Little Kids, Big Hearts

Welcome friends! This month on the Little Kids, Big Hearts 💕  podcast, we’ve been exploring the theme of family and all the ways families help us feel safe, loved, and strong.
In this special song and conversation episode, Todd is joined by longtime collaborator, educator, and composer Benjamin Weiner. Together, they revisit what kids shared in our family Kidventure episode — "Who's in My Family?" — about who is in their family, what they do together, and what they learn from their family.
Benjamin reflects on listening closely to kids’ words and transforming their ideas, rhythms, and feelings into music. He shares how children’s language naturally lends itself to songwriting and how family memories and storytelling shaped his own creative path.
The episode culminates in the debut of I’ve Got My Family, an original song inspired directly by the voices of kids on the podcast. The song celebrates families of all shapes and sizes and reminds listeners that love, care, and connection are what truly make a family.
This episode supports social and emotional learning by affirming belonging, inclusion, and safety, while encouraging kids to reflect on the people who make up their own families. Perfect for kids ages 2–11 and for listening together as a family.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Hear their words transformed into music
Learn that families can look many different ways
Reflect on traditions, routines, and shared moments
Feel affirmed that their family is “just right”
Grown-Ups, You Can Extend the Conversation By Asking:
Who are the people that make up our family?
What are some things we love doing together?
What helps our family feel safe and connected?
About Our Guest:
Benjamin Weiner is a composer, educator, and longtime collaborator on Little Kids, Big Hearts. A former New York City school teacher, Benjamin creates music inspired directly by children’s voices, ideas, and lived experiences, transforming everyday moments into songs that support connection and emotional growth.
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through real discussions, imaginative stories, songs, and Kidventures, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and what it means to care for others.
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd and produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod, also at Sparkler.
Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth, with original music by Bill English.
Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the song “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
🌈 Visit The Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast website:
https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! We’re so glad you’re joining us for another Season 5 episode of the Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast.
In this Mission episode, Todd is joined by our friend Georgia, 5, to continue exploring this month’s theme: FAMILIES!
Inspired by our Kidventure to the Land of Qook-a-lakas, kid listeners are invited to go on a special mission: Creating their own family quilt square. Together, Todd and Georgia talk about the people, traditions, foods, adventures, and creative moments that make families unique.
Georgia shares her own quilt square, featuring adventures and crafting, and explains how art, imagination, and time together help her family feel connected. We also hear from Carmine, who shares how music, friends, and pizza represent his family. 
This episode encourages kids to reflect on love, belonging, and everyday routines — and consider creating their own family quilt squares — to grow the Little Kids, Big Hearts family quilt. Every family looks different and in every family love matters!
The podcast is perfect for kids aged 2–11, and designed to be enjoyed together with a grown-up.
THIS WEEK’S MISSION:
Kids are invited to create their own family quilt square by drawing a square and adding about three things that make their family special. These can include people, pets, foods, games, traditions, or anything that shows love and care.
Once you've created your family's quilt square, grown-ups can send a picture to us at [email protected] (or on social media). We love seeing your creativity and growing our Little Kids, Big Hearts Family Quilt.
IN THIS EPISODE, KIDS WILL:
Reflect on what makes their family special
Practice expressing feelings through art and storytelling
Celebrate different family structures and traditions
Build empathy by seeing how other families share love
Take part in a creative, real-world mission
GROWN-UPS, YOU CAN EXTEND THE CONVERSATION BY ASKING:
What are three things that make our family special to you?
What activities help you feel most connected to our family?
How do different families show love in different ways?
ABOUT LITTLE KIDS, BIG HEARTS:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the conversation. Through imaginative Kidventures, missions, stories, and songs, children explore feelings, relationships, kindness, and caring for others.
SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND SHARE:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share! It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts.
🎧 Find us on YouTube:
 https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 Follow us on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Follow us on Instagram:
 https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast 
CREDITS:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is hosted by Todd Loyd. Georgia, 5, co-hosted today's epsiode! It's produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod, also at Sparkler. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth, with original music by Bill English. Special thanks to Noggin for their support and the use of the song “Like Nobody Else” from Big Heart Beats.
Learn more about the podcast at:
 https://www.playsparkler.org/podcast

Welcome friends! We’re so glad you’re joining us for the Season 5 premiere of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast!
In this special Kidventure episode, Todd is joined by three thoughtful kids, Georgia, Jaden, and Carmine, for a warm, meaningful conversation about families and what makes them special.
Together, they talk about family traditions, bedtime routines, games, meals, and the everyday moments that build love and belonging.
Then, the kids close their eyes and travel as tiny imaginary particles to the Land of Qook-a-lakas, where they meet Quilliam, a Qook-a-laka who worries that their family is “just too teeny-weeny” to make a Dream Fest quilt square. With creativity, empathy, and big hearts, the kids help Quilliam discover that families of every size create meaningful memories and that love is what matters most.
This Kidventure episode of Little Kids, Big Hearts supports social and emotional learning by encouraging empathy, perspective-taking, emotional expression, and inclusion, while celebrating the idea that families come in all shapes and sizes. Perfect for kids ages 3–11 and for listening together as a family.
About Our Guest Star:
The role of Quilliam in this episode is played by Ryann Redmond, an actress and singer. Ryann originated Bridget in Bring It On: The Musical, appeared in the original cast of If/Then, performed in Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville, and made history as the first female Olaf in Frozen on Broadway.
In This Episode, Kids Will:
Explore different family structures in an inclusive, age-appropriate way
Practice empathy through conversation and imagination
Learn that love, care, and connection define “family”
Use creative storytelling to solve a problem in the Land of Qook-a-lakas
Reflect on routines and traditions that build belonging
Grown-Ups, Extend the Conversation By Asking:
Who is part of our family? 
What are some special things we like to do together as a family? Do we have any traditions? 
How are our family routines similar or different from our friends' routines? 
What helps you feel safe, loved, and included at home?
What would YOU include on your quilt square? 
Find educator resources to keep the learning going at:
https://playsparkler.org/familyepisode/
About Little Kids, Big Hearts:
Little Kids, Big Hearts is a social and emotional learning podcast where kids lead the discussion through Kidventures, stories, songs, missions, and conversations!
Subscribe, Rate, and Share:
If this episode resonated with your family, please subscribe, rate, and share the show. It helps other families discover Little Kids, Big Hearts!
🎧 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@littlekidsbighearts
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@littlekidsbighearts
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_kids_big_hearts_podcast
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleKidsBigHeartsPodcast
Credits:
Hosted by Todd Loyd. Produced by Julia Levy at Sparkler Learning, with support from Meaghan Penrod. Sound design and mixing by Ryan Marth, with original music by Bill English.
Special thanks to Noggin for their support and use of “Like Nobody Else” from the Big Heart Beats album.
Learn more and find episode resources at:
https://playsparkler.org/podcast

Season 5 of the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast is coming on Friday, Jan. 9 — so rev up your imagination, and get ready to journey with us to the Land of Qook-a-lackas to explore big feelings and solve problems with our Qook-a-lacka friends. 
If you're new to the Little Kids, Big Hearts podcast, you should know that the Land of Qook-a-lackas is a special place where children go to share their feelings, but not everyone can see the Qook-a-lackas or little Qook-a-leekies who live there. Some have fur, spikes, scales, and different colors — and they look different to all children. 
Get ready to imagine and grow big hearts with us! 💛

It's our eighth and final week of Little Kids, Big Hearts @ Camp Sparkler, and we're focused on our hopes and dreams: What are we looking forward to as the new school year approaches? What do we want to learn? What are we excited to experience? 

💚 First, Todd shares some clips from an episode called "Hopes & Dreams With Jolly Abraham." Three kids — Levi, Christine, and Ariel — share some of the amazing things they'd learned in the last year ... and what they're hoping and dreaming for the year ahead .
💚 Then Todd and the kids journey to the Land of Qook-a-lackas where they visit with  Qook-a-lacka friend played by Jolly Abraham. They join in the Qook-a-lacka tradition of Moon Day, where they help to “send off” the old moon and “welcome” the new moon by sharing hopes and dreams. 
"I hope and dream for me and my brothers to get along," says Ariel. 
What are YOU hoping and dreaming? 
This summer, Camp Sparkler is exploring eight different themes related to social and emotional learning (SEL). Learn more about Camp Sparkler and play along throughout the summer with a weekly lineup of off-screen play activities and learning extensions on your Sparkler app: https://playsparkler.org/campsparkler.

Thank you to Benjamin Weiner, who wrote and performed the song “Growin’ Up This Summer," which you hear in this video. 

Thank you to Ryan Marth — our guru of sound!

Learn more about the podcast or listen to whole episodes on our web page:  https://playsparkler.org/podcast. Learn more about Camp Sparkler online at https://playsparkler.org/campsparkler2025/

You can play along in your Sparkler mobile app! It's free, it's fun, it's learning! :)