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?

Hi Everyone, My partner in education (aka Ken) is working on an app that helps you create simple science experiments using the Kitchen as your lab. This program was formerly known as "Simple Science in the Kitchen" and we hosted it on Facebook- that was a bust. Anyway, he's thinking about starting a Skool community focused on science for families and he's prepping for a talk at a homeschool conference next week. He spent the weekend creating this prototype. If you have 15 minutes in the next day or so, would love your feedback. What did you like? What would you change? Was it easy to use? Kitchen Lab Alpha Tagging a few folks who might be interested, if I didn't tag you, it's my lack of foresight and everyone is welcome! @Gus Gray @Sharon Otaguro @Sharon Yeh @Betty Jo Winters @Lisa Kilby @Devin Trent @Tim Tindle @Jen Staniforth @Karen Gibson @Kristy Allison

I'm a bit late in sharing this but I wanted to shout our our community member @Anna Murrietta, founder of the Grandparents Corner, for inviting me as a guest speaker last week. We had a fun chat about homeschooling, how it's changed and how grandparents can support their offspring in the homeschooling adventure. I'll be speaking about Connected Through Play at the Chattanooga Homeschool Expo next week and will be excited to share what I learn at the Expo. Here's the conversation if you're interested.

As we head into a new month, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of the people who help make Connected Through Play what it is. A special congratulations to @Jen Staniforth , who finished May at the top of our community leaderboard. Thank you for your participation, encouragement, and willingness to jump into conversations. I’d also like to recognize a few members who have been showing up, sharing ideas, asking thoughtful questions, trying activities, and helping make this a welcoming place for families: @Brenda Chilstrom @Celia Kibler @Evelene Sterling @Natasha Bryant @Heather Wilson @Gus Gray @Anna Murrietta @Ramona Zihlke @Daniel Cavaretta The truth is, a community like this isn’t built by one person. It’s built by people sharing experiences, trying little things at home, joining conversations, and encouraging one another along the way. Whether you’ve posted every week, commented on a discussion, quietly read along, or tried an activity with your family, you’ve helped shape this community. Thank you for being part of Connected Through Play. I’m glad you’re here. I’d love to hear from everyone: What was your favorite moment, activity, conversation, or discovery from the community this month?

I just ran across this article about making children laugh and how that helps build resilience so they can learn more easily. Helping Children Laugh Can Make Their Brains More Resilient and Learning Easier