Carolyn Savage
Carolyn is a professional writer, proofreader, and editor living in Bend, Oregon with her husband and two pre-teen daughters. She has a background in wildlife management but switched to writing and editing when she became a mother. With her experience working for a small publishing company, as a freelance proofreader, and as a mother she shares insightful stories that support parents and grandparents.
She is the daughter of Raising Families co-founder Rick Stephens and holds the rank of black belt in taekwando. In her free time she loves reading fantasy novels, learning to craft from her enormously talented children, and then teaching what she’s learned to her enormously talented grandmother.
Posts by Carolyn Savage
Why Your Family Desperately Needs a Family Media Agreement
Age: 8+Time: at least 20 to 30 minutesMaterials: paper and penFocus: creating a family media plan for the whole familyParents and kids never have the same ideas when it comes to screen time. The kids want more; the parents want less or none at all. Follow this surefire way to get everyone on the same page and make a family media agreement the whole family can agree on.Why Your Family Desperately Needs a Family Media AgreementSurprise! You're not the only one who thinks everyone is addicted to screens these days. Screens are everywhere, and many kids are basically digital natives
Talking about Traditions: 1 Simple Way to Bond
Age: 2+Time: variesMaterials: noneFocus: fostering open lines of communicationTalking about traditions can be a great way to bond as a family. With the holiday season quickly approaching, now would be a great time to talk about the traditions your family celebrates.Purposefully Choosing TraditionsTake some time to think about the traditions you celebrate as a family. Then think back to the ones you celebrated when you were a child. Were there family traditions that you would have happily passed on? As an adult, have you purposefully put an end to those traditions? Or maybe there were traditions you enjoyed, but you decided
Turn School Knowledge into Real-Life Wisdom
Age: 5+Time: variesMaterials: depends on activityFocus: applying learning to real-world experiencesIf you've ever sat in a classroom listening to someone drone on about a topic you have no interest in, you've likely thought to yourself, "Ugh! What does this have to do with anything? Why do I have to learn this?" It can be pretty hard to turn the facts we learn in school into practical information we can use outside the classroom. As parents, we can help our kids turn school knowledge into real-life wisdom in a few ways. One of our children's jobs is to learn about the world
Morning Routine for School: 6 Proven Ways to Create Stress-Free Mornings
Age: 5+Time: 30+ minutesMaterials: depends on activityFocus: working as a family teamEstablishing an effective morning routine for school can transform chaotic mornings into smooth, stress-free starts to your child's day. When everyone in the family knows what they need to do and how much time they have to do it, your morning routine for school becomes a well-oiled machine that sets everyone up for success. A structured routine eliminates last-minute rushing, reduces stress, and ensures your children arrive at school prepared and on time. The best strategies focus on preparation, timing, and consistency to create peaceful mornings for the entire family.6
Teaching Kids Where Food Comes From: A Parent’s Complete Guide to Food Education
Age: 5+Time: 30+ minutesMaterials: depends on activityFocus: community engagement Summer is the perfect time to teach your kids where their food comes from. It doesn't just magically show up at the grocery store after all. Somewhere there's a farm that grew that food and people who took care of it. There are people who had to harvest that food, wash it, sort it, load it into trucks, and bring it to you. Learning where food comes from helps all of us, including our children, make more informed choices, can help expand our food palettes, teach us to be more thoughtful about our
