Tag: Kids

3 Ways You Can Prepare Your Preschooler for College

On By Lauren FortenberryIn Education4 Comments

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When is the best time to prepare your child for college?

Today.

If you are parenting young children, you have an incredible gift: time. There is still time to read. There is still time to play. There is still time to develop a healthy emotional, social, and diverse learning environment for your little person.

And, perhaps best of all, there is still time to save for college. 

From the halls of higher education, I glean insights daily from those students who successfully made the leap – including what their parents did or didn’t do.

Here are 3 ways you can prepare your preschooler for college:

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The Great American Family Road Trip [2017]: Days 11-13

On By Lauren FortenberryIn Travel8 Comments

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“Do you want to stay or leave?”

It’s a question with no right answer, but it comes up often in our marriage.

Several weeks ago, my husband and I decided to make our last overnight stop a short stay in Mississippi with his family. But our daughter’s diagnosis of hand, foot, and mouth in Colorado changed everything.

We desperately needed a day outside of the car.

But, if we stayed longer than originally planned, could we drive from Mississippi to Georgia in one day in time to make our kids’ preschool open house at 7 p.m. the next day?

This would be the challenge on the final leg of our journey.

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The Great American Family Road Trip [2017]: Day 10

On By Lauren FortenberryIn TravelLeave a comment

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“It’s going to be uncomfortable.”

My husband’s pre-road trip words were more than a warning – they were an imminent truth.

And by Day 10, hand, foot, and mouth disease had led to collective sleepless malaise. We were also running out of clean clothes.

But our daughter gave us the best reason to hold on and not grow weary.

It was her second birthday.

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The Great American Family Road Trip [2017]: Day 9

On By Lauren FortenberryIn Travel5 Comments

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Chocolate cake for breakfast.

Is there any other way to celebrate your four-year-old’s birthday on the road?

For months, my excitement had been building for this special day. My husband and I even purchased two books a month ago and wrapped them for our little guy.

And as we stood singing “Happy Birthday” off-key at 7 a.m., I couldn’t shake a feeling.

Today will be memorable for all.

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The Great American Family Road Trip [2017]: Day 1

On By Lauren FortenberryIn Travel1 Comment

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“I can’t find it!”

Two doodle pads. Really, I thought this would be our solution to the endless backseat rivalry.

But, within one minute of my son entering the vehicle, a special feature of his brand new toy had been lost: a cat face magnet.

And – to no one’s surprise – two preschoolers now fought over the newest doodle pad.

This was the beginning of our epic first road trip as a family of four.

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The Nouveau Appalachia Parent

On By Lauren FortenberryIn MotherhoodLeave a comment


When you visit the Virginia mountains with your children, you are likely to encounter a specific type of mother.

She doesn’t vaccinate her children. She’s likely to call them “Moon Pie”. And she will allow them a healthy serving of dirt – as only a snack, of course.

True story.

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What do playgrounds say about us?

On By Lauren FortenberryIn Perspectives5 Comments

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One of my earliest school memories involves biting the dust while climbing an oversized metal spider in the middle of our playground. Morning dew and my mother’s shoe selection were equally to blame.

But I didn’t give up on the challenge. And, by the end of that week, I conquered the source of my fleeting Kindergarten shame.

It would be decades before I would see equipment that resembled that delightful spider I once cursed. Last week, in fact, I took our kids to a park with a similarly aged steel insect and a rusted merry-go-round. As you may have guessed, both still inspire squeals of joy…and caution.

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