summer vacation

Our First Theme Park Survival Guide

| Patti Webb

Growing up in Florida, Troy and I would go to Disney at least once a year for school field trips. Gradually, that grew to loving roller coasters, fandoms, drinking around the world, and staying in the parks late at night. We were always with friends, had very little cash, and ended up passing out on the ride home.

Making a big to-do about Disney World was never a thing for our families. But, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to navigate Disney with the girls, knowing that it is probably worth it to do one big magical trip to Florida while they are still little princesses.

So for this year’s Spring Break, we decided to give them an amuse bouche while we were in California. In addition to Joshua Tree, Carlsbad, and sightseeing around LA, we took the girls to Universal Studios Hollywood. They are on the fifth Harry Potter book. Super Mario Galaxy just came out. Z just got over 42 inches tall. It seemed like the best time to test the waters.

  • Screenshot
Continue reading →

Summer To-Do List: 2025

| Patti Webb

Happy Last Day of School (for us, at least)!

Since I loved our Summer To-Do List lessons from last year, we’re doing it again. Each summer as our kids get older, they become more and more capable. I also feel more and more determined as a parent to stretch their comfort zones. Both Mary and I have something new up our sleeves for our kids this summer.

Continue reading →

Smart Summer: Reducing Summer Slide

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s the last week of school!!! We’ve been making plans all season to make it an enjoyable and fun summer, but we’re also plotting ways to reduce that summer slide. So here’s a collection of books, apps, and activities to keep kiddos (ages 3-10) sharp for the next school year.

Continue reading →

Summer To-Do List

| Patti Webb

On Pinterest and Insta, I’ve seen a lot of posts on summer to-do lists. You know, make s’mores, go to the beach, have a barbecue, etc. This is a far cry from my typical summer growing up, which was mostly sitting around while my parents worked or just being parked in front of the tv and out of the way. While summer was great because you didn’t have to go to school, it also meant being lonely and bored most of the time.

In June and July for a working parent, you have to figure out some sort of childcare. For a SAHP, you have to be cruise director all day for two solid months. Not to mention, fending off Summer Slide. I can see why parents really hate extended summer break because the school year has so much more workable structure.

Just like holidays, it really is up to us parents to make summer fun. So with that in mind, here are Mary’s and my summer to-do lists.

Continue reading →

Summer Slide

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

No more pencils, no more books...

For us in Georgia, it’s the last week of school. While our teachers are trying to get ahead of summer learning loss, only 48% of parents have heard of it. So what is it and should parents honestly worry about it?

Summer learning loss (aka summer slide or summer brain drain) is forgetting key information and/or academic skills previously mastered during the seasonal break. It’s most common in the US and Canada since we have lengthier summer recesses compared to other countries. So, while our kids soak up the sun, sleep in, and go on adventures, their education routine takes a back seat. Studies show that an average student loses 17-34% of their prior year’s academic gains over the summer. Kids who fall behind one summer are likely to widen that gap as more time goes on.

Continue reading →