homeschooling moms, insisting that our children complete excessive busywork at home is not only a failure in our approach but also counterproductive to their learning journey.
It simply doesn’t make sense when we have the freedom to explore alternative activities that truly engage their minds and nurture their love for learning.
Moreover, subjecting our children to such monotonous work may breed bitterness towards education and create challenges when it comes to motivating them in the future.
So, here’s a friendly reminder: give yourself permission to let go of the notion that all the work must be done all the time.
As homeschooling parents, we have the privilege of selecting and customizing our children’s education.
We can prioritize meaningful activities and skip over unnecessary repetitions.
By doing so, we free up valuable time for more enriching experiences that align with their individual interests and foster genuine intellectual growth.
Instead of insisting on completing every single task, take the opportunity to evaluate the curriculum you’ve chosen.
Identify those components that contribute to busywork and consider alternative approaches or resources that promote deeper engagement and critical thinking.
Embrace the flexibility that homeschooling affords you and your children, allowing them to explore subjects in ways that ignite their curiosity and passion.
By freeing yourselves from excessive busywork, you create a more vibrant and enjoyable learning environment, one that nurtures a genuine love for education.
Allow me to share a heartwarming story that resonates with the power of embracing mistakes:
In the delightful book, A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, there is a tale recounted by Stephen Glenn about a renowned research scientist who had achieved remarkable medical breakthroughs.
During an interview with a newspaper reporter, he was asked what made him exceptionally creative and set him apart from others.
The scientist shared an insightful childhood experience that shaped his perspective.
When he was around two years old, he attempted to retrieve a milk bottle from the refrigerator.
Unfortunately, his tiny hands lost their grip, and the bottle fell, creating a vast puddle of milk across the kitchen floor.
However, instead of scolding, lecturing, or punishing him, his mother responded with unexpected warmth.
She exclaimed, “Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
Enthusiastically, he embraced the invitation.
After enjoying some playful moments, his mother gently guided him toward a valuable lesson.
She explained, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?”
Together, they cleaned up the spilled milk, using a sponge as their tool.
His mother then proposed a new experiment.
Recognizing the failed attempt to carry the bottle with his small hands, she suggested they go to the backyard and fill it with water.
They wanted to explore ways to carry it without dropping it.
Through this process, the young boy discovered that grasping the bottle near the lip with both hands allowed him to transport it successfully.
What a valuable lesson he learned!
The scientist reflected on this pivotal moment and realized that he no longer needed to fear making mistakes.
Instead, he understood that mistakes were opportunities to learn something new.
This understanding aligns perfectly with the essence of scientific experiments—they offer valuable insights even if the desired outcome is not achieved.
Adopting such a generous attitude towards mistakes can profoundly impact our relationship with our children.
It allows us to become their best friends, creating a nurturing environment where they can freely explore, learn, and grow.
By embracing this mindset, we gift them a childhood worth cherishing, where mistakes are not met with reproach but seen as stepping stones towards knowledge and personal development.
Homeschooling brings its own set of challenges, and one of the toughest hurdles to overcome is the criticism and stigma surrounding this educational choice.
Many homeschooling parents can relate to the feeling of needing more patience to handle outsiders’ judgment than actually teaching their children at home.
One mother aptly described her experience, emphasizing the need for resilience in the face of criticism:
Homeschooling is a breeze compared to defending our choices or responding to criticism and ignorance! It’s not homeschooling itself that requires extra patience, but rather dealing with the naysayers.
Indeed, it can be disheartening when family members, such as a skeptical mother-in-law, express doubts about your children’s education, questioning their academic progress or social development.
However, there are effective strategies for handling homeschooling doubters:
In addition to these practical strategies, personal convictions and faith can play a significant role in finding strength and confidence.
For those with a strong faith in Jesus, it can be comforting to remember that ultimate judgment lies with a higher power.
Prioritizing one’s conscience and seeking divine guidance through prayer can provide reassurance and peace, enabling parents to focus on their children’s well-being rather than worrying about societal opinions.
Some parents make the mistake of valuing a spotless home over a fulfilling homeschooling experience, leading to unhappiness for everyone involved.
Memories of my own childhood highlight the negative impact of excessive housework on family dynamics.
Even my mother now regrets the emphasis she placed on cleaning.
Striking a balance between tidiness and homeschool joy is crucial.
While cleanliness is important, it should not overshadow the love, learning, and fulfillment of homeschooling.
By finding a healthy middle ground and prioritizing holistic development, parents can create a harmonious environment where education and a tidy home coexist.
The following is a poem to cherish for all of us:
So, if you ever find yourself constantly annoyed at the mess, remember this poem and remember the house won’t fall if the place is a little messy.
Have you caught the homeschooling bug?
Eager to delve deeper into the realm of unconventional education?
Well, my curious comrades, rejoice!
There are splendid avenues awaiting your exploration.
Firstly, hop on over to my YouTube channel, where a treasure trove of homeschooling wisdom awaits. From practical tips to delightful anecdotes, I unravel the mysteries of homeschooling with a touch of wit and wisdom.
Subscribe, hit that notification bell, and embark on an enlightening journey with me.
For those yearning for a comprehensive guide to homeschooling, look no further than my Homeschool Parenting Program.
This illustrious online course will equip you with the knowledge, strategies, and confidence to navigate the exhilarating world of homeschooling like a seasoned pro.
Enroll today and unlock the door to extraordinary educational possibilities.
By understanding the major homeschool failures, you can significantly alleviate the burden and anxiety associated with home education. Recognizing these errors and actively seeking to avoid them within your homeschooling approach enables you to comprehend the reasons behind recent difficulties. Rectifying these missteps empowers you to regain a sense of command over your homeschooling journey. Moreover, it fosters an environment that fosters enjoyment and enthusiasm in both you and your children, ultimately igniting their passion for learning.
The post 7 Biggest Homeschool Failures Moms Make (and How To Avoid Them) appeared first on How Do I Homeschool?.
]]>Kids start building life skills and coping strategies pretty much from birth, with each new developmental milestone laying the foundation for the next, as they learn how to relate to others and to problem-solve in evermore complex ways. As they get older and start school, kids learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. But what are the other essential life skills to teach kids?
There are all sorts of life skills for kids — some basic, some fairly complex — that require mastery in order to have the sort of social, emotional and practical wherewithal to be good at life. According to child development experts, career planners, and business leaders, here’s where to start to ensure your kids are well-prepared for whatever (and whoever) the world throws at them.
Spatial awareness isn’t just a key part of STEM education. It also prevents us from getting lost. Start by teaching your kids how to mentally map their neighborhood, school, or favorite playground. Then break out the old-fashioned map and compass and go on a hike in the woods, challenge your kid to navigate your drive to school one morning. Although every kid should be able to function navigationally without the use of a device, it’s a good idea to also have them learn to follow navigational directions on phones, a critical modern skill.
Here’s a troubling statistic: More than half of teens today use texting to regularly communicate with friends, versus only a third who consistently talk face to face. That’s a problem, because kids need to know how to carry on a one-on-one conversation not just to ace college and job interviews, but also to develop lasting, honest relationships. Help them out by banning devices from the dinner table.
Shake hands, make eye contact, listen attentively and don’t cut people off — these are skills that are more important than ever, given our many screens’ attention-grabbing abilities. Why? They instill confidence, earn trust, and are a solid foundation for a healthy social life. Start by teaching them an old-fashioned hand shake:
If a kid can’t hang with their own thoughts, alone, without friends or family, they will have serious anxiety when they are left to their own devices. Given the stratification of work and family, this is bound to happen. To change this dynamic, why not devote a nook in your house to a “quiet corner,” featuring a comfortable chair, a small work table, and a few calming toys and activities. While they’re enjoying alone time, you’ll get a break, too.
While toddler swimming classes are all the rage, the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend swim classes for kids under 4, since there’s little evidence such programs decrease the likelihood of drowning and could lead parents to develop a false sense of security. After your kid’s 4th birthday, get them in the pool.
Caring for a pet — and keeping it alive — helps kids learn to be empathetic, one of the most important skills they can develop. If you’re not ready to give in to their pleas for a family dog, there are easier options: hermit crabs, a goldfish, butterflies, or even a house plant.
Kids don’t just have to know how to avoid dangerous content and individuals online. They also need to learn how to be sensible web consumers and creators, especially given the troubling rise of fake facts and misinformation. One recent study found that less than half of kids ages 10 to 18 say they can tell fake stories from the real deal, which is likely why only one in four of them have a lot of trust in journalistic organizations. To help your kids navigate the confusion, focus on reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. One way to do this outside of actual reading together is to play “spot the mistakes” with a Wikipedia entry or online article, then launch a family blog.
Since we yet don’t complete all of our purchases using our smartphones, kids still have to know their way around quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. Run some practice transactions by them, with an added incentive: Every time they give you the correct coins back, they get to put the change in their piggy bank.
Saving money is hard for the best of us, so it’s important to start early with your kid’s weekly allowance. At first, allow them to spend half on anything they want, then put the rest into a piggy bank. Once they have enough saved up — say, $150 — go to the bank and start a savings account. Be sure to log into the account online, show them how to manage their money via browser, and help them build out a long-term savings plan.
Kids shouldn’t be overstimulated all the time — or feel like they need to be. Studies have shown that mindfulness practices can help kids become more attentive, respectful, and focused, while reducing stress and hyperactive behaviors. To get your kid into meditation, start easy: Ask them to sit still, relax, and focus on the process of breathing. It’s a useful education on the important art of sitting still.
Cleaning teaches kids how to value their possessions and organize their space. Let them experiment with sweeping, mopping, and dusting, but more importantly, make sure they understand how to organize their room on their own — and then to declutter.
In the era of emojis and selfies, kids’ written communication skills are in danger of atrophying. They need to know to compose a formal letter (heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature), and should learn that an e-mail, and even a text, can be written formally.
This knowledge could pay off years later at an all-important lunch or dinner job interview. Kids need to know how to navigate the dining room table: Napkin goes in their lap and then on their chair if they need to be excused. No reaching for food, no interrupting, no chewing with their mouth open. Plus they should be able to set the table: From left to right, it should go fork, plate, knife, and then spoon, with the water glass above the knife.
The days of finishing schools have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we should be raising uncivilized bores. Start by modeling proper etiquette yourself and focus on the six most important phrases in civil dialogue:
We’re not talking about how to put on shirts and pants. We’re referring to helping kids learn how to dress nicely: picking out weather-appropriate options, mixing and matching colors, pairing prints with solids. It’s a great way to help your kid express themselves, create their own style, make decisions, and feel confident.
For safety reasons, kids should have their home address and phone number memorized. A 10-year-old should also know relevant email addresses and cell numbers. Work the information into a song, use rhyming games, or post the information prominently around the house — whatever it takes to make this information stick.
Laughter is incredibly helpful to a person’s life, and someone who can tell at least one good clean joke, really well, will never want for something to say, or lack the ability to break the ice. Here’s a favorite joke requires their full story-telling capacity:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up.
Holmes said: “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see.”
Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”
Holmes said: “And what do you deduce from that?”
Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”
And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent.”
Your kid doesn’t have to become MacGyver, but they should have a handle on essential first aid skills that will help them in an emergency:
Learning to cook offers all sorts of benefits: It teaches kids how to be creative, how employ real-world math, how to use sharp objects safely, and how to appreciate nutritious foods. Just make sure the first recipes they try will earn them something delicious. Here’s how to walk them through cooking a scrambled egg.
Always supervise them (there is a stove involved), but gradually allow them to take over the process until they can do it from start to finish.
We can nag our kids all we want to brush their teeth and take a bath, but if we want these concepts to stick, kids have to learn to embrace them on their own. One way to do that is to turn skin care, oral hygiene, and bathing into something fun. The shampoo Mohawk never gets old.
Being able to make up a story and imagine something impossible will be key in future endeavors. Creativity is becoming one of the top skills CEOs are looking for at major companies. There are many ways to foster this — games like “what’s in the box?”, setting aside time for drawing and creative writing, and being sure to have a free-flowing storytelling time every night before bed.
Learning to ride a bike is one of the best things kids can do. It keeps them physically fit, improves their balance and coordination, has been shown to improve mental focus, and as they get older it’s a great, environmentally-friendly way for them to get around their world. To help them learn, forget about those training wheels we all used. The best way to turn your kid into a biker is to invest in a balance bike (or remove the pedals from a regular small bike), then have them learn to balance in an area that’s flat, paved and traffic-free.
]]>Looking for easy summer meals that are fresh and delicious? Look no further than these mouthwatering recipes that are perfect for the long, lazy days. Your kitchen garden can contribute in the best way to light summer meals by providing fresh herbs and more to this seasonal menu.
Enjoy summer dinner recipes that keep you in the kitchen for as little time as possible and that can easily be used to feed any and all extra guests you might find around the table. I love when my kids invite their friends to stay for a meal, and summer seems like an easier time for an impromptu backyard BBQ.
To make our lives easier, I created a free meal plan with the best ingredients summer has to offer. All you need to do is download to access a week’s worth of breakfasts, snacks and dinners along with a menu, shopping list and all the recipes to make it happen.
Download the free Easy Summer Meals Plan.
Eating seasonally has several benefits, aside from not paying $8 for a quart of blueberries in January. I try to eat as seasonally as possible, and summer is a great time to start. Here’s why:
This is the easiest season to find and create healthy summer dinner recipes, because there’s SO much fresh produce. Read on for the ingredients that will inspire your summer menu:
Many of these ingredients are used throughout these light summer meals, so if you have a kitchen garden then use this list as an inspiration for what to grow! I love eating from my garden as much as possible, and it’s def more fun to grow what I know I love.
Smoothies are perfect for summer. Use fresh, local produce and enjoy easy-to-prep breakfasts to start the day off on the right foot. I started my easy menu with the most refreshing smoothies:
If you need an energy boost in the morning, add a scoop of my homemade protein powder to boost any of these recipes by 10 additional grams of protein as well as healthy fat that will help you stay full longer.
Since fruit is in easy supply during warmer months, I often have bowls of already sliced produce in the fridge. Often that will determine what goes in my smoothie that day! Don’t be afraid to experiment with different options, you never know when you’ll find a new winning combination.
I picked 2 snacks that you can prep once and enjoy multiple times and 2 snacks that are simple to whip up day-of. When the kids are out of school, they are constantly snacking (does this happen in your house, too?) so I like having options on hand that are easy to grab + a little more healthy.
Here’s what I’m munching on this week:
If you don’t feel like turning the oven on you can easily eat the ranch cauliflower popcorn raw… it will be super crunchy! The blueberry muffins are great to make and freeze as well, to have on hand for quick snacks or a to-go breakfast.
Gone are the days of heavier, heartier winter meals as this season ushers in so many light and bright fruits and veggies to enjoy. My dinner menus are full of crunchy, colorful meals that can easily feed multiple people as I often find my summer table full of family and friends.
These work great on their own or as part of a potluck, depending on your plans. They are also easily customized to fit those around your table that night, which is a big win in my book.
I think that there are so many fruits and vegetables available during summer to keep us from having to turn on the oven on a hot day! Yet if I’m going to eat a salad, it has to taste amazing, so I’ve got some great, loaded salad recipes for you to try. Whether it’s a healthy taco salad, crunchy lemon arugula salad or gorgeously marinated celery salad, you can fuel up without overheating on a hot day.
I love my veggies in almond butter sauce for a homemade yet super easy meal. I can either heat up the spiralized zucchini or leave it raw, and this fresh almond butter sauce is made in just minutes. You can also toss together my lemon arugula salad and avoid the stove altogether for a nourishing, lazy meal.
Summer is the time for colorful meals that don’t take long to make. I’ve created a whole meal plan with 5 minute breakfasts, easy snacks and delicious dinners that are quick and can feed a family, yet won’t keep you in the kitchen for long. Choose from portobello mushroom burgers, loaded taco salads or crispy chickpea tacos (just to name a few) and make the most of the longer summer days.
Once my kids started getting more involved in school activities and friends, I quickly realized if I didn’t plan out our meals for the week, we’d end up in the drive thru line more than once. Yet meal planning was long and exhausting… and sometimes I just didn’t have it in me.
So I created the Rawk the Year: Meal Planner to bring make busy lives easier, and it does! Each week there is a new plan just waiting for me to print. I can shop my own pantry before heading to the grocery store and then follow the recipe to make dinner instead of scrambling to find something to cook.
On weeks I know there will be chaos, I can customize the plan to fit the number of people eating and the days we know we’ll be home, plus throw in some snack recipes I can prep ahead to have on hand. It’s that simple! The below meal plans use this awesome template so you can get an idea of what it looks like, or you can start a 14-day free trial and see for yourself.
I can’t wait to hear how this meal plan worked out for you! Would you please leave a comment letting me know which recipe was your fav?
The post Easy Summer Meals Plan (18 Recipes!) appeared first on Simple Green Smoothies.
]]>The weather is finally warmer. But now it’s kind of gone overboard, and the novelty of all-day outdoor summer activities has worn off. We’ve got indoor summer activities that will get your child moving, experimenting, and creating in the comfort of your living room, kitchen, or playroom. If it’s reached crazy temps where you live, it sounds like you’ll need some great indoor activities for kids.
Laugh out loud. Stage a little comedy show in your living room. Here are 300+ of our favorite kid’s jokes to get you going.
Create a cool collage. Spend the day (or at least part) drawing summertime pictures. Your little artist can create portraits of the family at the beach, draw the swimming pool or recreate what they see just by looking out the window. Use a large poster board or cardboard as a background and collage the pics into one summer mural.
Have a dance party. Pick a few summer-themed tunes (like anything from the Beach Boys) and dance, dance, dance.
Play store. Set up shop in just in no time at all and play grocery store. Or maybe you’d rather go to the moon or climb Mt. Everest? Here are 27 make-believe prompts that’ll fill those 30 minutes before dinner.
Play a round of “Would you rather?” Would you rather have a pet monkey or a pet porcupine? Inquiring minds want to know! All you need are a few good questions. Here’s a great list you can pull up, so you can dish out questions as fast as your kids can answer them.
Draw a shadow. Set up toys, place books on their short sides, or use any other item that casts a shadow. Place the objects on a light-colored paper and shine a flashlight on it. Your kiddo can draw the shadow. Now move the light, pretending that it’s the sun. Draw the new shadows to see how the sun’s rays change as the day continues
Read together. Try out our favorite new releases in the picture book world. We also love these books that help kids learn about and combat racism.
Sing a song. Choose a favorite family song and sing as a group. Don’t worry if you can’t carry a tune; the goal is for everyone to spend time together enjoying a fun indoor activity.
Make popsicles! Everyone loves to cool off in the summer with a delicious frozen treat, so why not make them yourself? Here’s our list of really yummy popsicle recipes. Which will be your family favorite?
Have an indoor picnic. When the weather gets too hot or rainy, that doesn’t mean your summer day is ruined—just move the party indoors! Lay out a blanket and have a picnic in your living room.
Play animal charades. Can your kid waddle like a penguin? Or maybe hop like a bunny? This twist on the classic game of charades can be as easy or as hard as you want. All you have to do is write down a bunch of animals on cards or paper and have everyone take turns picking a card and acting out the animal.
Connect the dots. Tic Tac Toe is so yesterday. The Dot Game is so today. And it can easily be re-created when you’re in a lurch. You need paper and a pen to make a large-scale dot grid. Then, take turns connecting one dot to the next, trying to complete squares. When you do, don’t forget to claim your property with a big fat initial smack dab in the middle of the box.
Pick a card. Learn a simple magic trick.
Learn how clouds hold water. There may not be a cloud in sight, but that doesn’t mean your science-loving child won’t get a kick out of this experiment. With a few simple everyday ingredients, your child can explore the science of clouds with this fun indoor activity from Learn With Play at Home.
Make crumpled paper art. Explore art in a completely colorful way. Learn how to turn regular watercolor paint into awesome artwork with texture, depth and so much more. Get the full directions from Buggy & Buddy.
Freeze water and oil. What happens when you mix oil and water? Make a few regular ol’ ice cubes and a few with veggie oil. Drip drops of food coloring in before popping the cubes into the freezer. Take them out (after they’re completely frozen), put them onto a piece of paper, and watch what happens as they melt.
iStock
Sponge print fun. Take the stack of unused kitchen sponges that you bought at the big box store and put them to use. Cut the sponges into shapes, dip them into tempera, and let your little one paint the day away. They can sponge-paint a pattern, make abstract art, or put shapes together to make a picture, such as a tree or a house.
Create a mailbox and write each other letters.
Go small. Outfit a mouse house, dollhouse, or fairy dwelling with tiny furniture you can make yourself.
Get glowing with ice. This indoor activity is cool—in both senses of the word. Explore the wild world of tonic water, experimenting with its ability to glow (really, it does). Make tonic water ice cubes, pop them out of the freezer, and take them to a dark room. Turn off all the lights, turn on a black light, and watch the glow. Get the details here.
Make slime. This is always a fun indoor summer activity if you’re okay with a mess (it will happen). Add glitter, sequins, craft sand, or small toys for a better sensory experience. If you need a new recipe, get your slime-making steps here. And when they’re done, check out how to get slime out of just about anything.
Make a water-density rainbow. Explore density with this completely colorful experiment.
Plan an afternoon movie marathon. Pick a family flick from this list and make a new popcorn recipe.
Ice-Capades! Freeze colored water in ice cube trays and then let the kids paint with their slowly melting watercolors. Check out these other surprising ways you can have fun with ice.
Sink or Float
This basic science experiment is perfect for schoolers or makes for an exciting indoor summer activity for toddlers. And as a bonus, it uses water—perfect for a hot summer day. Fill the sink, tub, or plasticware bin with cool water. Pick a few waterproof items, predict if the objects will sink or float and then toss them in; observe what happens and record the data.
Make sensory bottles. This is an easy indoor summer activity for kids to try; this sensory play idea lasts for more than one day. Fill an old plastic bottle part-way up with water. Add sparkles, colorful craft sand, or anything else your child wants. Drip a drop of food coloring in and pour a splash of baby oil into the mix. Close the bottle, seal the top with tape, and shake to watch what happens.
Set up your own indoor Olympics.
Set up your version in the living room or playroom. Create obstacles to pretend slalom around or set up an indoor aquatic race. Your child, the neighborhood kids, and the rest of the family can act out swimming movements as everyone races around the house.
Make something out of a cardboard box. Give those Amazon packages a second life with one of these fun ideas.
Paint without a brush. If you have finger paints or tempera at home, your kids can get into this art activity from Mini Monets and Mommies.
Make melted crayon shells. Older kids enjoy crafting too. Use those seashells from your beach vacation with this colorful indoor summer activity from Fun at Home with Kids.
Have a beach party. That is, have an indoor beach party. Grab the towels, pull up a paddling pool (minus the water), and pour a few kid-friendly fruit juice drinks. Fill the pool with torn blue tissue paper or a blue sheet. Pretend to splash, all from the cooling comfort of your home.
Sign up for an Outschool course. There are dozens of different courses and classes for every interest. Check out our favorites here.
Related: 21 Fun Toys to Order on Amazon Perfect for Indoor Days
—with additional reporting by Taylor Clifton and Amber Guetebier
]]>Being a writer, being able to create characters and tap into human feelings and ways of processing things often goes hand in hand with feeling worthless. Feeling that I’m not as good as the writers I admire, feeling that I’m not writing enough, feeling that I’m wasting time on the wrong project when I should be writing about something else.
My first novel, A Little Hope, had come out in 2021, and my second novel, A Quiet Life, had just been published. There are weird ebbs and flows to the writing life, and a ton of silence, and now that I had gone on a mini tour to some bookstores, and now that my teaching semester was starting to finish, the worthless spotlight was creeping across the stage floor, and I felt fully in its glow.
I always have been tough on myself. My parents used to tell me this; my wife Rebecca still tells me this. I have an idealized version of what I should look like, what I should be able to get done in a day, what my kids and students think of me, how my writing turns out, and often, I am a far cry from this goal self.
But last December, normally my favorite time of the year, I realized I hadn’t written anything new since spring. The previous year, I had been consumed with my third novel. After a book that had gone nowhere but to the graveyard in my laptop, this one had a lot of momentum, and I wrote it furiously in the morning before teaching. I was so happy about the characters, and I figured out a big plot hole.
At one point I thought, maybe I could keep doing this writing thing. Maybe writing two novels wasn’t a fluke. Maybe I was a writer after all who would have a catalog of books to my name and make a career out of this.
My agent had loved the manuscript and my publisher acquired it. It was wonderful news that they wanted this new one, and my editor even agreed to a two-book deal, something I thought only happened to non-worthless people. My editor, whom I’ve worked with on each book so far and who I think the world of, asked for a fairly a significant revision, which kept me busy until fall, but in the back of my mind, I started to worry about the unwritten other book.
So after the revision was completed, after I’d started teaching my usual fall classes, every week I felt like I should be starting on the new book. It was due in two years, and though that was a long way off, I’ve learned from the publishing world that two years is nothing. It takes forever to get a solid book drafted, and then there is revision where you have to re-see your writing in a different way and rip it all apart. Once other trusted readers come in, there are often months of back and forth before getting to a solid place.
Every idea felt ridiculous. I felt as though I had said everything already: every character, every name, every feeling, every possible setting and complication. I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere.I kept thinking about different characters and scenarios, but every time I sat down to write, I’d get distracted and end up putting nothing down on my taunting blank Microsoft Word screen.
Every idea felt ridiculous. I felt as though I had said everything already: every character, every name, every feeling, every possible setting and complication. I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere.
Then came Taylor.
My younger daughter, Frankie, had been listening to Taylor Swift nonstop, and she and my older daughter, Gia, wanted tickets to The Eras Tour that summer. They promised if they were selected in the Taylor lottery, this could be their Christmas and birthday and Easter and whatever other special occasion gifts. So we’d said yes, and they were victorious, and all was right in the Taylor-loving universe.
I was of course aware of the ubiquitous Taylor, but I didn’t know much beyond seeing her on Saturday Night Live or whatever was in the news (Grammy awards, a legal battle for song rights) and beyond her popular songs: “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Shake It Off.”
I remember my wife’s mom had gotten Gia a singing Taylor doll with a guitar when she was in preschool, and I remember playing “White Horse” on my laptop for my family while we ate dinner (now, of course, I take credit for being the first Swiftie in the family).
Taylor had become a phenomenon I love to see in our culture: someone who for years has been tested and tried and is reliably good. An Oprah, a Dolly Parton, a Paul Rudd, a Stephen King. You don’t have that many hits by accident. You don’t procure a loyal fan base of millions from being so-so. And I remember learning how she spoke out politically and admiring her for using her platform and reach for good. It’s often easier to say nothing and be vanilla—it takes guts to let the world know what you believe.
One day that December, I was driving Frankie to school, and she asked if she could play a different Taylor song for me. I have always liked hearing what my kids like—what books they’re reading, what shows they watch. Gia made me love The Mandalorian and soundtracks to Hamilton and Hadestown, and now Frankie told me I was ready for something bigger. “It’s the ten-minute version of ‘All Too Well’,” she said.
“A song is ten minutes?” I smiled politely as I kept driving. But what if it was awful? A three-minute song I didn’t love would come and go, but ten minutes? Had I ever listened to a song that was ten minutes long? How long was the “American Pie” song? Less, definitely less, and that one was an eternity. My attention span was too short. I couldn’t stand concerts with drum solos.
Frankie didn’t blink. “It won’t be long enough,” she said.
She clicked play and I listened.
Songs never grab me the first time, but this one was…good. I loved the lyrics: I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here. I liked how passionately she sang. This shit was no bubblegum pop. This was about love and pain and being wronged.
I found myself playing it again after I dropped Frankie off. Playing it when I unloaded the dishwasher or straightened the garage or on my headphones in the back yard. The lyrics were speaking to me, and I wasn’t quite sure why.
I am a sucker for objects, and the song talks about a scarf the lover kept. And a photo album. And watching the front door waiting for the loved one to return. The writer in me loves someone who can’t get over something. The protagonist of the song walks home alone in the winter and weeps in a bathroom. And the dad in me aches when she sings about her father trying to console his daughter after the breakup.
I listened to it over and over, never tiring of any section. There is her beautiful voice, and the words had great sound, but what struck me the most was the honesty and rawness. I believed every single word: “Well, maybe we got lost in translation / Maybe I asked for too much.” It made me love language again, it repeatedly gave me chills.
Taylor made me want to capture something like this again. She made me want to write. She made me want to know things about characters and try to understand things that couldn’t be understood. I felt something unfold itself that had been stuck. Isn’t that what we do as writers? Answer big questions. In the song she says she remembers it all, and writers are the ones who remember, who try to let everyone know what it all means.
Taylor was giving this back to me. She was taking away the worthlessness I felt; she was telling me we all get through things. I understood why every fan wanted to be at the big concert that summer. I understood why in every video the audience is singing along, overcome.
“All Too Well” became our family anthem, and we played it on every car ride. We even started to measure distance with it: the restaurant is two All Too Well’s away. In my Intro to Poetry class, we watched the “All Too Well” video and dissected the lyrics.
Finally, it was the new year, and I sat down. I put my laptop in airplane mode—I wasn’t going to be distracted by an email or a Twitter doom-scroll or anything else.
She made me want to write. She made me want to know things about characters and try to understand things that couldn’t be understood.I started to write again, picking up an old idea I had a couple years ago but shelved when I thought it wasn’t the type of story readers would expect from me. I learned from Frankie that Taylor would never say something like that. I had once asked Frankie why she thinks Taylor is so successful, why she’s lasted this long and has cultivated such a fan base. She told me since her first album came out in 2006, she’s produced ten albums plus two re-recorded versions and even has another on the way. Frankie said, “She’s reinvented herself for every one of these albums.”
She’s written and performed in so many styles: pop, country, indie and alternative. She’s incorporated memoir, fiction, myth and legend into her songs. Though I didn’t have a loyal base of Swifties, I had a small handful of Joellatics on Instagram and Goodreads who were so supportive and might follow my writing to other places.
I typed and typed. I tried to take risks. I tried to keep the parts I liked about my writing and character development and experiment with showing more plot, more at stake.
After a couple weeks, I had pages again. By the time Gia and Frankie went to the Eras concert that spring, sending Rebecca and me selfies and videos, both of us wishing we could be there with them, I was polishing my first hundred pages of the new book to show my agent, listening to “All Too Well” in the background. I’m still not sick of it.
The song had shown me that it’s okay to feel things deeply, to care too much. Because of Taylor, and her love for words, I’d gotten back something I didn’t think I was worthy of.
______________________________
A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella is available via Scribner.
]]>Now, researchers studying K-12 disciplinary referrals have made a surprising discovery: more than half of the disparities between white students and students of color can be traced back to a shockingly small group of teachers.
Dr. Jing Liu, an assistant professor of education policy at the University Maryland College Park, and his colleagues looked at Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs), in a large, diverse, urban K-12 school district in California. ODRs are a record of a critical step in the disciplinary process—when a student is sent to the principal’s office. Liu found that most teachers send a student out of the classroom less than once every two months. However, the 5% of teachers who issued the most ODRs did so at a much faster rate—about once every four days. This small group of teachers—80, in a district with nearly 3,000 instructors—had an outsize effect on racial discipline gaps. Without them, Black students received ODRs 1.6 times as much as white students. With them, the total more than doubled, to 3.4 times as much. Similar effects were observed for Hispanic and multiracial students.
Liu and his colleagues found evidence that implicit bias is a key cause: the study showed that the increase in the gap was primarily driven by referrals for subjective reasons, such as interpersonal offenses and defiance, rather than more objective ones, like violence, drugs, or truancy.
“More subjective reasons for referral tend to be more likely to contain bias,” said Liu. “The criteria to write a referral based on those reasons are a little bit fuzzier.”
However, these high-referring teachers aren’t necessarily more biased than their colleagues. The reason for their high rate of referrals may be troubles with classroom management. The researchers found that the top referrers were most likely to be white middle school teachers in the first three years of their careers.
“The first few years of being a teacher is overall challenging,” said Liu. “They haven’t accumulated enough experience working with students.”
Dr. NaLette Brodnax, an assistant professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, agreed.
“Another reason is that teachers with less experience are following the book,” she said. “They may not feel like they have very much discretion and may feel that they need to strike down any difficult behavior that’s happening in the classroom.”
Luckily, there’s evidence that things improve with time. The study found that referrals tended to drop off, especially after three years of experience and that about three-quarters of the top referrers each year did not remain in that category the next year.
But what about those initial years, when students of color are targeted for discipline at unfairly elevated levels?
Liu thought that mere awareness could be helpful.
“I don’t know how much top referrers realize how extensively they’ve been using referrals as a tool,” Liu said. “Sometimes we’re doing something, and we don’t realize how we compare to our peers.”
Liu also recommended training and support for these teachers. The study includes evidence that such training could work, pointing to an experiment in California middle schools that found that prompts about the benefits of empathic mindsets in the classroom could lead to more empathic responses to hypothetical situations by teachers. The study argued that the relatively low number of instructors causing the effect could be an advantage, making training easier to implement.
However, Dr. Russell Skiba, a professor emeritus at Indiana University Bloomington who won an award from the civil rights organization Rainbow/PUSH for his work on the racial discipline gap, thought that things might not be so straightforward.
“It will be very hard. How do you really assist those teachers in improving their skills rather than calling them out as lousy managers or racist?” said Skiba. “Just think about your reaction if you happen to be one of these teachers. How far would you go to avoid being identified for that? How much would you resist that?”
Skiba also questioned whether schools would have the time and funding to offer the help that these teachers need.
“In order for schools to take this issue on, [they] would need leadership at the district level and the state level, and it’s very unlikely that you’re going to see that unless you have strong leadership on the national level,” he said. “That’s just not happening with this administration.”
Brodnax warned that even training all the top referrers is unlikely to fully solve the problem.
“I don’t think it’s a case of, it’s a few bad apples and if we address the bad apples, then we can fix this issue,” she said. “The problem is systemic and institutionalized. There may be structural aspects of schooling that put certain teachers in a position to feel that they need more referrals.”
Such structural aspects could include how classrooms are assigned and school policies like those requiring that students maintain an upright posture and track teachers with their eyes.
“If you’re training teachers to control students in a very narrow, specific way, just about anything could be considered disrespectful,” Brodnax said. “We really need more research to better understand what’s happening.”
Despite its limits, Skiba called the study “tremendously important,” in light of moves in several states to return to stricter, zero tolerance-style disciplinary systems.
“A lot of the assumption coming from this reactionary wave is that there are certain kids who are problematic, and we have to ‘protect our schools’ from those kids,” said Skiba. “This type of research points out that that’s an extremely simplistic argument.”
Jon Edelman can be reached at JEdelman@DiverseEducation.com.
]]>The family—their names have been changed—was already living in poverty. Three years before, Marlena lost her job as a home health billing clerk; Jorge, due to complications from lifelong diabetes, was unable to work and also collected disability support. The family received food stamps and subsidized rent, but now were facing a future where two Social Security disability checks that once totaled some $1,600 a month would be reduced to $800.
In first grade, Gabriel was diagnosed with severe dyslexia and a central auditory processing disorder that made it hard to read and follow instructions. But after Marlena and a legal aid lawyer got him placed in a specialized school, Gabriel made real progress. “It brought tears to my eyes,” she told me, “when he was in the third grade and was able to pick up a second grade book and read.”
Supplemental Security Income is the federal benefit that provides cash to low-income people with disabilities, including nearly a million children. (It’s a different program from the disability insurance that workers and employers pay into.) In many states, it can be the only lifeline for families with disabled children, especially for those who live roughly at or below the federal poverty level and qualify for full benefits. According to a recent analysis of Social Security Administration data, without SSI, more than 60 percent of recipients would fall into poverty. “SSI is really the program of last resort,” says David Wittenburg of Mathematica, a policy research organization. “If that goes away, you’re not just talking about poverty, you’re talking about extreme poverty for a lot of families.”
About 80,000 kids on SSI turn 18 each year, and, like Gabriel, about half will lose benefits. But the reason isn’t necessarily because their conditions improved; it’s often the result of the government applying a new adult definition. Kids qualify if they have trouble functioning in school, at home, or in their community, while people over 18 are judged only by their capacity to work.
Federal regulations requiring “age-18 redetermination” seem reasonable: Disabilities affect children and families differently than adults, and reassessments can sort out young people who got better. But research shows the consequences can be dire. A study published last year, led by University of Chicago economist Manasi Deshpande, looked back to 1996 when the redetermination policy was first implemented. Using that breakpoint as a massive natural experiment, Deshpande’s team tracked the 20-year trajectories of every child then receiving SSI, merging program data with information on criminal charges and incarceration.
What they found was startling. Youth who lost benefits at 18 were twice as likely to be charged with a crime as they were to hold a job. Compared with those who stayed on SSI, they were 60 percent more likely to be incarcerated. Most were charged with income-generating crimes like theft, fraud, or prostitution. And they didn’t just commit crimes at a higher rate immediately after losing their checks but did so over the ensuing two decades. The study also found that increased spending on policing, adjudication, and incarceration nearly erased any government savings from reduced payouts; the added expenses far outstripped the savings when victims’ costs were included.
Deshpande has also found that beneficiaries removed at 18 who do find work rarely take in enough to escape poverty—earning, on average, as little as a third of what they would have received in benefits. Wittenburg calls Deshpande’s research groundbreaking, and says it should prompt second thoughts about the policy: “You have to rethink this as ‘What are we investing in these children?’ And if we stop investing in them because we think it’s expensive, what are the costs of doing so and essentially kicking them off the rolls?”
Children were not originally meant to be covered by SSI. When Congress created it in 1972 to replace a patchwork of state disability benefits, its focus was on disabled, blind, or elderly low-income adults who hadn’t earned enough to get Social Security disability insurance. A single Nixon staffer who was blind managed to slip in a provision covering kids. It would become the only federal cash benefit explicitly for families with disabled children.
Initially, the only definition of disability weighed impairment against the requirements of any available job; because it was tailored for work-age adults, few children were covered. But in 1984, Congress included mental impairment qualifications, which swept in more kids, and in 1990, a Supreme Court decision gave minors their own process; in six years, the number of children on SSI more than tripled to 954,000.
Amid a handful of specious news stories about parents coaching kids to act disabled and game the system, Congress grew concerned over costs. But audits turned up very little fraud—and research shows that, then and now, fewer kids enroll than are likely qualified. In 1996, Republicans, putting the finishing touches on Bill Clinton’s promise to “end welfare as we know it,” explicitly crafted provisions to make it harder for kids to qualify and requiring reevaluations when they turn 18. The year after the law took full effect, more than 19,000 children aging out were denied adult benefits.
When Gabriel heard his check would end, he was a year from graduating high school, playing sports, and handling classes thanks to federally guaranteed accommodations for extra teacher help. He was reading at only a fourth-grade level. Every morning, Marlena had him make a list of the day’s tasks; she worried he’d get lost in the subway. But a judge denied Gabriel’s adult SSI benefits, ruling he could do “simple jobs.” Marlena doubted any employer would actually remind Gabriel three times to do something. “You know what I’m saying?” she asked. “In the realworld?”
The ecosystem that supports schoolkids with extra test time or help with managing emotions is practically nonexistent in the workforce. If Social Security bureaucrats decide an adult is technically capable of doing some job, any job, they’re usually on their own getting and holding one. While kids who lose benefits are allowed to keep drawing checks as long as they’re in school or vocational training, that program is notoriously hard to navigate and many recipients don’t know it exists. Gabriel’s family didn’t, and though his checks continued through an appeal, after two years it failed and the money stopped.
Despite Deshpande’s statistics, Marlena doesn’t worry about Gabriel getting in trouble with the law, and she believes her son can eventually work and thrive on his own. But she thinks he should have been reassessed later after he had more time to find his footing. “At some point, you have to switch standards,” says Kathleen Romig, the director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, but “I think 18 is too young.” She points to research showing that most people don’t psychologically reach adulthood by that time, adding, “That’s, of course, especially true for kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities” like the majority of those on SSI.
Some experts suggest delaying redetermination to 22, when disabled children age out of educational accommodations, or even 26, when they stop getting parental insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But doing so would take Democrats wanting to expand SSI and being able to overcome a GOP eager to cut benefits and limit eligibility.
For more than three years after Gabriel’s SSI stopped in 2019, he and his parents lived on less than $1,000 a month. “We manage,” Marlena says when I ask how they squeak by. “We’ve always been a family. We always have each other’s back.”
After Jorge underwent triple bypass surgery, his foot turned gangrenous and was amputated. Marlena stayed home to take care of him, while Gabriel took plumbing and carpentry classes. But when Covid came, with no promise of a job, and no benefits to support him while he studied, he decided that continuing to attend wasn’t worth the risk of exposing his immunocompromised dad.
Today, Gabriel helps care for his father full-time. For that work, Medicaid pays him a little more than $300 per week. At 23, it’s the closest he’s come to being employed.
]]>Disclosure: As with any new diet addition or regiment, only you know your body best. This post is, in no way, meant to tell you what you need, only to provide you with details. Having written that, please consult your physician with any additional questions or concerns regarding taurine.
It seems like every few years, dieticians and scientists change their views on what we consume, including what’s healthy and what needs to be avoided. For example, think about the healthy ups and downs regarding potatoes. When I was young (and raised in a British/Scottish/Irish family), we literally had some sort of potato with every meal. We were a “meat and potatoes” kind of family, so no harm, no foul.
Then in the ’80s and ’90s, we were told that while baked potatoes were the new healthy alternative, we shouldn’t fry them because oil is bad for you (remember Susan Powter, dietician and motivational speaker with the platinum blonde hair telling us to “Stop the Insanity!” with diets?). However, we were still encouraged to eat as many bland potatoes as we wanted for health.
Now, everywhere I turn, I read that carbs are the devil, so no potatoes or white, starchy foods. In current terms, we’ve been told that energy drinks are the new thing to avoid because they cause more harm than good… but do they? Enter taurine, a prominent ingredient in energy drinks. Known for its energetic properties, teens have been drinking it for years to stay awake, to work, and to game. But now, scientists are telling us it might actually work to prolong our lives.
Direct from the Mayo Clinic, taurine is safe on its own when used properly. It’s a naturally occurring chemical (an amino sulfonic acid if you want to get technical) that can be found in protein-rich foods like fish or meat.
Why do we need it, you ask? It turns out that taurine naturally occurs in our bodies as well. We use it for energy production, to process bile acid, and to balance everything from fluids to minerals and salts.
Here’s where taurine in energy drinks gets iffy. Honestly, it’s not the taurine that’s the problem; it’s the high levels of sugar and caffeine that are proving bad for our health. Even the herbal extracts that, when taken in safe doses and as directed by a physician, are doing harm. Additionally, energy drinks can cause sleeplessness, nervousness, and feeling tense.
I’m trying to “scare you straight” into avoiding all energy drinks: for a healthy person with no underlying conditions, they’re relatively safe and tolerable. Personally, I’ll skip the massive amounts of sugar and caffeine and drink a coffee in the morning instead.
A recent study from Columbia University has some promising news about taurine: it seems to slow the aging process and keep us healthier for longer.
Just to get you up to speed, when researching taurine, scientists learned that 60-year-olds have about ⅓ the level in their bodies as five-year-olds do. So, the team conducted experiments with both people and animals to see exactly what the role of taurine is in our bodies.
When studying animals, it turns out that taurine in their bodies drops as they age, similar to a decrease in the human body. So, the question became clear: does a lower level of taurine in the body drive the aging process?
Using mice, when they were given taurine supplements, the increase in longevity was very prominent: female mice lived 12% longer, and male mice 10%. If we were to take those numbers and put them into human years, we’re looking at 7-8 years longer on average.
And it gets even better: not only were their lives lengthened, but positive body changes were noticed as well:
In a nutshell, the animals were living longer, but while doing so, they were staying healthier.
As stated above, taurine is naturally found in animal and fish protein, so if you’re a vegan or vegetarian, you may want to increase your synthetic taurine supplement intake. Also of note, red algae is looking promising as a natural form of the amino acid, so that might be an option to consider.
On average, taking 500 to 3,000 mg of taurine per day is considered a safe amount for adults. There are some side effects from taking too much, though:
If you have any of these after taking taurine, stop immediately and talk to your doctor.
If you’re considering adding Taurine to your daily supplement list, here are some great options.
Read Next:
12 Top Products for Women’s Health
The Health Benefits of Vitamin D
Best Bread for Better Health and Aging
The post Taurine: Have Scientists Discovered Our “Elixir of Life”? appeared first on Prime Women | An Online Magazine.
]]>Updated June 2023
Drip painting is an art technique that was popularized by Jackson Pollock (you can see footage of him drip painting).
And we’ve done a little bit of dripping when splatter painting, but! I’ve been wanting to try a more deliberate drip painting activity with my kids ever since Jamie Hand wrote a guest post for The Artful Parent on gravity painting.
Drip painting is super easy and a great way to learn about viscosity and gravity while making some interesting artworks.
Plus it’s a lot more controlled (read: less messy) than splatter painting and results in a completely different experience and effect.
I recommend giving this a try!
I’ll share the how to (plus how to make the cardboard easel) and then share some ideas for adding on to your drip paintings.
MATERIALS
*You can do this at a regular easel or simply prop a piece of cardboard up against a wall outside or something inside. I made simple cardboard easels by taping three pieces of cardboard (saved from paper pads) together into a triangle.
INSTRUCTIONS
Tape paper to one or both sides of your new double-sided tabletop easel.
If you’re doing this activity inside, I highly recommend placing the cardboard easel over a tray or mat to catch the extra paint that drips down.
Choose your paint colors and put them into paint cups or dishes along with a spoon or brush. If your paint is thick, you may want to water it down a bit so it drips and runs better
Let your new paint drip paintings dry, then admire and display!
You can also use them as the base layer of a multi-media artwork or cut them up and use them for collages.
Dripping paint is fun!
They can experiment with small drips, big drips, and different color combinations. It’s interesting to watch the colors drip into each other and mix.
You can also experiment with the viscosity, or flow, of different kinds of paint.
More Drip Painting Art Ideas
How about you? Have you tried drip painting art with your kids yet?
Pin It for Later
The post How to Do Drip Painting for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.
]]>Well, hello, there! It’s been a while, but I’m still here, still reading a bit … just not managing to write as often. In the past month or so I’ve read a few comic books, finished one novel and started another, and also finished up Playing Oppression (which I mentioned in my last column). Today I’ll start with the comics.
I’ll admit that I don’t know much about the pop duo Tegan and Sara other than that, well, they’re sisters and a pop duo. But I have enjoyed several of Tillie Walden’s comics and figured this would be a fun way to learn a bit about them. This comic is a fictionalized account—while the real Tegan and Sara started junior high in 1991, this book is set in the present day (which is why I was a bit confused at first by some of the pop-culture references that they made, or the fact that the kids have smartphones). But even though it’s been time-shifted and details have been rearranged, a lot of the story is based in reality: the twin sisters moved around a lot and had to deal with making new friends and new schools, discovering a love for music, and figuring out what to do with their feelings about girls.
The book is mostly in a purple-and-white color palette with occasional touches of other colors, but then also uses blues for Tegan and pink/red for Sara when we get to see some of their internal thoughts—sometimes their internal dialogue seems shared where they’re thinking at each other, and sometimes they’re each trapped in their own thoughts. The book reminded me a little of the Real Friends series by Shannon Hale, just in terms of navigating old and new friendships, dealing with bullies, and feeling out of place. For Tegan and Sara, there’s also the fact that they’re so close to each other and have always done things together, but then don’t click with the same people in junior high, which leads to some friction that’s a bit scary.
It’s a sweet story about how the two of them start to find their voices through music, and Walden’s illustrations do a great job of capturing their emotional states. According to the authors’ note at the end, there’s more to come, so we’ll get to see some continuing junior high adventures eventually!
This comic book is sort of a Frankenstein’s monster tale: Maura dies in an accident during an scientific experiment, so her older sister Frances worked to bring her back to life—and that’s where the book begins, with the giant electric switch and the stitched-together body strapped to a table, the lab coats and gloves, and the “monster” waking up … but she doesn’t know who she is and has no memories of being Maura. Frances is sure that it’ll just take some time, some familiar places and routines, for everything to fall back into place, but M (as she calls herself) starts to realize that she really is just a different person altogether. She tries to behave the way Frances describes, but her likes and dislikes just aren’t the same.
The story is about expectations: what happens when we try to live up to somebody else’s expectations of us? How do we figure out who we are, when other people are telling us they already know who we should be?
ND Stevenson is the author and illustrator of Nimona, as well as one of the cowriters of the Lumberjanes series, and was also a showrunner for the Netflix series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. All of these resulted in a lot of attention at a fairly young age, which was a very intense experience. This book collects a series of sketches and comics, along with some “year in review” entries, that Stevenson wrote and drew between the years 2011 and 2019, a time when Stevenson was going to college, working on Nimona as a student project, interning at BOOM! Studios, and just getting started on She-Ra. Behind the scenes, though, Stevenson was often struggling—with what he has now revealed was a combination of bipolar disorder and ADHD, with the need to create art and the feeling that it isn’t enough, with the conflict between his evangelical upbringing and his own gender identity and romantic attraction. The book was published back in 2020, but since then Stevenson came out as trans (and changed his name and pronouns, so my copy of the book still has his old name on it). So while this memoir certainly seems incomplete and there’s a lot more to Stevenson’s own story yet to be lived, it’s a window into a tumultuous time, with some really powerful illustrations. Stevenson often portrays himself with either a hole through his chest, or a fire burning, and the book covers a time when he started figuring some of that out for himself.
Minor Threats is set in a world full of costumed heroes and villains, and its protagonists are some of the low-level bad guys, the ones who made a name for themselves “before the alien invasions, the time travelling despots, and secret multiversal wars.” They’re seen hanging out at the Lower Lair, a bar run by the woman who used to be Playtime (sidekick of the Toy Queen, pulling heists using various toy-based weapons and tools). They reminisce about the good old days and try to pretend they’re not all washed up. But then everything changes: the Stickman, one of the new villains, has killed the Insomniac’s sidekick, breaking one of the unwritten rules of the game, and now the Insomniac is striking to kill. The heroes have put the city into a lockdown, searching for the Stickman, and the bad guys have nowhere to run. So Playtime gets her costume back out, pulls together a team of has-beens, and comes up with a plan to take out Stickman themselves to get the heroes off their backs.
It’s a comic that plays with various superhero tropes—we get some villain origin stories as the various characters take turns being the narrator-voice-bubble, and there’s a wide variety of powers on display. Playtime can make complex machine out of almost anything; Brain Tease can analyze a situation and figure out where things are going; Snake Stalker is just an enormous guy in a snake suit. But the Stickman seems to be one step ahead of them the whole time, and they find themselves walking into one trap after another.
I enjoyed it for the most part—it reminded me a little of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City series just with the way the world was populated with so many costumes, though Minor Threats feels a lot meaner and is definitely a lot more gruesome. There’s a lot of blood and gore, so if you’re at all squeamish you may want to skip it. It’s a villain’s-eye-view of a world getting turned upside down, and both the heroes and the villains have to figure out how they’re going to survive in it.
I’ve read a few others that I’ll share down the road: Wild Massive by Scotto Moore is a sci-fi novel about a multiverse inside a building and it’s wacky and wonderful. How to Love is a guide to feelings and relationships by Alex Norris, the “oh no” comic strip artist. And I just picked up a copy and started Atomic Anna because I found out at my reunion that it’s a time travel novel written by one of my college classmates, Rachel Barenbaum.
Disclosure: I received review copies of the books covered in this column; affiliate links to Bookshop.org help support independent booksellers and my writing!
Click through to read all of "Stack Overflow: Comics Grab-Bag" at GeekDad.If you value content from GeekDad, please support us via Patreon or use this link to shop at Amazon. Thanks!
]]>Alisha shares this super simple surface tension science experiment for kids will leave your kiddos amazed!
In my home, we call this the Magic Finger trick. It’s a great way to get your toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged kiddos interested in the wonders and joys of science.
Best part – there’s no setup!
Here are 30 other great experiments to do with your preschooler!
You only need three supplies for this surface tension experiment; all of the items are found in your kitchen.
Begin by grabbing a bowl from your cabinet and fill it up with water at least half way.
Next, sprinkle some pepper into the bowl of water. Use enough pepper to cover the top of the water.
Then, prepare your kiddos for the amazement that is about to occur.
Simply put some dish soap on the tip of your finger and touch the middle of the water.
Voilà!
…but in fact there is real science behind the experiment.
When the soap touches the water, the surface tension changes, and the pepper no longer floats on top. But the water molecules still want to keep the surface tension, so they pull back away from the soap, and carry the pepper along with them.
After doing the experiment and talking about surface tension, let your kiddos take a turn using their magic finger.
An extension of this surface tension experiment for kids would be to try other objects on the water.
Are you on the lookout for some awesome workbooks to amp up your fifth grader's learning experience?
I totally get it—sometimes getting kids to focus on new concepts can be a bit challenging. But fret not! I've got just the solution for you. I've compiled a list of super cool fifth grade workbooks that are not only approved by teachers but also guaranteed to make learning a blast—whether you're in the classroom, homeschooling, or looking for some extra support.
These workbooks are aligned with the curriculum and current state standards, so you can be confident that they cover all the important topics.
And hey, the best part? They've received fantastic reviews! So, let's check out this ultimate collection of teacher-approved workbooks that'll make your fifth grader's learning journey a whole lot more exciting. Are you ready? Let's dive in!
Let's talk about why workbooks are like superheroes in the 5th grade classroom! These bad boys bring a ton of advantages to the table. First off, they're like skill reinforcement experts. They swoop in and bridge those pesky knowledge gaps that students might have, helping them master important concepts.
Workbooks are the secret sauce to making learning fun and exciting. With their vibrant illustrations, interactive activities, and mind-bending puzzles, they turn studying into an adventure. It's like leveling up in a video game, but with knowledge as your superpower.
By bringing workbooks into the mix, teachers and parents can create an atmosphere where students can learn at their own pace, explore independently, and feel like they're conquering the world, one page at a time. Who said learning couldn't be a thrilling ride?
Alright, let's dive into the fascinating world of 5th grade math! Math skills hold major significance in the 5th grade curriculum because they build a strong foundation for future mathematical adventures. We're talking fractions, decimals, geometry, and more!
Now, to make that math journey a breeze, I've handpicked a stellar list of top-rated math workbooks for all those 5th graders out there.
Oh boy, do I have a math gem to share with you all! Get ready to meet my absolute favorite math companion: "180 Days of Math: Grade 5." This book has been my go-to since 2015, and let me tell you, it's been a game-changer. If you want to supercharge your math skills, this is the one to grab. It's jam-packed with 180 days' worth of math activities, exercises, and problem-solving tasks that'll turn you into a math whiz. And hey, it aligns perfectly with the 5th-grade curriculum, so you're right on track. From number sense to geometry, every topic is covered in a fun and engaging way. Oh, and did I mention that it's my absolute favorite?
IXL | The Ultimate Grade 5 Math Workbook
This bad boy is like a secret weapon for mastering math in 5th grade. It covers all the important topics like fractions, decimals, geometry, and even algebra. With clear instructions and a layout that's super easy to follow, this workbook is your go-to guide for acing math. It's got tons of practice exercises, mind-bending problem-solving tasks, and interactive activities that'll keep you engaged and boost your understanding.
This workbook is like your student's own personal math coach, guiding them through the fascinating world of 5th grade math. With Spectrum, they'll tackle all the essential math skills and concepts like a pro. From multiplication and division to fractions and decimals, they've got it all covered. The best part? This workbook is packed with colorful illustrations, fun activities, and real-world examples that make math come alive. They're like a ticket to a math adventure that will boost your child's confidence and sharpen their skills.
This book covers all the important math topics your 5th graders need to conquer, from numbers and operations to geometry and algebra. It's like a comprehensive math guide wrapped in a fun and engaging package. Plus, the explanations are clear, and the examples are practical, making it easy for both teachers and parents to guide their students through the math journey.
Packed with interactive activities, colorful illustrations, and step-by-step explanations, it's like having a math wizard right by your side. This workbook covers all the essential math topics for 5th graders, from numbers and operations to fractions, decimals, and geometry. Say goodbye to math frustrations and hello to confident problem solvers!
Let's chat about the power of English language skills in the magical realm of 5th grade! English skills are like the key to unlocking a world of communication, comprehension, and creativity. From reading captivating stories to writing captivating essays, English is everywhere! So, to help your students become language wizards, I've rounded up some top-notch English workbooks that come highly recommended.
This workbook is designed to help students enhance their reading comprehension abilities through a variety of engaging exercises and activities. With carefully curated passages and questions, it focuses on important skills like identifying main ideas, making inferences, and understanding text structure.
This book is packed with 180 days' worth of writing prompts and activities, covering a wide range of topics and genres. It's like having a writing workshop right at your fingertips! Whether it's persuasive essays, descriptive narratives, or informative pieces, this book has it all. It provides step-by-step guidance, engaging exercises, and helpful tips to spark creativity and improve writing skills.
This book is a treasure trove of grammar goodness, specifically designed for 5th graders. It covers all the essential grammar concepts like parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and more. With clear explanations, fun activities, and plenty of practice exercises, it ensures your child grasps the ins and outs of grammar in a snap.
This resource is jam-packed with carefully selected reading passages and thought-provoking questions that will engage and challenge your young learners. Each day, your child will delve into a new passage and practice vital skills like understanding main ideas, making inferences, and analyzing text structure. With its user-friendly format and diverse topics, this book makes daily reading practice a breeze.
This book contains spelling and word study activities, specifically designed to engage and empower 5th graders. With 180 days' worth of carefully curated lessons, your child will explore phonics, vocabulary, word patterns, and so much more. Each day brings a new opportunity to reinforce spelling skills through interactive exercises, games, and word puzzles.
I've got a treasure trove of workbooks that cover not only math and English but also a whole bunch of other fascinating subjects! Check out these awesome workbooks that align perfectly with the curriculum and have garnered rave reviews.
This gem is like a secret weapon to keep your students' minds active and prepared during the summer break. Designed to bridge the gap between 5th and 6th grade, this workbook offers a wide range of engaging activities and exercises across subjects like math, reading, writing, and even science. It's like a mini summer camp for continuous learning! Not only does it provide an opportunity for students to review and reinforce what they've learned, but it also introduces new concepts to give them a head start in 6th grade.
This book will make science come alive for your young explorers. It’s filled with hands-on activities, inquiry-based lessons, and engaging experiments that will ignite your child's curiosity about the world around them. With 180 days' worth of carefully planned lessons, your little scientists will delve into topics like physical science, life science, Earth and space, and more. Each day presents a new opportunity to spark their scientific thinking and foster a love for STEM.
With 180 days' worth of engaging lessons, your child will journey through the rich tapestry of human history, geography, civics, and more. Each day presents an opportunity to delve into captivating topics, analyze primary sources, and participate in thought-provoking discussions.
We’ve explored a remarkable collection of books that are essential for 5th grade teachers and parents. These books are invaluable resources that will empower young learners in various subject areas. Whether it's developing language skills, enhancing reading comprehension, mastering grammar, igniting scientific curiosity, or diving into the realms of history and culture, these books offer engaging activities, thought-provoking lessons, and targeted practice. So, grab a few of these gems and embark on a journey of educational growth and excitement with your 5th graders!
And here's an added bonus: If your 5th grader needs extra support beyond these incredible books, I'm here to help! As an experienced online tutor, I offer personalized sessions tailored to your child's specific needs. Together, we can reinforce concepts, tackle challenging topics, and ensure their success. Feelfree to reach out for one-on-one tutoring sessions that complement the resources mentioned in this post. Let's unlock your child's full potential and set them on the path to academic excellence!
The Tribeca Film Festival was full of show-stopping premieres, like Vanessa Hudgens' Downtown Owl, Sara Bareilles' Waitress The Musical — Live On Stage!, and Ariana DeBose's I.S.S.. The latter, which takes place on the International Space Station, revolves around a group of astronauts who find themselves at odds when they all receive orders to take over by any means necessary. I talked to director Gabriela Cowperthwaite about emphasizing humanity in a story about chaos.
B+C: First off, congratulations on this film. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! The title of the movie is I.S.S., so before you even see the first frame, you're focusing on the space station as a viewer and it affects every aspect of the movie. How did you use the unfamiliarity of that setting to underscore Kira's anxiety?
GC: One of the first things I did was bring in a look-book of like these shots of the space station. And they were all very real, [a very layered] human world. And so, in some ways that can feel kind of homey, right? I didn't want to make the really metal-y, aspirational, clean, streamlined look that sci-fi has, I think this is just the real space station...
But then other times it's just really unsettling. Like you're never on sure ground, right? Up is down. And it can be very scary and creepy. And so there were times I would look at it where I was like, this is like terrifying. You know, this is so claustrophobic and strange.
B+C: I love that you point out that you tried to avoid making it sci-fi shiny, because it does feature such rich textures and warm lighting.
G: It was definitely like, 'Let's try to let's try to make this feel human.' And also, the messiness, too, makes it feel unpredictable. Almost like, 'Gosh, if they can't even clean this up or figure this out, there's got to be a lot of stuff that's going to fall through the cracks.'
I want you to feel like we're just little humans who should not be up there. There's nothing about our bodies, about our lungs, about having that much radiation coming at you at all times when you're up there — that is not good for human beings. It's crazy that we're up there, so let's just underscore that a little bit by making this thing seem sort of otherworldly.
B+C: I love that idea of chaos, and the fact that the movie revolves around taking control, because chaos and control feel opposed to one another. There are so many little details the characters don't have control over, like the lack of gravity or depending on other people for their communication system. How did you use those little details to emphasize that lack of control?
G: The first thing that happens when you get up there is you realize that you're spinning, you know? Literally [and] metaphorically, you're spinning. Someone tells you there are these things called footholds, so Gordon [played by Chris Messina] is like, 'Put your foot in here and then you can feel like you're standing,' but you're not standing...That's not up and that's not down.
[The characters are also] conducting experiments. Like, that's part of what you do on the I.S.S., right? And so you're conducting experiments — I think the script was more like microbes and looking through microscopes, and I was like, 'I want to make it mice. I want to make it like where the mice are untethered.' [Because] at least you can tell somebody, rationally, 'This is not going to feel great. It's not going to feel great, but you're going to be okay.' But then you have these mice, they have no idea...
I read this in in Endurance by Scott Kelly [where] sometimes the mice will hurt themselves or hurt each other. There's so much anxiety and so much terror when you're untethered like that. So there's moments like that where you're just like, 'Okay, this is maybe not a great idea altogether to even be here.' Those are the types of things I kind of wanted to just infuse the script with and then shoot so that you could never feel completely like you have your bearings.
B+C: That definitely comes across when you're watching it. And even though the plot of I.S.S. is fictional, there are a ton of aspects that feel real. How did your previous experiences making documentaries affect the way that you tell fictional stories?
G: We all [know what "real" looks like] intuitively. And for me, I think that I could just see it. You could hear someone say a line and you're just like, 'That comes from inside them' or 'That comes from a script.' I for sure wanted it to feel almost like this documentary messiness, just so that you feel absorbed and you feel like you're there, and you're in this world. Because I want you to be able to kind of see yourself in this world, like you could be there. You don't have to be some sort of master scientist who has the right sentences to say in every single scenario, you don't have to be this perfect, aspirational, fake person that a lot of characters in movies can feel like. You're just as confused as Ariana [DeBose] is...
Those kinds of things I feel like will make you relate more to these people and imagine yourself being these people, because I think that's the point of the film — we could be any one of these people trying to humanize each other and being with each other, and then suddenly asked to do something that's just unthinkable...So making that kind of connection and making it feel authentic and real, I think was important for this movie to work.
B+C: To come back to the production of I.S.S., you filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina. I've been to Wilmington — I love it! Did you get to try any fun local spots?
G: Well, Wilmington did not see us at our best because we were in COVID, which was such a profound bummer...But I was at Wrightsville Beach [and] would walk every weekend there. My kids came out at one point and we just had an amazing assistant, Kat Hedrick, and she organized a boat tour where we could just go out [and] oh my gosh, it was so beautiful. People were so kind. It was like living in a dream.
B+C: Talking about that conflict between the characters, there was something that I really loved from a statement you gave, about how the movie is all about humanizing other people in the midst of conflict. How do you hope that theme impacts viewers?
G: If you think of your success, your happiness, your quality of life — whatever that is — necessitating or depending on somebody's demise, then we're going be the smallest, most insignificant species on the planet. And in some ways we might already be that, in terms of our own extinction and the things that we do that just grind us down as human beings. And I think that is maintaining that humanity, maintaining the ability to humanize someone who you're told a lie about. You're told that they're different from you [and] everything that guides their moral compass is completely different and off, and that you have got to do whatever you can to save yourself. That's just the biggest lie, right?
I'm hoping that we can continue to cut through that and continue to be like, 'Okay, yep, I hear what the system needs,' [but choose to] build a relationship that's interconnected, based on knowing each other as human beings. It would be a great way to do this and a great way to do life.
I don't have delusions of grandeur that people walk out of this film [ready to change the world], but with each of our films, everybody's just trying to say something little that might tweak your energy just a tiny bit, and make you realize how much cooler it would be to communicate and to humanize.
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This interview has been edited for clarity.
Lead image via Manny Carabel/Getty Images
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