Olive Pea is 14.5 years old, but her math book says that rounds to 15 so she does. Olive lives with her mom, dad, 12-year-old brother, two floppy, squishy cats, and a maniacal beast of a puppy named Pepper (who now has a master’s degree in sock thievery and destruction). During the school day you can find Olive burning her algebra book, geeking out about Lord of the Flies’s themes and sub-sub themes in ludicrous amounts of unnecessary detail, cursing Chopin for his 32nd notes, wondering why on earth donkeys and elephants represent political parties, taking notes on tooth-filled lobster stomachs, exasperatedly trying to finish complete thoughts before semicolons, all the while writing down her favorite insults she learned in Latin class. She loves being part of The Lighthouse and is finding short story writing to be quite enjoyable, right up there with crafting, sketching and painting. (Side note: Olive says highschool is crazy, and making it a rule to only use oxford commas or no oxford commas for an ENTIRE BOOK is insane.)
Category: Home
Dominic Kauffman – Comic Strip Editor / Cartoonist
Dominic Kauffman is 11 and is the cartoon artist for the Lighthouse newspaper. He joined the paper so he could draw comics, something he has wanted to do since he first read Calvin and Hobbes. He dances ballet for the Contra Costa Ballet, and also plays soccer. He enjoys wood carving animals and playing Minecraft. He enjoys reading series like the Harry Potter and Tapestry series. He lives with his brother, his parents, and several hives of bees. He is currently writing the ‘Arry comic, about 2 homeschooled kids named Harry and Barry. He started homeschooling this year.
Blake Killion – Assistant Editor-in-Chief, Chief Videographer
Blake Killion is a seventeen year old filmmaker, artist and writer in his senior year of high school.
This is his first year in journalism as Assistant Editor-In-Chief and Chief Videographer. He hopes to learn more about TVE and its members through journalism for The Lighthouse, having been a member for all of his teenage years.
Beginning homeschooling in 2008, he has been doing film work since 2015, participating in over twenty shorts, and runs his own filmmaking club called Homeschooled Films. He has a small collection of instruments called otamatones and runs a photography page for them as a hobby, but is not very good at actually playing them. Blake lives at home in five acres of forest where he likes to make digital art, work on fantasy novels, and livestream video games with his friends to YouTube.
Olivia Brazier – Editor-in-Chief
Olivia is 16 and is in her junior year of high school. She is the Editor in Chief of the Lighthouse because she loves writing and because she wants to create connections in the TVE community. When she graduates from college, she would love to work as a journalist for a real newspaper! Right now, Olivia loves reading Shakespeare and watching superhero movies. She is also an acrobatic gymnast in a level 8 trio. She and her family live in Walnut Creek with their weird adopted dog, rabbit queen, and a flock of evil chickens.
Meru S. – Fiction Section Editor / A&E Editor
Meru S. is 14 years old and an ninth-grader who has been homeschooled throughout her life. She has loved being part of the Lighthouse staff since she joined out of her interest in writing. Her hobbies include reading (particularly fantasy), art, and horse riding. Meru has been playing the flute for six years and sings Carnatic music. She very much enjoys books and movies and will never hesitate to have a conversation about The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Marvel, or any of her other favorites- Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and many more. Meru is currently in the first stage of trying to form the constantly changing plot of a book. She always looks forward to spending time with her friends at TVE Park Days every week.
Ava Amara Salado – Editor-In-Chief
Ava Salado is 18 years old in her senior year of high school, she enjoys studying History, Literature, and Environmental Conservation. She has been homeschooled her whole life. This is her 6th year of writing for The Lighthouse but has been creating small stories since she was two. She has began her first novel. Some of her interests include photography, crafting, gardening, hot gluing everything, playing with her cats (who act like toddlers,) and cooking. When she is older, she hopes to become a screenplay author and director of animated series and movies and/or study to be a conservationist. She also loves animals and would like to one day start her own shelter home. She participated in Odyssey of the Mind for 2 years, qualifying for state in 2020, and has been a part of Homeschooled Films, basketball, and watching way too many sci-fi movies with her family and friends. One of her favorite things to do is to act out funny characters and make random crafts out of recycled material she finds around her backyard.
2021 TVE Graduation
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Welcome Back TVE
by Ava Salado
The last almost two years have been rough for the world, including the homeschooling world. The funny thing about “homeschooling” is that many “homeschoolers” are almost never at home. There are classes, co-ops, fairs, field trips, park days, and events, and this pandemic has put a damper on our “outschooling.” Most of you reading this are probably part of the homeschool support group, Tri Valley Explorers or TVE. The group has, at one point, over 880 adventure-seeking families. TVE strives to help and improve children and their families’ homeschooling journey through resources, events, and seminars that are designed for education, having fun, and making lifelong friends along the way.
Through the course of COVID, TVE has had to cancel or reschedule planned events. Most of the TVE events are in-person, so it was almost impossible to keep meeting under TVE. Because of this, TVE has had to step back from its regular self. Unfortunately, some have gotten the idea that TVE has been shut down and is no longer going to help homeschooling families like it has for years. This is thankfully not true at all, and the wonderful leaders have no intention of shutting down Tri Valley Explorers any time soon.
How TVE will bounce back is highly anticipated by its members, and we are glad to report that our “outschooling” will hopefully be back very soon! The history of TVE is broad, and we have many better answer-seeking families to thank for that. One person can change the way you think of your homeschooling journey, and this is just what TVE has done for so many. TVE is not just one person; it is a group of people working together to help each other.
The future at TVE is hopeful, with our first virtual Graduation scheduled for Saturday, June 5 of this year. We will be celebrating the incredible past of our senior graduates and their exciting future. You can tune in on Zoom 3:30 – 5:30 for a night full of celebration! Check the Tri Valley Facebook page for more info.
We thank you for sticking with us through these hard times and can’t wait to see all of you again.
Four Family Movies to Start Off Summer
Summer break is just around the corner, and the perfect way to celebrate is by watching a fun family movie. Here are four movies (in no particular order) that I enjoyed watching with my family. Maybe you will like them too!
1. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
This is a truly unique and fun family movie. The story follows aspiring filmmaker Katie Mitchell as she and her family go on a “family bonding” cross-country road trip. But their plans are interrupted when robots take over the world! Katie and her family must embrace their weirdness and get along to save the world.
This movie was hilarious and creative! Its unique style of animation like that of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse made it a visually cool movie as well. The Mitchells vs. the Machines is rated PG.
2. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
This was another unexpectedly great movie. The movie is about Lars Ericksson, whose lifelong dream is to win the Eurovision song contest for Iceland. He and his best (and only) friend Sirgrit, through a series of accidents, qualify to compete.
This movie is full of music, hilarious mishaps, and colorful settings that make it thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is rated PG-13.
3. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty develops negatives for Life magazine and has a habit of getting lost in fantastical daydreams where he goes on epic adventures, unlike his real life. With the closing of the magazine, Walter is given the perfect picture for the cover. The only problem is, the negative is missing! Walter must go on an epic quest to retrieve the negative before it’s too late.
I absolutely loved this movie! It reminded me a little of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga in the way that it’s a bit of a hidden gem. This movie was both inspiring and funny, which I think is a good combo. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is rated PG.
4. Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! starts out with Sophie, who is about to get married. She wants her father to be at her wedding, but she doesn’t know who he is. That all changes when she finds her mother’s diary. As it turns out, there are three possible fathers! Sophie sends an invite to all of them, without her mother knowing. Chaos, confusion, and music ensue as old friends meet again. Who will walk Sophie down the aisle?
In my opinion, no summer is complete without Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. These musicals are very silly and a little wild, but their energy has that wonderful summer feeling that can’t be beaten. The way ABBA’s songs seamlessly carry the story, you’d think they were written specifically for the movie. This movie is a summer romance movie, so I was skeptical the first time I watched it, but even my musical-and-romance-hating brother enjoyed Mamma Mia!. Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again are both rated PG-13.
Authors Spotlight: Esperanza Rising
Esperanza’s life could not be more perfect. She has a loving family, a beautiful home, and all the dolls and dresses she could want. But when a terrible misfortune upends her life, Esperanza must learn to take care of herself and her mother. After escaping to California, Esperanza discovers the challenges and hardships of farm labor during the Great Depression, and she must learn how to be humble and accepting towards a new life and new people. Filled with bright imagery and compelling characters, Esperanza Rising is a book that all ages can enjoy.
Jacket Description:
“Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a girl could want: dresses; a home filled with servants in Mexico; and the promise of one day presiding over El Rancho de las Rosas. But a tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and her mother to flee to Arvin, California and settle in a farm camp. There, they confront the challenges of work, acceptance, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression.”
Reading Level: 8+
Age Range: 8 – 14
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Length: 259 pages
Awards:
- Pura Belpré Medal
- Jane Addams Award
- Willa Cather Award
- Judy Lopez Award
- Arizona YA Book Award
About the Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan
From her website:
“Pam Muñoz Ryan is an American author. She is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Oklahoman cultural influences. She has written over forty books for young people—picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She the author recipient of the NEA’s Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the Ludington Award for body of work. Her novel, Esperanza Rising, was commissioned as a play by the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre and has been performed in many venues around the U.S. including The Goodman in Chicago, and the Majestic Cutler Theater, in Boston.
“Born Pamela Jeanne Banducci in Bakersfield, California, on December 25, 1951, her last name was changed before she attended school to match the name of her parents, Hope Bell and the man she considered her real father, Donald Bell. As Pamela Bell, she attended McKinley Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, Washington Jr. High, Bakersfield High School, and Bakersfield Community College. She then attended San Diego State University where she received a bachelor’s degree. She married James Ryan in 1975. An early childhood teacher, she worked for the Escondido, California, school district for three years before starting her family. After her four children were born, she became the director of an early childhood program and went back to school to get her master’s degree in Post-secondary Education with the intention of teaching Children’s Literature in college. When she finished her graduate program, she became interested in writing, and at the encouragement of her agent, Kendra Marcus, included her family name, Muñoz, to her signature, to reflect her Mexican heritage.”
Find out more about Pam on her website at pammunozryan.com
The Lighthouse 