The Sunflower Bridge Podcast

In life, sometimes we all have to say goodbye. And when you have children, there will come a time when you have to separate from them, leaving them in the care of someone new. In this episode, Susan and Lindsey discuss how at Sunflower Creative Arts , we take care to get that moment right. Our method honors the needs of both the grownups and children in the situation. The Sunflower Bridge Podcast...

Why do we at Sunflower Creative Arts emphasize giving encouragement rather than praise? What's so wrong about saying 'Good job' anyway? In this episode, Susan tells a powerful story about the time she watched a child learn how to climb the tallest ladder on the playground, providing gentle encouragement from a distance over several weeks before the little girl succeeded. Lindsey shares about how s...

Susan and Lindsey share why they chose "Take a breath and smile with us" as the tagline for The Sunflower Bridge Podcast. Hear them describe mindfulness practices that have benefitted them, including perhaps the two most obvious: breathing and smiling. If you're enjoying the podcast, please like and subscribe to it wherever you listen, and if you're feeling social, share your favorite episode...

Over Sunflower's 30 years of operation, we have developed a simple framework of tools for navigating life as both a parent and a person. In this episode, Susan and Lindsey describe how you can use the Time, Space, Permission and Language framework to analyze your options and respond more thoughtfully in tough situations. For more practical tips and tools on being with children, follow us on Instag...

Please enjoy this very special premiere of a new type of podcast episode: Seedling Interviews! Susan and Lindsey ventured into the Seedlings Preschool for children 3-6 to ask hard-hitting questions like "What do grownups do all day?" and "What do you think of the moon?" If you're enjoying the show, please show us some love by liking, subscribing and sharing the podcast wherever you listen! The Sun...

There's no doubt about it: change is just plain hard! On today's show, Susan shares how the end of the school year is always an emotion-filled time, evoking nostalgia and gratitude for times past, while simultaneously bringing up fears of uncertainty about the future. Susan and Lindsey reflect on the importance of ritual, and why Sunflower Creative Arts developed our special "Bridging Day" graduat...

Susan and Lindsey discuss the value of calling a family meeting. It can be a way for each member of the family to get to share their "beef", feel heard, and propose solutions that work for them. The Sunflower Bridge Podcast is a product of Sunflower Creative Arts , a nonprofit 501c3 organization in Delray Beach, FL. with the mission of empowering children and families to be Confident, Creative and...

At Sunflower Creative Arts, we value Process over Product. We've seen how children benefit immensely from having the freedom to direct their own learning. Rather than creating a model bunny out of playdough, for example, a Sunflower teacher might instead simply arrange the dough in lumps on a table, stash the molding tools underneath the table, then sit back and watch what the children's unbound i...

It may seem like the terms ‘potty training’ and ‘toilet learning’ mean more or less the same thing. The crucial difference lies in the role of the adult in the process. At Sunflower Creative Arts, our philosophy is that when the child is physically, developmentally, psychologically and emotionally ready to begin using the toilet, they will. So it is up to us, the caregivers, to create the conditio...

Imagination is a muscle that must be exercised to get stronger! In this episode, Susan (founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts ) and Lindsey (co-creator & director of Sunflower Bridge ) weave stories from their own childhoods about how having "nothing to do" was often the precursor to the most transcendent play experiences. Do you have a story about a time when boredom bore real fru...

Join Susan (founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts ) and Lindsey (co-creator & director of Sunflower Bridge ) for this light-hearted conversation about the crucial difference between entertaining vs. actually playing with children - and why dropping the clown act can be liberating for everyone. The Sunflower Bridge Podcast is kindly sponsored by Switzer Musical Productions . Are you enjo...

Joining Lindsey, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge on the podcast is special guest Feather Berkower. Feather is the Founder of Parenting Safe Children , a licensed clinical social worker, and one of the nation’s leading experts in child sexual assault prevention. She has dedicated her career — which now spans over three decades — to educating parents and youth professionals on how to mak...

Susan and Lindsey discuss coping with the discomfort of change. At a time when you’re feeling frustrated by a dynamic with your child, looking behind the behavior to find the need they’re trying (and failing) to express to you can awaken your compassion. Are you enjoying The Sunflower Bridge Podcast? Please give us a follow wherever you listen, or consider giving us a rating or review! It really h...

Join us for our first-ever interview on the podcast with Stephanie Arsht, former Sunflower Creative Arts parent and current board member. Susan and Lindsey share a conversation with Stephanie about her times as a member of the Seedlings Preschool parent cooperative, how lessons from those days continue to serve her now, and how crucial the element of community support was to her personal growth as...

Take a breath and LAUGH with us! On today's episode, Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge talk about how silliness is a superpower when it comes to being a parent. Do you have a story of using humor to great effect with the children in your life? We'd love to hear it! If you record a voice memo of your story and s...

On today's episode, Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge share a heartfelt conversation about mental health. Certainly daily struggles are to be expected - but what about the times when we feel so out of whack that life no longer feels manageable? Susan discusses how she pushed through guilt and shame to begin her...

Join Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge as they talk about navigating the hard stuff of day-to-day family life. When you're not feeling the way you want to feel, what can you do to turn things around? Susan tells about her experience finding the support she needed as a young mother through becoming a La Leche Le...

Join Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge for a conversation about trust as a foundational piece of all relationships. Susan shares a story about walking to school at age 5. Lindsey remembers the freedom of rollerblading with friends around her neighborhood at age 7. The Sunflower Bridge Podcast is kindly spo...

On today's episode, Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge talk about how sometimes we as adults can have unrealistic expectations of what children are and aren't capable of at different stages of development. If you're enjoying the podcast or have a question for us, we would love to hear from you! Email us at linds...

Take a breath and smile with us! In Episode 5, Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts & Lindsey Mills, co-creator & director of Sunflower Bridge talk about really seeing children. Susan tells a story about the courage of a 3 year-old boy on his first day of summer camp. Lindsey shares about a time from her childhood when she used singing to cope with some tricky emotion...

Join Susan & Lindsey for part 2 of a conversation about the "guiding lights" in our lives. Who are the people that have appeared in your life when things seemed darkest and showed you your next best step? Lindsey shares how she discovered the magic of Sunflower Creative Arts . Susan describes how children can be guiding lights too. Want to connect with us? Send us an email at lindsey@sunflower...

Join Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts & Lindsey Mills, co-creator & director of Sunflower Bridge as we talk about being with children. Take a breath and smile with us. In episode 2, we give you a bit of background about Sunflower and what we do in the world. Susan shares about two of her "guiding lights", Bev Bos & Nancy Carlsson-Paige. The Sunflower Bridge Po...

Join Susan Caruso, founding director of Sunflower Creative Arts and Lindsey Mills, co-creator and director of Sunflower Bridge as we share thoughtful conversations about being with children. Take a breath and smile with us. We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at lindsey@sunflowercreativearts.org  or follow us on Instagram . The Sunflower Bridge Podcast is kindly sponsored by Swi...