defending pretending

World Wildlife Day, Kids and Nature: Connect to Protect

March 3, 2015 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

March 3, 2015 It’s World Wildlife Day... And opportunity awaits.Can we bring kids closer to nature online in order to get them out IN nature offline?Is empathy and stewardship obtainable through a mediated screen?How do we get beyond caring through "clicktivism" and implore kids to experience the majesty of wildlife in boots on the ground hike-n-help style with all the health … [Read more...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment Tagged With: Animal Jam, Children and Nature, connecting kids to nature, defending pretending, digital wildlife, Disney Nature, Dr. Michael Rich, Earth a New Wild, eco literacy, eco literacy in classroom, Frank Baker photography, Frank W. Baker, Great Blue Heron eBook, Great Blue Herons, iBook Great Blue Heron, National Geographic Kids, nature and wildlife apps for kids, nature deficit, nature health benefits, nature of digital kids, Nature Rocks, NCLI, open ended play, Richard-Louv, teaching conservation, The Nature Principle, Tilt World, Toca Nature, Tumble Leaf, why wildlife matters, wildlife mediated, wildlife photography, wildlife trafficking, World Wildlife Day

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building Through The Power of Play

November 29, 2012 by Amy Jussel 2 Comments

Nov. 29, 2012 Kuala Lumpur’s famous Petronas twin towers will now always look like ‘stacking cups’ to me, the Guggenheim Museum in New York upside down stacking rings, and Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium a cozy fort “blankets flung, stretched chair to chair”…As I close the picture book “Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building,” brought to life by author and illustrator Christy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Media Literacy, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth Tagged With: A Celebration of Building, A+ schools, Art and architecture, award-winning kids books, building kids, building minds, Caine's Arcade, can't be unseen, Case for Make Believe, children's books, Christy Hale, creative thinking, defending pretending, Dreaming Up, early childhood education, ECE, eco art, Edweek arts as essentials, encouraging STEM, engineering, Environment-Kids, Forgiveness Garden, illustrations, imagination, Imagination Foundation, Institute of Play, Lee and Low, Lego, maker faire, multicultural kids books, National Institute for Play, nature of art, once you see it can't be unseen, open ended play, Our School Garden, play, positive kids media, reach and teach, recycled art projects, school gardens, ScrapKins, STEM building toys, Stuart Brown, teaching resources, The Power of Play, unstructured play

Positive Picks In Media & Marketing: Pigtail Pals, Redefining Girly

May 5, 2011 by Amy Jussel 13 Comments

May 5, 2011 To prevent founder flameout and “battle fatigue” in the fight to win the hearts and mindshare of our children, I’ve decided to devote May to “spring forward” with media and marketing examples of companies, orgs, and projects who are POSITIVE influences and “doing it right.” Shaping Youth is shining the spotlight on indie entities we WISH would get more play … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: age compression, All Things Girl, alternative boutiques, Amy-Jussel, anti-princess, defending pretending, girls clothing, Janesville Wisconsin, kids free to be kids, Melissa Wardy, mompreneurs, online retailers, open ended play, Packaging-Girlhood, PigTail Pals, PigtailPals, play, play outdoors, Pop culture impact on kids, power of play, preserving childhood, putting the child back in childhood, Redefine Girly, redefining girly, selling out kids, sexualization of children, small business, Whimsy Bees, Women of Worth, work from home, worthy small business

Babies Movie: Through The Lens of a Young Teen

May 11, 2010 by Amy Jussel 15 Comments

May 11, 2010 I tried to warn her, “This isn’t some wham- bam fast-paced action thriller or rom-com dramedy, but Babies IS my movie choice for Mother’s Day, ok?” In preparation, I showed her the Babies trailer (after the jump) and the short little ‘featurette’ so she’d know there wouldn’t be ‘much of a plot line’ but more of an editorial commentary as seen through the eyes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Nutrition & Wellness, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: 4 continents, 4 cultures, Africa, America the Beautiful movie, Babies, Babies iphone app, Babies trailer, Baby Mugs!, Bayar, Case for Make Believe, circle of life, commercialism, consumption, cultural cues, cultural literacy, Dare the Movie, defending pretending, Disney Nature, ethnography, first breath, first steps, Girls-Rock, Going on 13, Hattie, Heartland, humanity, indigenous culture, Kids, Killing Us Softly, Kodak, Mari, Media Unplugged, moms, MTV Model Makers, National Institute of Play, natural environs, nature, nurture, one year, outdoors, outside, play, Ponijao, pregnancy, San Francisco, Secret Life of the American Teenager, Susan Linn, Tapestries-of-Hope, teens, The Babies movie, Thomas Balmes, TOH, Tokyo, Toys, Truly moving pictures, tweens, unstructured play, youth