The Lyrids Meteor Shower April 21 and April 22 There is something magical about a shooting star that seems to quicken the pulse and fill you with a sense of wonder. Unfortunately, in order to actually see them you have to be up at night. You might be surprised how memorable it is for kids (even teenagers) to lay under …
Taking Teens on a High Risk Spring Break
Any time you take teens on a Spring Break where there is at least one other teenager, it qualifies for a high risk Spring Break. Imagine how bad it can get when there are a bunch of teenagers and college kids crammed on a beach, snowboarding down the slopes or wake boarding on the lake. So does that mean you …
A Walk in the Park
Spring arrives this month but the weather is still unpredictable making walking in real Nature potentially muddy and messy. Luckily, every city has parks where walkways are paved and Nature is corralled in flower beds and tended as well manicured lawns. It is easy to pack everyone up and spend a couple of hours just walking around. Here in Nashville, …
Families that Cook Together . . . stick together like overcooked pasta
There are lots of different things you can do as a family. One activity that can be fun while benefiting your kids is cooking together as a family. It can be a risk to put all the family together in small space, light fires and give them knives but the benefits (in most cases) will outweigh the risks. Cooking together …
Fall Creek Falls
You know how I am about suggesting families get out of the house and do something together that has the lowest probability of conflict and the highest probability of something memorable (meaning enjoyable) happening. Nature is perfect for this kind of thing. Day trips to public areas are affordable on even the most limited budgets. Just got back from spending …
Encouraging Adolescent Career Interests
I spent some time with parents from Harvest Hands during our monthly parent discussion group talking about things parents can do to encourage their kid to be aware of and examine a wide range of possible career options. In between making kids pick up after themselves and breaking up sibling arguments, parents also need to help kids develop into happy, …
Family Day Trips and Tennessee’s Fiery Gizzard
I just got back from a weekend spent in Monteagle, Tennessee. Monteagle is a town located on the top (elev. 1923 ft) of the Cumberland plateau in middle Tennessee. It is a great little college town (home to Sewannee, The University of the South, an excellent small, private, Episcopal university). Right outside of town is one of the trail heads …