Inspo for 2021
So, we get another shot. The celestial odometer ticks one more trip around the sun. And here goes: some inspo for you to make your 2021 sunny and bright, youth services style!
Hygge for Children and Families
30 Phrases That Will Change a Kid’s Day (for the Better)
100+ Indoor Activities to Do with the Kids
Re-Arrange!
Re-arranging your room is one of the best ways to blow out the cobwebs, literally and metaphorically. Wanna let your fingers do the heavy lifting? Try this free children’s room designer!
Create a floor plan with a bird’s-eye view
1. Choose an example from our gallery or create a new design
2. Start with your room’s shape and dimensions, add doors, windows & other features.
3. Browse our furniture and click or drag the icons into your plan.
4. Arrange the pieces to create your perfect set-up
You can choose just the right amount of furniture for your space. When you’re done, you can save, email and print your plans.
Just wanna spruce it up?
| The 30 Best DIY Projects We Did This Year |
| Pass the time while social distancing—and upgrade your space. Read More |
Stuff to look forward to!
2021 is going to be an amazing year, espc for streaming media. Here’s some of the highlights:
The Magical Reality Of Nadia Will Be An Animated Series
Comedian and political satirist Bassem Youssef has written–along with Catherine R. Daly, with illustrations by Douglas Holgat–an upcoming children’s book The Magical Reality of Nadia. And it will also be a children’s animated television series by Powerhouse Animation Studios. No date on the adaptation, but you can purchase the book in February 2021.
Here are 25 book-to-movie adaptations to look for in 2021.
You Can Never Have Enough Craft Ideas!
How to Make a Handprint Calendar for 2021
How to Make a Vision Board with Kids
Freeze Time with This DIY Time Capsule
| Bring the Force to Your Creations With These Star Wars Crafts I’m still riding high from the announcement of all the new Star Wars movies and TV shows (and an incredible Mandalorian cameo), so I know more than a few of you have Star Wars on the brain this coming year. Here are a few projects to bring The Force into your New Year! |
| Read More |
DIY New Year’s Poppers
New Year STEM Activities
New Years Slime Recipe
New Years Pop Up Card and Template
Just for YA!
Comics A-Z: Villains Fana to Jiro HottaIt’s time for the villains to shine with this edition of Comics A-Z highlighting villainous characters in the panels. |
B-List Bonanza: Bronze TigerB-list comics villains are getting the spotlight, but what about lesser known comics heroes? Get to know one such hero known as Bronze Tiger. |
Melissa de la Cruz’s The Thirteenth Fairy is being developed for television.
Here’s the cover reveal of A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell.
His Dark Materials has been renewed for a third and final season at HBO.
Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso will star in Paul Feig’s The School For Good and Evil adaptation.
Netflix just signed Locke & Key up for two more seasons!
- Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land is being adapted for a TV Series.
- The fantasy series “The Thief” by Megan Whalen Turner, which just saw its final installment come out 20-some years after the first volume, is also getting an adaptation.
- Burn by Patrick Ness has a TV deal.
- Netflix’s adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone is scheduled for April and there’s a teaser trailer to enjoy.
- I do not believe this is going to hit the US (at least not yet!) but Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo Song was picked up by Netflix UK.
- Angie Thomas’s virtual tour for Concrete Rose looks awesome.
- And here’s a trailer for the YA Black Canary novel by Alexandra Monir.
- Comedian Bassem Youssef’s middle-grade fantasy being developed for an animated series
Ear Worms Ahead:
Kill of the Night by Gin Wigmore. I first heard this on the Umbrella Academy soundtrack.
Cranberries
Share this with the kids!
| We’ve all seen the viral Ocean Spray TikTok featuring skateboarder Nathan Apodaca. But did you know cranberries are actually pretty sustainable? Visit a farm virtually and learn how cranberries are perennial, which means they come back every year, and their roots sequester carbon. Good thing to know for next Thanksgiving! Watch our educational farm visit here. |
| I also learned that farmers will keep 10 acres of pristine wetlands for every 1 acre of cranberry production. That’s because the wetlands filter and purify the water that gets used in the bog. Check out the newly launched NowThis Earth YouTube channel for more news around the environment and the climate crisis. |
Et tu, 2020?
Adieu 2020 doesn’t sound as good as “et tu, 2020?”
So, we made it through 2020. You’re stronger for it, more creative than ever and probably have a better grasp of virtual programming than ever before.
Want you to know that we’re here for you, with lots of ideas, well wishes and positive energy.
Adieu, exeunt; 2020.