*Please note, I am not currently updating the blog or accepting guest posts. Nevertheless, I hope you will find the past resource posts interesting and helpful.
Hi friends! We are nearing the end of summer, but still have a couple of weeks left to pack in some fun activities. Hope you enjoy Enriched Family’s August Activities List and use it to plan some exciting family adventures before we shift back into school mode. And don’t worry, I’ll have information and resources coming your way soon for the school transition…keep your eyes on the blog!
Read MoreLast summer I did a blog post on Boredom Busters to give parents some additional summer engagement ideas for their kids. As it was well received, I thought I would do a Part II this summer. Entering the tail end of July, I have definitely started to hear more of a chorus of: “Mom, I’m bored.” And when my kids are bored, they tend to get cranky and more prone to poor choices and behaviors. To help support them and my mental sanity, I made a new list of Boredom Busters. Below is the list of ideas I created for my family; I hope it is helpful to yours as well. As always, take what seems like it will work for your unique family, modify as needed, and forget the rest. While most of these ideas require some degree of parental involvement, many of the steps can be done independently once you set your kids up for the activity.
Read MoreHi friends! Hope you have eased into the summer and have enjoyed some lazy days with popsicles, reading, and water fun. As always, I hope you find Enriched Family’s July Activities List helpful and use it to plan some exciting family adventures! First, check out the highlighted resource - Brightly - a great tool to help you find engaging books for all interests/ages and keep your kids reading all summer long! This month, free activities in Austin include the Austin Symphony Children’s Day Art Park at the Austin Central Library and the Symphony’s free Concerts in the Park; you could learn Bollywood Dance at Rhythm on Stage at the Long Center; take your 5th-8th grader to the Institute of Transportation Engineers STEM Activity Day; enjoy an outdoor musical at the Zilker Theater (Little Mermaid) or check out a movie in the park; explore The Thinkery on Community Night! or participate in UMLAUF Sculpture Family Day. For a small fee, you can check out the Woodland Faerie Trail at Zilker Botanical Gardens. This is a real treat, especially for younger children. There are also some wonderful fee-based film festivals, some family art programs at the Blanton Art Museum (free with museum admission), as well as a number of children’s theater performances. And so much more!
Read MoreHey friends! Hope your summer is getting off to a great start. As promised, I have rounded up some fun activities for families road tripping to Houston. I’ve also created a list of great podcasts for kids to help make your trip(s) more pleasant. Enjoy! If you missed our last post on San Antonio, check it out here.
Read MoreHi friends! Hope the end of the school year came to a happy close for you and yours. I am so excited about the summer schedule being more chill. I am also looking forward to some fun in the sun and family explorations in Austin. Hope you enjoy Enriched Family’s June 2019 Activities list and use it to plan some exciting family adventures!
Read MoreI am dreaming about a vacation. I would love to go to a beach somewhere tropical, but given all.the.things, I think a short-ish Texas road trip is more realistic. So, I have rounded up a Texas family road trip idea and stuff to do, destination: San Antonio. Stay tuned for a future post on Houston. I’ve also created a couple of favorite kids’ podcasts lists (ages 5+ and under 5) to make your trip(s) more pleasant. Enjoy!
Read MoreHi, friends! How is it already May?! There are lots of interesting and educational events to look forward to this month. First, check out the highlighted resource below - a free, online Positive Parenting conference! In addition, as we are nearing summer break, I have included a couple of camp open houses. As always, this month’s list includes lots of free activities: Movies in the Park, the Festival For Good, numerous events at the Asian American Resource Center in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, a Cinco de Mayo Community Fiesta, a Youth Arts Fest, a Family App Development Workshop, a South Austin Family Fun Day, a Teen Summit, UMLAUF Sculpture Family Day, and the Violet Crown Festival. There are also a variety of fee-based educational, cultural, and artistic opportunities to enjoy with your families. Have fun planning and exploring with Enriched Family’s May 2019 Activities List! Please consider sharing it with your friends.
Read MoreIn this post I talk about the KonMari effect creating a decluttering and organizing craze in the U.S., discuss my approach to organizing, and I highlight some family organizing tips and strategies that I have found particularly useful at various life stages for our family and the families with whom I work.
Read MoreThis is the fourth and final post in a series Enriched Family does annually on summer camps in the Austin area. Previous posts focused on science, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)/STEAM (STEM + art), and coding camps, as well as arts camps, including visual art, creative writing, dance, drama/theater, film, music, and arts combinations for all ages, and sports camps, including baseball, basketball, climbing, golf, gymnastics, horseback riding, martial arts, multi-sport, and soccer camps. Check them out if you missed them! This week's post focuses on day camps, some specialty camps, and overnight camps. When I think of day camps, I think of a "classic" camp experience - all around fun, incorporating different structured activities, as well as lots of outdoor activities, and plenty of unstructured time for fun - the camps included in this post were selected based on their fit with this camp definition. Overnight camps included meet the day camp definition and have the added benefit of being sleep away camps. Specialty camps focus on a particular area or support specific groups of kids (girls’ empowerment, for example, or camps that focus specifically on programming for children with disabilities).
Read MoreThis is the third in a series of posts Enriched Family does annually on summer camps in the Austin area. Previous posts focused on science, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)/STEAM (STEM + art), and coding camps, as well as arts camps, including visual art, creative writing, dance, drama/theater, film, music, and arts combinations for all ages. Check them out if you missed them! This week's post focuses on a variety of sports camps, including baseball, basketball, climbing, golf, gymnastics, horseback riding, martial arts, multi-sport, and soccer camps. The next and final installment in this series will focus on all-around day camps and overnight camps. Watch the Enriched Family blog!
Read MoreHey y’all. I wrote a guest blog post for Alt Ed Austin, a great local organization which provides information and consultation services on Alternative Education resources in and around Austin. The guest blog post focuses on summer engagement ideas for teens. Here is a snippet:
In my work with families, I often hear how difficult it is for parents to ensure that their teenagers are engaged over the summer break. Many parents have pointed out that it is hard to find camps whose programming is tailored to this age group, and often teens think of camps as being for “little kids” and are therefore resistant to attending. In this brief article, I focus on several local summer teen engagement resources, including camps that offer Counselor-in-Training (CIT) programs, as well as suggestions for volunteer, internship, and job opportunities…
Read MoreI want to share a free resource that may be helpful to your family, a friend's family, or to the families you work with: The Happy Child Summit presented by GoZen! | Live Happy | and Engaging Education & Events. The Happy Child Summit builds on the science of positive psychology, helps you understand the latest research and gives you the practical tools that you can use and pass on. Experts will be discussing how you can help your children live happier, more fulfilling lives through the following themes: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement, Health & Vitality. Watch 20 experts offer advice, strategies, practical ideas and coping skills for your child and you!
Read MoreHi, friends! Spring is finally here in Austin. April is looking like a fun and engaging month — lots of free educational, arts, and cultural activities, as well as several camp open houses, a community health fair, and a children’s business fair. There are also quite a few activities this weekend - the end of March - including the Kite Festival, the Blanton Block Party, the Texas Night Sky Festival, and Honk!TX to name a few! Scan the list quickly to find those so you don’t miss out. Hope you enjoy Enriched Family’s April 2019 Activities List!
Read MoreParents, it is that crazy time of year when we figure out the summer plan. Camps are already registering students and starting to fill up. In an effort to make your life easier, Enriched Family is doing our annual series of posts highlighting different types of summer camps in the Austin area. The first post was on arts camps, including visual art, creative writing, dance, drama/theater, film, music, and arts combinations for all ages. Today's post focuses on Science, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)/STEAM (STEM + art), and coding camps! The next post in the series will feature sports summer camps.
Read MoreThis is the first in a series of posts I will be doing over the next few weeks focusing on summer camps in the Austin area. Today's post features arts-based camps, including visual art, creative writing, dance, drama/theater, film, music, and arts combinations for all ages. Next week's post will be devoted to Science and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) camps.
Read MoreHi, friends! March is looking like another entertaining and educational month in Austin. This month’s post includes lots of free educational, arts, and cultural activities, as well as a career fair, college fair, and camp fairs/open houses. Look for information on the Austin Rodeo and the Sherwood Forest Faire… as well as a variety of family-friendly dance, theater, and music performances (please note age recommendations). Hope you enjoy!
Read MoreI don’t know about you, but I am getting bored of our usual recipes and need some new cooking inspiration. When I was looking around for recipes, it occurred to me that it has been a while since I did a weeknight meal recipe roundup for the blog, so here you go! These recipes are perfect for weeknight dinners as they can be made in 30 minutes or less (active time). As I am vegetarian, I have included quite a few recipes that I have been eyeing, but there are also plenty of options for you omnivores. Check out the recipes & hope you enjoy!
Read MoreYep. Spring Break 2019 is only five weeks away! In an effort to make your life easier, I have compiled a list of camps offering sessions the week of March 18-22, 2019. While the list is not exhaustive, it provides quite a variety of options. I have focused in particular on including camps in different areas in or near Austin, with a variety of price points, and on full-day camps as much as possible, in addition to providing some options for little ones.
Read MoreHi, friends! February is looking like a fun and educational month in Austin. This month’s post includes lots of STEM activities, a camp fair, and a Black History Month Kid’s Day, as well as parenting support groups, cultural activities, and performances. Hope you enjoy Enriched Family’s February 2019 Activities List!
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