Blog

Bayshore Christian Fourth Grade
|

Kids to Know: Bayshore Christian School’s Fourth Grade Class

Every fall at Bayshore Christian School, the fourth grade classes gather to plan for a market. The products, packaging and prices are determined individually by each nine and ten year old student. However, they decide collectively how the profits from the project will be used. While they learned how to execute a successful business, they…

Lauren Suttell, LJ Aesthetics
|

Moms to Know: Lauren Suttell, LJ Aesthetics

Have you ever heard the saying “in a world full of Kardashians, be an Audrey (Hepburn)?” When it comes to raising girls in today’s world, I am reassured that there are women in the aesthetics field that promote a graceful approach to aging that enhances natural inner and outer beauty—much like the iconic faces before…

Hustle Sanely Jess Massey
| |

Say goodbye to burnout with help from local mama, Jess Massey, founder of Hustle Sanely

As we get ready to step into a new year, a time when many of us look to reset, we’re introducing you to a local mom who has been right where you are—smack dab in the middle of burnout. Jess Massey not only found her way out, but she developed a planner and system to help other women find their path to a more “peacefully productive” life.

Juliette Feld Grossman shares the story behind the NEW Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
| |

Juliette Feld Grossman shares the story behind the NEW Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is roaring back to life in an ALL-NEW reimagined show and we’re chatting with Juliette Feld Grossman, who teamed up with her father to produce The Greatest Show on Earth, to talk about the evolution of the show.

easing the transition to middle school

How Corbett Prep is Building a Bridge to Middle School in Fifth Grade

It’s elective day in fifth grade, and the Forensic Science class is seated in Corbett Prep’s Middle School lab with mysterious red vials and tiny plastic trays for a lesson on blood type analysis. The synthetic blood will react differently depending on the blood type when mixed with an antiserum, so the fifth graders carefully…

InBody fitness testing at Tampa YMCA
|

See Yourself at the Y in the New Year – Start Now!

How about a New Year’s resolution you can actually keep? How about the first step to leading a healthy life as a habit? As we approach the new year, the Tampa YMCA is excited to announce the introduction of our state-of-the-art InBody machines. The InBody Fitness Test: A Complete Body Composition Analysis The InBody test…

Home Fire Safety

Fire Drill: How to Prep Your Family to Prevent and Escape Home Fires

As we welcome 2024, many of us are filled with exciting new resolutions: To eat healthy, to save money, to exercise. BayCare Kids Wellness and Safety Specialist Michelle Sterling has one other resolution that each one of us can make. The good news is that it’s quick, inexpensive, and can potentially save your life: to change the…

gastroschisis patient Andres

Andres’ Birth Defect and Battle with Gastroschisis 

Pediatric surgeon Paul Danielson, M.D., at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, has often been called in the middle of the night to perform lifesaving surgery. But when Andres was born in 2022, it was a surgical scenario that Danielson had never experienced in his medical career. Andres had gastroschisis, a birth defect that occurs when…

The Gift of Experience in Tampa Bay: A Holiday Gift List Must
| | | | |

The Gift of Experience in Tampa Bay: A Holiday Gift List Must

Rather than overloading our kids with more toys and clutter, why not give the gift of experience in Tampa Bay? An annual pass or membership to a local attraction is not only cost effective, it’s a gift that keeps on giving year–round to the entire family.  Added bonus- many of the attractions that offer summer camps…

Give Back Alex Kulzer
|

Alex’s Touching ‘Give Back’ Project After Years of Hospital Care

Alex Kulzer stacks hundreds of toys in bins and pushes them proudly through the entrance of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. “I’m giving back to my community in a place that I grew up in,” says lifelong patient, 18-year-old Alex. “You never want to say, ‘I grew up in a hospital getting tests done,’ but…

Sadie Dixon
|

Kids to Know: Sadie Dutton

Through the Children’s Dream Fund, I have had the incredible honor of connecting with a family that has endured so much. When the chances of survival were statistically low, where the critical number of perfectly matched stem cells were extraordinarily high, Sadie can say today that her battle is won. Because of the grace of…

Giselle Mcnab The SIS Project.Org
|

Moms to Know: Giselle Mcnab – Author, Speaker, Founder of The SIS Project.Org

From a challenging childhood in New York City to troubled teen years marked by resilience and survival, Giselle McNab’s path to motherhood has taken her from darkness to enlightenment. With a remarkable account of breaking a cycle of abuse, the inspiration behind her book, and her mission to empower women and teen girls through her…

Jason Licht Family Interview
|

Licht Style: It all Works Out 

Jason Licht, renowned Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ General Manager (a position he’s held since 2014), is, foremost, a dad and husband. With wife Blair, he navigates the peaks, valleys and predominantly uncertain terrain of parenting. They met during his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles, when she lived in Manhattan working in finance. Over six years, they…

Protecting Children from their devices

Disconnected – Protecting Kids From Their Devices is in Your Hands

If you had the power to protect your children from depression and anxiety, would you? Even though any parent would answer “yes” to that question, a valuable weapon in their arsenal often goes unused: the word “no.” Psychotherapist and author Thomas Kersting makes the case for prohibiting or limiting children’s screentime in “Disconnected,” which lays out…

Preparing for Kindergarten

Countdown to Kindergarten: 3 Expert Tips to Prepare Your Child Now

Parents and caregivers of preschoolers may notice time has a way of slowing down and then speeding up with the hustle of trying to make sure you capture each last moment: the last first day of preschool; the last time your child needed help tying their shoe; the last holiday celebrations you will attend at…

Holiday inspired lunch
| |

A Festive Feast: Snacks and Holiday Inspired Lunch Ideas from @LunchBoxMafia

This time of year, we’re all extra busy with fun outings, get-togethers and taking in all that the holidays have to offer. Don’t forget to slow down and savor these moments—especially with your kiddos. Here’s one way to enjoy the season: through savoring the flavors of these holiday inspired lunch and snack ideas! Make a…

MOSI's all-new DC Superheroes exhibit
| | | |

Go on An Epic Journey with MOSI’s new DC Superheroes: Discover Your Superpowers!

Calling all superheroes! Get ready to be part of something truly extraordinary at MOSI! The all-new DC Superheroes: Discover Your Superpowers! exhibit has taken over the MOSI dome building.

Tampa Bay Parenting Toys for Tots at Toys R Us Where to donate toys
| | |

12+ Places to Donate New Toys in Tampa Bay this Holiday Season

The high cost of living and inflation continue to make a significant impact on families and the non-profit organizations that support them. If you are financially able, donating a new toy and even food for a local family in need will make a big difference this holiday season.

Teaching Financial Literacy

It Makes Cents: Shorecrest Prep Teaching Important Life Skill of Financial Literacy

Shorecrest believes that a challenging, college-preparatory curriculum must extend beyond academics to include a solid grounding in real-world applications. The newly launched Ross Roeder Institute for Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Economics (RRI) is just one example of how the school provides that preparation.

Sturge-Weber Syndrome

Knight’s Story: Sturge-Weber Syndrome

Three-year-old Knight is a joyful ball of energy as he runs from the family’s living room to dining room to kitchen. He loves this little game, and for most 3-year-olds, this wouldn’t be an extraordinary feat. But, for this child, it is remarkable. What is Sturge-Weber Syndrome? Knight was born with Sturge-Weber Syndrome, a genetic…

Teaching History to Promote Patriotism at Academy at the Lakes

Academy at the Lakes: We Must Teach History

Today’s public square includes much debate about the teaching of history in school. As both a school leader and a history teacher, I offer this: We must teach history in order to create active, engaged citizens. In doing so, we can also promote patriotism. Teaching History to Promote Patriotism History We teach history because history…

Children's Mental Health

The Most Important Conversations: BayCare Kids introduces a game-changing resource to battle mental health disorders

Here’s a sobering statistic: During the past three years since the pandemic, the number of kids visiting the Emergency Room at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for children’s mental health disorders has increased by 300 percent. That’s a three-fold increase. Here’s another number: When it comes to available mental health resources, Florida (one of the most…

The Study of Play at Corbett Prep

The Power of Play: How Corbett Prep is incorporating PLAY in the classroom

There’s serious play happening in Corbett Prep’s PreK4 class on “Not a Box” day. Piles of craft supplies—stickers, glue, ribbons, markers, colored paper—are scattered around the classroom suite as students transform cardboard boxes into cars, rockets, houses, tunnels and even a unicorn. The Study of Play: Not a Box Inspired by the book “Not a…

Best hotels at Disney world for the holidays
| | |

The Best Hotels at Walt Disney World for the Holidays

Celebrate Your Best Christmas Ever in Orlando! There’s no place like home for the holidays, except perhaps Walt Disney World. If you’re ready to give your family the merriest memories this holiday season at Walt Disney World then it’s time to consider booking a hotel room. Disney area hotels are booking fast for the holidays….

Full Circle Moments with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders
|

Full Circle Moments with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders and Junior Cheerleaders

There’s something extraordinary about a life-comes-full-circle moment. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleader Shay Garcia had such a moment when her daughter, Johanna, stepped onto the Raymond James turf as a Bucs Junior Cheerleader. Shay and Johanna share their TBBC experiences. Kaylee Strobel, a former Junior Cheerleader and current Buccaneers’ Cheerleading and Mascot Coordinator, also knows full-circle moments with the Bucs. Before firing the canons, read their firsthand accounts about TBBC’s lasting impacts.

Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent
|

Thanksgiving donations desperately needed in Tampa Bay

The Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent in Tampa will officially open and begin accepting donations for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays on October 29. Once again, they need more help than ever, especially in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton. This year, the non-profit which serves our six county region, expects to assist more than…

RSV

The 411 on RSV | What you need to know about this common virus

 We’re catching up again with Dr. John Prpich, BayCare Kids Pediatric Pulmonologist and Medical Director of Pediatric Respiratory Care at St Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, to learn more about RSV and a groundbreaking new medicine just approved for use in all infants to prevent RSV infection.

Preparing for the 2023 Flu Season

Ask the Doctor: How to Prepare for the 2023 Flu Season

The 2023 flu season is expected to arrive earlier than usual with an uptick in cases already occurring in September. We may also see a tricky RSV season and an upward trend in COVID as a new variant is circulating. The Flu, COVID, or RSV: What is causing my symptoms? It may be challenging to…

Hillsborough County Anti-Bullying Award

Tampa Bay’s Bully Busters: Hillsborough County Anti-Bullying Award Recipients

Each October, in honor of Bullying Awareness Month, Hillsborough County’s Anti-Bullying Awareness Committee recognizes a student or students who have gone above and beyond to make a difference in our community. This year, it wasn’t just one person who stood out, but a local elementary school student and a group of students who are taking…

A Little Change – A Lot of Heart. Maui fire relief fundraiser

A Little Change – A Lot of Heart at Roland Park K-8

One of the beautiful things about the International Baccalaureate Program, especially in the younger grades, are the pillars of compassion and empathy. So, when the students at Roland Park K-8 heard about the wildfires in Maui, their first thoughts were, ‘How can we help?’ From there, an idea was born. “At Roland Park, we are…

Kids to Know, Jake Klopfenstein of Angling for Relief
|

Kids to Know: Meet Jake Klopfenstein with Angling For Relief

With a remarkable mission to brighten the lives of pediatric cancer patients through the therapeutic art of fishing, Angling For Relief has served families in Tampa Bay for five years. While his heart-warming initiative has made a lasting difference in so many lives around him, it is Jake who has been changed by the kids he gets to take fishing.

"Raising Them Ready" authors Erica and Jonathan Catherman

Raising Them Ready: Preparing kids to handle life on their own

When bestselling authors and co-parents Erica and Jonathan Catherman decided to write their next parenting book, they asked themselves a question: “How well had we done to prepare our “adulting” kids to leave home?” Knowing other parents were likely asking themselves the same question, they came up with “Raising Them Ready,” a guide for parents…

Bullying Prevention teenage girls on cellphone

It’s Bullying Prevention Month: Tips to Support Your Kids 

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly tries to harm someone who is weaker or who they think is weaker, and there is some type of power differential in place. This can take a psychological toll on the child being bullied, sometimes lasting a lifetime. October is Bullying Prevention Month Below are answers to…