The magical world of George Lucas’ Willow is returning to the small screen! The epic fantasy adventure set in an age of swords, sorcery, myths and monsters is making a comeback in the form of a Disney+ and the plot will take place years after the time period of the original film. The first full trailer was released this week, along with the news that Christian Slater will be joining the cast.
Willow introduces all-new characters to the enchanted realm of fairy queens and two-headed Eborsisk monsters and welcomes back its namesake hero, sorcerer Willow Ufgood, performed once again by the unmatchable Warwick Davis. And that’s not all. Executive producer Jonathan Kasdan has also confirmed to Yahoo! that Val Kilmer’s character, Madmartigan, will also be a part of the show. As for Slater, Variety reports, “Slater’s character is somehow tied to Madmartigan as a ‘friend,’ but more will be revealed later.”
Kasdan shares “Val’s a huge part of this, and the first conversation I had, when Warwick and I got the greenlight to do this, was with Val. We wanted his character to be a part of the story. We wanted him to be in the show. Because we were shooting during [the COVID-19 lockdowns], he wasn’t able to come to Wales and shoot with us. But he is in the show in a big way. And we’re pretty excited about it… Madmartigan lives on.”
There are not a lot of details about how Kilmer will be involved exactly in the Disney+ series (since he wasn’t involved in any of the actual filming) but fans are regardless excited to hear his role plays a part in the new generation. Warwick Davis reveals “Val’s spirit is very much with the series. [He and I] have been in touch since we made the movie, and we’re good friends and he’s a terrific guy…Madmartigan lives on.”
Willow’s plot follows follows Kit (Madmartigan and Sorsha’s daughter!) as she brings together a team to save their world. And yes, Joanne Whalley will return as queen Sorsha.
Tune in Nov. 30, 2022 when the series drops exclusively on Disney+.
There are ordinary dolls—then there are keepsake dolls. Piccolina, a brand dedicated to empowering today’s young children to become tomorrow’s leaders, has launched a new collection, Trailblazer Dolls. They celebrate heroic women in history, including Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie and Rosa Parks and they’re an heirloom quality edition to any playroom.
Each doll is 16″ tall and comes with removable clothing and accessories, as well as a matching drawstring bag. Jennifer Long, an artisan doll maker, designed and handmade each creation, and each designs is based off of the illustrations from various artists for the Trailblazer collection. And there won’t be any shortage of imaginative play, since each doll has an incredible, true backstory!
Piccolina is making the collection available in limited runs, so you may want to act fast to grab your child’s favorite historical character. The launch riffs off the company’s popular Trailblazer t-shirts, which feature colorful illustrations of real-life, inspirational women. There’s even matching mommy and me attire so you can get in on the fun!
At $98, the dolls are the perfect special gift for a birthday, Christmas or big milestone. The only issue might be choosing which one to buy!
Nearly 12 million children in America live in households where they don’t have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In response to the nationwide food insecurity issue, the USDA recently announced the government agency will extend waivers that provide free meals for children through Sep. 30, 2021.
The waivers help to provide local programs with the ability to distribute free meals to all children (regardless of family income) in safe ways. These include Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and allows programs to offer bulk food pick-ups for for parents that cover multiple days of meals.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, said in a press release, “We will do everything we can to make sure children get access to healthy, nutritious meals regardless of their families’ financial circumstances.
Vilsack added, “Our child nutrition professionals are doing a heroic job ensuring kids across the country have proper nutrition throughout this public health emergency, often times with limited resources. USDA is committed to providing local operators with the flexibilities and resources they need to continue offering the best meal service possible to their children, given their day-to-day realities.”
Specific meal pick-up sites vary by region. These include settings such as churches, schools, parks, libraries and community centers. Learn more about free meals for children by visiting the USDA website here.
Teamwork and trains? Count us in! Netflix’s original preschool series Mighty Express (from Spin Master Entertainment, the creators of PAW Patrol) is pulling into the station with eight brand new action and friendship-packed episodes available now, including a Valentine’s Day Episode, CHUG-A-LOVE DAY.
New to the Mighty crew? Mighty Express is a series of 11-minute adventures that takes a kid-approved classic (who doesn’t love trains?) and adds adventure, humor and lovable characters that kids can see themselves in! In every episode, personality-packed trains and their kid best friends work together to overcome obstacles and go on heroic adventures. The cast of diverse characters each has their own unique personalities, skill sets and jobs; reflecting the world around us with an inclusive spirit and creating positive role models that kids can laugh and learn with.
Read on to learn more about their extra-special Valentine’s Day episode, bonus content and Valentine’s Day app fun that will have you feeling the love!
Valentine’s Day Episode & Activities
It’s Chug-A-Love day in Tracksville, and Mandy Mail can’t wait to deliver cards to everyone in town! But when her delivery goes off the rails, she must work together with her best pal, Flicker, to save the day and learn the true meaning of friendship.
Bonus! Head to the Mighty Express website for fun and festive activities like a DIY Valentine’s Card, word search game and downloadable backgrounds for video calls with family and friends!
The Mighty Express App
Based on the series, the Mighty Express App is all about the friendship between kids and trains, fun adventures and educational games. Kids can play and explore with their train BFFs: learn shapes, numbers and letters; understand quantity and basic math. With the Mighty Express app, kids will train their logic and improve creative thinking—choo-choo-choose your adventure and have trainloads of fun! The Mighty Express App will be feeling the love for Valentine’s Day, with themed decorations and props, new icons and screenshots so kids can celebrate friendship with Mighty Express!
Have a preschooler? Then you know all about PAW Patrol and how much your kid is, dare we say, obsessed! What’s not to love? The PAW Patrol is heroic, has each other’s backs and knows how to have a good time! We approve. Of course, kids want to keep the adventure going with their favorite pups through imaginative play long after the episode is over. Just in time for crossing off holiday wish lists, PAW Patrol has new toys that will send them on epic rescue missions with cool new gear like a spinning helicopter, motorized ride and a dual race super-speed track!
Read on to learn why these three imaginative, inventive and innovative toys will be on every kid’s wish list!
PAW Dino Rescue Patroller
Well, this is cool: the Dino Patroller is the first-ever motorized PAW vehicle! With the touch of a button, this powerhouse patroller is on the move with oversized wheels to conquer any terrain. Before you head out, load the projectiles into the launcher and get ready for adventure. Push T. Rex's tail to make its mouth open to help the PAW Patrol spot a dino in trouble, then launch the rescue nets and save the day!
This all new, motorized all-terrain vehicle features room for the whole pup squad (All six! But you knew that...) and includes an exclusive and collectible Chase figure in his Dino Rescue uniform and a T. Rex dinosaur, with moving mouth and tail—now you can create your own prehistoric missions!
PAW Patrol Ultimate Cruiser
An XL, extra-special 5-in-1 cruiser is made for our hero Chase, but roomy enough that the crew can join to do the “Pup, Pup, Boogie!” The whole squad will be ready for action and equipped to handle any emergency, whether it’s on dry land, in the air or at sea.
What’s the 5-in-1 all about? More than just a hot ride for cool pups, you can launch the helicopter that’s tucked away inside with the push of a button, spin the propellers by hand and you’re off! This ultimate cruiser features dual motorcycles that pop off with a button—now you’re ready for that high-speed chase! They thought of everything for this majorly awesome ride, including flashing lights and sound effects that bring the excitement of a PAW Patrol mission to life!
PAW Patrol Adventure Bay Rescue Way
PAW Patrol is really on a roll with this action-packed lookout tower! It features two different tracks to send vehicles racing around the tower in a corkscrew, or flip the diverter to send them down the drop ramp—boom! Craving even more action? Use the dual garage launchers in corkscrew mode to send two more vehicles flying—launch up to six true metal vehicles at the same time! Push the periscope and watch the pups race to the rescue while you cheer them on!
Bonus points: This high-speed track is equipped with exclusive True Metal die-cast Chase and Marshall vehicles—perfect for kiddos who love PAW Patrol and fast cars! Speed to the rescue and put out the fire with your favorite pups!
All three new toys are available in stores and online at Amazon, Target and Walmart.
Cowabunga! Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting turtles are making a special three-day appearance on movie theater screens nationwide to celebrate 30 years of action, adventure and the art of ninjutsu with the 1990 blockbuster hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Fathom Events and Warner Bros. invite fans to experience their favorite turtle-powered moments at hundreds of movie theaters around the country on Thurs., Nov. 5, Fri., Nov. 6 & Sat., Nov. 7.
For tickets and participating theater locations, visit FathomEvents.com.
“We are excited to celebrate 30 years of a film that brings families together in a fun, entertaining and hilarious way,” said Fathom Events’ Vice President of Studio Relations Tom Lucas. “As audiences discovered in 1990, the adventures of the heroic turtles are truly meant to be seen on a giant screen in a darkened theater, so we hope audiences of all ages will make Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael part of their entertainment plans.”
Adapted from the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics with characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the movie achieved the then-seemingly impossible feat of bringing its reptilian heroes to full live-action with a team of puppeteers and a voice cast led by Brian Tochi as Leonardo, Corey Feldman as Donatello, Josh Pais as Raphael, Robbie Rist as Michelangelo and Kevin Clash as Splinter, the Turtles’ master. The film also features Judith Hoag and Elias Koteas.
Directed by Steve Barron, produced by Kim Dawson, Simon Fields and David Chan, with a story by Bobby Herbeck and screenplay by Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck, the film opened on March 30, 1990, and immediately became the No. 1 film at the domestic box office, holding that spot for four consecutive weekends. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would become one of the highest-grossing independent films to date.
We asked our #OutdoorsAll4 Facebook Group of over 12,000 parents to share how their kids will be learning this fall. No surprise, the breakdown looks pretty different from school years past: 49% of kids will be learning at home, 28% will participate in “hybrid” or online schooling and 19% are attending a school or center, in person, either full or part time, while the remaining families are either undecided or simply have kids too young for “schooling.”
One thing all of these families agree on, and we know to be true, is that kids need play. If kids are learning at home, they’ll need the opportunity to learn on their own—and how better to do that than through purposeful play? If they’re online for all or part of their schooling, they’ll need breaks to play and go outdoors in order to balance the impact of screen time on their bodies and minds. And, if they are heading into a school environment, they’ll likely benefit from the joy and wellness benefits that outdoor play provides once they’re home for the day. And, grown-ups, don’t forget that play is good for us, too!
How do you build in play? Add in play breaks!
No matter what your family’s schedule, here are some simple tips to build play breaks into the part of the day your kids are home.
If kids are learning at home: Build blocks of time for play into your schedule. Research tells us that kids need a minimum of 30 minutes for self-led play to start, take hold, and realize its magic. Yet we’ve seen play last far longer, kids benefitting from plenty of time to explore and develop their ideas. We recommend 1-hour chunks of time with flexibility to go even longer in your schedule.
If kids are following an online program: Make sure kids use some of the time they’re not required to be on screen to get up, move their bodies, and get outdoors. If you can, schedule at least 30 minutes or more once or twice a day for designated playtime. And, use transition times between tasks to build in small chances to move and be playful.
If kids are going to a school or center: As much as possible, try to refrain from scheduling too many structured activities after school in order to leave more open-ended time for play. Though teachers and schools are doing heroic work to make schools feel like schools, kids’ freedom may often be limited in exchange for their safety—not to mention the extra level of stress on everyone involved. So, all the more reason for free, kid-led play when the school day is done!
If kids need a break: No matter how learning is structured in your house, we all know those moments when kids just need a break—and when we might need one too. A play break can work wonders!
How do you inspire kids to play?
To help all families inspire kids to take a break for play, we have developed our new series—quick, easy ideas that inspire hours of purposeful (and fun!) outdoor play. Starting September 6th, each Sunday, we’ll release a new set of five play break ideas to help inspire play throughout the week.
The ideas surround a new theme every week and are available for three age groups: babies and toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged kids. All of our Play Breaks are derived from our Tinkergarten learning method and are engineered to inspire joy and help balance children’s bodies and minds. For a sneak peek, check out a sample of a week’s worth of Play Breaks designed for preschoolers here.
Step 1: Set up a “Play Break” Jar.
We recommend that you designate a large jar, basket or box as your Play Break grab bag. Each week, print out or write down the Play Break ideas you like best, and put them in your jar. You can always invent and add your own ideas, too! Like one idea in particular? Keep putting it back in the jar—repetition is a wonderful way for kids to deepen the quality of their play!
Step 2: Pick Out an Idea.
Whenever it’s time for a break, let kids pull out one of the ideas at random—the element of surprise adds even more joy to the mix. Read the idea, and off kids go! If you need a break, yourself, join in, and benefit from the chance to play and connect with kids.
Step 3: Talk about the Play
Later, when you have a moment to talk with kids, ask some questions to get kids reflecting on their play Questions like the following can help kids develop their communication skills and give you a window into the kinds of play breaks they’d love more of:
Can you tell me about what you played today?
What did you use to make nature pie?
How did you build a home for your stuffies?
Want even more ways to thrive this fall? Click here to access our Fall Family Playbook.
After 18 years as an educator, curriculum developer and school leader, Meghan has her dream gig—an entrepreneur/educator/mom who helps families everywhere, including hers, learn outside. Today, Meghan serves as co-founder and Chief Learning Officer of Tinkergarten, the national leader in outdoor play-based learning.
When learning to drive a car, one of the most important things they teach you is to always be aware of the blind spots, (you know, the areas around the car that you aren’t able to see). But, did you know our brains and eyes also have blind spots? And, as it turns out, these blind spots can have a big impact on our perception of the world around us, including how we think about race.
Before we can begin understanding the complex and overlapping interplay of how race impacts a person’s life, we must first understand how our brain processes information and how hidden biases influence unconscious decisions. This is arguably some of the most important work we can do in raising kids who understand and actively work against racism.
How Our Brains Process Information
Did you know that even the way our eyes relay information to the brain includes blind spots? We all have fields of vision where we can’t see but our brains fill in the missing information for us. If you’d like to see how this works, this test will show you. Take a moment to check it out and then rejoin us.
So what does this have to do with racism, or any -ism for that matter? Well, not only does your brain fill in visual blanks, but it also fills in unknown information about people we meet without us even being aware that it’s happening.
Along with the physical blind spot in our eyes, humans also have psychological blind spots called hidden biases which factor into every decision we make. These channels include automatic, unconscious, and unintentional thoughts presented in a nice bundle that we perceive as our own intentional thought even though our brains filled in some of the information for us.
What Is a Hidden Bias?
Hidden biases are actually bits of information we’ve accumulated over the years about various social groups we’ve encountered or heard about from parents, friends, family, observations, TV, games, etc. Remember, more information is “caught than taught” in the form of observations and unintentional “lessons” learned by watching how people interact with one another. All of this is to say, we’ve formed some of our biases unconsciously and it takes conscious work to become aware of how these influence our thoughts. The field of psychology now generally accepts that some human behavior is driven unconsciously and that we can be influenced by hidden biases.
So What Can We Do about All of This?
So how do you change these unconscious thoughts about people you’ve never even met? Below is a list of things you can do which will begin rewiring your brain and help minimize hidden biases.
1. Find Out What Your Biases Are: Two psychologists, Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, have spent their careers studying ways to assess hidden biases. They developed the Implicit Association Test (IAT) which is able to pull back our own curtain and peek into our “unconscious” mind. Be prepared though, because the results may surprise you. Click here to take a test or two.
3. Actively Seek Out Making Friends of a Different Race: Think about your 3 best friends. Studies have predicted they are all the same race as you. (Of course, there are always outliers). Hanging out with friends of the same race isn’t bad. However, limiting your exposure to people outside of your “in-group” (a term used in psychology to describe people who share certain characteristics) is said to perpetuate both positive and negative stereotypes about “others” and are maintained by a lack of connection to people outside of said “group.” So, make some new friends. Start a local “Meet-Up” group in your neighborhood and model for your children how to reach out and connect to others.
4. Expose Yourself to Counter-stereotyping Imagery: To change the narrative, you must change the imagery and associations. One way to do this is as simple as switching up your screensaver. Have positive pictures of people of all colors and cultures rotate across the screen. Watch shows starring people of color in leading and heroic roles. Make sure the shows and cartoons your children watch offer a variety of ethnicity and culture which is accurately depicted. If a show you are watching starts playing into negative stereotypes shut it off. Seek out new friends on your social media accounts that share common interests as you but come from a different culture.
5. Learn about People You Admire from Underrepresented Groups: Researchers have proven that by simply admiring someone who is different from you can undo hidden biases. So order a book or two about someone you’ve always wanted to learn more about and start reading.
It’s not easy facing our hidden biases. Personally, I was quite surprised at some of my results on the IAT test and have already ordered a bunch of books and am reaching out to make new friends in my neighborhood. For long-term positive changes in our society against racism, the change needs to begin at home, with you.
And, if we want our children to grow up and embrace all the diversity the world has to offer, we must model the behaviors we wish to see. That means reading books, watching different shows, going out of your way to invite a family over for dinner and talking about tough issues like race and society.
Our kids need to see us taking steps toward understanding. By becoming aware of our hidden biases we are able to work on changing our thoughts and actions towards those who are different from us.
I am a 42-year-old biological mother of two young children in a same-sex relationship, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychological assessment, a music therapist, a trainer of therapy dogs and ex-communicated Mormon from Indiana with a wicked sense of humor.
It’s coronation day! Princess Elena’s heroic journey to become queen culminates in an epic prime-time finale special of Disney’s Elena of Avalor on Aug. 23. New episodes leading up to the finale will debut on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW every Sunday beginning Jul. 26 at 5 p.m. ET/PT.
Inspired by Latin culture and folklore, Elena of Avalor premiered in 2016 and tells the story of Elena, a brave and adventurous teenager who has been learning what it takes to be a great leader by ruling her enchanted fairytale kingdom as crown princess until she is old enough to be queen. The series, which airs in over 150 countries around the world, has been lauded for its messages of leadership and inclusiveness.
In the prime-time special titled Elena of Avalor: Coronation Day, as plans for Elena’s coronation are underway, Esteban’s team of villains unleash legendary spirit misfits, the Four Shades of Awesome. In order to save her kingdom, her family and her friends, Elena must journey to the Spirit World and back, and face the ultimate test of her courage and character, before becoming queen. Jenny Slate, Mark Hamill, Fred Armisen and Andy Garcia guest star as the Four Shades of Awesome and Patrick Warburton voices Grand Macaw, ruler of the dark side of the Spirit World.
The finale also features returning guest voice cast members Constance Marie, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jaime Camil, Justina Machado, Gina Rodriguez, Mario Lopez, Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, John Leguizamo, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Cloris Leachman, Chrissie Fit, Tyler Posey, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Kether Donohue, Nestor Carbonell, Andrea Navedo, Eden Espinosa, Ana Ortiz, Gina Torres and Gaby Moreno, who also sings the series’ theme song.
The series stars Aimee Carrero as the voice of Princess Elena; Jenna Ortega as Princess Isabel; Chris Parnell, Yvette Nicole Brown and Carlos Alazraqui as jaquins Migs, Luna and Skylar, respectively; Emiliano Díez as Francisco; Julia Vera as Luisa; Christian Lanz as Chancellor Esteban; Jillian Rose Reed as Naomi; Joseph Haro as Mateo; Jorge Diaz as Gabe; Keith Ferguson as Zuzo; and Joe Nunez as Armando.
Elena of Avalor will continue to air on Disney Junior and Disney Channel platforms around the world. The series’ first two seasons are also currently available on Disney+.
Your kids will be inspired to get creative this summer. During the month of July, best-selling children’s book authors and illustrators will connect directly with hundreds of young people via the Story Pirates Creator Camp. Kids will enjoy personalized interactive activities all month long, including virtual “cabins.”
Participating Random House Children’s Books authors and illustrators include Mary Pope Osborne (The Magic Tree House series), Nic Stone (Dear Martin, Clean Getaway), Danica McKellar (Goodnight, Numbers), Lincoln Peirce (Max & the Midknights, Big Nate), Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Grandma’s Purse, Just Like Me), and Judd Winick (Hilo). During four week-long sessions, kids will also enjoy hours of interactive live-streamed activities hosted by Story Pirates teaching artists. Campers can sign up now at https://www.storypirates.com/camp.
Already, hundreds of campers are enrolled in the inaugural June sessions, where they’re exploring weekly themes like “Heroic Heroes” and “Spy Training.” The screen time is broken up by regular intervals for kids to work independently on their own creative projects. Plus, campers are treated to numerous surprises throughout the week. The only supplies needed are common household items like paper, something to draw with, and tape.
In July, campers will be able to download story sparks and related activities to try at home. For even more summer reading fun, book bundles with a curated selection of books by each week’s featured authors and illustrators will be included as part of camp registration. Campers who want a more personalized experience may choose to join the optional virtual “cabins” on Zoom where they will interact with other campers and Story Pirates’ teaching artists in real time.
Livestreamed programming will be hosted on Mon., Wed. and Fri. from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.ET / 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT.
Each weekly session revolves around a central theme:
Jul. 6 – Jul. 10: Illustration Vacation, featuring award-winning authors and illustrators Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Oge Mora, and Lauren Castillo talking about how they blend words and pictures in their books Just Like Me, Our Friend Hedgehog and The Oldest Student
Jul. 13 – Jul. 17: Camp Cartoonist, featuring graphic novelist Judd Winnick sharing how he created the world of Hilo, his beloved middle-grade series. Artists Lincoln Peirce and Lucy Knisley will also discuss their recent works, Max & the Midknights and Stepping Stones.
Jul. 20 – Jul. 24: Story Pirates in Space! featuring author Danica McKellar talking about her new book, The Times Machine! Additional special guests this week are The Magnificent Makers series author Theanne Griffith, a brain scientist by day, as well as Dean of the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, astrophysicist, and author of Child of the Universe Ray Jayawardhana discussing “Our Cosmic Selves.”
Jul. 27 – Jul. 31: Time Travel Adventure is the topic of week 4, featuring author Nic Stone talking about her New York Times bestselling middle-grade novel Clean Getaway. Mary Pope Osborne, renowned for her internationally bestselling Magic Tree House series, will be discussing her William Shakespeare focused story Stage Fright on a Summer Night. Finally, fiction and nonfiction author Kate Messner will talk about her new series, History Smashers.
Story Pirates CEO Benjamin Salka is excited to add July’s Story Pirates Creator Camp to the growing mix of online content available to kids who may not be able to attend traditional camps this summer. “Fans of Story Pirates, and these amazing authors and illustrators, will find a lot to engage them in July. I’m proud that we’re emphasizing the role of visual arts in the story-making process. Drawing helps kids express themselves and bring their stories to life in really creative ways.”
