Helping & Healing
Find support and guidance during challenging times with Helping & Healing. Explore articles and content aimed at helping families navigate difficult situations and find healing and resilience along the way.
Four Free Stories to Help your Family Process the Bombing in Manchester
We have posted these stories before — and the sad truth is that we will likely need to post them again — but our hope is that you and your children can listen to them together and absorb a series of images and words to use when processing the news.
Storybox Playlist SPECIAL: Immigration Stories
Now, more than ever, it is necessary to remember our common history. Here are a few stories to help us remember.
SparkleCast Episode 7 – Inspiring Service with Laura Chauvin of Her Best Foot Forward
In this episode, Laura, David, and Rebecca use the By Thistle By Thimble story “Purple” as the focus of a conversation about inspiring service in children and families. Laura tells the story of how Her Best Foot Forward was started and then talks about how service is central to her family’s life.
Find Calm, Reach Out, and Then — Do Something Brave
Let us take a moment to find calm.
Post Election Support – Suggestions and Stories
I want to write some thoughts about how to support yourself and your children today — as emotions run high, as the media frenzy now feeds on “what if” stories, and we all recover from the outcome of the election.
Healing the National Rift — A Story to Help Children & Families Post-Election
How do you bridge the gap?
SparkleCast Episode 1 – Being Present with Big Emotions with Dr. Carrie Contey
In this episode of SparkleCast, Carrie, David, and Rebecca discuss how children can healthily experience their rich emotional lives and how parents can be present and guide their children without being “plugged in” to their experience.
On Dragons and Navigating Big Emotions
David Sewell McCann talks about dragons, where to find them, and how they can help with our big emotions.
The Importance of Wilderness Stewardship
We've gathered a few tips for both children and their grown-ups to learn how to take good care of our wild spaces – just like Martin and Sylvia do.
Handy Toolbelt of Stories to Help and Heal
One of the Sparkle missions is to offer stories that help children through common thresholds. Whether it's the loss of a pet, the first day of school, or divorcing parents, we want to have stories that can be used to help and heal.
“Helpers”: A Story About Natural Disasters, Fear, and Lending a Hand
Wildfires are scary. Flooding is scary. The news is thick with pictures of burning or flooding homes, and next week there are thousands of children who will not start school because their school is either underwater or their home has burned to the ground.
EXPLORE this Week: Your Neighborhood, Town and Local Parks
It's week two of our EXPLORE theme! Did you know your own neighborhood and town (or city) offers a wealth of exploration opportunities?
EXPLORE this Week: Your Own Home and Yard
Sometimes it simply takes a moment's pause – and an encouragement to find fresh eyes – to see that there's a world of things to explore right around you. Here are some ideas for exploring your own home and yard!
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.
Princes, Princesses, Knights, and Nurses: Stories of Gender and Identity
David talks about fairy tales, gender, and identity for young children.
How to Stop Teasing and Bullying: Finding a Common Image
In this post, David has tips on how to use our stories within the context of bullying and teasing.
New "Martin & Sylvia" Collection: "The Welcoming Feast"
The new Martin & Sylvia stories portray a moment of coming together, of welcoming those who may seem - at first - to be quite different.
How to Use the “Diversity” Stories
The words difference and diversity come from the same Latin root — which is to "turn aside."
How to Make Friends in a New School: 3 Strategies
David offers three straightforwards strategies to children joining a new school.
Telling Stories to Sensitive Children
Do you find yourself describing your child as "sensitive"?
