help MAC’s “Kids in the Hive” thrive!

Welcome :)  Come collaborate with me!

What is *kids in the hive*?
*kids in the hive* is a YouTube Kids channel for 3-8 year olds. The goal of this channel is to produce media content that encourages play, love, and kindness in the world. It showcases videos that celebrate the vibrant life and spontaneity of childhood by showing real kids as they learn, as they play, as they make art, and as they have fun being themselves with others.

While the channel will be respectful of whole child development and will produce developmentally appropriate content,  the main focus of our videos will be on social-emotional skill building. We want our videos to help kids become stronger and more resilient in our challenging world. Alongside real kids, we will be spotlighting real adults as well as fictional characters that will encourage kids and model healthy behavior.

The video posted below is the first in a series (of hopefully many) that introduces the fictional Ranger Robin. This first series on hibernating animals will continue through 2021. Click on the video and join her as she walks through a beautiful Redwood forest, teaching about hibernating animals. Breathing deeply and being present, she models mindfulness and encourages healthy self-regulation based on animal behaviors. She also makes calls outside the forest to her friend Captain Al, who teaches real kids how to make fun animal sounds.



Hi, I’m MAC.
My name is MaryAnn Clark (aka MAC) and I created the *kids in the hive* YouTube Kids channel in 2020.  I currently live in Arcata, CA, surrounded by so much nature and beauty that I have to share!

My passion to create projects that encourage and empower kids is my superpower! I’ve worked with kids for over 20 years, teaching and mentoring kids of all ages in homes, classrooms, summer camps, and volunteer spaces. My educational background is in literature and video & film production, so I’m merging all my experiences and passions together to create videos for *kids in the hive*. I’m also currently taking Early Childhood Education classes to inform my writing as I create appropriate and helpful videos for kids.

As I create my videos—from idea to script to final edited video—it’s been my joy to collaborate with kids, parents, educators, psychologists, and artists. I’m excited to continue my collaborations and my plan is to film more with local kids, educators, and artists in my county.

Why a GoFundMe campaign?
I have more of a PBS-mindset, to be honest, and I do not want to commodify children by selling things in videos on my channel. That’s the main reason.
 
You might ask, “But MAC, doesn’t YouTube Kids puts ads on most of its videos?” And I would say, “Sadly, yes.” I think being on a platform that is so popular and easily accessible to all kids worldwide is worth the limited front-end ads right now as I build an audience. I would rather crowdfund and ask for donations to create more videos. Hence this campaign and my ask!

I am also currently pursuing a partnership with an arts nonprofit so that I can apply for grants in the future. I’m excited about this opportunity, because it can be another chance for collaboration and can also eventually lead to a sustainable model of funding for my video channel.

Why should you donate?
I need help right now to continue putting out positive, educational videos for young kids. I think content like this for young children spotlighting real kids & showing adults modeling healthy behavior (and not selling them anything) is important.  With your support & collaboration, I think some amazing videos will get out to kids! I will be using any money donated for compensation for collaborators, materials & props, equipment & graphic design costs, and payment for creator & crew as we make more videos.

Plans for future videos:
I'm planning to film more animal series videos with Ranger Robin. I'd also like to film videos around animal movements with a dancer. And I will begin working on a series of videos featuring asking kids about their thoughts & feelings around the Coronavirus. I’m interested to hear what young kids think and am excited to amplify real kids' voices through my channel.

If you can’t give monetarily, please share this campaign & the *kids in the hive* channel with parents and teachers you know—by word of mouth, social media, email, snail mail….all of the above! And please SUBSCRIBE to the channel [pro-tip: you must be signed into your Google account]. Any action you take will help so much and will be much appreciated <3

If you love this idea & have another way you’d like to help, please reach out to me.
Thank you for reading to the end!  Best, MAC