Children need nature! In this last year of pandemic living, many more of us have seen this in our day-to-day lives, how much kids thrive when playing outside. We spoke with Nancy Striniste, founder of Earlyspace and author of “Nature Play at Home: Creating Outdoor Spaces that Connect Children with the Natural World” on about the importance of playing in nature.With a unique background in both children development and design, Striniste has been creating spaces for children for more than three ...

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future was passed in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This landmark legislation was enacted to establish State education policy, based on the recommendations of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (known as the Kirwan Commission).Shortly thereafter, Governor Larry Hogan vetoed the bill, citing the economic impact of COVID-19 would make it “impossible” to fund the program. We spoke with Shamoyia Gardiner, Deputy Director of St...

Students at Arundel High School are actively working toward addressing racial justice in Anne Arundel County. Along with Principal Gina Davenport, students formed Our Anne Arundel, a book study group to read books about racial inequity, racial justice and activism. The group of about 60 students, as well as Davenport, began with “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, and has grown exponentially.We spoke to Gina Davenport, along with student leaders Bunmi ...

Children dream without boundaries; they aspire to become paleontologists, astronauts, doctors and teachers without considering socioeconomic barriers, discrimination, disease outbreaks, violence or any one of a host of other challenges impacting their likelihood of success. It’s up to us, as a society, to help each and every child fulfill his or her potential. In fact, the future of our nation depends on it.On Friday, January 15, we spoke with Dr. Irwin Redlener, author of “The Future of Us: ...

Working at home while toddlers are underfoot or the older kids are in virtual school, or needing help with their work has been a challenge for every parent over the last year.We decided to check in with some local moms on how they’re managing working and parenting from home, and all the challenges that have come along with it.We met with local Moms Karina Davis, mom of 5 and founder of My Tutor Partners.Darin Gilliam, mom of two and owner of 19FIFTYTHRREE and co-owner of ArtFarm Studios.and D...

Nonprofit organizations that help keep our community members fed, house, and safe from harm are facing an uphill battle right now, trying to raise funds, food and shelter for a growing population of people in need.We spoke to three local nonprofit leaders about what their organizations need right now and into 2021, and how you can best support them as they help all of our neighbors in need.Jo Ann Mattson of the Light House Shelter in AnnapolisSusan Thomas of the Anne Arundel County Food BankC...

The holidays are here and with the added stress of a pandemic hanging over us, it’s going to be a stressful time. So we spoke to author Shantelle Bisson on how to avoid parenting stress during the holidays.Shantelle discussed tips for getting through the holidays with your kids, without losing your cool—a special challenge this year while we are living in close quarters due to COVID.You can find more from Shantelle at her website, or by purchasing her book, “Raising Your Kids Without Losing Y...

How often did you wonder as a kid whether you’d ever need Trigonometry skills in the real world? What if your teacher could provide students with an example of how engineers, accountants or scientists truly need that math because the teacher had actually worked with these professionals in the real world?That’s what the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher Externship program aims to do. The program bridges the gap between businesses and educators by pairing high school teachers with top Mary...

Acknowledging race, diversity, inclusion, bias and acceptance is extremely important in education today. It’s especially important for kids to develop strong, diverse identities, and for educators to foster this development inside and outside the classroom.We spoke with Dr. Valaida Wise of Dr. Valaida Wise Consulting, who specializes in diversity, equity and inclusion, governance and leadership; Andrea Weiss, Head of School, St. Anne’s School of Annapolis; and Harold Lloyd, local activist, st...

Maryland MENTOR is dedicated to quality mentoring experiences for all young people. Yet 1 in 3 young people still need and could benefit from a caring adult mentor.Learn what mentoring does for the lives of young people and their mentors. We spoke to Sadiq Ali, Executive Director of Maryland MENTOR about its programs, how to get involved and how mentoring benefits kids in school and in future endeavors.