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Happiest of Fridays to you, SLOCA parents! We so deeply appreciate all your hard work completing this amazing year of learning with your children, and being part of our wonderful community. And now, glorious summer!

Wondering what’s going on with the blog this summer? We will be posting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, focusing on three main themes: 

Preparing (for next school year)

Playing (with your family), and 

Pausing, or intentionally taking breaks to rest and recharge as a parent

Even though summer generally has a more relaxed schedule, it’s easy to fill it up with activities and never really feel rested. We firmly believe in the benefits of taking purposeful breaks, whether it’s a full vacation or just a few moments in the day, and we hope to give you some ideas to help you do just that!

And in the spirit of purposeful breaks, Down Home will be taking the rest of June off. We will return Monday, July 1st, ready to help you Prepare, Play, and Pause throughout the summer weeks. If you have subscribed to the blog via email, then don't worry about a thing - you will be notified when we return, and whenever there is new content throughout summer. If you'd like to subscribe to the blog so that new blog posts are delivered to your inbox, click here! 

Happy Summer, and see you in a couple of weeks, Down Home!

{photos by Anne Trott}

We did it - it’s the official last day of school!!! Congrats to all on a year WELL done!

We began the school year with a Magical Moment, and this year we’ll end with one too. Anne Trott sent in this reminder of the beauty of spending time outdoors exploring, learning, and having fun. With summer officially starting, we wish you and your kids lots of outdoor fun in the weeks ahead!

Anne and Tom Trott just finished their first year here at SLO Classical, with daughter Teagan in Kindergarten on Track A.  Here are some special moments they wanted to share with us:

With the weather warming up, the kids have been doing a lot of exploring outside. The messes have been greater, but watching the fun and joy unfold has made them very worth it. 

There has also been a huge interest in drawing pictures of squirrels, cats, dogs, and pretty much anything else interesting they have been finding in our nature journals. Numerous times I have found Teagan outside with her journal and colored pencils, drawing the many things/animals she sees around her. 

Watching my kids fall in love with nature and being outside is so neat. I'm am constantly amazed at the beauty all around us, and my kids are helping me to slow down a bit and pay more attention to the details all around me. :)

Thank you, Anne! Let’s all slow down and and enjoy the details as we slip into the more relaxed pace of summer. 

Come back tomorrow to see what’s happening this summer here at Down Home!

{photo by Jenny Bischoff}

Paul's Favorite Pasta Salad

serves a lot!

There’s quite a bit to celebrate this week: The end of school, History Day last Friday, and Father’s Day is this Sunday. In honor of all the wonderful dads out there, today I thought I’d share one of the Bischoff dad’s favorite things to eat: pasta salad. This recipe is a combination of several I’ve tried over the years. You can add extra veggies such as broccoli or zucchini, or chopped salami. It makes a great lunch item or potluck dish, perfect to bring to a celebration of any kind. We hope your dad likes it as much as ours does! 

Ingredients

1 lb. rotini pasta (or your favorite shape)

2 lbs. ripe plum or cherry tomatoes, chopped

2 T dried basil

2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped olives

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup chopped green onion

2/3 c. olive oil

3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

4T red wine vinegar or lemon juice (I use a combo of both)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

(add other veggies if desired)

Directions

All ingredients should be at room temp. Put tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Add basil, salt and pepper, garlic and vinegar. Toss well and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Put pasta in the serving bowl and mix well. Add olive oil, pepperoni, olives, bell pepper and green onion. Toss again with pasta.

Mix in cubes of mozzarella, sprinkle with parmesan and stir.

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We’re almost there, folks! Today Tim Theule is our guest blogger with a great idea for summer. Tim and Susie have, of course, been with the school from the very beginning, and this seasoned SLOCA dad is “all in,” with some encouraging words and recommendations. Thank you, Tim!

Looking to stoke your mojo this summer?    SLOCA is a "full contact sport" and you no doubt feel exhausted at the end of another grueling, yet satisfying school year.   What are you going to do this summer to ensure you are ready to go again come fall?   

How about watching an education-focused flick?  Here are a few of my favorites. . . . 

Gifted Hands:  The Ben Carson Story (2009):  This is inspiring  story of Ben Carson, head of pediatric neurosurgery and the first to ever separate siamese twins joined at the head.  I made my kids watch this one because it highlights of power of reading.  Currently available on Netflix.  

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Akeelah & the Bee (2006) :  Akeelah is an gifted African-Amerian girl who stumbles into a spelling bee.   I like this movie because it reminds me of the importance of learning styles and the power of caring teachers.   This one is great for kids of all ages.  

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Finding Forester (2000):   This is about a teenage boy who discovers a famous, but reclusive, writer living in the apartment high above his neighborhood basketball court.   The writer teaches the boy to write.  The boy teaches the writer how to live again.  The teacher is played by Sean Connery, so you know its got to be good!   Good for upper middle students and older.  

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Dead Poet's Society (1995):  Remember Robin Williams in this one?  He's a fresh teacher in a new school teaching a group of boys the wonders of literature and poetry.  Carpe Diem!  

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Mr. Holland's Opus 1995):  Its been a while since I've seen this, but I remember how Mr. Holland, a reluctant teacher, finds himself as he gives himself to his students.   This is the challenge for all us SLOCA parents!  

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All of these are inspiring and challenging for me and help me remember why we do what we do at SLOCA.  Watch one or two or all five this summer.   And maybe you've got your own favorite education movies.   If so please share them in a comment.  

{photo by Kary Antoniadis}

Wasn't last Friday's Civil War Picnic amazing? What a treat to celebrate this trimester's history together. Thank you to everyone who worked and helped and donated and set up and cleaned up and dressed up and played and participated to make it a memorable afternoon! And now, on to today's magical moment...

Kary and Jimi Antoniadis are a Track B family finishing their first year here at SLO Classical, with daughter Antonia in Kindergarten. Kary wrote in about several magical moments their family experienced as their daughter made tons of connections to her kindergarten literature while on vacation. Read on! 

We had a very magical moment recently at… where else? The Magic Kingdom (aka Disneyland). The first ride we went on was one we had never tried: Finding Nemo Submarines. As we began to submerge the first thing we saw were clusters of mussels along the reefs, and the first thing Antonia shouted was “Look, this is just like what Eva must have seen (referring to the character Eva in the book The Very Last First Time). 

The next ride we went on was "It’s  A Small World”, and as we began our journey the first group of international dolls we saw were Eskimos, to which Antonia commented, “Look, Inuits like Eva’s family”. Well then… our journey this year through the Five in a Row literature series took off as my husband Jimi, Antonia and I named off different stories while we passed along the adorable characters from different countries.  

When we passed the dolls from China, one of us called out "A Pair of Red Clogs!” Japan: “Grandfather’s Journey!"  The American Southwest: “Roxaboxen!”  Scotland: “Wee Gillis!” … and of course when Antonia saw the gondoliers from Venice, she enthusiastically shouted out her favorite of the year, “Papa Piccolo!” It really brought a new dimension to our morning and it was so wonderful to travel through this timeless and heartwarming ride and have our family make these connections to all the excellent books in the Five in a Row Series.

We look forward to a new adventure as we jump into 1^st grade in the fall, but will always treasure Antonia’s kindergarten year as well as the literature stories we read which made us laugh, brought us to tears, and took us around the world.

Thank you, Kary - what a sweet way to end a magical year!