What's a Coat of Arms Anyways

Howdy, friends! The last month of “summer” is upon us and if you feel like you’re losing it, you are not. And it’s not the heat either. It’s only August and those 12 foot skeletons are already on sale at Home Depot and Michaels department stores.

What next? Pumpkin spice lattes at the beach? Nothing is sacred.

Anyways, while we’re skipping far ahead into the future, at least we can all look forward to Hallmark’s upcoming holiday movie inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s real life romance.

I hope that made your day. On to the newsletter.

Activity of the week

Unless you come from royal lineage or you’re a real-life character from Game of Thrones, you might not have a family crest or coat of arms. They were commonly used throughout the 11–17th centuries in Europe, and they can still be meaningful reminders for families past, present, and future. If you don’t have a family crest, we’ve got good news since creating one is this week’s activity. Bonus points: this activity will also help you start a conversation with your child about the values you hold as a family.

What you’ll need: This activity requires you to pick your level of sophistication, tool-wise. You and your kid can either 1) draw the crest using crayons and markers on a piece of paper, 2) use simple tools like this online version of Microsoft Paint or Canva, or 3) use a paid ChatGPT Plus account that produces images via Dall-E or a Midjourney account to generate images with a few prompts.

Step 1: Talk about the family values you think are important, like kindness, honesty, respect, and trust with your child. Ideally, these are words and values that your child is familiar with from the books you read together or conversations you’ve had previously. You’ll want to talk about what each of those values mean to you and your family, why they’re important, and how they already embody those values every day.

An easy place to generate ideas for core family values are themes commonly found in the children’s books you and your child love to read the most.

Step 2: With your child, decide on 3-4 values you think should be prioritized as a family.

Step 3: Pick 3-4 images to include in your family crest / coat of arms. They can be any images you want. One approach to selecting imagery is by thinking about things you and your family like to do together like hiking, board games, reading, cooking, singing, etc. For example, if your family values time outdoors, a tree or a hiking boot could be two options to include.

Step 4:

If you chose to draw: Print these blank family crests / coat of arms and have your child draw the 3-4 images directly on the sheet of paper.

If you’re using Microsoft Paint or Canva: Help your child draw those images as best you can in the application. Though your crest does not need to have a shield or any particular shape, selecting a shape to house those images you want to create will help your kid focus where they should draw their selected images.

If you’re using ChatGPT or Midjourney: Open your application of choice and try different prompts to produce your desired family crest or coat of arms. Keep refining your prompt as needed and get your child involved by asking them what they’d like to update on each image that’s produced.

Here’s a sample prompt: A highly decorated shield depicting the “Moses” family crest, intricate designs, reflection, reflective catch lights, hyper detailed, deep color and rich contrast, hyperreal, deviant art, behance HD, hanging on a rich mahogany wall

Step 5: Write out the 3-4 values you chose onto your image anywhere you and your kid would like. If you’re using ChatGPT or Midjourney to produce your crest, you can save the image as a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file and open the image in another application (like Preview for Macbook users) that will allow you to type text directly onto the image.

That’s it! Now you have your family crest that reflects your shared values and one your child has a sense of ownership over.

Step 6 (optional, but encouraged): Make it easy to view your family crest by printing out the image on a poster, mug, or magnet via Shutterfly, GotPrint, or other any other print on demand service. You can also just print the image on a piece of paper and display it somewhere in your home.

Not for tots

Here is this week’s not for tots segment where we share some internet finds/treats/toys exclusively for the adults in the room.

• For dreamers who never stop dreaming: Find out what Olympic sport you’re most likely to compete in based on your height and weight.

• To organize your digital workspace: Activated by dragging, customizable keyboard shortcuts or via menu bar, Magnet declutters your screen by snapping windows into organized tiles.

• To organize your freezer: Use these labels built for food in your freezer.

• If you are a Yelp power-user: On your next roadtrip with the family, visit the oldest restaurant in your state.

• Book rec: There isn’t one right way to grow up in America. From the rocky coastline of Maine to the lush rainforests of Hawai‘i, read about the many different places American kids call home—and about 50 real kids who live there.

• If you’re tired of Wordle: Find out what song is playing, one instrument at a time. It’s unfortunately addicting.

• For a pick-me-up: Receive customized compliments when you need a little pep in your step.

Kidult of the week

When one door closes, another one opens.

Chase Budinger was a professional basketball player in the NBA in the mid-2010s and was so promising as an amateur player that he even played in a high school all-star game alongside future basketball Hall of Famer Kevin Durant.

Unfortunately, Chase’s basketball career was cut short due to various serious lower leg injuries. After retiring prematurely from a seven-year NBA career, he took some time to heal his joints that had been plaguing him throughout his NBA tenure.

However, his competitive drive kept urging him to find another outlet. In 2017, he thought about beach volleyball as an alternative path to a professional sports career. He had never competed in the sport before but “as soon as he made the switch to beach volleyball, he let himself dream—and dream big. “I want to be an Olympian,” he told himself.

“And as Budinger fully leaned into this new sport, he realized that his second act was just beginning. It is never too late to reinvent oneself, to start over. To see what else one is capable of achieving.” (The Ringer)

Where did that fateful decision in 2017 to retire and to fully commit to beach volleyball take Chase? In 2024, he’s competing in the Olympics for the first time with his beach volleyball partner Miles Evans.

While he was in Paris, Chase even ran into his old basketball friend Kevin Durant, who’s playing for the USA men’s basketball team in Paris. What a wild world.

@yahoosports

Former NBA player Chase Budinger met up with USA basketball players, this time as an Olympic beach volleyball player 🙌 (via milesevansvb/I... See more

Stat of the week

We’re living in miraculous times. It’s likely that wherever you might be at this point in history, it’s never been safer. For children today, every day of childhood is safer than in the past.

Thinking about tomorrow, today

When should you start talking about money and financial literacy with your kids? Well, by age 3, kids can grasp basic money concepts according to various studies.

Personal financial learning begins at an early age and encompasses a broad array of general decision-making skills (like exercising patience, setting goals, prioritizing needs over wants, etc) rather than just narrow financial topics.

Depending on the age of your child, there are different ways to invest (see what I did there?) in your child’s financial literacy by enhancing those core decision-making skills, skills that are critical to building a strong financial foundation. Read through this guide from Parents magazine to see how you can incorporate healthier money habits based on where your child is developmentally.  

However, if your child will end up being a nepo baby, then just ignore everything I just wrote.

Parenting-ish Headlines

• New research shows that when children grow up in a neighborhood where more adults have jobs, those children are better off economically as adults themselves. (Wall Street Journal)

• More colleges are offering AI degrees — could they give job seekers an edge? (NBC News)

• The Senate passed two key pieces of legislation aimed at keeping children safe on the internet Tuesday afternoon. Now the bills head to the House of Representatives. (ABC News)

• Why is The Giving Tree the most loved and the most hated children’s book of all time? (YouTube)

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