River & Ember Toolkit
River & Ember is a seasonal offering for families, designed to gently support children’s emotional rhythm through story, ritual, and art.
Created by a mother with a PhD in psychology and co-crafted with her daughter, each toolkit invites parents into meaningful connection with their children. The stories nurture emotional expression, the rituals ground families in shared rhythm, and the art creates a space for freedom and originality.
Spring 2026
Every season includes a story that gently externalizes and normalizes emotions, helping children see their feelings as part of life’s natural rhythm.
Seasonal Story
Family Rituals
Ritual practices help families slow down together — lighting candles, placing stones, whispering to the wind — simple acts that anchor emotional rhythm in daily life.
Imagine That: Original Art, Outside the Lines
Each toolkit includes a space we call Imagine That — a name my daughter dreamed up herself. I gave her all the options, explained the heart of this space, and this was the one she created. That, too, is the legacy: children imagining freely, naming boldly, and creating without constraint.
Inside Imagine That, you’ll find her original artwork — unapologetically childlike, often spilling outside the lines. This is intentional. It models what River & Ember is built on: that creativity is about originality, not perfection.
Parents are guided to share her art with their child, not as an instruction but as an invitation:
“Here’s how she saw gratitude. How would you draw it?”
“She didn’t try to get it ‘right.’ What does it look like for you?”
Children are encouraged to respond in their own way — with scribbles, swirls, symbols, or stories. Imagine That becomes a living model of the legacy we’re honoring: freedom, authenticity, and courage.
Drawn by my daughter: a mother and child walking together by the river, guided by a floating lantern ahead.
Gentle prompts help parents step into attunement and co-regulation, noticing their child’s inner world and responding with presence.
Parent Reflections
Launching Spring 2026, River & Ember will invite families everywhere to slow down, even for just five minutes — to share story, ritual, art, and the warmth of presence.
A Lantern to Light the Way
Begin the journey with a free story snippet and family ritual from River & Ember — a first glimpse of the seasonal toolkits to come.
If this speaks to you, we’d love to keep you close as River & Ember grows.
Every River & Ember story tends more than one flame.
A portion of proceeds will help light the way for young artists through The Malcolm-Jamal Warner Creative Legacy Fund.
