Head women's basketball coach Gene Hill, his wife Heidi, and children Gigi and Guy want to remind everyone to #StayAtHome. Here are some tips and tricks from the Hill family. We've left a survey form at the bottom of the article for you to submit your own tips and tricks from your family. We'll share our favorites on the GSU Athletics social media pages.

Family Dinner

Family dinners have become a big thing at our house. My daughter and I prepare the dinner for the family typically. We’ve done some traditional dinners like Sloppy Joe’s and spaghetti. We’ve done chicken & waffles and wings and stuff on the grill. It’s a time to connect with my daughter and learn and teach her some things in the kitchen. 

My son and wife enjoy eating it. Gigi would say her best dish is her chicken alfredo. My best dish they would say was the ribs with brussels sprouts and corn and some shrimp also. I cook my brussels sprouts with bacon and I cooked that whole meal on the grill.

Pro Tip: Try and be creative. Find recipes that take a favorite meal but do it a different way to avoid monotony of eating the same thing over and over again. 

Fishing

My son is the expert in fishing. We call Guy the "Fish Whisperer". He could go down to the water and grab your rod and catch a fish in two minutes after you’ve been out there two hours and not caught anything. He really enjoys it. We have some bass in the lake in our neighborhood. It’s a great activity to get the kids outside.

Pro Tip: My pro tip for catching a fish is to let Guy fish for you or go to the market and buy some.

Game Night

Game nights are something that my daughter is in charge of. We play Charades, Monopoly, Uno, Checkers. It’s another way to keep the competitive spirit going in the house. Nobody wants to lose. I think its important to keep that mentality. Compete, have some fun. 

Pro Tip: Make sure you watch the banker in Monopoly. The banker sometimes may collect more than $200 when passing go. 

Gardening

Gardening is my wife’s area. She started last summer and she got the kids involved. We grow some cabbage, collard greens, tomatoes. We have a lemon tree and we just planted blueberries. It’s another way to keep kids active but also educate them on foods and growing plants. 

Pro Tip: Try to find things that the kids have an interest in and that they’re willing to try. Picking plants that you can include in your meals makes a difference. The kids enjoy that aspect the most.

Movie Night

Movie Night can get testy. We have to vote for the movie and there’s four of us. The process of picking the movie alone can become an issue. I try and tell them it’s an electoral voting system and I hold more votes but they don’t seem to buy into that idea. Sometimes you may get ganged up on and you have to watch something maybe you’re not too high on. But it’s about spending time with the family. The other night I thought we had voted against watching Trolls World Tour, but then my wife switched her vote on me and I ended up having to watch. It isn’t high on my list.

Pro Tip: If you lose, keep an open mind and a soft pillow to fall asleep on.

Schooling

It’s made me appreciate teachers and the hard work that goes into controlling a classroom with 15-20 or more kids in it. The work is a lot different now that the kids are at home. 

Luckily my kids are computer savvy so they’re able to figure out Zoom and some of the other technology. We start the day at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and then some chores and then they start the classes. 

We take a lunch break and then stop for the day around 2 p.m. or 3. 

With my wife being a teacher (She’s the chair of the Special Education department at our local middle school), she’s been having to do her work separately and then she has to come back after I’m done working with the kids and make sure I didn’t mess them up. So she’s doing double the work right now. 

Pro Tip: Make sure you have a strong WiFi connection.

Riding Bikes

My wife had another idea to get outside and stay active so we went and bought bikes a couple weeks ago. We all ride together as a family. We try and go once a day. It gets us outside and promotes being healthy. 

Pro Tip: Make sure you wear your helmets. We all remember our days as kids riding bikes but we are more fragile in our older ages so let’s stay safe.

#FieldTripFriday

On Friday’s Georgia Aquarium and other museums around Atlanta offer virtual tours of different exhibits on their Facebook page. It’s like a field trip during the day for the kids.

The aquarium supports our student-athletes so we try and support them as well.