I think "Jamie is Jamie" by Afsaneh Moradian is the perfect way to end Pride Month. To me, Pride Month is about celebrating the ability to be ourselves - to look the way that makes us happiest and to follow our hearts and love who we love. It is also about letting others know that we love and support them even if they choose paths different from our own. Some people may think bringing up Pride Month and the LBGTQ community is a sensitive topic which is inappropriate for young children. But I think it's a highly important topic to introduce to children in an age-appropriate way because not only does it help build a foundation of acceptance that can be broadened to include anyone different from ourselves, it also lets children know that there are no limits to what they can do or who they can be. And the book "Jamie is Jamie" does just that. It addresses societal gender roles in a way that even the youngest children can understand. As a bonus, it also highlights the importance of free play time in early childhood which speaks right to my heart as a former early childhood educator.

June 12th is Loving Day, celebrating the landmark case Loving v. Virginia. Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested in 1958 because they were an interracial couple living in Virginia, where it was illegal to marry someone of a different race. The Lovings and their lawyers argued that interracial marriage laws were unlawful and based on slavery laws and white supremacy. 9 years later, on June 12, 1967, the Lovings won their case in the Supreme Court. 

We read "Oil Spill" by Melvin Berger to find out more about how oil spills happen and how they affect plants and wildlife. "Oil Spill" also explains how experts clean up the ocean and affected animals after oil spills and provides some tips on how you can help.

We like to get our hands involved in our learning, so while I was reading the story, Lil C and Squidgy were creating their own mini oil spills.

Then I gave them a "boat" (I didn't have two small toy boats so we used Hatchimal eggs) and a little bottle of "crude oil" (cooking oil mixed with a bit of cocoa powder). 

We LOVE animals in our house but Lil C especially loves marine animals and getting up close and personal with a dolphin is her favorite creature encounter EVER (full disclosure: the above dolphin encounter at Clearwater Marine Aquarium was actually her second time with a dolphin, first time was in Mexico when she was 4). I'm fairly certain I've learned more about animals in the past several years watching kids' shows and documentaries with my kids than in my entire school career. 

Here are some shows that have taught us about the ocean and so many of its amazing and weird creatures:

Octonauts - Octonauts is a Disney Junior show and all seasons can be watched on Netflix as well as some bonus movies. The Octonauts are a crew of animals who live underwater in an Octopod and embark on adventures exploring, rescuing, and protecting the ocean and the creatures who live in it.

Wild Kratts - Wild Kratts on PBS Kids is an amazing show for learning about ALL the world's creatures, but there are plenty of episodes featuring marine animals.

Blue Planet/Blue Planet II - This BBC Earth docuseries is available to watch on Netflix with episodes about the deep seas, open seas, frozen seas, coral seas, and more. The footage they are able to get of creatures all over the oceans are always mind blowing!

DisneyNature Dolphin Reef - This cute documentary available on Disney+ follows the story of young dolphin, Echo, as he learns that if he is to survive, he must learn to find food and be a helpful member of the pod. Dolphins are such amazing animals and getting to see the personalities of these dolphins is so much fun!

Dolphin Tale/Dolphin Tale 2 - Lil C fell in LOVE with Winter and Hope after seeing these movies which is why our trip to Clearwater Marine Aquarium was so special and memorable for her. She is hanging out with Hope in the photo at the top of this post. These movies are fictional, but based on the true story of Winter the dolphin's rescue, rehab, and eventual pairing with Hope. We love these movies because they show the love and dedication of marine biologists, vets, and aquarium staff when it comes to rescuing, rehabilitating, releasing, and caring for animals who cannot safely be released. It also highlights the constant dangers humans pose to marine animals and has made us want to be more active in helping to protect those animals. 

We've only watched Blue Planet, but this article lists 7 other ocean documentaries on Netflix: 8 Inspiring Ocean Documentaries Streaming on Netflix. We'll have to check out more of them!

Sometimes our days are so perfectly amazing and wonderful and full of fun and smiles and the best things ever! And sometimes, our days are a little less than perfect, sometimes they are positively and undeniably horrible! It's important to understand that both of those are just part of life. We can't always have perfect days and it's ok and it's not our fault if we don't. Sometimes things just happen! There will always be things we can't control that make life difficult. What's important is to remember to accept it and figure out what we CAN control (just like when we're anxious!). If the ice cream shop is out of our favorite flavor, we can definitely be disappointed! There's no reason to pretend everything's perfect if it's not! But, we also have to accept that we can't change it and we can either let it ruin our entire day or think of something else that will help fill our buckets back up!

In today's story, Kevin the Unicorn learns that things are not always perfectly wonderful, even for unicorns!