Beginning in this issue of The Park Parent, “Check This Out” will feature not only items related to childhood development and education, but as well a wider variety of content from the realms of community engagement, art, and culture. As always, please submit your recommendations anytime to: howland72@yahoo.com.
For Kids (mainly!)
Something Happened In Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marietta Collins, Marianne Celano, and Ann Hazard
The Park PA Community Speakers Series Committee encountered this book while planning upcoming events (keep an eye out for event details in future Friday Notes). Written by psychologists and geared toward helping younger children process racial violence, the book includes resources for parents with appropriate strategies for talking to children ages 4-8. – The Park Speakers Series Committee
“Kidnuz” Podcast
A great, quick, daily podcast with positive news snippets geared towards kids. It is about 10 minutes long, with a fun quiz about the featured news stories. We listen to it on the way to school every morning, I love the happy stories they tell, as the news is so rarely positive these days. – Leigh Kempinski
How To Build a Guitar
Here is a wonderful photo essay, with accompanying text, from the November 28, 2020 issue of The New York Times Magazine. If we can’t visit a remarkable place like this in person right now, at least we can do it through a well-told visual story. (If you do not have a subscription to the Times, you should still be able to enjoy this; you get five free articles before you’re required to pay up!) – Cornelius Howland
For Parents (mainly!)
Born To Be
Find time for this remarkably thoughtful, moving, important documentary film that follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting (he/him) at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City. Streaming the film through the Coolidge Corner Theatre website costs $12. A portion of that price helps support the Coolidge. – Cornelius Howland
“LeVar Burton Reads” Podcast
In every episode, actor, director, and educator LeVar Burton picks a short piece of fiction and reads it out loud. His commentary about each piece is thought-provoking and broadens my appreciation of the work, and his story selections often include BIPOC and LGBTQ authors and themes. – Kelly Caiazzo
“Origin Stories”
In this 50-minute segment of the radio show “Open Source,” Christopher Lydon, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Philip Deloria, and Peter Linebaugh explore differing narratives about how and when America “began.” Who defined the history we teach ourselves and our children? How do we meaningfully move beyond damaging historical myths? – Cornelius Howland
Breakthrough Brookline
A helpful resource offering listings of upcoming free online lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and other opportunities to engage with pressing issues of racial and social justice. – Sarah Holden Chokshi
Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
https://lauravanderkam.com/books/off-the-clock/
https://lauravanderkam.com/before-breakfast-podcast/
After tracking and analyzing exactly how she spent her time for two full years, author Laura Vanderkam compiled her most valuable lessons from the experience into a book that will helps readers reclaim wasted time, reduce stress, and be mindful of all the best moments. Not sure you have time to read? The audiobook is narrated by the author and also excellent. For true brevity, Laura Vanderkam’s podcast “Before Breakfast” gives a nugget of time-management or productivity advice in about five minutes. Keep an eye out for an invitation to a virtual Park Speaker Series event featuring Laura Vanderkam in Friday Notes! – The Park Speakers Series Committee
“How Shakespeare Became An American Hero”
A fascinating discussion of how Shakespeare’s work has been nationally “adopted” by the U.S. (even more so than in Great Britain, in many ways) and has resonated during significant moments and periods in U.S. history. – Cornelius Howland
