As with many parents, Kayla and Justin Snyder of Fennimore often struggle with balancing their three children’s (Aliana, Michael, and Matthew) screen time with real world/outdoor play.
“Their bodies need to move and we (parents in general) struggle with getting the kids out of the house and away from their screens,” Kayla explained.
“As parents, we see the pull of screens every day. We encourage our kids to get outside, move, and connect with the world around them because we know how important it is,” Justin said “We wanted to create
Something that would not just inspire our own kids, but families everywhere.”
So Kayla and Justin began creating a children's book series, Don’t Leave Your Body Behind, to cover that very topic, with Justin as the author and Kayla as the illustrator.
The series was designed to remind young readers that their bodies matter, their words have power, and their feelings are valid. Research shows that today’s children spend twice as much time looking at screens as they do playing outside—a trend that affects their physical health, mental wellness, and emotional growth.
The books’ creation began a little over a year ago, but the publishing of them began when Kayla and Justin became involved with the online community, The Purpose Pusher Academy, a “culturally responsive professional learning platform offering virtual courses designed to equip and empower educators and other adults working with children in the K-12 setting,” according to the academy’s website.
Now having tools and resources more available to them, Kayla and Justin first two books of the series, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” and “Kay’s Garden of Words: The Power of Positive Affirmations” were released last month.
According to the Snyders, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” tells the story of a boy who rediscovers the joy of outdoor play after losing himself in screens and boredom.
While, “Kay’s Garden of Words: The Power of Positive Affirmations” follows a young girl who learns that speaking kind, powerful words can change her world from the inside out.
Each story is paired with a matching coloring and activity book to help families engage even more deeply with the lessons through creativity and play.
“We live this every day with our own three kids. In a world pulling kids toward screens and negativity, we believe in pulling them back to their bodies, their hearts, and their dreams. We want children to know and
understand that your body matters, your words have power, and your feelings are valid. You are growing into
something beautiful—one thought, one feeling, and one brave step at a time,” Kayla stated.
The “ever growing series” as Kayla described it, has a third book in the works covering emotions and coping/self soothing skills.
The “book business” isn’t just limited to Kayla and Justin, as their eight year old Matthew, has a coloring book published entitled, “The Mattastic World of Monster Affirmations,” which Amazon describes as “Join Matthew’s cheerful, quirky monster friends in a magical world filled with fun and uplifting affirmations. This coloring book is packed with adorable cartoon monsters teaching kids the power of positivity, self-confidence, and kindness.”
11 year old Michael also is currently building t-shirt designs through the family’s website.
“We always wanted something we could do together as a family,” Kayla explained. “This is our ‘big family thing’ that helps us and our children fulfill their dreams.”
The Don’t Leave Your Body Behind series, as well as Matthew’s coloring book is available on Amazon and featured on the family’s website, www.kayluvsjay.com.
The Snyder’s “big family thing” was been doing well on Amazon as recently, “The Day Jay Found His Body Again” was a number one best seller on Amazon in two categories: children’s books and fitness.
“Jay’s Backyard Adventures Coloring and Activity Book” sat at number 16, and “Kay’s Garden of Words” coloring book was ranked number two in cut and assemble”, and the storybook version was at number 35 in children’s inspirational.
