Brian has jumped into "real school" with both feet without a backward glance. One week down and he LOVES it – likes his teachers, is doing well in all his subjects (Health/P.E., Bible, English 1, Algebra 1, Physical Science, Computers), has made friends, and discovered how much fun soccer is. He even got his first choice in both electives (Wilderness and Gardening). Next weekend Brian is going backpacking with his Wilderness class, so today he and Rick have been getting Rick's old backpacking tent ready along with other preparations.
Rick and I were both surprised that Brian chose Gardening as one of his electives; he certainly hasn't shown much interest in that subject at home. Only three other students signed up so the science teacher was thinking about canceling the class, but all four kids are committed. The school has two big greenhouses, 40 fruit trees, and a large garden plot; the teacher's dream is to produce enough to supply some regular customers so the garden can help support the school. I'm not sure if some of the garden produce is used in the hot lunch program; it should be.

I think Brian is a little surprised at how much he likes soccer. There 22 kids on the team, so Brian may not get much game time as a newbie (the first game is a week from this evening), but that's okay. Thursday evening was the first time he's played in an actual scrimmage. I arrived early to pick him up, so I captured some shots (he's "1" in the photos). It was really hard to stand there and snap away; I wanted to get out there and PLAY! (Soccer was about all I played throughout grade school in Southern California; I also played some community league soccer in college.) You may notice some girls on the field; LAA doesn't offer boys and girls soccer, so three girls are on the boys team.

That's the school update from . . .