Testimonials
Professional Reviews of Growing Memories:
A Musical Audio Circle Story of Love, Loss, and Resilience
It was a pleasure experiencing the first chapter of Growing Memories. The story and language is simple yet thoughtful. The illustrations, music and sounds add a gentle tone while activating the imagination and enhancing engagement. The story is touching and beautifully put together.
This digital storybook provides adults with a practical framework for supporting children in understanding death and emotional responses to loss. The use of story, illustration, and music, connected to the world around them, creates a meaningful and engaging learning experience. There is an overall sense of calmness consistent throughout the chapter. The child-appropriate and thoughtful prompts encourage emotional expression, reflection, and learning. This is a gentle, compassionate, and valuable resource for adults supporting children.
Thank you for sharing your work, and for all the effort you put into creating a resource for children and the adults supporting them.
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Reviewed by:
Ami Armagost, MSW, RSW
Grief Therapist
AWC Grief Support
She/her
ami@awcgrief.com
www.awcgrief.com
Testimonial
Thank you for sharing this wonderful resource with me. I really appreciated the thoughtful flow of this resource. The lessons build naturally on one another, and the content feels very relevant and meaningful for children who are grieving. I especially valued how it incorporates learning from both students and educators. The inclusion of grief literacy and bullying also really resonated with me, as these are areas we encounter often in our work. I’m looking forward to exploring this resource more deeply over time and seeing how it can continue to support children and educators.
Reviewed by:
Ally de Ruiter
The Nightingale Centre
Ally de Ruiter is the Grow in Grief (GiG) Family Counsellor at The Nightingale Centre in Guelph, Ontario. She has more than 10 years of experience in grief and bereavement, working with children, youth, caregivers, and professionals in homes, schools, and community settings.
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Certified Child Life Specialist
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Early Childhood Educator
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Degree in Children’s Studies and Advocacy
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Master’s in Education
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Professor in the Early Childhood Education program at Conestoga College
Community Circles
A Circle of Love, Loss & Connection
Growing Memories Community Circles provide children ages 5–8
and their caring adults with a gentle, developmentally appropriate opportunity to explore love, loss, memories, feelings, change and connection through story, music, nature and circle-based reflection.
Facilitated Musical Storytelling Circles with Laurel O’Cleary
Online virtual circles or In-Person
Live online facilitation by Laurel O’Cleary, RECE, Author & Creator of Growing Memories
Designed for children ages 5–8 with their caring adults
Includes selected Growing Memories story, music, reflection, nature connection and/or memory-making activities
Participation and sharing are always optional
Growing Memories invites children and caring adults into a shared space where grief stories can be heard
Making Space for
Every Experience
Growing Memories recognizes that children experience loss in many different ways.
A child may be grieving the death of someone they love, the loss of a beloved pet, a change in family life, separation, friendship changes, illness, moving home, or another significant transition.
The Circle does not assume there is one way to grieve.
Instead, children are gently supported to discover that every feeling belongs, everyone experiences grief differently, and they do not have to navigate difficult feelings alone.
Some topics may be difficult or unexpected. Caring adults do not need to have all the answers. When something feels difficult to navigate, they can acknowledge this and let the child know that they can find the answers together and connect the child with appropriate support and community resources outside the Circle.
Growing Memories
Community Circles
Gentle Circles for Children
& Caring Adults
Growing Memories Community Circles offer children ages 5–8 and their caring adults a gentle, developmentally appropriate space to explore love, loss, memories, feelings, change and connection.
Through story, music, nature, movement and circle-based reflection, children are invited to explore feelings, share memories and discover ways of understanding change and loss—at their own pace and in their own way.
A Circle of Story of
Music
& Empathetic Connection
At the heart of each Circle is the Growing Memories musical storytelling experience.
Live storytelling, original music, seasonal nature soundscapes and the natural world come together to create a warm and imaginative space where children can explore experiences that can sometimes be difficult to put into words.
Story creates a doorway.
Music gives feelings another way to be expressed.
Nature offers gentle metaphors for change, loss and renewal.
Circle creates a sense of belonging.
What Happens in a
Growing Memories Circle?
Each Circle follows a gentle rhythm, offering children a predictable and welcoming beginning, a shared experience, and a calm closing.
Children may be invited to:
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Listen to a story and explore its characters and themes
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Notice and name feelings
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Share memories, thoughts or questions—or simply listen
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Sing songs and explore rhythm and movement
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Connect with seasonal and nature-based imagery
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Take part in simple breathing, mindfulness or grounding activities
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Express themselves through creative reflection
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Discover ways to support themselves and others through change and loss
There is no pressure to share. Children can participate through listening, movement, music, drawing, nature, conversation—or simply being part of the circle.
A Circle for Children & Their Caring Adults
Growing Memories brings children and caring adults into a shared experience of listening, reflection and connection.
Caring adults are invited to participate alongside their child, creating opportunities for conversations that can continue beyond the Circle.
Together, families can discover simple, creative ways to talk about memories, feelings, change and loss—without needing to have all the answers.
A Gentle Framework
Growing Memories is grounded in principles of belonging, emotional safety, grief literacy, social-emotional learning and connection with nature.
The approach is trauma-informed and honours each child's individual experience, culture, family, feelings and way of responding.
The goal is not to tell children how they should grieve.
It is to create a space where they can feel, wonder, remember, express and connect.