Sparkle Stories Blog
A home for Sparkle audio stories, crafts, recipes, and kind words!
You Are Safe and the World Is Good: Four Free Stories
One thing I have learned about my two boys is that all they really want to know are two things: They are Safe, and The World is Good.
Sparkle DIY: How to Make Your Own Sundials
This fun project for kids will teach you how to create your own sundial using simple materials. It's inspired by a story from our original audio collection, Martin and Sylvia's Nature School!
Sparkle Kitchen: Roasted Strawberry Sauce
By slow roasting fresh strawberries, you turn a succulent treat into something truly decadent. As the strawberries cook down, their natural sugars concentrate into a thick, jammy sauce that's as delicious on biscuits as it is on a bowl of dark chocolate ice cream.
Princes, Princesses, Knights, and Nurses: Stories of Gender and Identity
David talks about fairy tales, gender, and identity for young children.
Storybox Playlist: Stories of Gender and Identity
Who am I? Do I belong? Where are there people like me? All children ask these questions at some point in their development and these stories are designed to meet them at this point — and then to reassure them that: they are themselves — and they belong.
Friday's Kind Words: Stick Puppets by Grace
Stick puppets made by Sparkle listener Grace and inspired by the Hadid family from Sparkle Stories "The Welcoming Feast".
Nature School Project: DIY Hamsa Scarecrow
Find directions in this fun nature school project to create a hamsa that you can hang in your garden to ward off pests and protect and bless your space.
Sparkle Kitchen: Kebabs
In The Welcoming Feast, a three-part Martin & Sylvia collection of stories, Daddy's new colleague, Rami Hadid, and his family are coming over for dinner. Martin is generally hesitant about meeting new people, but when he learns that the Hadid's are Muslim and that Rami has lots of stories about growing up in Syria, he is very curious.
The Welcoming Feast: A Video Introduction and New Story
This week we hear more from Martin and Sylvia’s new friends, the Hadid family – and their honoring of Ramadan.
Storybox Playlist: Stories for Making New Friends
Good friends are the best. They can make us laugh, they can inspire us, they can bring play into our lives, they can make us feel at home in the world. Sometimes it takes a little effort to find and make good friends, but it's worth it! Let these stories inspire you.
Nine Sparkle Recipes and Crafts for Summer Travel
Whether you're planning to hit the road or "staycationing" right at home this summer, we created a round-up of fantastic sparkle recipes and crafts to help get your vacation off to a great start.
Nature School Project: Take a Night Walk
We are joined today by our Nature School contributor Dawn, of Mud Puddles to Meteors, who gives us tips for taking a night walk.
Sparkle Kitchen: Airplane Snack Boxes
Beyond keeping everyone's blood glucose on an even keel, a well put together airplane snack box can also be a great way to pass some time as you're soaring through the air.
The Martin & Sylvia: Saturdays! Series — Free Printable Project Book!
It is filled with fun things to do — no matter what the season!
The Three Best Car Games We Ever Made Up
In this video we share our three favorite car games - all made up on the spot (usually to interrupt yet another argument in the back seat over whose stuff is on the wrong side).
Storybox Playlist: Stories for Summer Travels
These stories are designed to make summer adventures more inspiring for kids while giving their parents some needed time off. This Playlist is comprised of Collections rather than individual stories - because we know you'll need lots of stories for those long drives!
Nine Healthy Sparkle Recipes
Meryl, our Sparkle Kitchen chef, and Lisabeth, our CEO, have been creating wonderful recipes to go along with David's stories and today we are sharing 9 of the healthiest ones with you.
Friday's Kind Words: Listening Versus Seeing
Sparkle stories are our favorite. They go in the car, at bedtime and we have even introduced them to our Kindergarten teacher for rest time. ~ Leah
Nature School Project: Up-cycled Seed Sprouting
For this post, we are joined by Kelly of Wings, Worms & Wonder, who shows us how to upcycle and study the growth of seeds into sprouts.
Sparkle Kitchen: Strawberry Team Snacks
In our part of the world, it's strawberry season, so here are three different ways you could serve strawberries to a team. Feel free to extrapolate these to include other fruit as the seasons change where you live.
