Podcast Series Title: "Savoring Summer & Starting Strong: Parenting Through the Seasons"

🎧 August Weekly Episodes

Episode 19: “Savoring the Last Sweet Days of Summer”

Focus: Embracing rest, play, and connection before the rush of fall

Segments:

Opening Reflection: “What does slowing down mean to you this summer?”

Family Memory Making: Simple traditions & rituals to end summer well

Outdoor ideas for connection (picnics, backyard stargazing, community events)

Journal Prompt: "The summer I want to remember is…"

Closing Blessing for the Season

Podcast resource links:

You can learn more about Kelly's expertise here:

https://www.developpeople.org/

Resources mentioned in today's podcast:

Pioneer Library System

https://pioneerlibrarysystem.org/about/locations

Trader Joes cucumber salad recipe

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Crbc7wbggqz/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Metro Family

https://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/

National Holiday Calendar

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/august/august-days

You can find all My Favorite Podcast episodes here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1LaSWXg7U5lAeUXykt7CNo?si=bed21ea1ddb045e6

Episode 18: The Impact of a Father

Theme: Presence, Lessons, and Legacy

Image of a Father

What we see in our fathers or father figures

The power of a father's presence or absence

The Heart of a Father

Protection, provision, and play

Vulnerability and emotional depth in fatherhood

Lessons from a Father

What did your father teach without speaking?

A moment that still shapes you

Legacy and the Impact of Being Fathered

How we carry our father’s love, pain, or silence

Healing the gaps, honoring the strengths

How it shapes our parenting, relationships, and faith

Mini Reflection Prompt:

“What part of my father’s voice still echoes in my decisions today?”

“Who shaped your idea of being a parent? And how are you rewriting that script in your own life?”

Referenced Resources Recap:

Zero to Three

https://www.zerotothree.org

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

https://www.aap.org

https://www.healthychildren.org

Brazelton Touchpoints Center

https://www.brazeltontouchpoints.org

Ellen Galinsky – The Breakthrough Years

https://www.ellengalinsky.com/the-breakthrough-years

Stages of Parenting – Galinsky's Model

https://raisingchildren.net.au

Fatherhood Initiative (Fatherhood.gov)

https://www.fatherhood.gov

Episode 17: A Mother’s Reflection: Becoming and Becoming Again

Longing to Become a Mother

The first image we carry—internal hopes, societal messages, and personal desires

Waiting, infertility, adoption, or unexpected motherhood stories

The Birth and Early Years

The shift in identity

Exhaustion, joy, and forming attachments

How time slows and speeds up in this stage

The Middle Years

Finding rhythms in parenting

Lessons from mistakes and milestones

Balancing nurturing with growing independence

The Launching Season

High school to college transitions

Letting go vs. staying connected

Grieving the shift, celebrating growth

Mini Reflection Prompt:

“Where am I in the mothering journey, and what image or memory is guiding me now?”