You're listening to Voices of Your Village, and I'm so stoked about this episode. We get to chat about rethinking weapon play. This is a hot topic. It's one with a lot of opinions, and I really wanted to dive into the child development aspect of this. I got to hang out with Kisa Marx and Samuel Broaden to have this conversation. Kisa is an author, a child advocate, and a champion of early educators. With over two decades in the field, she spent 15 years running her self -affirming play in nature focused family home childcare in Oak Park, Illinois. Recently, she switched to a nonprofit model to offer high quality childcare to families who would otherwise be denied access. Kisa's advocacy, pedagogy, and ethos are anchored in three pillars: childhood is sacred, nature is restorative, and play is revolutionary. When she's not in the field with her crew or advocating with fellow childhood champions, Kisa can be found with her partner of 26 years tending to their garden of adult children, pets, and plants. Samuel is an early childhood advocate and author who believes in the power of childhood and showing children the power they have within themselves. He has worked in the early education field for 20 years, from a teacher to administration to quality coach to author and speaker. He believes in the importance of creating safe spaces for all children to discover who they are and be celebrated for that. He's the author of Gender Expression and Inclusivity in Early Childhood, A Teacher's Guide to Queering the Classroom, and their new book, Rethinking Weapon Play in Early Childhood, How to Encourage Imagination, Kindness, and Consent in Your Classroom, is out now from Kisa and Samuel. I'm super stoked for y 'all to get your hands on that bad boy. All right, folks, let's dive in. 

Connect with Kisa:

Instagram: @iam_still_learning

Website: https://theplaylabnfpoakpark.org/

Order the book:Rethinking Weapon Play in Early Childhood: How to Encourage Imagination, Kindness, and Consent in Your Classroom

Connect with Samuel:

Instagram:@honoringchildhood

Website: https://www.honoringchildhood.org/

Order the book:Rethinking Weapon Play in Early Childhood: How to Encourage Imagination, Kindness, and Consent in Your Classroom

Podcast: Honoring Childhood 

Connect with us:

Instagram: @seed.and.sew 

Podcast page: Voices of Your Village

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Order Tiny Humans, Big Emotions now! 

Website: seedandsew.org

Music by: Ruby Adams and  Bensound

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