I’d love to hear some thoughtful and honest opinions from parents and grandparents — both those with Christian values and those without. How do you feel about children or teenagers reading stories that include Gothic themes, witches, wizards, magic, spells or darker fantasy worlds, such as Harry Potter? For those with Christian values, do these themes conflict with your beliefs enough that you would avoid buying or recommending such books for your children or grandchildren? And for those without Christian beliefs, I’d be equally interested in your perspective. Would witches, magic or Gothic imagery bother you at all, or would your decision be based more on things such as the child’s age, how frightening the story is, the overall message, or simply whether it is a good story? I’m also curious about where people draw the line. Would you feel differently if the story contained witches and magic but ultimately focused on values such as: - friendship and loyalty - courage - standing up against corruption or injustice - making difficult moral choices - good versus evil - finding your own identity and purpose Do you see fantasy magic simply as imagination and storytelling, or does the presence of witches and spells immediately make a children’s or YA book less appealing to you? I’m genuinely interested in hearing both sides, rather than looking for one particular answer. So, parents and grandparents: would a Gothic or magical theme make you less likely to let your child or grandchild read a novel — and does your personal faith or belief system influence that decision? 🤔

I’d love to hear from the parents, grandparents and teachers in this community: what types of stories can the children in your lives simply not get enough of? Are they obsessed with magical adventures, funny animals, mysteries, superheroes, friendship stories, fairy tales, spooky-but-cute characters — or something completely different? Please share their ages too, as I’d love to understand how children’s interests vary across different age groups. Your insights would be incredibly valuable to me as a children’s author! 😊 👉 I'm listening. 😉

Storytelling is both an art and has a long history over hundreds of years as a way to share wisdom, knowledge, and family history. This week, in the Story lab, we are going to explore creating story worlds. For those of you who are new to the community, if you click the Classroom tab, you will find our four main labs: Curious Kitchen, Play, Story, and Build. Each week, I provide 5-6 activities for one of the labs. This week, it's story lab. I'll also post a short version of the activity here and then you can visit the classroom to see an activity twist and also variations for age broken down by 3-6, 7-12, and 13 - 17. You are encouraged to share your stories, builds, and more with the community. We also have a few authors and illustrators in our community, I'm sure they would be delighted to have a conversation here. Some of our creatives are @Joanne Langston who is also presenting at Unplug & Play, @Paulette Ng who is developing several children's books and educational content, and @Sakthivel M Drop your questions below.

According to our local weather folks, the heatwave is going to continue for a few days and head back to Europe. For our families in the Southern hemisphere, what’s the weather like by you? Today we wrap up the heatwave activities with another favorite of mine. Today is a mini family game show designed by the kids, run by the kids, judged by everyone. Gather Your Gear: - Whatever’s left from the week (maps, builds, ice experiments — anything) - Paper for scorecards (optional) - A “trophy” (a stuffed animal, a silly hat, a paper crown — anything works) How to Play: 1. Each person (or team) designs one challenge for the others. It can be physical (balance this), mental (guess what I’m describing), creative (build this in 3 minutes), or memory-based (what changed?). 2. Take turns running a challenge. Everyone else competes. 3. Award points however feels fun or skip points entirely and just play. 4. End with the question: What was the hardest part? What would you change? Variations by age: 🐣 Ages 3–6: Their “challenge” might just be “everyone hop like a frog.” Let it count. Help them feel the power of running something. 🔍 Ages 7–12: They design the challenge AND explain the rules clearly enough that everyone can follow them. If the rules are confusing, that’s part of the after play recap. 🧠 Teens: They design the challenge AND run it as a host: intro, rules, judging, closing. This is low-key facilitation practice. You don’t have to tell them that part. Share in the comments: What challenge did your kids come up with? Which activity was the hit of the week?

Let’s have some fun, I’ll be popping up a couple poll questions today and tomorrow to help us get to know each other. If your family had to win a competition today, what would it be? What would someone outside your family answer? By the way, this can be the family you grew up in, your current family, or your “family of choice.”