Nothing is fun for the whole family

But here's what you can do to spend time with your crew

Next year, in the same week, I will attend a high school graduation and a Pre-K graduation. This is what happens when you have five children spread out over 12.5 years.

Because of my children’s wildly varying ages, I am often reminded that few things are truly fun for the whole family at the same time. That said, I still like the sense of being a family — spending time together and doing things together.

So I’ve come up with a few strategies for increasing the amount of time we spend as a family unit, with as much of it as possible falling into the enjoyable category — for teens and preschoolers. Here are the operating rules in my household: