We are off to a great start and thank you to everyone who attended our first two live sessions. We had some great conversation and learned quite a bit. If you missed Chef @Andrew Brooks presentation, the replay is up and you can watch it here #Building a Healthy Food Foundation w/ Chef Andrew. @Anna Murrietta had another thought provoking session asking us to rethink what connection means to the children in our lives. You might be surprised. Watch the replay here #Small Moments, Big Connections with Anna. Tonight at 7 pm CDT @Beth Hanning will be joining us to share opportunities for the teens in your life to get published. If you can’t join live, the replay will be available by morning. Don’t forget, we also have several pre-recorded sessions. I’ll be highlighting those throughout the week but since it’s Sunday, why not check out some new hobby ideas. We have #Amigurumi Vibes with Auli, #Dungeons & Dragons for Families with Cam, and #Bread as Science with Chef Henry Which will you choose?

For there are so many events happening each week in hundreds of Skool communities across the platform and it’s hard to keep up with everything. About a year ago, my new friend and community member @Heather Wilson created Skool Events Daily to solve that challenge. This week, we made the cover. If you’re looking for other events, check it out and if you’re a community owner like @Auli Takala, @Chanie Twersky, @Celia Kibler, and @Tosca Fasso you may want to consider joining the community. From the Editor: The latest Skool Events Daily Weekly Bulletin is out! 🎉 This week’s edition is packed with amazing events and opportunities to connect, learn and grow, as always. ✨ Editor's Picks: Play, Purpose & Connection — featuring events from the summit being held in Connected Through Play, including: 🎤 When Dad Has Nothing Left 🤖 Play It Again, Claude! 🔬 Simple Science in the Kitchen and more family-focused sessions designed to bring people together. We also have: 🌟 Partner Spotlight featuring Justin Yip and his work helping entrepreneurs build aligned businesses. 💡 Experts Corner — Why Events Are The Heartbeat Of A Community — sharing why connection and community matter. 🎨 Unplug & Play — a full week of free family summit sessions covering creativity, cooking, technology, experts and more. Plus dozens of live events, workshops, masterminds and community experiences happening this week. Click on the link then click on the words "Weekly Bulletin" on the front cover to get to the events. https://designrr.page/?id=514222&token=859082334&type=FP&h=9542

We have reached our final group of Expert speakers, and they are taking us somewhere important. Beyond the activities, schedules, and things families make together is a bigger question: What are we helping children carry into the world? @Beth Hanning opens the conversation with Illustration Scholarship Journey on Sunday, August 16, from 7:00–8:00 PM CDT. @Betty Jo Winters helps families think more intentionally about play in the pre-recorded session How to Choose the Best Toys. @Elizabeth Raum brings us The Joys of Reading With Kids on Thursday, August 20, from 2:00–3:00 PM CDT. @Gopika Ashok M makes an essential life skill approachable with the pre-recorded session Finance in 60 Seconds. Art. Play. Books. Money. They may look like four unrelated topics. They are really four ways families help children explore ideas, make choices, develop confidence, and imagine what might come next. That feels like the right way to close our Expert introductions. What is one question you would like to ask any of our experts? Drop it in the comments. Not with one answer to family life, but with more doors to open together. Unplug & Play begins Sunday.

The calendar is filled. The classroom is almost ready. Our speakers are preparing. And Unplug & Play is beginning to feel very real. On Sunday, we stop talking about what is coming and start cooking, creating, questioning, experimenting, and playing together. You do not need to attend every session or create the perfect summit plan. Choose the experiences that make your family curious. Add one that stretches you a little. Leave room for something unexpected. The complete schedule of live events is waiting in the calendar. Take another look today and tell us: Which session has already earned a place on your family’s must-do list? P.S. While you are waiting, why not explore the active classrooms?

Come try something new. Not become an expert. Not produce something perfect. Just try. Our Craft & Hobby speakers are bringing six very different invitations to Unplug & Play. @Auli Takala will help families pick up a crochet hook. @Cam Parkes is opening the door to role-playing and shared adventures. @Cristal Vancarson is turning family photography into an experience families can enjoy together. @Joanne Langston brings art and storytelling together. @John Futch is inviting families to explore music through guitar. @Mayelice Castro will help kids and caring adults begin learning French together. You may already see something your family would love. Start there. Then look again at the experience that makes you think, “That isn’t really us.” Try that one too. Shared interests do not always begin with a long-held passion. Sometimes they begin with a crochet hook, a camera, a guitar, a few French words, or one family member saying, “Why not?” Unplug & Play begins August 16.