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Home › Dad of the Month

Robin Barrett Kelley

Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a father who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man and a father. Above all, the Dad of the Month is dedicated to his children. Rich or poor, famous or not, he shines as an example of what fathering is all about.

Our choice for October is Robin Barrett Kelley, Sr., and Robin Barrett Kelley, Jr., father and son and co-authors of childrens science books!

Robin Barrett Kelley, Sr., 71, and Robin Barrett Kelley, Jr., 44, have always had a lot in common: They are travel enthusiasts, rabid college football fans and nature and environment buffs.

While the father was raising the son, they traveled with the family by van cross-country, out cheered each other at football games and cataloged far-flung flora and fauna. The two say they were close then, but emphasize that today – despite the distance they live apart – they are even closer. "Wed always been real good buddies," says Kelley Sr., from Anderson, S.C. "Our relationship as adults is better than its ever been," says the younger Kelley, who resides in the Buckhead area in Atlanta, Ga. "The older we get, the closer we get, and I think thats a departure for a lot of folks."

For the Love of Science
The pair may have taken different career paths – Kelley Sr. is a retired professor and Kelley Jr. is a marketing executive – but their early, shared experiences have led to yet another commonality.

The Kelleys have become co-authors of childrens science books. Fuzzy Freddy Fungus (Publish America, 2004), is now on bookshelves, Betty Bacteria is due out soon and Victor Virus and Jerry the Germ are currently works in progress.

The reason behind the father-son collaboration, Kelley Jr. says, is "not to make one million." Rather, its to educate kids about and instill in them a respect for science, as well as to have a ball doing the projects. "It was just so much fun doing this with my dad and seeing how tickled he was," says Kelley Jr. "It was just such a thrill in my heart to see how tickled he got."

Humor as a Teaching Tool
Kelley Sr., whose home is on Hartwell Lake and about 20 miles from Clemson University, retired three years ago from his post as chair of the Department of Biology at Anderson College. With a masters in Sciences Teaching from Clemson and a strong background in biology, botany, zoology, anatomy and physiology, the elder Kelley spent 36 years teaching college students biological sciences. And he spent those nearly four decades imparting his knowledge through humor. "I always liked a little humor in my classes," he says.

Humor, says the former professor, is an excellent teaching tool. "Maybe its not for everybody, but for me, it is," he says. Hes seen kids learn better when they can laugh over a subject. In fact, a former student once approached him to say he learned so much biology from him, due solely to the professors use of wit in the classroom. That college kid today is a veterinarian.

So it was the elder Kelleys love of science, desire for children also to enjoy the subject and penchant for punch lines that inspired him to write a kids book about fungus. "I jot down ideas while doing mundane tasks, like cutting grass," he says. And he believed his son would be the perfect partner to turn a book idea into a published work.

Kelley Jr., with 20 years experience in corporate communications and a bachelors in journalism, advertising and marketing from the University of Georgia, also is a solid illustrator and can turn a phrase. Hes currently director of marketing for Moore Colson, one of Atlantas largest accounting firms.

The father provided the books content, and the son provided the rhymes and drawings. Their effort took about one year to see through from conception to publication, and the Kelleys hope it will prove a teaching tool for children and parents alike.

The thin book – whose typeface, like its content, is whimsical – includes a glossary of terms at the back. For example, take this section about a common fungus – mushrooms:

"Some mushrooms are yummy and good to eat, but some mushrooms can make you sick so theyre not too neat.

But sometimes you cant tell which ones are good and which ones can make you sick. So mushrooms from the forest are not really good to pick."

And the "mushrooms" entry in the glossary reads:

"[Some can make you sick] – There really is no good way to identify poisonous mushrooms."

Shared Love of Science and Nature
Kelley Jr. says though he chose a career in communications, hes always had a lot of interest in and respect for the life sciences. And he believes general knowledge of that academic area is very important for kids to have. For these beliefs, he credits his dad. "We cared about these things (reptiles, plants)," he says. "We were taught why we should care about them and learn about them."

His education and that of his younger sister, Deegie, 43, began at an early age. "We traveled every summer, for two to three months at a time," says Kelley Jr., explaining that both his parents were teachers and so had the season off. "We always looked forward to these very long trips wed take each summer." Trips that differed greatly from those of his peers. "It was such a tremendous opportunity for a child."

While their classmates went to the nearby mountains or lakes, the Kelleys set off for Maine, Canada, California, Montana, New Mexico and Arizona, where Robin Sr. twice had months-long sabbaticals at Arizona State University, in Tempe, to study desert biology.

Kelley Sr. proudly says his son can name every desert plant. And today when Kelley Jr. jets off to places like Jamaica, Greece, the Czech Republic, Poland or Hawaiis Big Island, he likes to present to his dad a literal piece of the land hes visited. Not touristy kitsch, but an item like a lava rock from the Big Islands Kilauea volcano. The father asks his son to place such items on a piece of paper, complete with its origin, the date retrieved and his signature. "Thats exactly where I get those things, from my dad," Kelley Jr. says of his ongoing interest in nature.

Touchdown!
Kelley Jr. also credits his dad with his extreme love of many sports. Growing up, Kelley Jr. and his family took tennis lessons and played together most every morning in the summer months. They also went to high school and college basketball games in the fall and, later, when Kelley Jr. attended the University of Georgia, the Bulldogs became the team of choice.

The family made a day out of rooting for University of Georgias football team during then-amateur Herschel Walkers reign. Even though rival Clemson is much closer – Kelley Sr.s wife, Peggy, 69, is a former Ms. Clemson, and Deegie attended Clemson – the Kelley men pull for the "Bulldawgs."

"I dont paint myself all red, get on all fours and bark," Kelley Jr. jokes. "But I do have season tickets and go to all the games," he says, adding that about a decade ago he got the schools "G" logo tattooed on his right ankle.

Football also helps keep the extended family close, says Benjamin "Ben" McGill, 17, Deegies eldest son and Robin Jr.s nephew. (Incidentally, Fuzzy Freddy was dedicated to both Deegies sons, Ben and his younger brother, Bobby McGill, 13.) "My grandfather and my uncle are two of the funniest people I know," says McGill, who lives in Seneca, S.C., about 15 minutes from his grandparents. Ever since I was little, they have been taking me to Georgia football games, and we all just spend the afternoon together, enjoying the game and each others company."

Both Kelley Jr. and his nephew, Ben, wish they lived closer to one another. "I don't get to see Uncle Robin as much as I'd like because we live two hours apart and we are both so busy in our own lives," McGill says, but hes certainly had enough time with him to observe the relationship between his uncle and grandfather. "You can tell that it is a father-son relationship, but also they get along so well that you can see the camaraderie of great friends between them," he says.

Despite the father-son teams enviable social and working relationship, the two differ in some areas. Whereas Kelley Jr. works up to 10 hours a day during the week and doesnt have much time to prepare fancy food, Kelley Sr. loves to cook (and brag about his kitchen prowess). "I dont like to clean up," he says. "[But] I enjoy cooking, very much so. Im the very best cook. I can cook a pecan pie to knock your eyeballs out [and] I make the best potato salad in the world."

Try Robin Kelley Sr.s recipes for Whole Wheat Cake and Pecan Pie!

And when it comes to books, Kelley Sr. opts for Civil War stories, such as An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government (Harcourt, 2001) by William C. Davis, while Kelley Jr., an antiquities collector, recommends The Power of Myth (Anchor, 1991) by Joseph Campbell.

Children Are Sponges
Though Kelley Jr. loves dearly his nephews and would like to be a father himself one day, he doesnt yet have a family of his own. "I would love to be a dad," he says. "I think that children just bring so much into your life, in every area."

Not only that, says Kelley Sr., whose received very positive reviews of Fuzzy Freddy from the elementary school set, children yearn to learn new information. "Plants are real smart; they entice us to do all sorts of things," he says. "And children would just love to know about these things," such as pollination, Kelley Sr. says.

Besides, he says, children may be a teaching books best audience. "If you can just call a childs attention to it (any subject), they pick it up – and maybe soak it up even faster than a college student," says Kelley Sr.

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