I cannot express how excited I am to present my art teacher, Kaylon Khorsheed, as our featured Artist of the Month. She has challenged me in ways that I didn't know I needed; she works through problems with my ceramics even when I am frustrated with a piece - and not just to talk me out of putting it in the slop bin. She makes sure to spend time with everyone in the class, helping them with their goals and projects.

Currently an associate professor of English at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Patrick Foss has been a teacher in Japan for more than 20 years. He is the author of Across Tokyo, an ebook about an “urban hike” through one of the world’s most iconic cities. You can find it on Amazon here.

Educators can learn quite a bit from the technology used during the Olympics. The Olympics – similar to a classroom? How can this be? 

While I'd visited other parts of Mexico before, the Central and Gulf regions, places like Taxco, Puebla (the birthplace of mole), Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta, neither my husband, who lived in northern Mexico for two years, nor I had ventured to the Yucatan.

This month at the Travel Blog Mob, the theme is Stupid Questions (although we all KNOW that there are no stupid questions, right?). It's all a matter of perspective.

So, our Stupid Question to answer this month: What is there to do in Michigan during the long cold winter months?

It is winter, just past the turning of the year. This is a time which in invites reflection, resolutions, thoughts of change, thoughts of what may come. Here is music which will be a good companion to you as you consider these things, in winter and at other times of year.

Sure there's the obvious hand-held video games, e-book readers, portable dvd players, laptops, iPads etc. What are some other things that might be great to bring on a trip with kids that encourage safety, education, and adventure ... ?

Need inspiration on WHERE to go? Click here for a list of popular places for family travelers!

Thanks for reading the next article in my series on traveling outside of London during your time abroad. If you didn’t get a chance to start at the beginning, make sure you read my first post here.

While perusing Grand Rapids Comic Con's artist gallery for the fifth time, we found ourselves looking at one place in particular. His work stood out to me, not only because of the smiling crowd gathered around the joyful booth, but also because of the extreme detail of each work, which pulls you in, wanting to see every little thing hand-crafted by artist Kyle Hagey.

There's a world of flavors to explore – why not make discovering them part of your New Year's resolution list?
 
For 2018, you can make tracking down, and trying out, new foods part of your family's goals for the year. If you're wondering where to get started, consider some of these ideas to expand your family's culinary palate.