Over Labor Day week I was working at Family Forward, a family retreat in Orlando, Florida. I have already written about going to Diagon Alley for a VIP Exclusive event, visiting Hogsmeade early in the morning, and staying on property at Universal Orlando Resort. On Friday we had a series of workshops geared toward strengthening families. The day was spent having a fun time with some great presentations and some really exciting surprises!

DohVinci

The day started out with a presentation from DohVinci. Instead of coming in a tub, the Play-Doh comes in cartridges. The cartridges are inserted into a hand-held device that allows kids to make any design they like. Since it takes a long time to harden, mistakes can be wiped away without a problem.

Families got to test out this awesome new design compound and work together as a unit to create their very own DohVinci masterpiece. Each family was given a frame and instructions to work together. The families had a great time designing and decorating their frames.

Southwest

The next presentation was by Southwest. Southwest has a great Adopt A Pilot program that was introduced in 1997 as a supplementary way to educate students through aviation-themed activities related to Science, Geography, Math, Writing, and other core subjects. They started out by having a couple of pilots talk about the journey they took to becoming a pilot. They taught the families about the mechanics and teamwork that it takes to get a plane up in the air. They used beach balls, paper strips, and toilet paper and a leaf blower. The kids were laughing and having a great time! Then each of the kids was given a wooden plane that they got to put together and fly in the long hallways and outside in the courtyard to see the mechanics in action.

Barilla

The next presentation was a great hands on workshop that showed families how to make mealtime more meaningful. They shared tips on creating family meals. Then they hosted a fun “lunch & learn” experience where families got to make lunch together. My team was all taking pictures of the families so I was designated as official lunch maker. I made a delicious and nutritious pasta salad with a light dressing.

Animal Jam

The last session of the day was with Animal Jam. The families got to meet one of Animal Jam’s real scientists, Dr. Brady Barr, who you might know as the host of Nat Geo WILD’s Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr. The families were able to get up and close with some local Florida natives. In a sudden twist of events this happened:

Can you say exciting?! I keep telling people that when something like this happens we use the “Flight or Fight” that is ingrained in each of us. Everyone choose to take flight. I am the lady in the yellow shirt just standing there waiting to fight. Definitely one of the moments that I will never forget!

*A big thank you to all of the sponsors. Family Forward is made possible in part by the amazing partners that are identified in this post. I was not financially compensated in any way for this review. All opinions, as always, are my own.