I’m an Auntie of my sister's two sets of twins (10 year old girls and 4 year old boys) who live in Australia. With Covid I have been away for them for almost 2 years and it has been excruciating. Early on in the pandemic we began doing weekly virtual classes were I taught the kids a 10 week storytelling course, then an 8 week social and emotional learning class based in racial justice (with my sister's kids and about 6 other kids worldwide), a 10 week art class, and currently an ongoing BBB inventors class. This has allowed me to stay connected to my nieces and nephews, and as they are "seeing" me so regularly I get to connect with them and hear about what is concerning them and exciting them along with support their growth and development. BBB is, in part, a response to the ever increasing long distance family structures, and a hope for other cool Aunts and Uncles to use BBB as a mode to connect with and support their young friends. As the saying goes: it takes a village.

My nieces and nephews love animals and often share with me the dangers of plastics on local wildlife, and the environment more generally. They are vegetarian (I am not) and have occasionally said to me: if you care about animals Auntie Rachel, don't eat them!!! While I'm not giving up meat just yet, I am honoring my nieces and nephews by developing large scale systems that will nurture and not destroy the environment. AKA for the next ten years (at least) disrupting the plastic toy industry.

For the past ten years every-time I see my nieces (who have dyslexia, as do I) I have asked them: Can I kiss your big brains? We even do this at the end of each class virtually, the girls lean in to get a virtual kiss on their forehead laughing. For the past four years as I greet my nephews (one who has epilepsy) I ask can I hug your courageous hearts? And they plow in for a cuddle. This is how the Big Brain Box's underlying vision was developed.

Big Brain Box is for kids with big brains and courageous hearts.

Big Brain Box is for every kid.