When I present sessions, I like to begin by using opening activities that show commonality among participants and allow space for relationships to grow. One such activity is a simple invitation for participants to share a recipe for cooking either beans or rice. Beans and rice are some of the most common foods on the planet and used in a variety of dishes in many different cultures. Beans and rice are so widely recognized and readily available it’s easy to forget they are often a primary food source. For just one moment, imagine you are the caregiver of a family who has juggled competing interests, figured out transportation, time, and energy obstacles to attend story time at the public library. The stay-and-play activity after storytime involves playing in enough rice to feed everyone in the room. It’s not a choking hazard, it engages the senses, it’s relatively inexpensive, and it…