Interested in some podcasts for adults? Sarah shared her master list here.
Do you listen to podcasts with your kids? I love it as both a form of entertainment (screen-free entertainment!) and as another medium for learning. For all of the podcasts on this list, the kids think of these as purely entertainment, and I just love that the learning is a by-product.
This is a round-up of our absolute favorites after years of listening. We definitely can’t rank them, because that list would change daily. Over that time, our interest in the different shows ebbs and flows depending upon the boys’ interests, but we always come back to the podcasts on this list.
The episode length for these podcasts may be anywhere from 7 to 30 minutes long, which is great for listening when we’re running errands around town. When we’re going on longer road trips, I like to put on an audiobook because the playtimes are much longer. We’ll share some of our favorite audio books in another post.
Happy New Year! It’s 2022 or maybe 2020. Who knows. What is time? Anyway, we love a good calendar flip and tend to create goals and resolutions around it. Here’s a reminder of my New Year resolutions from 2021 and Katie’s resolutions. Just to be clear, I typically don’t accomplish all of my goals, but I enjoy making them! I even enjoy admitting defeat, so here are a plethora of 2022 New Year resolutions.
The inspiration for this gift idea developed a couple of weeks ago when I was scanning the library shelves and came across the book called The Bluest of Blues about Anna Atkins and her use of cyanotype photography. That is one of her images above.
If you’re still looking for a gift for a great kid in your life, we may have just the thing.
April is National Poetry month. Admittedly, I don’t think of myself as needing a special month to wax poetic (wink wink) about the nature-inspired poetry books that we love. But apparently I AM the type of person that needs a national initiative because I hadn’t put together a post sharing this collection until now.
There’s a wide variety of subjects on our list of favorites. Insectlopedia that focus on insects to Old Elm Speaks that highlights trees. One of my absolute favorites is When Green Becomes Tomatoes. But I also get so excited when someone will read Joyful Noise with me. Every poem in that book is written for two readers making one poem. It’s just a pile of beautiful poetry.
In addition to sharing our resolutions this month, we’re also going to share some of the good habits that we’ve picked up over the years. We try many things, but these are the ones that stuck.
What is a podcast? It’s simply a digital file that you can download on the internet, usually part of a series, and once you subscribe to a podcast it will automatically download to your computer or device each time a new one is released. Think of a podcast as a radio show, but instead of catching it live, it is saved to your podcast app. You can use your phone’s podcast app or upgrade to an app like Stitcher, Breaker, or a number of others.
The following are my favorite podcasts spanning nearly nine years of listening. You’ll find a good mix of storytelling, comedy, science, true crime, and human psychology. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order and below that by category. Full disclosure: some of these have fallen off my listen list, but at one point in time I was keeping up with them weekly and really enjoyed them, so I’ve included them here for a full roundup.
Be sure to click on the podcast and read the description first so that you aren’t surprised by the content. I update this list a couple of times a year, so check back if you ever need a new suggestion.
I use the app Breaker. If a podcast is new to you, search by popularity and listen to the highest-rated first. Do you like it?
Because I listen to podcasts so often, I’m thinking of starting a new post series and linking to a few favorite episodes that fall into different categories. I’m wondering if people would be into that?
My focus for this goal is to increase our awareness of the role that the seasons play in our daily lives. I want to find ways to highlight for the seasonal shifts that occur in in the foods we eat, the activities we do, our celebrations, and even in how we feel.
Today I wanted to share the seasonal focus that we’ve added to our morning routine.
Happy New Year, inauguration day, and almost the end of dry January! That’s right, I’m attempting dry January. Yes, I wanted to give up on January 6th, but here I am with only 11 days left. Do I want to toast to democracy today? Of freakin’ course. #PrayForMe #DrinkForMe
Riding off the momentary high of creating a monthly goal like dry January, I decided to create mini goals for each month of the year. I’m typically a goal setter, note that doesn’t mean that I accomplish them, but I love dreaming them up! Each year, I have a handful of resolutions, but this year I have a whole flippin’ sheet and I’m pretty psyched on it.
My daily goals are teeny tiny. I have a group text dedicated to ticking off these daily goals. It’s comprised of Katie, two friends, and myself. We’re just there to remind each other to take five minutes to crunch, squat, walk, or whatever we’ve chosen as our daily motivators. These goals are meant to be little reminders that we have bigger goals on our list and each day is an opportunity for progress.
These are the big ones. Honestly, if there are any goals on the list that I won’t accomplish, it’s probably a few of these. I’m telling myself this year will be different and I hoping by creating the daily and monthly goals as markers of success – I’ll stay focused on achieving these as well. Full disclosure – half of these were on my list last year! For some reason I do not take my health in terms of doctor visits very seriously. It could be because I’m typically a healthy person and don’t often need care or maybe it’s because I move cities every few years and never form solid relationships. Whatever the deal is, I’m determined to seek out a primary care physician that I trust and see some other specialists to make progress on this goal. Totally typing this so I can reflect on it in twelve months. Make future Sarah proud.
These are all meant to be enjoyable goals to grow in the hobbies I’m already into. I find I need goals within even the “fun” spheres of life or else I feel stagnant. Let’s just say I was a sticker chart kind of kid.
These monthly goals are a mixed bag. Some goals are meant to focus my time, others to challenge my habits, and a few to propel me into a more consistently active lifestyle. I would consider myself fit and active, but I usually just cram it all into the weekend and I’d like to force myself to find that balance during the week to work out my body as hard as I’m flexing my mind. Some of these months could probably use another goal or two, but I’ll figure that out as I move through the year. I’m particularly interested in the ‘no spend’ months – have you ever tried anything like it? Or any others? What resolutions are you working on this year? Did you find any of mine to be surprising or inspiring? Or are you shaking your head and saying ‘f resolutions!’ whichever camp you’re in, leave a comment and let me know.
With so many families learning at home, I wanted to share one of our favorite spring-time science projects : raising beneficial insects and releasing them into the backyard! Continue reading …
These are some of our favorite out-of-print “thinking” books.
The back of the books say: “This is not a mathematic book in its usual sense; it is a book about thinking. It is about perspective, and about abstracting to look at things in a new way.” That simple description concisely explains why I love them. These books are unlike any typical math book.
How are you handling the news lately? It’s a bit much, isn’t it?
I typed this post, added a few images and realized that it looks like it’s sponsored by the Morning Brew. Ha! It’s definitely not, but I do want you to sign up for this news service. Read on to see why. Continue reading …
With so many families learning at home, I wanted to share one of our favorite spring-time science projects : raising beneficial insects and releasing them into the backyard! 
