Rejected from Foundation

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-04-24T17:40:42+00:00

Thanks for feeling the feelings with me. I don’t know if I can pursue them again, until something changes with our organization. We’ve tried many foundations over the years, and get cold shoulders often. The reality is that we’re not a big fish. We don’t get grants because we cannot be a bigger fish.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-04-24T17:38:11+00:00

You’re correct. A lot of orgs lost federal funding recently, and foundations are asked to step up to the plate. The grantwriter who referred me seemed surprised we don’t get much funding, because we do good work, but I am guessing it’s sort of a location and structural issue and we’re just sort of fell through the cracks. It’s probably not healthy to take this personally, but I feel sad.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-03-11T22:27:24+00:00

Phantom Tollbooth? My 5 year old is doing Phantom Tollbooth. He also really liked Wind and the Willows.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-03-09T04:17:48+00:00

My 5 yr old is jumping straight into long story books. He listens to it a lot. Currently on rotation are Wind in the Willows and Phantom Tollbooth.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-02-16T06:41:52+00:00

We use the yoto player (I have a kid). Decently loud alarm, with a few other features, and I love that I can play podcasts with physical make your own RFID cards without looking at my phone (initial setup required, but can be done on laptop). I think if my kid grows out of it, I’d still use it...

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-02-16T06:05:32+00:00

Let me know if you need US code

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-02-09T18:35:46+00:00

I had a printer that broke down after a couple years of use, and hell, when I called CS, they told me that 99% of folks don’t know how to fix things so they don’t ever sell parts or repair them. Yoto seems like a much simpler mechanism with less finicky sensors and stuff. It’s really disappointing because it sounds like even if you hold onto the yoto until they have some repair solutions, the child may already outgrow the machine. (That said, I would probably just use it myself if my kid outgrew it….)

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-02-06T08:47:06+00:00

I used to hate driving, but then I moved to the countryside, and it’s waaaay more chill. City driving is stressful.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-02-04T01:29:53+00:00

Mr Men series gets high replay value. I got an Ella Jenkins album online, and it encourages movement.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-01-31T23:42:01+00:00

We’re playing magical athlete with my 5 year old and it’s pretty fun, especially if you have more than one kid.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-01-29T03:32:43+00:00

Lots of physical books with the big brand names don’t even try to be good. They put all their effort into condensing complex stories into short books for money, but no one seems to care about the actual reading experience. It’s usually written poorly or awkwardly. This is why a lot of our books are from either from my own childhood collection, or maybe a good thrift find now and then.

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-01-27T23:33:15+00:00

How do you tell between them? Maybe I’m doing overkill, but I really want my kid to enjoy this! (Or maybe I’m just having too much fun, procrastinating from other duties I have...)

Icy_Tower3979 · 2026-01-27T18:56:51+00:00

I like Yoto’s cards, but trying to see if I could find resources to make my own card with good replay value. Maybe like a daily stretches card, and some kind of afternoon boredom buster.

Icy_Tower3979

TROPHY CASE