{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"If Kids Are Having Fun They're Learning","description":"In this heartfelt episode of the Reading With Your Kids podcast, Jed welcomes Daria, musician, teaching artist, and author of the joyful new picture book Cicada Sing Along. Drawing on decades of performing in schools, Daria and Jed celebrate the magic that happens when kids aren\u2019t just sitting and listening, but making music together\u2014banging on drums, buzzing like cicadas, and discovering instruments from around the world. Daria shares how the so\u2011called \u201ccicada apocalypse\u201d inspired her to turn fear and \u201cEw, bugs!\u201d into curiosity and delight. In Cicada Sing Along, kids learn real cicada facts while buzzing a silly, contagious chorus\u2014often, the worse they sing it, the more fun it is. She talks about \u201cstealth education,\u201d weaving science, rhythm, and literacy into a hoot\u2011and\u2011a\u2011half read\u2011aloud that teachers and music educators can use to get every child participating. The conversation goes deeper into world music, indigenous cultures, and bilingual learning. Daria describes learning songs directly from communities in Peru and beyond, how languages like Quechua view everything as alive and in motion, and why preserving languages and stories is essential to a whole and healthy humanity. Both she and Jed return again and again to a core belief: if kids are having fun, they\u2019re learning\u2014and feeling seen. In the final segment, Jed talks with author and reading specialist Danielle LaRosa about her tender picture book I Love You So, a love letter to her graduating son and a powerful reminder of how daily reading, connection, and shared stories shape kids\u2019 futures long after they leave home. ","author_name":"Reading With Your Kids Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/readingwithyourkids.libsyn.com\/site","html":"