Welcome to the Adventures of Ash & Ollie!
The Adventures of Ash & Ollie is a rollicking buddy series for 3 to 6 year olds following the trials and tribulations of two young brothers, 7-year-old Ash and 4-year-old Ollie. In each episode, the brothers go on an outlandish, imaginary adventure, working out their problems along the way. Ash & Ollie takes kids on a journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary and back again.
Exploring soci-emotional issues with a healthy dose of irreverence and humor, each episode revolves around a prototypical parenting issue – sharing, screen time, going to bed, cleaning up, etc. Instead of being preachy, life lessons are suggested by the action inside the story, allowing kids to learn for themselves.
Meet the Brothers!
These two are quite the pair! Although their personalities may differ, they are brothers through and through, a fact not lost on them or their readers as each adventure unfolds.
Ash
Ash is seven-years-old. The more resposnsible and practical brother, Ash almost always follows the rules. He is levelheaded, thoughtful, and methodical – though with a dash of the theatrical.
Being older, Ash assumes an air of wisdom and knowledge. But sometimes, in the heat of the moment, his knowledge fails him, and he realizes he needs Ollie’s help.
Ollie
Five-years-old, Ollie lives for adventure, and his policy is ‘think first and ask questions later.’ Ollie loves to take risks and always pushes the envelope. In other words, he’s the younger brother!
Impetuous and free, Ollie lives to live out loud. He is almost never without his ‘treasure bag’ – collecting anything and everything of interest that he finds (he’s quite a hoarder). When it gets too heavy, he just asks Ash to carry it. If he needs a tool on an adventure, he just grabs for his treasure bag to find the perfect item!
ScreenTime!
Introducing the first ‘Ash & Ollie’ adventure – ‘ScreenTime’ – available now as an enhanced digital storybook for iOS and Android devices, made in association with our friends at Fingerprint Digital.
For iTunes link, click here
For Google Play link, click here
In ‘ScreenTime,’ Ash & Ollie just want to play (on their tablets and game players), and it’s up to their parents to set some rules and help them understand that the world isn’t just one big screen.
We’re excited to be part of the growing Fingerprint Play Network!
Ash has to finish his homework before ‘dreaming of app stores.’ ‘ScreenTime’ will make kids laugh while teaching them issues around managing screen time.
In ‘Screentime’, readers follow Ash & Ollie as they spend time on their screens. Then ‘ding!’ – the timer runs out – and the boys look forward to hooking up with ‘their own social network,’ called a play date.
Kids and Screens – Navigating Today’s Digital World
Kids are clamoring for the digital interface, at younger and younger ages and with a seemingly unquenchable thirst. Parents, conflicted themselves over their own increasing dependence on these devices, are often at odds on how to deal with this issue. How much time should children be spending in front of a screen? This is why we chose ‘ScreenTime’ as Ash & Ollie’s first adventure, and admittedly one of the reasons why we started yummico.
We’re parents who acknowledge the sometimes blurry and difficult issues surrounding screen usage by our kids. But we also believe that screens are an integral part of our lives, and with proper guidance we think our kids cannot only learn to use them responsibly but learn from them. We at yummico are dedicated to creating quality content for those screen-focused minutes, as well as provide preschoolers and their parents with information on healthy practices of digital use.
We want to start a conversation around these issues, and help you give your children the strategies, tools and encouragement they need to make their own healthy choices. Digital games and apps are another form of play, and when used responsibly, they can be extremely beneficial. Co-viewing, and in the case of Ash & Ollie, co-reading, is considered the best way to optimize learning. Our hope is that you and your kids will go on adventures together, by engaging with them on the subject, even playing some of their games. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to keep the conversation going.
There are countless resources available, as well as interesting studies about the prevalence of and potential benefits of screen usage amongst young children. The Center on Media and Childhood Health is a great resource for suggestions on how parents can manage their family’s media use (https://goo.gl/g7U3OQ). The Fred Rogers Center has a host of resources on how digital media can help young children learn (https://goo.gl/lDgQOK). And our friends at Commonsense Media have great resources on recommended kids media and recent research (https://goo.gl/CwozR0).
Ash & Ollie’s parents set up their own rules for managing screen time. While we believe every family should adapt their own systems to their liking, establishing structure around activities manages expectations and makes room for a well-rounded life. Some ideas for rules that appear in ‘ScreenTime’ are: setting daily time limits for play, allowing screen time only after homework and chores are done, keeping mealtime screen-free, and making time during long trips for screen time fun.
The Adventure of Ash & Ollie Activity Pages
Enjoy these activities with your kids, including your very own ScreenTime Rules chart, fun coloring pages and a downloadable maze!
First your very own ScreenTime Rules chart – simply print it out and write in the rules your family follows before screen time is switched on.
With the following downloadable coloring pages, kids can create their own game or app and draw what they look like when they’ve had too much screen time.
Finally, here’s a downloadable maze to get from screen time to play time!
