When I created What's Poppin' Penny?, I wasn't thinking about awards or download numbers. I wasn't imagining where this little podcast might one day go. I was thinking about children. I was thinking about the little ones who wake up with big feelings they don't yet have words for, and the parents, teachers, grandparents, and caregivers doing everything they can to help them navigate those feelings with love.

That's who Penny was always for.

Over the years, I've been incredibly blessed to watch this little show find its way into homes, classrooms, and hearts across the country. Every message from a parent, every note from a teacher, and every child who asks for just one more episode reminds me why this work matters so much. Those moments have filled my heart in ways I never expected.

But as the podcast has grown, one thought has stayed with me.

If What's Poppin' Penny? is truly about belonging, then every child should be able to experience it. The truth is, I built this show through sound, and not every family experiences stories in the same way.

As a former preschool teacher, I've spent decades watching children discover who they are. One lesson has remained constant throughout my life. When a child feels seen, something inside them opens. They become more confident, more curious, and more willing to connect with the world around them. Every child deserves that feeling, including Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.

That realization has led me to dream about the next chapter for What's Poppin' Penny: bringing Penny's adventures to YouTube through American Sign Language (ASL).

For many people, accessibility begins and ends with captions. Captions are important, and transcripts are incredibly valuable. But a story told in ASL is something entirely different. It isn't simply translated. It's experienced in a child's own language. It's an invitation that says, "You belong here, too."

One statistic stopped me in my tracks. Nearly 90 percent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents. That means millions of families are learning a new language together while also helping their children navigate friendship, confidence, disappointment, kindness, and courage. Those are the very conversations What's Poppin' Penny? was created to support.

I picture hearing parents learning signs alongside their child as they watch Penny's adventures together. I picture teachers in Deaf education classrooms using the episodes during social-emotional learning lessons. I picture grandparents who have lost their hearing sharing these stories with their grandchildren. I picture Children of Deaf Adults growing up with a show that naturally speaks the language of their home.

The more I imagined those families, the more this felt less like an expansion and more like the continuation of the mission I've had from the very beginning.

The heart of What's Poppin' Penny? has never been the podcast itself. The heart has always been connection. Whether Penny is helping a Brownstone Buddy name a feeling, repair a friendship, or find the courage to try again, the goal has always been the same: helping children develop the emotional tools they'll carry with them for the rest of their lives.

I often say that child development is human development because I truly believe it. The empathy, resilience, confidence, and self-awareness we nurture in children don't disappear when they grow up. Those qualities shape the adults they become, the relationships they build, and the communities they help create. Supporting children has always been about building a better future for all of us.

I'm incredibly grateful that What's Poppin' Penny? has been recognized by Common Sense Media, the Communicator Awards, and the Black Podcasting Awards. Those honors are deeply meaningful because they affirm something I've always hoped was true: that stories rooted in kindness, emotional growth, and authentic representation matter.

Still, the greatest accomplishment won't be another award.

It will be knowing that one more child feels included.

One more family feels welcomed.

One more teacher has a resource that helps children understand themselves and each other.

That's what success looks like to me.

If these ASL episodes become a reality, each one will be brought to life by a Deaf storyteller or a certified ASL interpreter who can capture not only Penny's words, but also her warmth, humor, imagination, and heart. Alongside closed captions, the episodes would create a place where Deaf children, hearing families, educators, and ASL learners can all gather around the same stories together.

Because What's Poppin' Penny? has never been just a podcast.

It's a promise.

A promise that every child's feelings matter.

Every family's story deserves to be shared.

And every Brownstone Buddy belongs.

I can't wait to open the brownstone door a little wider.

With love,

Toni Kennedy

Grandma, former preschool teacher, and creator of What's Poppin' Penny?