Are you motivated by the Skool leaderboard or is it a ho-hum thing for you? I personally waffle on weather or not I find leaderboards helpful. However, I as a community owner, the leaderboard is a wonderful way to keep our community members engaged and recognize those who have been active inside the community. So, drumroll please as we recognize our Connected Through Play Top 10.Here's something very cool, 5 out of our Top 10 will also be hosting sessions at the #Unplug & Play event in August. Can you guess who? This month's leaderboard is absolutely ON FIRE! 🔥 #1 @Sandy Chong — Crushing it as our sourdough baker extraordinaire, and holding strong at #10 all-time! #2 @Paulette Ng e Ng — Building incredible creative connections from the UK and making her mark! #3 @Jen Staniforth — The pediatric sleep specialist bringing 20 years of wisdom AND sitting at #6 all-time! #4 @Anna Murrietta — Designing a life of freedom and purpose after 25+ years of corporate leadership! #5 @Celia Kibler — Helping parents raise calm, confident kids and ranking #7 all-time too! #6 @Cristal Vancarson — LA photographer helping everyone show up powerfully on camera! #7 @Evelene Sterling — Cancer Thrivers owner and Skoolyard admin bringing the gardening and sewing vibes, plus #4 all-time! #8 @Sharon Yeh — Guiding cellular healing with science and soul! #9 @Gus Gray — The Lightwright helping you create a career that lights you up, and our #2 all-time legend! #10 @Paula Artis — IT instructor and ordained minister sharing 20+ years of expertise! Who's ready to climb the board next month?

Our European friends just experienced a massive heat wave and it looks like the US is next. Would you prefer stay cool activities or the build lab I was planning. For our friends down under, these can be adapted for cold, too. Attached our weather forecast in Fahrenheit. Including the “feels like” temperature. Pick your preference:

Except when we are traveling, then we ask our resident bread baker @Sandy Chong to share her bake. This week, over in the Crust & Crumb Academy, Chef Henry had everyone baking pretzels. Chef Henry is going to be sharing a cooking class during Unplug & Play (recorded) and a 30 minute Ask Me Anything about bread baking. Here’s his kid friendly pretzel recipe. Enjoy. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/kids-can-bake-soft-pretzels Tagging a few members I thought might be interested in baking. @Jen Staniforth @Jenny Akinosho @Gus Gray @Anna Brown @Dannielle McAuliffe @Dee Gosrani @Michelle Fuentes @Jeannie Cole @Kristy Allison @Kiley Reynolds @Lisa Vanderveen @Liz Brants @Nat Carey @Amanda Owens @Sharon Otaguro @Paras Desai @Samuel Wendland @Sakthivel M @Sahibaz Tatla @Tim Tindle @Wendy Lee-Chu @Yu-Tzu Huang @Sharon Yeh @Catherine McDowell

Today’s adventure in baking was blueberry scones with a hint of lemon. While other bakers, like our very own @Sandy Chong were baking brioche, I opted for a different bake. These are incredibly light and airy. What’s cooking in your house today?

Did you know, here in the US, it’s “Eat Your Veggies Day”, but we’re not starting by eating them. We’re starting by giving them new jobs. A broccoli forest. A carrot superhero. A cucumber spaceship. Build something ridiculous, tell us about it, then enjoy your creations as a snack when the show is over. If you play along, I’d love to see what your vegetables become. Veggie Casting Call Vegetables spend a lot of time being vegetables. Today, they’re auditioning for bigger roles. What happens when a carrot becomes a superhero, a broccoli floret becomes a tree, or a cucumber slice becomes a flying saucer? Gather Your Gear - A variety of vegetables you already have on hand - Cutting board - Knife (adult use as needed) - Plates or trays Optional: toothpicks, cream cheese, hummus, or other safe “building” materials Camera (optional) Steps 1. Wash and prepare a few vegetables. 2. Challenge everyone to create the silliest scene, creature, vehicle, building, or invention they can using only vegetables. 3. Give each creation a name. 4. Have everyone present their masterpiece and explain what it does. 5. Vote on categories like Most Ridiculous, Most Creative, Most Likely to Exist on Another Planet, or Best Backstory. 6. When the show is over, turn the creations into a snack plate and eat them. Twist Each person secretly chooses one vegetable that must appear in every creation. The stranger the vegetable, the better. Variations by Age Ages 3-6 Focus on simple creations and storytelling. A cucumber can become a train. A carrot can become a rocket. Invite lots of “What does it do?” and “Where does it live?” questions while building together. Ages 7-12 Add challenge cards. Build a vegetable pet. Create a machine that solves a problem. Design a vegetable amusement park. Encourage bigger ideas and fun explanations for how everything works. Ages 13-17 Introduce a timed design challenge. Draw a random category such as movie character, mythical creature, famous landmark, or invention. Bonus points for combining multiple vegetables into one creation and giving it an elaborate origin story.