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.
Support for Children with the War on Ukraine - New Story
Here's a NEW soothing story – "Pomichnik the Steppe Lemming" — to support children and families with the war on Ukraine.
Resources for Supporting Indigenous Communities
In “A Land Verse,” Martin & Sylvia get curious about the people who owned their house before. Their questions lead them on a trip to the library, discovering a special way to honor the First Nation people of their land. See our resources to help our Sparklers take part in their own land acknowledgments and ways to support Indigenous communities.
Our Days of Breathing Rhythms
What if stopping to breathe was the game changer you needed? What if it was a piece of the magic? A key? What if you could orchestrate your days so that breathing through them solved the management mode you are stuck in?
Why Audio? What are the benefits of audio stories for kids?
We want our stories to help the world go a little bit slower and be a little bit kinder. This is why all our stories are audio-only. Think about the characters from stories your parents read to you. Your imagination stitched their clothes, built their houses, and formed every expression on their faces. That's the magic of audio!
Stories to Inspire Wonder... and Hope
It can be easy to lose hope in today's world. One way to reconnect with what can seem like lost hope is to take a step back to see things from a bigger perspective. This sense of wonder is something that we can begin cultivating when our children are young!
Make Mistakes (We All Do)
If you want to learn something — if you want to get good at something — then welcome mistakes. Make lots of them. Learn from them. Experiment and be willing to look bad. The more mistakes you make, the better you will get. Nothing keeps someone from mastery more than success.
What Do Children Need to Hear Right Now?: You Are Loved
At Sparkle Stories, we are reflecting on what children need to hear right now, and this concept comes to mind right away. “You Are Loved.”
What the Pandemic Has Taught: The Sparkle Team Reflects on the Past Year
This past year has been challenging for everyone, including all of us at Sparkle Stories. We want to take a pause to reflect on the lessons we’ve learned, the ways that we’ve grown, and ultimately what has kept us going. Read the reflections of the Sparkle Team below, along with their favorite story recommendations!
Help for Young Texans After the Winter Storm 2021
The Sparkle Team here in Austin, Texas have come through the winter storm relatively unscathed. We were lucky, and we’re grateful.
Story Apothecary: Healing Tales for Troubled Times
Since our stories are not only entertaining but also hold a spark of inspiration or balm of healing, we offer these four collections packaged up in the way they are intended: as narrative medicine for troubled times.
Dealing with Uncertainty: Pre- and Post-Election
Election time can bring an enormous amount of uncertainty for people, no matter what political philosophy you adhere to. We are here to give you a bit of loving and inspiring advice to help with the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with not knowing and then knowing.
How We Keep Our Family Healthy
...If there’s one single message I’d like to impart today it’s this: if you give your body what it needs, you can thrive. You stay well and feel good. You think clearly and are inspired and happy. ...
Meditations
...Below you'll find three short meditations to help little people (and their caregivers) ground and center. They are great for bedtime, or mornings, or anytime you're feeling particularly agitated...
Body-Based Solutions for Anxiety
....We've teamed up with Margery Segal, a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist, who's created a lovely list of tips and techniques to help with you or your child's anxiety...
Body-Based Ideas to Offset a Life in Lockdown
Even though our minds understand why we are at home, why we are separated from other people, and why we are wearing masks, our bodies struggle to make sense of it all...
30 Books to Carry You Away
As summer trips are being changed or canceled, we're finding ourselves a little let down. That's nothing a good book can't fix!
Current Live Stories!
Here are recordings of the live stories David has been telling these past few weeks!
Two Stories to Help Kids with Shelter-in-Place
Once we realized that this is going to be a long haul, and not just several weeks of quarantine, David jumped to writing new stories.
Helpful Coronavirus Resources for Parents and Kids
We've gathered a few trusted links to help you and your kids with managing the news and information about COVID-19.
Settle the Fear of the Coronavirus
David Sewell McCann talks about how to support families and soothe fear of the coronavirus.
