Story Pirates are getting ready for the holidays! The top-rated and award-winning podcast has just released a holiday recording your kiddos will love.
The wacky songs are all about holidays made up by kids and include “Monster Day,” “Diggy Day,” “Hug an Alligator Day,” and “Shmeep Loo.” You can listen by clicking here to stream the songs on various music platforms such as Amazon, Apple Music, Pandora and Spotify.
photo: Story Pirates
If you’re looking for more fun activities during this season, check out the Story Pirates After School sessions. The highly interactive series is connecting with best-selling Random House Children’s Books authors, including Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Treehouse) and Chris Grabenstein(Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, The Smartest Kid in the Universe).
For November and December, kids can interact with a variety of authors who will read and talk about their books, as well as take questions from kids. These webinar-style author visits are open to the public andStory Pirates Creator Club members get a discount on the fees.
Are you missing your regular dose of theater? With Broadway’s schedule canceled for the season, Broadway Plus is stepping up their game with a new subscription service, PlusPass.
The new program will give fans all the action, including the ability to RSVP to custom group events and access select offerings only available to subscribers. PlusPass is an add-on to the one-on-one Broadway Plus experiences already offered and is the perfect gift for theater lovers!
Nathaniel Hill, Founder and President of Broadway Plus says, “We’re affordably bringing the magic of Broadway right into your living room so friends, family and fans can form new virtual holiday traditions together, meet cast members from top shows like Hamilton, Wicked, Frozen, and Mean Girls, ask burning questions about how actors stay stage-ready, and even learn to sing and dance.”
PlusPass is made up of four categories of experiences including “Fan Favorite Q&A Panels,” “Virtual Concerts with Q&A,” “Dance, Fitness, and Wellness,” and “Masterclasses & Industry Education.” You can sign up for PlusPass on a rolling basis for $19 monthly or $199 annually at broadwayplus.com/pluspass/.
Your favorite New York six-year-old is coming to the big screen! On Thursday, Variety announced that Linda Woolverton is working with MRC Films to bring Kay Thompson’s famed character, Eloise, to film.
The Plaza Hotel resident, Nanny, dog Weenie and turtle Skipperdee are all expected to be a part of the film, which does not have a cast or director––yet. While Eloise has had plenty movies about her already, this will be the first live-action film to star the city girl who lives on the “tippy-top floor” of the Plaza Hotel.
To Variety, Woolverton says, “I couldn’t be more excited and honored to adapt Kay Thompson’s delightful book and character for the screen with MRC Film. I absolutely love Eloise for her mischievousness, her irreverence, her imagination and made-up words. Her playground, the Plaza Hotel, is an iconic symbol of all that’s wonderful about New York City.”
There’s no word yet on a release date, but if you absolutely must have your does of Eloise, there’s always a stay at the Eloise Suite to hold you over!
Teaching kids to read is a rewarding experience, but it doesn’t come easy! Luckily, Random House Children’s Books has just announced that it is launching a new learn-to-read program that comes with a clear method and recurring characters and stories that is perfect for kids ages four to eight.
Developed by reading and literary specialist Marla Conn, the Reading House program is made up of 12 boxed sets all releasing in 2021. Each set comes with 12 leveled storybooks, an activity sheet, a progress sticker sheet and a classroom guide.
The new program teaches kiddos letter recognition and phonemic awareness as they progress on their journey to independent reading. Using recurring characters and stories, kids are able to recognize words and understand meaning due to context clues and familiarity.
The Reading House Sets 1–5 launches 1/5/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 1: Letter Recognition A–L
The Reading House Set 2: Letter Recognition M–Z, including lower and upper-case letters and beginning sounds
The Reading House Set 3: Introduction to Short Vowel Sounds
The Reading House Set 4: Short Vowel Clusters and Sight Words
The Reading House Set 5: Short Vowels and Reading for Fluency, including short vowels sounds and word families, clusters, and sight words
The Reading House Sets 6–8 launches 3/2/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 6: Introduction to Long Vowel Sounds
The Reading House Set 7: Long Vowel Blends and Sight Words
The Reading House Set 8: Long Vowels and Reading for Fluency, including long vowel sounds and word families, blends, and sight words
The Reading House Sets 9–12 launches 5/4/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 9: Introduction to Reading for Meaning
The Reading House Set 10: Sequencing Events
The Reading House Set 11: Comparing and Contrasting
The Reading House Set 12: Cause and Effect Relationships
Stay tuned for more details about pre-order availability!
adidas has been busy making new collaborative collections and you’re going to want to a piece of both. The 80’s-founded lifestyle brand has paired up with Pixar and LEGO to create two new lines that are both nostalgic and inspiring.
First up, adidas and Pixar have curated the Toy Story Friendship Collection which will debut Oct. 1 on adidas.com and is the perfect thing to sport to Disney’s Pixar Fest. The collection is made up of a sneaker and apparel capsule and will be available in infant, juniors and children sizes in prices ranging from $22 to $120.
Every shoe comes with it’s own unique theme and includes the D.O.N. Issue #2 x Woody, Dame 7 x Buzz, Pro Model 2G x Luxo, Deep Threat x Aliens, NMD_R1 x Jessie, Superstar x Hamm and Top Ten Hi x Rex.
Next up, adidas has joined forces with LEGO to bring a new look to the classic ZX8000 sneaker. Styled after the bricks we all know and love, the shoe is made up of multicolor mesh and synthetic suede upper with a rubber outsole.
The shoe will also have LEGO studs on the heels, adidas and LEGO branded tongue tabs and options for six different colored laces and interchangeable LEGO brick lace jewels.
The adidas Originals ZX 8000 LEGO sneakers launch globally on Sept. 25th and are available at adidas.com/A-ZX.
You won’t even need Floo powder to get to Diagon Alley. Harry Potter fans will be transported to the most magical shopping street in the world. Now you can build and create the iconic street in your own home.
Diagon Alley is where Harry Potter gets his first glimpse of the wizarding world as Hagrid guides him through the shops. This new LEGO set brings the two worlds together in a magical hybrid, a rich and versatile display model, with a modularity aspect that allows fans to choose how to display the shops. You can choose to set them up all in a row, swap them around, or even place individual shops on different shelves.
Measuring more than a meter wide and made up of 5,544 pieces, LEGO Diagon Alley features the famed wizarding world shops packed with authentic details from the movies to truly capture the ambience of the street.
Behind magnificent and detailed storefronts lie intriguing interiors, fascinating features and familiar characters. Fans can recreate some of their favourite moments from the Harry Potter film series including; discovering the wands at Ollivanders from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone dropping in on Gilderoy Lockhart’s book-signing event at Flourish & Blotts bookstore from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; or obtaining a love potion from Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Marcos Bessa, LEGO Harry Potter Design Lead, commented: “I love how faithful the final design is to the architectural details in the film. You can barely see some of these buildings zooming past your screen, but we tracked down different photographs from the sets – some of them from nearly 20 years ago – to make sure everything is spot on. Diagon Alley is the biggest set I’ve designed to-date and I am really proud of how it has come together.”
The set also includes 14 minifigures, including new versions of lead characters Harry, Ron, Hermione and of course George and Fred Weasley who have their own joke shop in Diagon Alley. There are also minifigures of Florean Fortescue and the Daily Prophet photographer, who have never been seen in LEGO form before.
The LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley set is available directly from LEGO Stores and www.LEGO.com/EnterTheMagic from Sept. 1, 2020. It retails for $399.99.
You may not be able to get to one of the Disney Parks this year but you can still enjoy a taste of the resort. Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co., the official specialty coffee of Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Vacation Club is launching its annual half yearly sale from Jul. 22 through Jul. 25. The sale will feature 30 percent off select items, including the Disney Specialty Coffee Collection.
The Disney Specialty Coffee Collection is made up of over 20 blends of coffees inspired by and served at the parks, resorts and signature restaurants at the parks. These blends are available online for Disney fans to enjoy at home.
Disney fans can now experience the comforting taste of the coffee at home. Joffrey’s has even shared recipes for some of the exclusive signature offerings such as the fan-favorite Shakin’ Jamaican Cold Brew, Round ‘Em Up Latte (inspired by Toy Story Land), and a S’Mores Latte.
Pride month has come to a close, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop celebrating. The Story Pirates are proud to present a special Pride edition of Story Creation Zone. This virtual show will be made up on the spot from kids’ ideas with a cast of incredible LGBTQIA+ Story Pirates and moderated by NYC company member Andrew Barbato.
A child’s imagination can be their most valuable plaything. The Story Pirates, known for teaching creative writing to kids, began ramping up production of their digital content by adding new and exciting creativity building activities and podcasts.
The Story Pirates strive to celebrate one another and amplify stories of inclusion. They have made this week’s Story Creation Zone free to anyone who wants to watch. Tune in Fri., Jul. 3 at 7 p.m. ET.
It is never too early to start a discussion about race and equity with your children. There are many age appropriate resources for parents to access to help further these conversations. YouTube Kids has curated a playlist about how to talk to kids about racial injustice based on their age.
Preschoolers
The Togetherness playlist is made up of short videos featuring friendly characters and Sesame Street Muppets to help teach preschoolers that all people deserve respect.
Conversation Starters:
What are some things that make you special? What makes other people in your life special? Think about your friends, preschool teachers, or family members.
Do you know people who look different from you? What do you notice about them? (Parents, help your kids name differences – including skin color – in positive ways.)
When you don’t understand someone – perhaps because of the language they speak or because they look or act differently than your family – how do you feel?
Children Age 5 and Older
The Understanding Each Other playlist covers topics such as race, bias, activism in stories, talks and songs. There is also information regarding the civil rights movement.
Conversation Starters:
What does it feel like to talk about race and racism? Is it difficult? If so, what are some ways you can deal with the discomfort?
What are some ways kids can make positive change in the world, especially around discrimination?
What can we learn from the YouTube videos you watched about how people can experience the same things differently? What steps can we take to learn about other people’s experiences?
While we are all waiting for the Disney Parks to reopen, the official speciality coffee maker of the Magic Kingdom is making this time a little sweeter. Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company has launched its very own Disney coffee subscription!
Joffrey’s is already the purveyor of all things coffee at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Vacation Club, and with this new service they’re coming to your home, too. Starting at $43.69 each month, subscribers will get three bags of coffee from the Disney Speciality Coffee Collection which is currently made up of more than 20 unique blends.
