Last week, we joined with three kids — Roxy, Everly, and Charlie — who helped us explore the big idea of gratitude. Now, in this special new episode, our friend Benjamin Weiner, an educator and musician, shares the brand new song he created based on the words about gratitude that the children shared in "Gratitude PowerUp." Host Todd Loyd chats with Benjamin about his process and inspiration ... and then we hear the new song, "I'm Grateful." Benjamin taught young child...

Gratitude can be a big, abstract idea for most young children — but it is important! Feeling grateful can help to foster emotional wellbeing and resilience; it can reduce stress and anxiety, improve relationships, and promote a sense of belonging.Welcome to Season 4 of Little Kids, Big Hearts! We are SO excited to spend more time with you exploring important themes related to children's social and emotional development. In this new episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts, three children (Char...

In this special bonus episode, host Todd Loyd interviews another Todd — the legendary author/illustrator of more than 50 children's books TODD PARR. Todd Parr is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of more than 50 books for children, including The Thankful Book, The Earth Book and The I LOVE YOU Book, as well as The Kindness Book and the recently released The Spring Book and The Activity Book, all from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. He has ins...

Stories are magical! They are gateways to new people, places, and ideas ... and they help children to build empathy and understanding — allowing them to see the world from different perspectives. As kids step into the roles of different characters, they gain insights into emotions, relationships, and the diverse experiences that make up our shared world. This helps them grow into compassionate and thoughtful individuals! Stories also have MANY other amazing powers — like helping children...

In this episode three children, Donovan, Layla, and Ruby, explore the idea of resilience — being able to move through the hard things we face and bounce back or recover afterward. They share times they have had to practice resilience, and then they help a Link-a-deedle friend, LaLeek, who lives in the Land of Qook-a-lackas, learn about resilience. The guest star in this episode is Marc Grapey, an actor, director, writer and producer, with credits on stage, as well as in movies and TV. Ma...

During the most recent episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts, "Celebrating Learning Differences with Q. Smith," one of our kid guests, Oliver, mentioned how meaningful it was to him to see How to Dance in Ohio on Broadway. How to Dance in Ohio is a new musical based on a true story about Dr. Emilio Amigo helping a group of autistic high school students prepare for a formal end-of-year dance.In this special bonus interview, Oliver joins Little Kids, Big Hearts host Todd Loyd to interview Caesar S...

In the United States, about 15% of students receive special education or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Learning differences aren’t all alike, but they can all affect how people process, store, and retrieve information — and they can have an impact on many parts of life, from learning to memory to how people express themselves and how people develop relationships with one another.In this episode, Todd talks with four children — Reese, Willa-Kate...

Taking responsibility is an important part of social and emotional learning. When children take responsibility for their words and actions, acknowledge their mistakes, and help others in their community, they are building empathy, independence, and other important skills. In this episode, three children (Leo, Edie, and Aiden) talk about responsibility and then help Quazzilyn (a Qook-a-lacka friend) to rally the Qook-a-lackas to take responsibility and save their gummy bear crops!The gues...

What do you do when you're feeling angry or sad, or when you're facing something new and scary? In this special episode — which is reimagined and reworked from a Season 1 episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts — Todd and his puppet friend Rainbow join four kids (Anaya, Eleanor, Raffaele, and Wilder) to explore big feelings, where they come from, and what to do with them. At the end of the episode, dance along to "Dance Your Feelings," an original song written and performed by educator/c...

Grandparents, or older friends and family members, can play pivotal roles in children's lives, acting as caregivers, mentors, and friends. Whether grandparents live in a child’s neighborhood or far away, the love and emotional support they provide can significantly contribute to the healthy social and emotional growth of their grandchildren. In this episode, Todd interviews his own 96-year-old grandmother, as well as his sister and niece about their family memories and relationships. He then...

Last week, we released an episode about BOUNDARIES — the limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships. Today, we're excited to release a bonus interview with the guest stars of the episode, Ana Cruz Kayne and Michael Cruz Kayne. Ana and Michael are siblings in real life ... so they know A LOT about the topic of boundaries.  Ana is an actress and writer, known for her performances in Barbie (2023), Little Women (2019), Jerry & Marge Go Large (2022), Painkiller (TV 2023), and...

Helping children establish boundaries is important for developing friendships and maintaining positive social interactions. Boundaries help people set limits for themselves and honor limits set by others. In "Boundaries," three eight- and nine-year-old kids (Olivia, Izzy, and Wynter) define and discuss boundaries and help Qook-a-leekie and Link-a-deedle friends learn the importance of boundaries. They discover that understanding someone else’s boundaries requires empathy, the ability to...

In "Hopes & Dreams," three kids (Levi, Christine, and Ariel) reflect on the new things we have learned, the friendships we have formed, and the challenges we have faced in the past year — and what we are excited to learn and do in the year ahead. The children also discuss the concept of "letting go" of the feelings and experiences that we don't wish to carry with us into the new year. The kids and host Todd Loyd travel on giant snowflakes to the Land of Qook-a-lackas where they meet...

On last week's episode, we explored "Belonging" — being who you are and being accepted and embraced for who you are. In this special bonus interview, we continue to explore this idea. Little Kids, Big Hearts host Todd Loyd interviews hip-hop pioneer Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, an American rapper and founding member of Run DMC. In addition to winning many awards and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2009), Darryl recently wrote a children's book, "Darryl's Dream" (2022) about his...

Belonging — being who you are and being accepted and embraced for who you are — is important for children and for all people. In this episode four kids (Providence, River, Valencia, and Yonatan) discuss what it means to belong — and how to grow feelings of belonging. The kids and Todd then go on an imaginary journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they meet with a Qook-a-lacka named Quinnie, who needs help figuring out how to help the Link-a-doos, who are coming to the Land as refugees...

On last week's episode, "Imagination Time!," we flexed our imagination muscles with three kids — Shaelan, Sameia and Hunter. After recording, our host — Todd Loyd — was lucky to explore the power of imagination with Antoinette Portis, the award winning author/illustrator of "Not a Box" and many other modern classics in children's picture books.  This conversation with Antoinette will help parents and caregivers learn more about where imagination and inspiration come from. It will help them...

Using our imaginations might seem like a basic part of childhood, but imagination plays an important role in childhood and in life: it builds creativity and independence, social and problem-solving skills, teamwork and empathy.  In this episode — the first in Season 3! — three kids (Shaelan, Sameia and Hunter) discuss the power of imagination with host Todd Loyd. Then they journey together to the Land of Qook-a-lackas at the invitation of the Qook-a-lacka Mayor, who needs help imagining a new...

In honor of World Mental Health Day, we wanted to share the visualization and song that Quinlan shared in the Land of Qook-a-lackas during our August episode, "The Key to Calming Down." Research shows that techniques like what we practiced in the Land help to promote mental health, and we wanted to share this special visualization so that your family can use it to feel calm, safe, and peaceful.  The role of Quinlan is played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, an American actress and singer best known...

Little Kids, Big Hearts just became a finalist in the Signal Awards! Before Oct. 5, you — OUR LISTENERS — can do us a BIG (and big hearted ❤️) favor by voting for us in the Signal Listener's Choice Awards. It's easy: Just click here and vote for Little Kids, Big Hearts. We're honored to be picked from 1000s of podcasts to be a finalist — and to be in such amazing company! The episode that was selected by the Signal jury as a finalist was our episode about trying new things. Have a...

In "The Key to Calming Down," three kids (Charlie, Katrina, and Sienna) join Todd to share tips and tricks they use to calm down — which come in handy when they're experiencing big feelings. The kids and Todd then take a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lakcas to visit Todd's friend Quinlan who invited the group to become the first humans ever to attend Camp Quinder-Calm! The role of Quinlan is played by Rebecca Naomi Jones, an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the...

In "Moving Time," three kids with significant experience moving from country to country and home to home — Aurelia, Cris, and Henry — join host Todd Loyd to discuss their moves and to share some of the feelings they had before, during, and after moving. The kids and Todd then go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to help a Qook-a-lacka friend, Kahmar, who's worried about how their Qook-a-leekies will cope with a big upcoming move.  The role of Kahmar is played by Amir Arison, an...

In "Winning & Losing," three kids who know a lot about winning and losing — Aiden (a chess player), Eliza (a soccer player), and Willa (a gymnast) — join host Todd Loyd to discuss winning and losing and to go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to help a qook-a-leekie, Quinby, rethink a recent run of quibble losses.  The role of Quinby is played by Bridget Regan, an actor and producer.  Her film credits include John Wick with Keanu Reeves, Devil’s Gate opposite Milo Ventimiglia,...

In this episode, four seven- and eight-year-old kids ( Evelyn, Ella, Chelsea, and Eliot) join Todd to discuss their best fur-riends: their pets! How do we care for our pets? How do pets make us feel? What do we learn from our pets? They then go on a journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas, where they help a Qook-a-leekie, Quillion, who has lost their pet Quigley.  The role of Quillion is played by Ashlie Atkinson, an American actress who works in movies, television, and theater.  She has a LONG...

In our episode "Celebrating Our Differences," Todd joined with Makeda Mays Green to chat about identity, belonging, and race with four big-hearted kids.  After the episode recording, Makeda and her colleague Dr. Colleen Russo Johnson stuck around to talk about their research and the resulting guide for families that inspired the episode. In this bonus episode interview, Makeda (SVP, Digital and Cultural Insights at Nickelodeon) and Colleen (VP, Digital and Cultural Consumer Insights at...