✨Why This Summer Could Change Your Kid’s Life
Simple Steps to Create Life-Changing Moments
There are moments in life that shape your future forever.
We’ve read to our children since they could hold their heads up. I remember reading Paddington to my oldest. Every time we got to the picture of a double-decker bus, I’d point and say, This is a double-decker bus. They have those in England.
I never thought she understood—but that’s what we do as parents, right? We plant seeds.
Then we went to India.
My husband is from a “small” town in south India called Tiruchirappalli (I get to call it Trichy). If you’ve never been to India, you need to know: the traffic is wild! Buses, cars, motorbikes—and occasionally elephants, donkeys, or cows—all flow through the streets in the most astonishing, cooperative dance.
My 18-month-old daughter was MESMERIZED. We spent hours watching the traffic. When we got back to the U.S., we pulled out Paddington again.
Me: “Remember in India, all those cool, different cars?”
Her: Big nod.
Me: “Well, THIS is England. And they have double-decker buses like this.”
Her eyes got HUGE. She got it. She didn’t just recognize the picture—she understood it.
India was a keystone experience.
In nature, a keystone species is one that holds an entire ecosystem together. Remove it, and the system unravels.
In our homeschool, I call moments that unlocks a child’s mind and reshape how they engage with the world keystone experiences. An experience a child will refer back to again and again as they encounter more complex ideas.
Keystone experiences aren’t just fun field trips they are foundations to future knowledge.
Think back to your childhood. Are there moments (positive or negative) that had a profound influence on your future behavior or career?
I loved science, so my mother made sure I went to camps where I worked in real labs like Eli Lilly and the local university. I would go on to earn a PhD in Biomedical Engineering specializing in Neuroscience.
The keystone experiences of our youth matter; They make us who we are.
If your child spends the summer reading Minecraft forums and mine spends it reading Homer, who writes better? Who thinks better? This isn’t about giving Minecraft a hard time. Every human experience can have value—but not every experience has equal value.
Summer keystone experiences should spark curiosity and a hunger to know more.
Even just one well-chosen activity can ripple outward, influencing how your child thinks, creates, and succeeds.
I know what you are thinking — India is awfully far away. But here’s the thing…
Keystone experiences are all around you!!
You can take kids to the science and art museums but I encourage you to think more creatively.
Visit a Working Farm (we visited a worm farm this year!)
Read a Life-Changing Book and Write the Author a Letter
Visit Every National Park or Monument in Your State
Help Build or Repair Something
Observe a Natural Event from Start to Finish (examples: life cycle of a plant or butterflies)
Interview a Grandparent or Elder About Their Life
Apprentice for a Day at a Local Trade (electrician, plumber, lineman)
Visit a Fire or Police Station
Take a Tour of a Local Small Business
Not every keystone experience needs to be academic—just meaningful.
The best ones connect to your child’s interests, quirks, and questions.
As you map out your summer, leave plenty of time for the pool and popsicles, but make space for something unforgettable too.
You never know what moment will light them up - what simple experience will unlock a new passion, a new direction, a new sense of self.
Like some help?
Below, I give a simple framework to craft keystone experiences that spark lifelong curiosity, plus an AI prompt to design personalized activities for your family!
This prompt helped me find an incredible hike in an old cinder cone (pictures below). My youngest is into geology, so it was an perfect find!
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