Love In A Big World

06/04/2026

Dear Friends,

I was at the park this past Sunday with a friend and six children ages five through ten. Out of the blue, one of the five-year-old girls asked, “Do we celebrate Father’s Day? Is that like Mother’s Day?” The other grown-up and I looked at each other with surprise while trying to make the most of this teachable moment. “Yes, Father’s Day is like Mother’s Day but for dads,” the other mom responded.

Mother’s Day became a national holiday in the United States in 1914; Father’s Day was memorialized in 1972. According to Verizon (2024), 5.6% more people called mom. Verizon customers spent 28.3M hours on the phone on Mother’s Day and 26M hours on the phone on Father’s Day.

Our view of fatherhood is complex, particularly colored by our own experiences. In his influential book The Role of the Father in Child Development, Lamb (2004) discusses the ever-evolving responsibility and involvement of fathers across centuries and cultures. The bottom line is the longing in both father and child for a caring and nurturing relationship.

During early childhood, father-child play, especially “roughhouse” play, has been shown to decrease behavior problems (Jia R, Kotila L, Schoppe-Sullivan S, 2012). Similarly, in adolescence, a positive father-child relationship predicts reduced engagement in risky behaviors (Bronte-Tinkew J, Moore KA, Carrano J, 2006).

As I write, the irony is not lost on me. Although I grew up in a two-parent household and had a healthy bond with my father, I am a single mom to three adopted children who spent their childhood shuttling back and forth between our house and their dad and stepmom’s house. Immediately after the divorce, my family in Pittsburgh encouraged me to consider moving back to my hometown. I decided to stay in Nashville because I wanted my children to be able to have a relationship with their father. It’s complicated, and the grief is real.

Whether a military, incarcerated, or nonresident father, dad’s involvement impacts the children and the community. What can we do to encourage and support healthy relationships between children and their fathers?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Change the Narrative – We must make a conscious choice to speak positively about fatherhood. We need each other, and so do our children.
2. Strengthen the Foundation – Whether through community groups or informal conversations, talk with dads about the practical aspects of fatherhood, such as budgeting, role modeling, discipline, and more.
3. Celebrate the Good – When we see an involved father, thank him. His investment in his child is an investment in our future. Our encouragement may be just what he needs to keep on keeping on.
The impact of a dad doesn’t stop after graduation. My dad has been My Superman. A father who provides, protects, and promotes his children impacts the world for generations to come.

Gratefully,

Tamara

Resources:
Here are some suggestions for activities you can do with your children:

1. Listen to “My Superman” and talk about the dads in your life.
2. Read the story What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best by Laura Numeroff
3. Download the Free Love In A Big World Lesson on Caring

Listen to “My Superman” on Apple Music or Spotify

Download a sample lesson from our 1st Grade Learning from Heroes Curriculum centered on Laura Numeroff's book What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best that helps children appreciate how their parents care for them. Caring is showing concern for the well-being of others; taking the time to let others know they are important.

Research

Bronte-Tinkew J, Moore KA, Carrano J (2006) The father-child relationship, parenting styles, and adolescent risk behaviors in intact families. J Fam Issues 27(6):850–881
Jia R, Kotila L, Schoppe-Sullivan S (2012) Transactional relations between father involvement and preschoolers’ socioemotional adjustment. J Fam Psychol 26(6):848–857
Lamb, Michael E., ed. The role of the father in child development. John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Smith TK, Darius Tandon S, Bair-Merritt MH, Hanson JL (2015) Parenting needs of urban African American fathers. Am J Mens Health 9(4):317–331
Yogman, M.W., Eppel, A.M. (2022). The Role of Fathers in Child and Family Health. In: Grau Grau, M., Las Heras Maestro, M., Riley Bowles, H. (eds) Engaged Fatherhood for Men, Families and Gender Equality. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75645-1_2

05/27/2026

Let's keep moving!
Take a dance break with your kiddos today!

Children are less physically active than they used to be. Scientists are finding effective ways to encourage children to move more, leaving lasting benefits on their health.

05/18/2026

From phones and tablets to streaming movies and YouTube, tech and media are everywhere. Kids love easy access to TV shows, games, and information. Parents and caregivers love that kids can stay in contact while they explore their independence. But it's easy to overdo it when the phone never stops pinging and the next episode plays automatically. Families can keep media and tech use in check by following a few simple practices:

1. Create screen-free times and zones.
2. Explore built-in digital well-being tools.
3. Model the behavior you want to see.
4. Help kids identify healthy behaviors.
5. Understand how tech companies make money.
Common Sense Media Tamara Fyke

05/16/2026

My new single, “My Superman,” came out today. I wrote it for my dad.

Alzheimer’s has been taking him from us slowly, the way it does — piece by piece, even while he’s still right there. And somewhere in the middle of all that grief and love, I wrote a song.

This one is for all of us…every family holding onto the pieces of who someone used to be...every child who admires their father.

I hope listening brings you comfort and fond memories.
Listen to “My Superman” on Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6DPjHO47ZuVFghnc4FDZGg

If this song makes you think of someone, will you pass it along? A text, a share, a quiet listen with someone who needs it, that’s how music does its work.

Big hug to you.
Tamara

05/12/2026

Dear Friends,

Stories help us dig into a topic that may otherwise seem too big, scary, or uncomfortable. Bruno Bettelheim (1976) states, “Just because his life is often bewildering to him, the child needs even more to be given the chance to understand himself in this complex world with which he must cope…He needs ideas on how to bring his inner house into order…” A great story can help bring order and open the heart and mind. An open heart and mind is ready for conversation…true dialogue about the thoughts and feelings evoked by story.


Siegel and Bryson, authors of The Whole Brain Child (2011), say, “When children learn to pay attention to and share their own stories, they can respond in healthy ways to everything from a scraped elbow to a major loss or trauma. What kids often need, especially when they experience strong emotions, is to have someone help them…make sense of what is going on…”

Sometimes before we can put our stories into words with another person, we can put them into a journal or onto a canvas. Maybe we can dance or sing our hearts out. Art helps us process big emotions.

When I first started Love In A Big World in 1996, my team and I used music as a method for connecting with students. As one principal said, “Music soothes the soul.” These kids found refuge, if even for a few moments, in the safe space we created through song.

In those early days of leading a new venture, I often consulted with my Dad. He was an entrepreneur and community advocate. Although he and Mom lived in Pittsburgh, he was just a phone call away, always open to my questions and wonderings.

In 2019, our family started to notice his mild cognitive decline. In 2021, he apologized at the dinner table because his “brain didn’t work the way it used to”. Today, he doesn’t recognize me. Alzheimer’s dementia took him, and our family has been left to process our grief.

With nearly 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older dealing with Alzheimer’s dementia, chances are that you and your family have been touched by the disease.

How do you process it? And how do you help your children?

We are starting something new…a Love In A Big World Family Book Club. Each month, we will recommend a book for you to share with the children in your life, a story to help you connect and process important ideas and big emotions.

This month’s story is one of my favorites: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, a story about a young boy’s friendship with an elderly woman who can’t remember.

Personally, I have been processing my loss by writing, painting, and singing. Art helps me make sense of what I’m thinking and feeling.

I wrote a song in honor of my dad called, My Superman. Stay tuned for more on that.

In the meantime, read the book and download the free lesson which includes an art project and a journaling prompt. Find ways to care for the elderly in your community.

Together, let’s Love In A Big World.

Much love,

Tamara Fyke

04/28/2026

Do you remember the game hide-n-seek? It’s one of my favorites! It’s a great game to play, not a good way to live. But it seems to me that since most of us hide. We don’t want people to see who we really are because we are convinced they won’t like us. Instead of being honest, we wear the masks of looks, performance or opinions. We are more concerned with keeping appearances than being true to ourselves.

However, if we have the courage to be honest with ourselves then we can take off the masks and look into the mirror. Sometimes the reflection we behold startles us. We forgot what we looked like behind the masks. Somewhere along the way we lost our sense of self.

Laying down the masks, scary as it is, enables us to be real…to let ourselves know others and be known by others…to open ourselves up to love.

In the classic tale of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, two toys have a midnight discussion about what it means to be real.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Despite the risk and the pain, I want to be real. How about you?
By Tamara
www.loveinabigworld.com

04/22/2026

Dear Friend,

There’s something powerful that happens when stories are shared out loud, when what once felt hidden finds its way into the light. That’s the heart behind everything we do at Love In A Big World…and it’s especially alive right now.

This month, I’m inviting you into a deeply personal & meaningful experience: Lost Girl No More, an art show that tells a story of healing, identity, and transformation.

Through a collection of original pieces, this show reflects the journey from feeling unseen or disconnected…to rediscovering belonging, voice, and worth. It’s not just art on a wall, it’s an invitation. An invitation to see yourself, your story, and the beauty of becoming whole.

Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25
3:00-5:00 PM (Saturday only)
6:30–8:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Anglican Church
4513 Park Avenue
Nashville, TN 37209
(Side entrance up the ramp)

Whether you come quietly to reflect, bring a friend, or share it with a young person in your life, this space was created for you.

At Love In A Big World, we believe that emotional wellness begins with connection, to ourselves, to others, and to the stories that shape us. Experiences like this art show are one way we live that out beyond the page, creating environments where resilience grows and belonging feels natural.

If you’ve been part of this community for a while, thank you. If you’re newer here, welcome. Either way, I hope you’ll step into this moment with us.

Because no one is meant to stay lost.

With love,
Tamara Fyke, Founder

P.S. If you’ve been looking for meaningful ways to start conversations about identity, emotions, and belonging with kids or families, our Love In A Big World (www.loveinabigworld.com) curriculum was created for exactly that. This art show is a beautiful companion experience, one that brings those conversations to life.

04/15/2026

Don’t forget

04/14/2026

It was 2008. I was the mother of three young children, the wife of a priest, and a non-profit leader. The kids were out of control, the marriage was failing, and the non-profit was financially unstable. We had started therapy…for the marriage,for the kids, for me. Going to appointments was my full-time job.

In the midst of the mess, I met with an older woman
who had been a priest’s wife for many years. As I described how my fiery little 5-year-old girl was acting out – spitting, kicking, yelling, screaming – the wise
woman looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “She’s your canary in the mineshaft. Canaries sound the alarm.”

I was both puzzled and alarmed by her statement. Her words were giving me permission to admit what I had known deep down inside for years and years, “Things are not okay…our family is not okay…our marriage is not okay…I am not okay.” And, thus, began the arduous journey of the last 18-years, recognizing that one of the best gifts I can give to my children is to be my authentic self.

When I am living out who I am created to be, then I give them permission and safety
to be who they are created to be. This has not been easy for me or my children. We have endured countless tears and heart-
aches, but we are still here.

Now that my children are young adults sorting out the realities of the big world, I understand
even more what a precious gift it is to be a refuge, a safe place, for them to share their hearts. And, at times, for me to let them know it is okay not to be okay…and
that they are stronger than they think.

04/08/2026

Dear Friends,

Easter Break. For many of us, this is a much-needed rest from the rigors of the classroom before the final chapter of the school year. However, there is a tendency to return from the holiday and let everything slide. The next benchmark is testing. After that, nothing matters. Or does it?

It’s important that we stop and reassess our goals so we can finish strong. Besides great test scores, what do we want to accomplish?

As parents and educators, we are in the business of building people. We are preparing kids for life. According to many employers, the greatest area of weakness for new recruits is social skills. It is our job as caring adults to teach these competencies in order to prepare our students for the workforce and for family life.

At the core of education is relationship. Relationships change people, not programs or technologies. How can we foster opportunities for deeper learning through relationships?

Here are some ideas to help you and your students finish strong:
1. The Studio – Empower students to create with digital tools collaboratively. Move beyond PowerPoint presentations to providing options for fun and interesting group-based projects, such as comics, digital posters, movie trailers, songs, photo galleries, playlists, etc.

2. Book Clubs – Offer several titles from which students can choose. Have them gather for student-led discussions of their book. Set a date for a final group project, such as a play or poetry slam.

3. Helping the Littles – Schedule time with your feeder schools for older and younger students to spend time working together. Perhaps, they could host a toy drive for your children’s hospital, or maybe older students can help younger students struggling with math or reading.

The end of the school year is a great time to think outside-the-box about all of the ways that learning can happen, especially by leveraging relationships and empowering students. Our job is to coach them to be and do their best.

Persevering with you!
Tamara, Founder
[email protected]
Tamara Creates

P.S. Teaching Perseverance doesn’t have to be complicated. This lesson gives you a simple, meaningful way to help kids push through challenges, build confidence, and keep trying. Only $3.99. [Download now]

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