PediatricDigest

Thursday, 30 April 2026

💻 tech & tiny creatures 🐸

April 2026 Newsletter

Hi read,

April just flew by! I hope you all are getting outdoors a lot with your kids and enjoying the spring weather. 🌷

📄 Recommended Resource:

A friend recently introduced me to the Daylight computer. It is a new kind of tablet that does not expose the eyes and brain to blue light. It also can be easily used outside due to the unique screen that is not backlit. It has completely eliminated the eye strain I always feel at the end of a long work day on my laptop! I was so impressed that I emailed them and asked for a discount code to share with all of you parents, because I know you're concerned about the amount of screen time that your children get in a day at school and relaxing at home. The Daylight Kids computer is a great option. You can use code OUTDOORKIDS to get $50 off. (We don't make anything when you buy- this is just a discount for you.) If you get one, have your kid to go outside and get some vitamin D in the sun while using it. 😎

🌳 OKOT Story & Service Updates

In clinic settings, occupational therapists do a LOT of intentional activities to try to give children “multi-sensory” experiences. But outdoors, this happens so naturally. Kids have a way of finding small creatures when we're out in the woods! Last summer there was a day when the kids found SO MANY creatures! There were bugs, a variety of frogs, and this tiny mouse. Being with these small creatures taught the kids body awareness, motor control, and empathy for living things in a natural way that could never have happened in an indoor setting (where these sensory experiences would have had to be manufactured in some way.) We love nature-based therapy! 😊

Service Updates:

FALL SERVICES ARE NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT! Apply now to secure your ideal times/dates.

You can check out our current 1:1 outdoor OT services here.

You can check out our current outdoor OT group services here.

You can register your child for SUMMER CAMP here. There are a few spots left! (Dates/locations/ages are below for ease of reference.)

Cheers,

Laura Park Figueroa

Founder, OKOT

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

For ease of reference, here are all of the camp dates & locations (with age ranges):

WISCONSIN

June 15-19 Token Creek (Ages 4-7)

June 29-July 3 Glen Oak Hills (7-10)

July 6-10 Glen Oak Hills (4-7)

July 13-17 Token Creek (7-10)

July 20-24 Glen Oak Hills (4-7)

July 27-31 Token Creek (7-10)

Aug 3-7 Glen Oak Hills (7-10)

Aug 10-14 Token Creek (4-7)

SAN FRANCISCO

June 8-12 Presidio (Ages 4-7)

June 15-19 Presidio (7-10); McLaren (4-7)

June 22-26 Presidio (7-10); McLaren (7-10)

June 29-July 3 Presidio (4-7)

July 6-10 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10)

July 13-17 Presidio (7-10); McLaren (4-7)

July 20-24 Presidio (4-7); McLaren (7-10)

July 27-31 Presidio (7-10); McLaren (4-7)

EAST BAY

June 8-12 Joaquin Miller (Ages 7-10)

June 15-19 Joaquin Miller (7-10)

June 22-26 Joaquin Miller (4-7)

June 29-July 3 Tilden (7-10)

July 6-10 Joaquin Miller (4-7 & 7-10)

July 13-17 Joaquin Miller (7-10 & 7-10)

July 20-24 Joaquin Miller (4-7 & 4-7)

July 27-31 Tilden (4-7)

2930 Domingo Avenue #1092
Berkeley, California 94705, USA

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Latest from Food Politics: Cell-based chocolate? Oh, why not.

By Marion Nestle

April 30 2026

Cell-based chocolate? Oh, why not.

I am not usually a fan of techno foods, but I have to admit: this one might have possibilities.

World’s first cell-based chocolate bar developed with Mondelēz: The first-ever milk chocolate bars made with cell-cultivated cocoa butter have been produced… Read more

Here’s how this works:

Celleste Bio uses cell suspension culture technology to produce cocoa butter in the lab, generating enough chocolate‑grade ingredient from a single cocoa bean to make chocolate bars. To produce cell‑based cocoa butter, Celleste Bio takes a cocoa bean, opens it and places it in a Petri dish. Once cells begin to grow, they are extracted and fermented with water, sugar and vitamins, allowing biomass to develop. This biomass is then harvested and processed to create cocoa butter.

But if the taste and texture are good enough, this could address the problems currently faced by the chocolate industry in production, supply, human rights, labor, deforestation, and climate-change issues.

But alas, this intriguing technology is still in development. It can produce a few prototype chocolate bars but is nowhere near scaling up to commercialize.

If it works, I might have to change my mind about techno foods.

The post Cell-based chocolate? Oh, why not. appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle

Now Available: What to Eat Now

My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out!

It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously.

For more information and to order, click here.

You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs.