Ear Snacks Podcast for Kids

What’s a Prank?

What's a prank? What makes a *good* prank? And how do you know when you're over The Line?Andrew & his kids contemplate the nature of surprises, the intention behind jokes, and scheme up some wholesome pranks on their walk to school.Thanks to musical guests Story Pirates for their song “Cat Sit on You” & New Zealand’s Captain Fectus McBoyle for his new single “Just Breathe” – and “Mom’s Name” by us and the hilarious and gregarious Mike Phirman (performing a rare live show in Colorado this weekend!) You can find more tomfoolery and improv storytelling opportunities at Story Pirates April Fools Camp! To learn more or to be on the show, visit earsnacks.org – and thanks for listening!

Our World is a Family with Miry Whitehill & Jennifer Jackson

When we see someone new in our neighborhood, how can we make them feel safe and loved and important?We visit again with Miry’s List founder Miry Whitehill and co-author Jennifer Jackson about their new book Our World is a Family. We learn new words of welcome, think about ways to talk to children about migration and refugees, and even inspire Louise Giraffe to undertake a creative welcoming project. With so much in the news about war and migration, this episode and amazing book can be a resource for families and educators who are taking a proactive approach to supporting children’s understanding of complicated events as well as a lifelong process of cultivation of empathy. Plus, easy activities that we can do to support children who have had to leave their homes.Find Our World is a Family wherever you get your books. Find free resources and activities at miryslist.org/learn – and thank you.(Also, here’s a WBUR interview about how Miry’s List is preparing to welcome families from Ukraine )Thanks to NOVO for supporting Ear Snacks. Go to Novo.co/EARSNACKS and get your FREE business banking account

Fan Faves: Pajamas & The Incredible Edible Bed with Mindy Thomas from Wow in the World!

Do you wish you could wake up on a bed of delicious toast? Do restaurants in your neighborhood sound like song lyrics? Our friend Katara from Brooklyn, NY, shares two ways our episode about Pajamas (with Wow in the World’s Mindy Thomas!) connects with her life. Let’s get cozy!In Pajamas II, we explore:
Pajama Day!
The Science of Sleep (why our bodies need rest)
The idea of the “Sleepunder” (instead of sleepover)
Trippy Dreams
How different families say goodnight
Thanks to Shopify for supporting Ear Snacks. Go to Shopify.com/earsnacks for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features.What's your kiddo's favorite episode of Ear Snacks? For a chance to be featured on the show, let us know at earsnacks.org!Interview: Your Favorite Ear Snacks Moment!Please record kids’ answers via voice memo, give them time to answer, skip/expand on these questions as needed, and don’t forget -- have fun! E-mail recordings to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com
Say: Hi, Andrew & Polly and Ear Snacks Listeners!
Who are you?
(What's your first name? How old are you? Where do you live? For this one, it's especially helpful if they answer in full sentences - "My name is ______ or I am _______.")
When and where do you listen to Ear Snacks? Who do you listen with?
What's your favorite episode of Ear Snacks?
What's your favorite thing that has happened on Ear Snacks?
Why do you like to listen to that part so much?
Have you ever been inspired to explore something, make something or have a family joke or something you say to each other because of something on Ear Snacks? What is it?
Anything else you want to share with Andrew & Polly?
What do you call kids who listen to Ear Snacks? (Ear Snackers? Ear Snacks friends? Ear Snacks people?)
Tell us to play your favorite part in your own words, or say one of these:
- Cue the tape!
- Will you play it now?
- Let's listen to it! I love this part!
- Let's just play it already!
- Remember that time on Ear Snacks when...
Say: Bye, Andrew & Polly!
E-mail your voice memo to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com

Fan Faves: Bad Guys!

Our friend Monk from Oakland, CA loves when Andrew tries to scare Polly in our episode about Bad Guys! So we’re replaying it here – play along with us!We explore:
What are the parts of a story?
How can you play “bad guys” and keep everyone safe?
How to sound “like a bad guy” with voice actress Morla Gorondona!
To Play or Not To Play: Making Agreements!
Wondering why we don't have any pretend jails in this episode (or our house)? Check out and donate to the non-profit The Sentencing Project. Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons across the country at nearly five times the rate of whites, and Latinx people are 1.3 times as likely to be incarcerated than non-Latinx whites. We highly discourage play that involves police, jails, and prisons and encourage age-appropriate discourse with young children around those topics instead.
If you are parent or educator who is worried about bad guy and superhero play, check out this episode for parents: "Pretend gun Play and Actual Bad Guys with Jane Lindholm." For anyone who wants to go even deeper, check out this documentation of "bad guy" play published in Early Childhood Research and Practice.
So - what's your kiddo's favorite episode of Ear Snacks? We'd love them to introduce it - Here are the details of how to participate:Interview: Your Favorite Ear Snacks Moment!Please record kids’ answers via voice memo, give them time to answer, skip/expand on these questions as needed, and don’t forget -- have fun! E-mail recordings to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com
Say: Hi, Andrew & Polly and Ear Snacks Listeners!
Who are you?
(What's your first name? How old are you? Where do you live? For this one, it's especially helpful if they answer in full sentences - "My name is ______ or I am _______.")
When and where do you listen to Ear Snacks? Who do you listen with?
What's your favorite episode of Ear Snacks?
What's your favorite thing that has happened on Ear Snacks?
Why do you like to listen to that part so much?
Have you ever been inspired to explore something, make something or have a family joke or something you say to each other because of something on Ear Snacks? What is it?
Anything else you want to share with Andrew & Polly?
What do you call kids who listen to Ear Snacks? (Ear Snackers? Ear Snacks friends? Ear Snacks people?)
Tell us to play your favorite part in your own words, or say one of these:
- Cue the tape!
- Will you play it now?
- Let's listen to it! I love this part!
- Let's just play it already!
- Remember that time on Ear Snacks when...
Say: Bye, Andrew & Polly!
E-mail your voice memo to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com

Fan Faves: Fruit!

If you haven’t heard the very first episode of Ear Snacks, our friend Maeve from Madison, WI super-duper loves it. So she's sharing about it here – AND we're talking about one of Polly’s favorite fruit books: Grapefruit by Yoko Ono.In this episode, you'll hear Polly read:
PAINTING FOR THE WIND (1961, summer)
PAINTING TO SEE THE ROOM (1961, autumn)
PAINTING TO ENLARGE AND SEE (1961, summer)
TUNAFISH SANDWICH PIECE (1964, spring)
So - what's your kiddo's favorite episode of Ear Snacks? We'd love them to introduce it - Here are the details of how to participate:Interview: Your Favorite Ear Snacks Moment!Please record kids’ answers via voice memo, give them time to answer, skip/expand on these questions as needed, and don’t forget -- have fun! E-mail recordings to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com
Say: Hi, Andrew & Polly and Ear Snacks Listeners!
Who are you?
(What's your first name? How old are you? Where do you live? For this one, it's especially helpful if they answer in full sentences - "My name is ______ or I am _______.")
When and where do you listen to Ear Snacks? Who do you listen with?
What's your favorite episode of Ear Snacks?
What's your favorite thing that has happened on Ear Snacks?
Why do you like to listen to that part so much?
Have you ever been inspired to explore something, make something or have a family joke or something you say to each other because of something on Ear Snacks? What is it?
Anything else you want to share with Andrew & Polly?
What do you call kids who listen to Ear Snacks? (Ear Snackers? Ear Snacks friends? Ear Snacks people?)
Tell us to play your favorite part in your own words, or say one of these:
- Cue the tape!
- Will you play it now?
- Let's listen to it! I love this part!
- Let's just play it already!
- Remember that time on Ear Snacks when...
Say: Bye, Andrew & Polly!
E-mail your voice memo to earsnacks@andrewandpolly.com

Smaller than Small: The Discovery of Quarks with Dr. Martin Breidenbach

What is the smallest thing you can think of? What’s smaller than that? For World Quark Day, experimental physicist Dr. Martin Breidenbach takes Andrew & Polly on a trip through the 70’s into subatomic space to recount his use of a gigantic device to discover how small the universe can get. Innovations such as radiation oncology and the World Wide Web can trace their origins to the pioneering experiments of physicists like Marty asking the same questions we ask on Ear Snacks – What’s that made of? How can we learn more about it? And what’s next?Giga thanks to Marty for walking us through the fundamental nature of matter and SLAC NAtional Accelerator Laboratory’s Manuel Gnida for arranging the interview. To support the work that we do and get bonus content and personalized birthday messages, visit patreon.com/earsnacks -- thanks for listening!

Play this Great Grammy-Nominated Music for Kids!

New Year, New Tunes! Feast your ears on 5 delicious tracks representing the work of 30+ incredible family music artists nominated for Best Children’s Album in the 64th GRAMMY Awards!
Ven Conmigo a Jugar from Actívate by 123 Andrés feat. Juan Miguel and YoelKeys
Rainbow from A Colorful World by Falu
Another Day from Crayon Kids by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
Family Reunion from All One Tribe by Fyütch feat. Divinity Roxx
Attitude of Gratitude from Black to the Future by Pierce Freelon feat. Kelly Kale
Immense gratitude for the music these talented Grammy-nominated artists made and shared with us today: We hope you’ll look these artists up – and share their work so other friends can discover some new music for their new year.We are looking for some NEW ideas for Ear Snacks + NEW friends who want to be on the show – to be on the show, have your grownup tell us what you’re super into by visiting earnsacks.orgThanks so much to Shopify for making this episode of Ear Snacks possible. Go to Shopify.com/earsnacks for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features.

How Marine Animals Communicate with Lights

An interview with a mermaid scientist!!! This episode of Ear Snacks features the bright light of science communicator and mermaid, Danni Washington. Check out her amazing book, Bold Women in Science, and her podcast for kids, Genius Generation.Thanks again to our friends Arlo, Molly, Poppy, Opal, Sam, and Thiri (and their parents) for sharing what they know about lights! And thank you to all our listeners for your beautiful inner lights and for using them to help others see something new.Please consider supporting our work this holiday season at patreon.com/earsnacks (and receive a cameo-style personalized video!) To learn more or to be on the show, visit earsnacks.org – thanks for listening!

Light Up Your Holidays with this Holiday Mixtape!

Happy Happy Holidays! Let these completely original family-music tunes light up your holidays and upcoming home days. Thanks to these incredibly talented and generous musicians who fill our ears and hearts all year long - a great way to support their work is by sharing their music, adding their songs to your playlists and following them on social media!
Happy Happy Holidays by Aaron Nigel Smith
All I Want for Christmas is Used by Formidable Vegetable
Coniferous Trees by Molly Ledford & Billy Kelly
Zat You Santa Claus by Jazzy Ash
Kwanzaa Slide by Culture Queen & Fyütch
Bright Winter Day by Little Miss Ann
Esta Lucesita by Elizabeth Mitchell & Suni Paz
So Freaking Ready for a New Year by those jokers Andrew & Polly

Songs of Light + Celebrating Kwanzaa with Fyütch!

What do the bright lights of Time Square, the dancing lights of Nashville’s Opryland Hotel, and the seven candles of Kwanzaa have in common? Ask social justice artist Fyütch! This episode of Ear Snacks features Fyütch’s love of various lights, his family’s new tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa, and his song This Kwanzaa (feat. Pierce Freelon) from his album Family Tree (Songs about Black history, culture & love). We encourage families to do the work of learning about Kwanzaa and talking about its origins.   Thanks again to our friends Arlo, Molly, Poppy, Opal, Sam, and Thiri (and their parents) for sharing what they know about lights and how their families use lights to celebrate. Coming up next in the Ear Snacks Celebration of Lights - bioluminescence and more original holiday tunes for the whole family. Stay cozy out there!Please consider supporting our work this holiday season at patreon.com/earsnacks (and receive a cameo-style personalized video for your kiddo's birthday!) To learn more or to be on the show, visit earsnacks.org – thanks for listening! And connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or TikTok!Thanks to this episode's sponsors:
Thanks, Candlewick Press! Get the Ada and the Galaxies, We Are One: How the World Adds Up,  Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast and Ear Worm wherever books are sold.
Thanks iD Tech Pro. To save up to $200 across all iD Tech programs, including summer tech camps, online private tutoring and small-group classes and certifications, go to idtech.com/EARSNACKS.