Sparkle Stories Blog
A home for Sparkle audio stories, crafts, recipes, and kind words!
Sylvia’s Magic Belly Tea
In the Martin & Sylvia Learning Days story “A Science Potion for Halloween,” the children have worries about how they’ll feel after the upcoming Halloween Ball. Momma shows them that they can make “potions” with things they have in their pantry and yard, just like herbalists have done for centuries.
ABC Scavenger Hunt for Kids with Wild Learning
This week, a special partner joins in on the Sparkle Fun! A darling alphabet scavenger hunt created by educator Rachel Tidd of Wild Learning is featured in “A Forested Alphabet”, and we are bringing you step by step instructions to capture some of the magic on your own!
Let’s Go to the Farm
If you’ve listened to any stories in this darling series, you’ve likely heard about Martin & Sylvia’s neighbors. The Browns are farmers who live next door and play an important part in Brother and Sister’s stories. Here are some of our favorite stories that feature the Browns and their farm!
How to Make Your Own Wormery
We’ve teamed up with our friends at Tanglewood Hollow to bring you this fun, squiggly wiggly project so that you can capture some of the Martin & Sylvia magic at home by making your own wormery.
Resources for Supporting Indigenous Communities
In “A Land Verse”, Martin & Sylvia get curious about the people who owned their house before. Their questions lead them on a trip to the library, discovering a special way to honor the First Nation people of their land. See our resources to help our Sparklers take part in their own land acknowledgments & ways to support indigenous communities.
A Morning Together Time: Sing-Along with Martin and Sylvia!
Our team's musical contributors have created and recorded their own versions of some of the songs that Martin & Sylvia sing with Momma and Daddy in the new story. Read on to hear them — and be ready to sing, clap, dance, and even play along!
Simple (Yet Meaningful!) Ways to Celebrate Michaelmas
In the old times, festival days were held to enjoy the fruits of the labor and to say thank you. Here are a few fun ideas to help you incorporate the Michaelmas Festival and this expression of gratitude into your fall plans.
The Dowdling Song: A Sparkle Stories Sing-Along!
In this week’s new Martin & Sylvia story, Sylvia learns a song to help when something needs to be done that you might not want to do- we've created a version of it just for you!
Stories for Dealing with Uncertainty
For this week’s playlist, we’ve gathered stories that convey some of our best examples of young characters learning to deal with uncertainty.
Our Days of Breathing Rhythms
What if stopping to breathe was the game changer you needed? What if it was a piece of the magic? A key? What if you could orchestrate your days so that breathing through them solved the management mode you are stuck in?
Storybox Playlist: Stories to Inspire Outdoor Play
Story and Play are intertwined — one always inspires the other. When children fully play, stories can help to frame, inspire, and inform their experience. In this way, play is a form of learning. When we tell stories, the listener wishes to act out the content…. and play.
Storybox Playlist: Storying Podcast Story Series
We've created this special playlist of the first FOUR stories that grew from our first four podcast episodes. Listen now!
Introducing the Storying Project
We’ve got big news! We are starting a new podcast called The Storying Project. The podcast launches on August 11 and we can’t wait to share it with you!
X Investigates: A Summer Scavenger Hunt
This week, we are sharing this fun Summer Scavenger Hunt, based on the new Life as a Martian episode! We’ve created a free downloadable pdf to guide you through the X Investigates Summer Scavenger Hunt. Just print out a copy for each of the kids who will be participating, provide a writing utensil, and let the fun and games begin!
Featured Free Stories: Stories about Learning at Home
This week we've gathered a playlist of entirely free stories about learning at home. Whether it's dedicated homeschooling or just curiosity-driven afternoons in the backyard, these stories will have your kids inspired to explore and create.
Melisa Nielsen Guest Post: The Secrets to Peace at Home
In this guest blog post by Melisa Nielsen of Waldorf Essentials and Seasons of Seven, Melisa shares insights and tips to establish rhythms that create a sense of safety and consistency for kids and families.
Johnny Boy Takes: My Favorite Ice Cream Flavors
Hello, world! It’s me, Johnny Boy Nebraska. Today I’m here to tell you about my favorite interesting ice cream flavors you can order online (and some recipes to make your own).
Johnny Boy Nebraska's Favorite Sparkle Stories
Hello, Earthlings! It's me, Johnny Boy Nebraska, a 10-year-old podcaster from Greenhorn, Florida. Originally from Mars. It was so great meeting all of you last week and I wanted to stay in touch-
Featured Free Stories: A Shareable Playlist for Older Kids
This week, we've created a special playlist of five stories perfect for older kids. The best part? Each is free until July 5. Listen now and share with friends and family who you think would love Sparkle Stories as much as you do.
Why Audio? What are the benefits of audio stories for kids?
We want our stories to help the world go a little bit slower and be a little bit kinder. This is why all our stories are audio-only. Think about the characters from stories your parents read to you. Your imagination stitched their clothes, built their houses, and formed every expression on their faces. That's the magic of audio!
