What our (not so home) School looks like this year....

In the month or so  I've been catching up the blog with posts about our Texas trip, life here at the ReaderChemist household has marched on, so now I've got various things to share about what's been going on.

The biggest news is school -- The Writer is officially A Freshman this year. Wow. He's enrolled in TTUISD's on-line program, which has taken us some getting used to but is mostly good. There's one class and teacher that I am not thrilled with, but his other five courses seem to be very good with teachers who have obviously put a lot into their classes.

The set-up for a TTUISD course is not like K12, which is what everyone thinks we're using. There are no live lectures (or even video lectures), no chat rooms or on-line tutoring sessions. There is, instead, an on-line listing of assignments for each class, with as little or as much extra information as the individual teacher wishes to supply. For some of The Writer's classes, that's been quite a lot. For others, it's been barely enough to manage the assignments.

Challenges and all, though, The Writer is doing very well. He's just finished his second week and we're still tweaking things like pace and schedule of course work, but he's tolerating it nicely. I won't quite say enjoying it, because the longer day is a bit of a drag, but he is thriving academically which is nice. It's a bit of an affirmation to put your always homeschooled student into an  outside high school program and see him handling the work load with ease, making 100 after 100 on the quizzes and assignments he's submitted thus far. It's a bit of a joy, too, to watch and see that his work ethic doesn't waver even in the face of lost free time. I am so proud of the student he is, of the man he's becoming.

The Artist is taking one class thus far from TTUISD, and we're waiting (rather impatiently) for his second course to be uploaded so we can officially enroll him. The plan was for him to take Science and English from TTUISD (and continue with math, geography, and extra reading at home), but the English class hasn't yet been released. I'll be working on a schedule this weekend that he can use to begin working through the textbook, just in case.  Meanwhile, he is powering through his other course work. He's got all 100s in math so far, has finished the first section of a study on Africa, is reading The Hobbit (with thanks to his M friend for some needed encouragement), has improved his cursive dramatically and is zooming through a vocabulary workbook as well. He's had The Chemist help him with a few science experiments and is enjoying the material for that class quite a bit. We submit his first set of assignments today, once I figure out the exact procedure for his class, and I'm proud of the work he'll be turning in. Bar graphs, lab reports, quizzes....he is doing a fantastic job.

The Adventurer is surprising me with his attention span. We've taken a very gentle approach to most of his school subjects the past few years as we focused on helping him learn to read. This  year he's got a full course load --- history, Bible, science, math, and read-alouds (aka, story time). We will add in reading lessons soon; I'm still formulating a plan for how to effectively teach him to read. On the other stuff, though, he's thriving and blowing me away. We start with math -- he uses Miquon math which has a hands-on component (Cuisenaire rods) -- and then he plays with the math manipulatives while I read to him from a history book, then a bible story, then his science book. He listens throughout, interrupting with questions at least once per subject.  He even comes to me later in the day, or sometimes a day or two later, to ask follow-up questions about what we studied, which shows me he's not only paying attention, he's also retaining what he hears.  Later in the day, when he is struggling with boredom because his brothers are still doing school, we stop and read a story. I planned to read him a chapter per day; he's asked for no fewer than three chapters per day and so we've finished two books already and are three chapters into our third. Two weeks into the school year.  (so far, we have read George's Marvelous Medicine, by Roald Dahl, and Capyboppy, by Bill Peet; currently we are reading My Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannet).

I am mostly enjoying the role of overseer instead of teacher; I no longer have to sit and supervise every single subject, which frees me to focus on The Adventurer, and to sew. It's odd, this feeling of having more free time in the day, even while my boys have less. Of course, that means I  no longer have an excuse when I forget to do the dishes, but at least I'm getting more sewing done! That has to count for something, right???

All in all, a good first two weeks. I look forward to what the rest of the year has in store.

What Will School Look Like This Year.....?

My friend Mindy over at Grateful for Grace is talking about school curriculum choices, and while I already mentioned that we're using an on-line school for the boys I thought I'd go into a bit of detail about what that will look like.  I know you've been burning with curiosity, right???

The Writer, who begins 9th Grade this fall, will enroll in six courses from Texas Tech University's on-line high school program (TTUISD). His schedule will include:

• English I -- this will encompass literature, grammar, vocabulary, etc. He will still read other books for fun &/or at my direction as well. 
• Biology -- study of living things. Should be interesting. 
• Geometry -- he's finished up Algebra I this year so will move onto Geometry (he needs a break before going to Algebra II, though I've honestly never understood why we split up the Algebras and put Geometry in the middle....). He's excited to have a math that is NOT Algebra, though, so that works for me. 
• World Geography -- he was hoping for US History, but the great state of TX puts freshmen in Geography; as he will enroll in the full-time program next year, which involves all that end of year testing stuff, he needs to take the history courses in order. He is, however, excited to know that World Geography focuses on different things than World History (which he's just finished 2 years of), so it should be a good year.
• Health -- a pretty basic health course. I haven't seen the text yet, so not sure what all it covers. I remember my public school health class as being fascinating, so I hope he enjoys this. 
• Art I -- Texas requires a fine art credit, and he couldn't decide between Art, Music History, or Theater. As the Theater course required watching various DVDs, videos and even a real play -- things we weren't sure we could locate here in Brazil -- we suggested he take Art. He likes to draw (I am, after all, making a quilt showcasing his comic strips) and is hoping to improve through this course; while it's an on-line course, he will have projects and have to submit photos via email, so it should be a lot of fun. 

A pretty full schedule, and using all textbooks, which is new. He's used a textbook based math & science this past year, so it won't be totally foreign to him, which is good. He is looking forward to being challenged; he complained this year that, aside from Algebra, his coursework was too easy. Hopefully this will keep him busy, challenged, engaged. I love that he is maturing to the point where he recognizes that working hard is good for him and he'd rather push himself than coast through life. He definitely inherited his father's work ethic. 

The Artist, who begins 6th Grade in the fall, will be taking a few on-line courses and a few at-home courses as we transition him into junior high/middle school. His line-up looks like this: 

• TTUISD: English 6 -- this 6th grade English course encompasses reading, grammar, vocabulary, etc. He, too, will still read for fun; not that we often see him without a book or three around anyway. I don't think we could stop him from reading if we tried. A boy after my own heart! I so love that....
• TTUISD: Science 6 -- a general 6th grade science course. Science is my weakest area, and while it is a strong subject for The Chemist (he didn't get that nickname by accident), his job keeps him too busy to spend time doing actual, consistent teaching like he used to when the boys were younger. Out-sourcing this class just makes sense. 
• At Home: Math 6 -- Teaching Textbooks again. I love that this allows the boys to be independent in math. As I need to devote more and more time to The Adventurer, I can trust that The Artist is getting proper math instruction (via CD-Rom tutor) even when I'm not the one explaining how to do things. 
• At Home: World Geography -- although he will repeat this in 9th grade, I had already bought a great program and so want to go ahead and use it. With both older boys studying Geography, I hope they can help & encourage one another as they learn the countries, landmarks, rivers, etc. The Writer will use the State of TX approved text; The Artist will use Around the World in 180 Days. Should be an education for all of us. 
• At Home: Art -- he has been using, off & on, a program called Artistic Pursuits. It's a student-directed program, he can work independently, and he enjoys it. He will continue to make his way through this program in the coming year. 

Not as full as The Writer, but then 6th Grade and 9th Grade aren't supposed to be equal. Still a sufficiently heavy course load for him, and one I think he'll enjoy. He will continue his keyboard/piano lessons as well, which he loves & excels at. Should be a good year for him.

And that brings me to The Adventurer. He will be doing a variety of things:

• Miquon Math -- this is a hands-on math program, using manipulatives and Cuisenaire rods to make math concrete. He loves it. His math box is a favorite activity, and he often pulls it out in his free time just to play. We will stick with this until we've completed the program.
• Explode the Code -- he's finished the 1st three "pre-Explode the Code" books (Get Ready, Get Set, and Go for the Code) and will move on to the actual Level 1, 2 & 3 books this year. We'll work our way through at his pace, and supplement with alphabet games, activities, scavenger hunts, and whatever else is necessary to cement the information firmly in his head. 
• History/Literature -- he will make his way through Sonlight's old-version Core 1. I have no idea what this package is called now; we'll be using the books that I first purchased when The Writer was about 5 years old and just reading them at our own speed. This package is a beginning introduction to world history, focusing on ancient Egypt, Greek mythology, and other fun stuff. It is full of information that appeals to a 7 year old boy and I know he'll enjoy it. 
• Science -- we'll work through a very casual study of the world, using a great National Geographic set we also bought back when The Writer was about four or so. The titles include one on weather, space, earth, mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, volcanoes....just a slew of titles on different general-interest subjects. We'll use those as our starting point, explore any topic he wants in greater detail, and just have fun. The books will be a good introduction to the world of science, and at a level and speed I can handle. 

I'm excited to have more time to spend focused on The Adventurer, and excited about the things we'll be reading about and learning about. Even though this will be my third time through the Sonlight books, I know I won't be bored; watching The Adventurer learn about mummies should be entertaining and educational for both of us. 

Not a typical home school year at all, but as we're on-line schooling instead I guess that makes sense. Our curriculum and course plans for the year are exactly what we need right now, and I'm anticipating a very good school year for everyone. 

It's time...

Time to talk about some things I've been avoiding lately. Please bear with me as I walk you through some happenings in our life; this post will sound like a bit of a downer for a little bit, but I hope to leave you on a hopeful note, for I am in a place of hope right now, not sadness. Hang in there to the end, then, and don't feel sorry for us but cheer us on to the next phase of life. 

I hate when good things come to an end, but here we are, facing two different endings all at the same time. I'm not thrilled. But I am trusting God for what comes next.

Before you ask, no, we are not yet leaving Brazil; that one has no end in sight.  But, some very dear friends are leaving Brazil. For good. In a week. And I am not thrilled.

We met this family during their very first week in Brazil, and have been good friends ever since. We've spent at least one day of every weekend together, with exceptions only when one or the other of us is out of town. It has been a wonderful three & a half years of friendship, fellowship, togetherness, fun, laughter, sharing the ex-pat experience, watching our kids grow up together, and watching Brazil shape us all.

And next week, it will all be over.

They'll return to the US, not to any state anywhere near where we routinely visit. For good. And we'll stay here. For who knows how much longer.

The kids will, we hope, continue their routine of shared on-line gaming & skype-chatting while they play. We'll continue, we hope, to email and chat. We're planning, loosely, a US meet-up a year from now; turns out Walt Disney World is equidistant from both of our home states.

But our weekends will now be free.

Free, but not empty. We do have other friends, and we look forward to getting to know them better and spending more weekend time with them. We've also just now found a church we're willing to visit again, which is something we've been sorely missing.

It's very difficult to find a comfortable church when you don't speak the language (or the kids don't) well enough to follow the entire sermon; when the few Protestant denominations are mostly things you've never heard of and so don't know if you agree or not with the major points of theology they teach; when you come from a place with one hour long services, into a place with two hour services; when you want to be both anonymous and welcomed, but not feel like "the Americans" in a fish bowl before the entire congregation. But now we've found one that we like, and we plan to go back. Weekly, even. With the exception of The Adventurer, we're all excited about that.

The other ending is school. Our home school. My role as teacher is shrinking, as we're shifting the two older boys into an on-line virtual school. Beginning in September, The Writer will have all of his classes at TTUISD; The Artist will have half of his classes there.

There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is the legality of doing what we're doing, where we're doing it. By enrolling the boys in a virtual school, we'll gain both an answer to give when asked "where do you go to school" as well as a bit of legitimacy that people here will recognize.

The other big reason is so that my time is free to devote to The Adventurer, who learns so very differently from how the older boys learned. His style of learning takes a great deal of time and effort, so out-sourcing the teaching for the older boys will free me to focus on the little guy instead, where my focus needs to be just now.

Which means our last day of school this year (Friday) will really be our last day of home school, ever, in some ways. Yes, the boys will continue to be at home, but I will be the parent, not the teacher. It's a shift, an odd feeling, but a needed one and I believe a good one. I look forward to what parenting a child through high school looks like when one is not also the teacher. I look forward to watching the boys thrive under someone else's instruction, and to really helping The Adventurer grow once he is able to have my undivided attention during school time. So, yes, an ending, but a hopeful one.

We'll celebrate on Friday, the end of our home school year. Goodbye eight grade, fifth grade and (no discussion on age vs. grade here) Kindergarten. Hello, "summer" vacation!

We'll gather on Saturday to say a different goodbye, Goodbye, dear friends. Hello, new adventure!

Two endings, back-to-back. A time of vacation to adjust to the newness, and a new church to help us through the changes. I look forward to what God has in store for us in this next chapter, and while I'm not thrilled with some of this, I am comfortable with all of it and hopeful about what the future has in store.

Not-Quite-Friday What We're Learning Update....

I know it's only Thursday, and Mindy at Grateful for Grace does her link-up on Fridays, but I'm popping in with mine now because, well, I'm ready and trying not to procrastinate.

So here's a little "what we're learning" update and a general update as well.

We are learning....

...that karate does, in fact, involve a little bit of (very) light contact, and that we don't appreciate that, at all.

...that plans can change, and twice a week karate lessons can be stopped before they get started if one has a good enough reason. Unexpected contact sport is, we think, a good enough reason. Even if some of us realized there might be contact, we are not willing to force the sport on the unsuspecting among us who didn't have a clue.

...that not having to leave my house those other two nights a week is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I am insanely grateful that I won't be needing quite as many "quick & easy meals" as I thought.

...piano continues at a startling rate. Since I last posted, The Artist has learned London Bridge and his instructor has introduced the bass clef, so he's now practicing with both left & right hands. He's working on Frere Jacques with both hands. He is able to read music, follow sheet music, or listen and repeat.

...that buying just the right fabric when making a gift for someone, following your own design, is a bit nerve wracking. I did a wide poll of all my friends on whether to go with the original color scheme I wanted for the baby gift I'm making, or to go with the color scheme that the new mom chose for the baby's bedding. Votes were roughly 50/50, but The Chemist cast the deciding vote and suggested I match it to the baby's room just to be on the safe side. This was tough, folks. I had already seen and picked out (but not bought) the absolutely perfect fabrics -- for my color scheme. Finding stuff that I loved as much, worked as well together, still felt feminine and soft, and that sang to me the way the originals did....it was tough. Really, really tough. In fact, I'm still doubting one of the fabrics and will be emailing photos to a select few (two) so they can tell me which one to use. Hopefully they agree with each other, because The Chemist and I disagree. I really need a no-tie vote on this. Ooh, just thought of a third person to guarantee I don't get tie results.

...how to serve well in tennis. "We" are not learning this, but The Writer is learning this and doing really well at it. The Chemist and he have played a few games together and all reports are that The Writer is doing great.

That's the bulk of what we're learning this week. I've got a few posts coming up that should be interesting; a spotlight on The Writer, a preview of the baby quilt (the recipient does not read my blog, I don't think), a photo of the memorial "quilt" (tiny) that The Artist designed for Kitty Socks, and some more catch-up on the Diary Quilt. I'll get those posts going in the next week or two....come back and check it out!

What We're Learning, 2nd Edition

I won't be doing this every week, but only those weeks I have something to share. This week is one of those weeks! Hooray!

We're learning some fun stuff this week....

The Artist, age 11, is finally riding his bike w/o the aid of training wheels! woot!!!

Now, before you get all "only now???? he's ELEVEN!!" on me, keep in mind that he was only 6 when we moved to Brazil. To an apartment where he had no place to ride a bike. And then to a house where the only streets were steep hills not conducive to a just-learning bike rider. And so now, in this house, with flat streets and no traffic he has had his first opportunity to learn to ride a bike. With that in mind, I'm very proud of how quickly he caught on. Yay, Artist!!!

The Writer, age 14, continues in his tennis lessons. At his last lesson the instructor taught him how to block the ball, by extending his arm fully and placing the racket in the path of the ball, but not swing, in order to give a soft return. As The Writer's biggest struggle in tennis is controlling his arm strength (he tends to send balls flying over the 15' or 18' fences, bouncing off tree limbs....), this is a skill he needs and also a signal that his general play is improving to a point that his coach is comfortable introducing new skills. Yay!!! So proud of him!!

The Adventurer, age 7, made the connection last night at dinner that the names of the letters (of the alphabet) almost always tell him the sound that the letter makes. This is HUGE news for him and I am so proud that he has never given up on trying to learn, even when he begs out of school since he thinks he'll just forget. He's remembering, and learning, and things are starting to click, and I'm excited to see where we go from here. Again, so very proud of my boy!

The Boys are all learning a little about poetry, and that it can be fun & funny, not just dry and boring. I read them two poems at dinner last night -- one titled "Arithmetic" by Carl Sandburg, and the other called "Block City" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Everyone enjoyed it, but the witty replies of The Writer cracked me up. He joked with me about "Arithmetic," decided that "Block City" (about building with blocks) reminded him of Minecraft, an on-line game where you....build with blocks, and then when I said, "See, isn't poetry fun sometimes??" he quoted back to me the first line of "Arithmetic":  

"Well, actually, 'they flew in and out of my head like pigeons...."

I love seeing his sense of humor and wit come to life! (and I'm sad that "building with blocks" now resonates as a computer game! Ack!)

In other news, we're signing up the two younger boys for Karate, which means we'll now be out of the house (or parts of us will be) three nights a week. This means I am re-learning fast & easy dinners to make and serve before various ones of us are out the door. I haven't had a busy evening schedule in over four years; I hope I remember how to do this!

On that note -- any tips for me? I do have my crock pot here but haven't used it much; electricity is expensive here. I also have a pressure cooker that I've used for rice. Anyone have a good site for learning how to use it for more things?? Other fast & easy meal tips??? June, how can I do this without sacrificing taste??? 

If you want to read more, pop over to Grateful for Grace and follow the links....

What We're Learning, 1st Edition...

My friend over at Grateful for Grace is starting a new link-up called "What We're Learning." It's fun to read her list, which has both silly & serious, and then to go and read the stuff people have blogged and linked up with. (clearly, grammar is not on my WWL list today!) Being a good friend, I can't resist joining the party.

We're learning lots of things at our house this week.....

....algebra. Solving for x and all that. Side-by-side white boards on the couch, student and teacher, working through the problems in the book. Together. We've turned math from something that used to involve shouting and crying and fussing and frustration (from both the teacher and the student, sadly) to something that we collaborate on, our mutual enemy and together we team up and conquer this stuff. It's amazing, really.

....the alphabet. Yes, The Adventurer is still learning the basics. That each little scribble has a name and makes a particular sound (or two or three....). That if you string enough scribbles (letters) together, they make words. His penmanship is fantastic, and he can perfectly print every single letter. We're working on recall, and I'm confident he'll get it. Soon. I hope. And, no, the irony of teaching & learning both algebra & the alphabet is not lost on me.

....context clues. The Artist is reading a free version of Sherlock Holmes mysteries on the Kindle, and the formatting is sometimes off just a bit, so that some words show up as nothing but upside down question marks and fractions and dots. He asked me about it the first time he encountered this oddity, and I helped him decipher what that word was meant to be, and then he mentioned that this funny mix of symbols shows up here & there and what should he do? I explained to him about poor editing jobs and told him he'd just have to guess based on what word he thinks best fits in the empty space. He hasn't asked again, so I guess he's getting it.

....the necessity of giving things a fair shake. This one's me. I was all set to boycott the movie The Hunger Games, as I hadn't read the book and had no desire at all to read or see anything that involves kids sent into an arena to fight to the death. None. It just seemed too horrific. But The Chemist looked me in the eye with that gaze that means, "I'm having trouble recognizing you right now..." and asked me what was my biggest criticism of those who blindly boycotted Harry Potter. Silence. He waited. I said I'd download the book and he grinned. Because my biggest complaint is that people would boycott a book they'd not even done the courtesy of reading.

Read it. Decide for yourself if it is okay for you & yours. But do not just judge it based on what someone else tells you to believe about it; do not just latch onto one aspect of a book, any book, and declare it inappropriate until you've read the whole of it and can decide for yourself.

So I borrowed book one from the library, finished it in one gulp and immediately bought a 3-in-1 version for the Kindle so I could keep going, and just this morning I finished the epilogue. I'm still sorting out whether the horrors in the series are the sort of thing I need to shield my boys from, or throw the light on full force. I've already acknowledged that mostly my boys won't be terribly undone, like their mom, at the scenes of psychological warfare; the scenes that twist a knife in my gut as I ache for Katniss will, I think, ricochet around my boys without inflicting any damage. I'm still deciding for sure, though.

....to let them grow up. This ties in with that last one, as I search my heart and soul and the hearts of my boys, or what they let me see of them, to decide when to offer them The Hunger Games. It comes in small doses, as I convince The Chemist that our oldest son, 14.5 yrs old, is old enough to walk to tennis lessons alone. Even if we both see the same small boy who never wanted to leave our sides, reality stares back at me, at us, in a teenager thrilled to be granted this tiny freedom. It's hard to pretend he's still a little boy when I have to look up into his eyes.

....to cook. Okay, I know how to cook, more or less. But we're doing a group class with some friends of ours, here at my house, once a week. Every week I go onto Jamie Oliver's Home Cooking website and print off a recipe and matching skill sheets. Each week my kitchen fills with 4 kids learning to chop and slice and peel and muddle & bang their way around a kitchen, learning to cook. Then they eat and laugh and goof off and I smile to know we're giving them skills that will last them through life. More of that growing up bit.

Not much on the silly side from me this week, but I'm sure my friend over at GfG won't mind. Someone has to be serious sometimes. Not sure I'll manage to link up every week, but I'll try. Go and read her stories and the rest; they're much funnier than mine.

We've got learning to get back to.

Some Changes, And Some Vacation Pics

I realize I've been absent more than present lately, but I've been battling some serious writer's block these days. I feel less and less like I have anything worth saying, or rather, anything that I haven't already said. For a time there I blogged 6 days a week, and while I didn't maintain that pace the entire 5 years I've been blogging that's still an awful lot that I've already covered here.

I no longer see Brazil through the eyes of a newly arrived small town Texas girl, and so the things that would likely still be interesting to my readers simply don't jump out and grab my attention the way they once did. For me, it's old news that I can't flush toilet paper down the toilet. That I can buy pineapple that already has the shell (skin? husk?) removed, and it's still cheaper than pineapple in the US.

Our lives have settled into normal, and posting pictures of the boys in the swimming pool is only cute the first 100 times, ya know? Yet that is how we spend our days -- school work, swimming, Legos & video games. Not a lot of stuff to talk about there.

I don't cook with recipes, so I can't post any great food ideas for you. The Mendon Foodie would laugh her head off if I tried, anyway, even if my food doesn't contain nasty cream-of- soups. Plus I only cook about 5 things really, I just mix & match. My kitchen routine is like those travel ensembles you used to be able to buy. You know the ones, the two or three bottoms + two or three tops and the idea was you mixed & matched what piece you wore together so that you could pack light but still not wear the same three outfits over & over again. My food is like that. A handful of main dishes, a handful of veggies/sides, and I mix them up so my family doesn't realize they're eating only 5 meals over and over and over again. So, a food blog is out.

I am starting to quilt and sew. But I'm only starting and while I'm sure I'll share here about my projects as I go, I don't have nearly enough talent to do tutorials or anything like that. Plus I don't want to limit myself to any one thing like that, really. Heck, just look at this post -- I titled it "changes & vacation pics" and so far I've talked about everything but. Time to get on topic....

Changes. The Writer finishes up 8th grade in a few months and the high school years loom ahead of us. I have always thought I'd home school all the way through; The Chemist has always wanted the boys to go to public school for high school. Being still in Brazil, neither of us gets what we want and instead we'll be using an on-line program for supplemental course work for 9th grade and then eventually switching to their full diploma program. This will allow The Writer to graduate from a Texas high school, with a class rank and everything, which may or may not help us as we try to convince colleges that our time in Brazil really was "temporary absence with intent to return to Texas" even though it's lasted, or will have by then, longer than the "usually 5 years or less." The thought of our Texan boys not being able to have in-state tuition when they attend Texas universities just sort of makes me sick and seems entirely unfair, so we're doing what we can to establish that we really do have every intent, and always have, of returning to Texas when our time in Brazil is over.

What that means for me.....a supervisory role, more of school counselor/advisor than teacher. Strange. Different. I'm not sure yet if it will be a comfortable role or not. But already we are looking ahead to adding The Artist to the on-line program as well, sometime in his middle school years. He finishes 5th grade this year and I'd not consider giving up teaching him but the program we've found seems like a really good one, the changing legal scene here in Brazil kind of worries me sometimes, and The Adventurer requires loads & loads & loads of one-on-one attention as I sort out the best way to get information into his head so that it stays there. Delegating the older boys instruction seems a logical way to address all of those issues and so starting in August or September we'll be doing something I never envisioned...using on-line school and text books for everything instead of the fun real books we've always used.

This coincides with some changes that our heretofore favorite curriculum company is making; changes I don't agree with, can't support, and wish to have no part of. It makes the parting easier, though it's not easy to leave behind a community that has supported me through many ups & downs in my life.

Moving on to the more fun topic of vacation pictures (and thank you for bearing with me as I ramble my way through this post....). We just returned from a few days back in Paraty, one of our favorite spots because it encompasses all the beauty of Brazil in one tiny little city. My dad & his family were here visiting; it was my dad's third visit but the first for his wife & their boys. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, I hope.

Here are some of the pictures they took -- in typical "this could only happen to me" fashion I managed to take a camera w/o batteries and had to spend the first while charging batteries, so took no photos of my own.

Dad & Me
He's not mad, he just doesn't smile for the camera.
At least, I hope that's it.
Also, The Adventurer nearly went over that ledge later, the one in the right on the photo.
One can never relax when he's around!

The Artist, doing what he does.
Every beach trip I end up with him in the sand building sand castles.
I so love this boy.  

The Adventurer, jumping into his father's arms.
Yes, that rock is shoulder high to The Chemist.
Yes, that water is waist deep.
Yes, it really is more than an arm's reach away.
The boy has no fear. Like I said, one can never relax. 

The Boys.
Left to Right: Artist, Writer, C1, C2 and Adventurer. 

typical beach scene in Brazil.
I think the yellow chairs with Skol emblem (a beer) will forever represent the beach to me.

Big waves at Praia Meio, at Trindad, a fishing village just south of Paraty.
That's The Writer in the foam; the big boys enjoyed jumping, body surfing & otherwise
being swamped by the huge waves out there. 

the four big boys -- The Writer, The Artist, C1 & C2.
I haven't checked with Dad yet for nicknames for their boys, so....

and us. 

I leave you with this, and promise to get back in the saddle and start writing regularly again now that I have apparently found my voice once more.