If you’re a St. Louis parent, you know the drill. You turn on the TV for your little one, and what you get is a blast of flashing colors, jump cuts, and noise cranked to eleven. A Wildwood grandmother noticed the same thing when she started hunting for calmer shows to watch with her grandkids — so she did something about it and made her own.
Stacy Rolfe, better known around these parts as Nana, has launched Nana’s Place, a live-action children’s series filmed right at her R&R Ranch Miniature Horse Sanctuary in Wildwood. All eight episodes of season one are out now on YouTube, and families can find more at watchnanasplace.com. It’s built around real animals, unhurried storytelling, and simple lessons in kindness.
“I’m old school. If you don’t like what’s out there, do something about it,” Rolfe says. “And so, here I am.”
Slowing down on purpose
Forget the quick cuts and nonstop sound effects. Nana wanders the ranch, visits the animals, explores nature, reads stories, and asks the kind of questions that give young brains time to actually think. Sometimes that means watching a horse graze. Other times it’s listening to birds, crunching through fallen leaves, or just sitting by a creek while the water runs.
“Not everything has to be filled with talking,” she says.
Those quiet stretches are the whole point. She might wonder aloud whether a horse enjoys being outside, or why some animals prefer a quieter spot — giving preschoolers and early elementary kids a beat to consider the answer and connect it to their own lives. Grown-ups, she says, have told her they watch it to wind down too. Fair enough — who couldn’t use a little less noise?
The real stars have four legs (and sometimes fur of a different kind)
The scene-stealers of Nana’s Place aren’t actors. They’re the residents of R&R Ranch, a nonprofit that gives rescued miniature horses and donkeys lifelong care — several of them with physical differences or special needs. Their personalities are the heart of the show.
There’s Martha, a dwarf miniature horse who needs some extra care; Milton, a miniature donkey who likes his peace and quiet; and Handsome, Nana’s golden retriever, who pops up in every episode. Tansy helps introduce kids to horse colors and grooming, and Franklin the rabbit makes an appearance too.
The animals double as natural teachers. When Nana introduces Bernard, a horse who likes calm interactions, she asks viewers if they know someone who’d rather stay in with a book or a puzzle than play kickball outside. “That’s Bernard,” she tells them. “He likes to have quiet conversation.” And then there’s Ted, a mischievous young horse who has been known to crash a scene and send the herd scattering. Instead of reshooting, Nana rolls with it — because real life doesn’t have a director yelling cut.
The message lands hard at a sanctuary that cares for five dwarf horses, and Rolfe has seen visitors light up when they recognize a little of themselves in the animals. “It’s OK if you’re different,” she says. “We love these horses, no matter what their abilities are.”
Kindness homework
Nana wants the lessons to stick around after the episode ends, so a Kindness Curriculum is in the works — hands-on activities, coloring sheets, sidewalk chalk drawings, and projects inspired by ranch life for families and classrooms. One episode introduces the word flaxen while meeting Tansy, a palomino horse; another gets kids drawing horses in chalk. Worksheets and classroom resources are part of the plan too.
She’s also hoping the show will nudge kids back toward some old-school pleasures: climbing trees, building forts, riding bikes, writing letters to friends. “We’re not the Chromebook that’s in schools these days,” she says. “We’re pen and paper.”
Where Nana goes from here
Rolfe is already dreaming bigger. Channeling the field trips she loved on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, she wants to take the show out into the St. Louis community — maybe a recycling center so kids can see where their bin goes, or a bakery to watch doughnuts come to life. “I think that there’s a lot to complement the Kindness Curriculum with learning about how this world actually works,” she says.
The series builds on the outreach she and her husband already do through the ranch, which hosts family-friendly events all year — an Easter egg hunt, a Halloween trick-or-treat parade, and a holiday open house. As the show grows, she’s hoping to line up sponsors to support production. For now, she’s enjoying hearing which animals kids have claimed as favorites, from Handsome to the minis.
“There’s just so much that I think kids are honestly missing out on,” she says. “And I’d like to help them be exposed to it, all the good stuff.”
