Some may steam it. Some may make it into tea. Some may simply sit with it and marvel.

California poppy is known as an herb of relaxation—supporting the nervous system, inviting rest, and helping both children and adults settle into sleep. So we started wondering: what might this plant teach us about how we hold stress… and how we let it go?

In this episode of #Napcast, Nick and Mike turn toward California poppy as a guide—not just for understanding plants, but for rethinking how we show up with children while using the 6 R's ( relationship, respect, responsibility, reciprocity, relevance, and representation).

Together, we explore the overstimulation of the modern classroom. The anxiety that lives in rushed transitions and rigid routines. The subtle ways urgency shows up in our tone, our timing, our expectations. And what it might mean to move differently—to soften, to slow down, and to create environments that help children settle, not just comply.

This conversation is an invitation to notice. To breathe. To come back into the body.

Join us as we reflect on supporting children through big feelings, easing the tension we carry as educators, and creating classrooms that soothe instead of overwhelm.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Baby Botanicals: Peekaboo, Flowers! by author & illustrator Jillian Miao
• Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by author & illustrator Shawn Harris
• Instagram Account: @xalishmedicines and their post on California Poppy - https://www.instagram.com/p/DL5LDxQRcym/

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for a future episode or something you want to reflect on with us? Email us at [email protected] and let’s talk.Follow along on Instagram @napcast206 for more reflections and behind-the-scenes moments.

Some may steam it. Some may make it into tea. Some may simply sit with it and marvel.

California poppy is known as an herb of relaxation—supporting the nervous system, inviting rest, and helping both children and adults settle into sleep. So we started wondering: what might this plant teach us about how we hold stress… and how we let it go?

In this episode of #Napcast, Nick and Mike turn toward California poppy as a guide—not just for understanding plants, but for rethinking how we show up with children using the 6 R's (relationship, respect, responsibility, reciprocity, relevance, and representation).

Together, we explore the overstimulation of the modern classroom. The anxiety that lives in rushed transitions and rigid routines. The subtle ways urgency shows up in our tone, our timing, our expectations. And what it might mean to move differently—to soften, to slow down, and to create environments that help children settle, not just comply.

This conversation is an invitation to notice. To breathe. To come back into the body.

Join us as we reflect on supporting children through big feelings, easing the tension we carry as educators, and creating classrooms that soothe instead of overwhelm.

Resources mentioned in the show:

• @xalishmedicines and their California Poppy Post found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL5LDxQRcym/
• Robin Wall-Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass
• Baby Botanicals: Peekaboo, Flowers! by author & illustrator Jillian Miao
• Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by author & illustrator Shawn Harris

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for a future episode or something you want to reflect on with us? Email us at [email protected] and let’s talk.
Follow along on Instagram @napcast206 for more reflections and behind-the-scenes moments.

What do strawberries and toddlers have in common?More than you think.In this episode of #Napcast, Nick and Mike head to the strawberry patch and come back with more than just fruit.Listening to the farmers talk about sun, soil, timing, and patience sparked a bigger question for us: What if children, like strawberries, can’t be rushed into ripeness?Using plant wisdom as a guide, we unpack the exhaustion of the go-go-go classroom pace. The pressure to produce outcomes. The way environments shape development. And what it might mean to focus less on pushing children forward and more on protecting the conditions they grow in.Because this episode isn’t really about strawberries.It’s about:• process over product• cultivation over compliance• and creating classrooms that don’t bruise children in the name of achievementIf you’ve ever felt the pace is too fast…If you’ve ever questioned whether “school readiness” is always healthy…If you’re craving a more humane way to do this work…This one’s for you.🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for a future episode or something you want to reflect on with us? Email us at [email protected] and let’s talk.

Follow along on Instagram @napcast206 for more reflections and behind-the-scenes moments.

As mentioned in our episode, check out these two reflections Mike and Nick made on Strawberries:

Mike: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNgcSMgpSZd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Nick: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNoIPW8hYR7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Season 5 opens with a return to the land.

In this debut episode of our Guided by Plants series, early childhood educators Nick (he/him) and Mike (he/him) center alder and big leaf maple as living teachers of nourishment, protection, and interdependence in early childhood spaces.

Through shared reflection and conversation, we explore how these plants sustain the ecosystems around them and what that can teach us about nourishing children in our programs. We riff on alder’s role in restoring and supporting others, big leaf maple’s capacity to offer shelter and space, and how these lessons can guide our interactions with children, families, and colleagues.

This hour-long episode is rooted in observation, story, and practice. Listeners will walk away with ideas for how to thoughtfully introduce alder and big leaf maple into classroom experiences, leadership and management approaches, and relationship-building with families—grounded in care, curiosity, and connection rather than compliance.

Join us as we slow down, notice, and invite the plant world to help shape how we show up for children and for one another.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for a future episode or something you want to reflect on with us? Email us at [email protected] and let’s talk.
Follow along on Instagram @napcast206 for more reflections and behind-the-scenes moments.

What happens when a learning story isn’t written about a child — but for another educator?

In this conversation, Nick (he/him) and Mike (he/him) explore what it means to write across difference and through relationship. We talk about the power of story as a way of seeing, the tension between objectivity and subjectivity, and the shift from checking boxes to telling truths. Anchored in a learning story written by Nick for his white colleague about a sign that reads “You’re on Indigenous Land,” this episode invites us to think about what it means to write to someone, not about them. To treat story as a form of care, reflection, and accountability.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/

Is artificial intelligence reshaping childhood — for better or worse?

Hosted by two passionate male educators of color, Nick Terrones (he/him) and Mike Browne (he/him), today's episode "AI and the ABCs " dives into the crossroads of artificial intelligence and early learning through a culturally conscious lens. In this episode, we unpack three key questions:

1. What does AI mean to you?

2. What hesitations do you have about AI, especially in early learning spaces, and how might those reflect broader concerns?

3. How do race, ethnicity, and cultural identity shape our understanding of AI’s role in the lives of young children?

Plus one fun bonus question at the end!

Join us for a thoughtful, real, and grounded conversation that centers culture, community, and curiosity as we explore the future of education.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/

Nick Terrones (he/him) and Mike Browne (he/him) are joined once again by special guest Toi Sing-Woo (she/her) for a conversation about what it means to plant seeds of liberation in the earliest years of learning. We talk about the daily work of unlearning white comfort in the classroom, the survival strategies BIPOC educators carry, and how we can reclaim the play we were meant to have—in our classrooms, community spaces, and kitchens. Rooted in Chumash, Afro-Caribbean, and Hong Kong lineages, we imagine early learning grounded in land, cultural memory, and collective freedom.

Why?

Because the future of early learning depends on how bravely we remember, and how boldly we reimagine.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/

In the final episode of this 4 part micro-learning series, we’re rejoined by Napcast co-host, educator, and author Nick Terrones to reflect on what it truly means to move beyond white supremacy culture in early learning and nonprofit spaces. Building on the conversations from earlier episodes, Nick helps us explore the emotional, relational, and embodied aspects of organizational change. Together, we ask: What does healing look like in our roles? How do we interrupt white supremacy not just in theory or policy, but in our daily habits, interactions, and systems of care? This episode invites us to move from awareness to practice, from performative DEI to a deeper, ongoing commitment to liberation and collective well-being.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/

What does white supremacy culture look like in everyday organizational life — and how do we move beyond surface-level DEI efforts to create real change? In this 4 part micro-learning series, we invite back in anti-racist facilitator and previous Napcast guest, Toi Sing-Woo (she/her) to discuss white supremacy culture and ways it shows up in nonprofits and early learning spaces. In part 3 we discuss what happens when our words don't align with our actions. How so many organizations use values like “equity” or “inclusion” on their website and how they never translate off of paper. This episode looks at how values can be used to mask white-centered culture, and how to tell when inclusion efforts are real versus performative.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/

What does white supremacy culture look like in everyday organizational life — and how do we move beyond surface-level DEI efforts to create real change? In this 4 part micro-learning series, we invite back in anti-racist facilitator and previous Napcast guest, Toi Sing-Woo (she/her) to discuss white supremacy culture and ways it shows up in nonprofits and early learning spaces. In part 2 we trace how anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, and anti-Asian racism show up in early childhood spaces and how they’re all connected under the larger system of white supremacy culture. We talk about the importance of naming these patterns and why it matters in our classrooms, policies, and leadership decisions.

Interested in bringing Nick and Mike to your community? Got an idea for an episode? Have some comments? Email us at napcast206.com and let’s talk! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @napcast206 or https://www.instagram.com/napcast206/