My name is Rob Coats, and I’m very excited to join the Families.Com community. It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of the internet’s best resource for family information. I’m even more honored to be launching this new blog with my partners Shauna and Laura. With our combined expertise, we’ll be providing you with hundreds of great family fun ideas.
I thought I’d share with the community a little information about myself that will help explain my special interest and passion for family fun.
I grew up all over the world as an “army brat.” I was born in Germany, and spent most of my childhood years in a small town in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Before that I lived in Killeen, Texas; Fairbanks, Alaska; El Paso, Texas and Colorado.
Moving around in my early years was difficult, but gave me a lot of memories that most children don’t have, from 18 hours of perpetual twilight, to learning how to avoid scorpions while you’re playing in the yard. Most importantly, being with other military brats gave me the opportunity to play games that my friends brought with them from all over the country.
I have been a social studies teacher for the past 16 years in a suburban district outside of Rochester, NY. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was ten years old, and love my job passionately. One thing I try to do as often as possible in my lesson planning is simply having fun. Once teachers get into the habit, it’s easy to plan fun into every lesson, even a high school American History lesson.
I am a single father of three lovely daughters, aged 4, 8, and 10 from two marriages. They are incredible young women, and keep me constantly busy consistently when they’re with me, which is as often as I can get them. I take great pride in my parenting skills, especially the fact that I do it alone. I’ve had to learn to survive in a very commercial society without a lot of money, but with a lot of love. That’s where my interest in games that cost little or nothing, but require lots of activity and imagination, comes from.
Thus, being a student of history, a father of three and on a limited budget has steered me toward being sort of a family fun archaeologist. I’m very interested in games that families have enjoyed for years. I’ll be uncovering them, blowing the dust off, and polishing them up for a whole new generation to enjoy.
Do you have a favorite game that’s been in your family for years? We’d love to hear about it. Is there a game you remember playing but can’t remember the name of it or how to find it? That’s what the Family Fun team is all about.