Adventuring together How to create connections and make lasting memories with your kids

Eskridge, who runs conferences for homeschooling parents, challenges parents to create meaningful adventures with their kids in her enticing debut. As a second-generation homeschooler and mother of four, Eskridge grew up hearing tales of her father's boyhood adventures and longed to cultivate the same spirit in her own family. Sharing her own family stories, she illustrates ways adventures have created the potential for growth, such as how a trip to India as a teenager opened her eyes to the needs of the poor. She encourages parents of young children to start small, such as on well-marked trails of a local nature center, and assures them that a willing heart and the desire to connect are the only "adventure credentials" needed. She recommends planning both day trips and longer stays, and stresses the importance of planning and maximizing time together as a family. Using stories of ominous campsite thunderstorms and less than ideal accommodations, Eskridge shows how instances when things don't go according to plan can be used as teaching moments to show that life isn't always easy. Eskridge includes many adventure ideas, such as hiking, museum trips, and starting kid-friendly book clubs. This is a helpful resource for forming "heart connections" with one's children. (July)