Do you love growing vegetables? Would you like to try your hand at starting a vegetable garden? Spring is around the corner, so get your planting tools out!
The Garden Odyssey club is having a plant sale coming up this month! They will be at all the TVE Park Days selling tomatoes, basil, squash, sunflowers, and more. Profits from the sale will be used as fees for the club’s field trip to the Filoli Historic House and Garden. Any extra profits will be donated to the East Bay Regional Parks.
The dates for the plant sale are:
TVE Livermore Park Day – Tuesday March 22 2022 1:30 PM
TVE Walnut Creek/Lafayette Park Day – Thursday, March 24 2022 1:30 PM
TVE San Ramon Park Day – Friday March 25 2022 12:00 PM
Photo Courtesy of Ananda S.
All plants were grown by the members of the Garden Odyssey using the best available quality soil and seeds, and with techniques learned from a UC Master Gardener. The Garden Odyssey would like to thank Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore and Sloat Garden Center in Concord for their generous donation of supplies.
The Garden Odyssey is a group of eight children and their parents. They visit a public garden once a month together. Past visits have included:
Blake Gardens in Kensington where they met with the horticulturist to learn about the history of the garden
Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center in Pleasant Hill where they met with the farmer to learn about the activities at the ranch
St. Mary’s College in Moraga where they met with the groundskeeper who gave them a tour of the college grounds and talked to them about the plants and trees on the campus and their care.
During their visit to Blake Garden, the members volunteered to make Caterpillar Crossing signs for the garden paths.
Photo Courtesy of Ananda S.
Please come and check out the sale! The Garden Odyssey hopes to see you there!
Homeschooling takes a village, and on June 5th, 2021, our TVE village was very proud to present 11 extraordinary students graduating from their own respective grades. The future is bright for these young (not so much anymore) kids.
Let’s start by congratulating our students promoting up to middle school!
Olive Pate: Olive enjoys and is very talented at art, playing the piano, and making home videos with her little brother.
Noah Ruggreio: Noah loves to embroider and recently joined a mountain biking club where he rode all the way up and back down our very own Mt. Diablo.
Meru Sashikanth: Meru likes to compose music on her flute; she learned to use the app GarageBand to record a flute quartet of Carol of the Belles.
Cressida Brazier: Cressida is learning to play the drums and competing in acrobatics; she does think that middle school will be different than elementary school. When asked this, she states “Yes, at least that’s what my sisters keep telling me.”
Again, a huge congratulations to these elementary school graduates; you all did such a great job, we are all very proud of you!
Next, our middle school graduates on their way to the wonderful world of high school!
Elise Brazier: Elise dreamed of attending the high school Carondelet, so she set her mind to it, worked hard, and got in. She also enjoys competing in acrobatics.
Tobey Garcia: Tobey has a passion for reading, listening to music, and gaming with his closest friends. He also had a large growth spurt and is now the tallest member of his family, although being the youngest.
Congratulations to our new freshmen! We were so happy to share this milestone in your lives!
Now, we are excited to present our seniors getting ready to start the college journey!
Rowan Farrand: Rowan was supposed to graduate last year, but the festivities were postponed until this year. When asked what they are passionate about, they reply with “I’m really passionate about art and health.” They might want to pursue a career in art, and we are very excited to see what the future holds for them.
Lucas Garcia: Lucas would like to chase his lifelong passion for paleontology, and he is very happy to be going to DVC in the fall and has his first fossil dig in Montana this summer. We asked what he felt was his greatest accomplishment in his high school years, he said, “Finding out what interests I have, and again, meeting amazing people. ”It is going to be wonderful to see how this kid rocks the world(I couldn’t help it)!
Anna Hartz: Anna is enthusiastic to be attending DVC, where she can explore new interests in art and voice acting. She plans on deciding some further objectives she would like to pursue. A round of applause for this amazing young woman.
Blake Killion: Blake is getting ready to pursue his dream of filmmaking (which was inspired by the Mero brothers). He states, “I’m planning on going to Las Positas College to pursue an AA in film studies, that’s my plan. And then from there, maybe make an independent film studio or something like that.” This graduate is ready and willing to take his dreams to “infinity and beyond!”
Jake K. Siders: Jake will be going off to Berklee College of Music in Boston to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring, which has been a dream of his for a while. With over 11 scores from both MMC and Homeschooled Films under his belt, his resume is quite impressive. When asked if Covid had made him more excited or nervous about transitioning to college, he said, “I’m feeling a little more excited because we have been locked inside for a year beforehand.” This young man is sure to score big in his future.
The hard work and dedication of these many students is so apparent, and we could not be more proud and grateful to the parents and families for helping teach and guide these wonderful human beings who will help the world in so many ways. Another thank you to all of the TVE leadership and volunteers for helping make this graduation so great for these amazing kids.
Many thanks to the following:
Senior Organizers Nicole Garcia and Rose Killion for all the lovely work you have put into TVE, Nicole Pate, the Host of this inspiring event,
Zoom Tech Jenni Norton for running the difficult technical webinar side of things,
Senior Tech Tim Salado for making sure this event went smoothly,
Sheri Salado and Ava Salado for photographing these wonderful moments,
and to the rest of the TVE leaders like Devona Brazier, Dana Skikos, Christina Sonas, and Jennifer Hull Smith.
And thank you to all loyal TVEers who attended our very first Zoom graduation, and sticking with us through these crazy times, our 8th annual Tri-Valley Explorers graduation was made possible by you. In the words of a famous graduate, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” These kids showed us to take the time to celebrate the past, live and acknowledge the present and look forward to the future. So congratulations, best wishes, and applause to these students. We can not wait to see how you all make the world a better place.
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.
Photo Courtesy of TVE website
We thank you for sticking with us through these hard times and can’t wait to see all of you again.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Sundin, a local, bestselling author of Christian Historical fiction (specifically WWII) and romance (http://www.sarahsundin.com/). She is the author of the Wings of Glory Series (2010, 2010, 2011), Wings of the Nightingale Series
Photo Courtesy of Goodreads
(2012, 2013, 2014), Waves of Freedom Series (2015, 2016, 2017), Sunrise at Normandy Series (2018, 2019, 2020) and When Twilight Breaks (2021). She graciously agreed to have a Zoom interview with me and homeschooler Sydney Shirley for a badge we were working on. We were working together on writing a story of our own and wanted to ask questions to a professional author.
When Shirley asked Sundin, “How did you become an author?” Sundin responded that she was originally a pharmacist with three little kids, majored in chemistry. She then says “and then I got hit with a story idea, and I just wrote it.” Sundin said that it took her ten years, and she spent a lot of time at writer’s conferences, reading books about writing, doing workshops from published authors, and attending writers groups. Sundin explained, “so I started writing in 2000, I was 34 years old, my first book came out in 2010.” Sundin then explained that “it was going to writer’s conferences that was huge because I was able to meet with editors and agents in person and um… submit my work to them and get some feedback,” Sundin then continues, “and meet with published authors and learn from them.” Sundin also said, “it did take me ten years and finally got my contract and um… been publishing a book every year ever since.”
When I asked her, “Why did you become an author?” Sundin laughed and said, “Because the story wouldn’t leave me alone, I did not plan on this, I mean I, as I said I was a chemistry major, I became a pharmacist, I like pharmacy a lot. Um… pharmacy had some really nice things because I was a stay-at-home mom with three little kids.” Sundin explained that the pharmacy lets you work only one day a week, and that’s what she did for a while. She said it was wonderful. Sundin states “and I was planning that as the kids got older that I’d be… that I’d take on some more hours at the hospital, I was working a Sutter Delta.” Sundin remarks that once the kids were in high school or college, she would work full-time, Sundin continues “that was always my plan, that was my husband’s plan and then um… God obviously had different ideas because I had this story idea, and it just would not let me go, I was, It was almost obsession right, I just had to write it, I couldn’t not write the story; it was just coming out of me so fast and um… and I didn’t know what to do with it… I… I was a chemistry major, I tested out of taking English in college, and I was really happy about that.”
She says the last time she had really taken English was in high school. “I couldn’t remember how to punctuate dialog,” Sundin said. Sundin remarked that she went in “kicking and screaming.” She continued, “I didn’t know what I was doing, I knew how hard it was to get published, and I didn’t want to waste my time just writing for me because I had three little kids at home, I had another career that I could be focusing on, and it seemed selfish for me to spend time on something… a lot of time on something like this that wasn’t going to go anywhere, and I decided from the beginning that I was either going to write seriously with the goal of being published or I wasn’t going to write at all.” She says that at her first writer’s conference it felt really “make or break,” she was really willing to say that if this wasn’t the right path “take me off of it now.” She said, “I submitted my work to some published authors, and their overwhelming feedback was, yes, you are writing at a publishable level, and you should be doing this.” Sundin said this helped her so much because she had five years of rejection letters. “All that time, just when I was ready to give up, God would give me a little something, you know something really positive, and even one of the agents who rejected my novel, she said I just love this story so much, she says I love the story, I love the characters, I love the writing, she says, um… at this time though World War Two fiction was not selling so she didn’t feel that she could find a home for it.” Sundin explained that the market eventually turned around, and historical fiction started selling again.
After this, we talked more about the book world specifically; we all know how hard it is to take on writing as your profession or even your job. You must go through months, and even years of writing, researching, and rewriting all over again. It takes hard work; we wanted to hear advice straight for a hard-working person with a lot of great knowledge in the field. I asked her, “what is the difference between self-publishing and going through a publisher?”
Sundin laughed and responded with, “there are entire books about this problem (laughs). Ok, so I am traditionally published um… this, this is the old fashion way, this has been done for hundreds of years, and that meant that I had finished my novel and then I had to send a query or a pitch which means to an editor or an agent usually, nowadays you go through an agent who then places your book with an editor, but the basic process is the same.” She then explains, “I would talk to them at writer’s conferences or send them an email, in the old days you wrote them a letter and say, I have written a book about such and such, it’s this, this genre and I think these people might be interested in it and this is why I’m a good person to write it, and then they say well that’s not for me, or that sounds interesting why don’t you send me more, that’s the query process.”
She continues, “the more is what they call a proposal, and that’s a little longer you go into some of the details about who you are and why you can write and some marketing stuff, and you send that in and if they like that they say, ok I will see your full manuscript now.” Sundin then explains that she turns her full manuscript to her editor, who is also her publisher, and she might say, ok, I like this, but the editor can’t give me a contract. So then the editor talks to the other editors, each of them have already looked at lots of novels, and then they see which of the novels fits best with their publishing houses. They then present them to their publication board; this is salespeople, vice presidents, marketers, and finance people for the company, then they all discuss what would be the best route to take. If they like it, then you get a contract, and after that, it is officially a partnership where they provide the book covers, all of the editing, and lots of marketing. Sundin says, “because I’m with a traditional publisher, I can get my books in Barnes & Noble and other book stores.” Sundin then explains more about self-publishing.
Photo Courtesy of sarahsundin.com
“Self-publishing has really grown in the past decade um… when I first started… when I first started going to writer’s conferences it was kind of the ugly stepchild, like, oh if you can’t get published then you publish it yourself.” She went on to add, “it’s really changed, a lot of authors have um… chosen to self-publish rather than traditionally publish, there are a lot of benefits to it, you don’t have to be approved by editors and publishing houses, and that’s really important if your story’s a little different because most publishing houses like thing that are going to sell and so there’s certain genres that sell well and others that don’t. So if your writing um… ok, actually I have a friend that wrote this book, so it’s Amish Vampires in Space, that’s the name of her book, Amish Vampires in Space and she self-published because no one going to, no publishers going to buy it, but it actually has kind of a cult following because it’s just kind of a quirky thing, and she was traditionally published beforehand. So a lot of my friends who are traditionally have chosen to self-publish in addition to traditional publishing.”
Sundin then describes that all of the traditional publishing process can take years and that rejection bothers everyone, including authors, and you have complete creative control if you self-publish; you won’t have an editor always telling you you must change this, take out this, and switch this. You can publish whatever you want to; the only disadvantage is that you must pay someone for editing, book covers, marketing, and that price can build up over time. Taking your time is very important so that you can learn what you really want to do; it took Sundin ten years to complete her first book, and she reports that that was good because it gave her time to grow and learn as an author. “ to authors who are interested in self-publishing I say, hey, make sure you, you take a deep breath, you take some time um… and learn, and learn, it’s ok to take time to learn. If you wanted to doctor, it would take you four years of college and four years of medical school, and a couple years of residency; you want to be a teacher, you gotta go to school, college for four years and a year for teaching school, so there’s, there, there’s things that you, that take time, and it takes some time to learn to be a writer to.”
With that, Shirley and I thank you, Ms. Sundin, for the amazing interview that you gave us. So many people love your books, and you inspire our community in every way. We thank you, and I hope all of you at home are also as inspired to hear what Ms. Sundin had to say as we were.
Hello all students, do you have any stories from what you have been doing in lock down? It could be fun crafts, games, stories, recipes, even ideas for things other students can do. If you do have something to share, ask a parent or guardian to help you send your submission. You can send it to lighthousetve@gmail.com. Make sure to keep it PG of course, you can tell us in the email if you want your full name used, your first name, initials or just to remain anonymous. You can include pictures if you took them yourself. Try to send them in before January 2nd, 2021. Hope to see all of your fun submissions.
Christmas is just around the corner! Christmas break is a time for immense amounts of hot cocoa, a good holiday song, and most of all, binge-watching your favorite festive movies! We all have our favorite classics–– the Grinch, White Christmas, The Polar Express, and Elf, to name a few–– but there are some out there that you might not think of. Some of these are diamonds in the rough, traditional family movies, or just funny films you might not have heard of. They are all great, family-friendly movies. If in doubt you can reference Common Sense Media to get a good summary and age recommendation. Here are a few to consider:
Image from Sony Pictures
“Christmas with the Kranks” is one of those movies you either love or hate. It premiered in 2004 and was directed by Joe Roth. The movie was based on a novel by John Grisham named “Skipping Christmas.” The film has an all-star cast, such as Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Akyroyd, and M. Emmet Walsh. Although having a 1/5 star rating on Common Sense Media, a 5% Rotten Tomatoes, and a 5.4/10 on IMDb it is a hilariously ridiculous movie that should not be taken seriously as it aims to be overacted and weird. It is a wonderful movie for family gatherings when the holiday season rolls around.
Image from IMDb
“A Flintstones Christmas Carol” is a Flintstone fan classic. It’s a very cute movie, filled with lots of goofy situations and silly resolutions. Released in 1994, it is a perfect movie to watch with a hot cup of tea as the California Christmas rain pours down outside your window.
Image from IMDb
“The Muppet Christmas Carol”, by Brian Henson, is based on a book by Charles Dickens and is a Holiday tradition for many families. Sadly, since its release in 1992, the picture has not received as much attention as it did when it was first released. However, I’m glad to say that it’s present fans will never forget it.
Image from IMDb
Disney’s “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” is a film featuring your favorite Disney characters that tells three different stories sharing Christmas morals and lessons. The movie is great for kids, as it teaches that Christmas is not all about presents, it is about spending time with your family. It’s a film that should not be overlooked as just another Mickey movie and is definitely one to check out.
Image from IMDb
“Miracle on 34th Street” (1994) is a remake of the original 1947 version. It has a great cast and setting to back it up, it is a truly great film. Some may choose the remake, some may choose the original, but either way you are left with an enjoyable picture.
Please consider adding some of these films to your plethora of holiday movie choices, best watched after eating way too much food at Christmas dinner. Maybe switch one on as you are immobilized on the couch. We wish you and your family a very wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year filled with no creatures stirring, not even a mouse, stockings all hung by the chimney with care, visions of sugarplums dancing in your head, a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer and much holiday cheer. So, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Thanksgiving is almost here, and people are getting ready to celebrate this cozy holiday with their families and friends and, of course, their favorite food. Everyone has their unique preferences regarding Thanksgiving dishes, and some families have special traditions that they look forward to each year. COVID-19 has interrupted many social activities this year, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Despite the current circumstances, there are many wonderful things to be grateful for this year.
I interviewed four different students about how they celebrate this holiday, what they are most thankful for, and whether or not the COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted their usual Thanksgiving plans. For reasons of privacy, we will withhold the last names of the students interviewed.
Question: Who will you be celebrating Thanksgiving with this year?
Miles: I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family.
Kiera: I’m going to celebrate Thanksgiving with my aunt, uncle, grandparents, family friend, my parents, brother, two cats and five dogs.
Gaia: I believe I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my mother.
Ava: I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving with my immediate family this year.
Question: Does your family have any special traditions?
Miles: No.
Kiera: We like to spend time together for the week of Thanksgiving and go on adventures (like hikes and escape rooms) and play games, (like Jenga and Catchphrase) as a family.
Gaia: A tradition I have had for a couple of years has been spending Thanksgiving with some family friends. We play games and other pleasant things, and sometimes my grandmother brings me and my mom Salvadorian Tamales.
Ava: My family always has the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, etc., and we all go around the table talking about what we’re thankful for during the meal.
Question: Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your usual Thanksgiving plans in any way?
Miles: The pandemic will affect what family members can attend our dinner, and as we get closer to Thanksgiving more limitations may arise.
Kiera: The pandemic affected our celebrations for sure, unfortunately. Our original plans included spending a week with lots of our extended family, but because of the pandemic, we had to modify our gathering.
Gaia: Yes.
Ava: The COVID-19 pandemic has not affected our usual Thanksgivings [sic] plans in a significant way.
Question: What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Miles: I would most definitely have to go with mashed potatoes.
Kiera: Pecan pie and sweet potatoes. Turkey and cranberry sauce are definitely a close second!
Gaia: My favorite dish would probably be Turkey with potatoes and the Salvadorian tamales my family eats.
Ava: My favorite Thanksgiving dish is cranberry sauce – homemade is the best!
Question: What are you thankful for?
Miles: I believe I am most thankful for the fact that none of my family members have been harmed by Covid-19.
Kiera: I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given this year particularly, to spend time with family and explore my passions.
Gaia: I am thankful for the life I have been given, and the opportunities that have presented themselves during confusing times.
Ava: I’m thankful for the many opportunities I’ve been given to pursue my passions, and for being blessed with such an incredible family that supports me in all my ventures.
Thanksgiving is a holiday for spending quality time with your family, your friends, and other important people in your life. Students look forward to the unique ways they enjoy Thanksgiving, from celebrating the traditional way, taking hikes and playing family games, or enjoying special foods. This year, for some students, COVID-19 has mildly impacted their Thanksgiving plans, but that doesn’t mean the holiday will be less enjoyable. When it comes to Thanksgiving foods, some common favorites include turkey, cranberry sauce, and potatoes. There is a lot to be thankful for, and the students express their gratitude for their families and the opportunities they have been gifted with this year.
There is no hiding that 2020 has not been the best overall. The COVID-19 pandemic has been, for most students, the most significant and most life-altering thing that has ever happened to them. It has been challenging, but we need to get through it safely. Unfortunately, the TVE community has not been able to do its regular events, such as Park Days, Seminars, Science Fairs, classes, and dances. Although these things can’t take place at the current moment, there are activities you can do to pass this time, and our job as writers is to make this time just a little more enjoyable.
TVE will hopefully get back to regular scheduling in the future, with the Teen Formal still scheduled for Sat, May 8th, 2021, safety guidelines permitting. The beloved Harvest dance may be taking place in late October 2021, but we are still waiting for further notice for both of these. In the meantime, you and your family can do lots of things, such as taking an exploration through your bookcase to uncover your new favorite story. Maybe an adventure on your couch to discover a brand new movie; or a journey past your favorite music app to find a song you haven’t heard before. Maybe take an online class to learn more about something you love.
Other activities you could enjoy with friends and family are virtual games played over zoom. These are fun, easy games that take minimal prep. Very simple to understand games are quite fun with younger children. Consider having a virtual game championship by playing all the games, and in the end, whoever has the most points total wins.
Learn more about your friends on Zoom – This is a fun virtual game you can play with your friends on Zoom. You select one person to be the reader, and all others write in the Zoom chat three things they like and three things they dislike. The reader then reads each person’s likes and dislikes aloud, without saying their name, and the others have to guess who it is.
Memory game over Zoom – Choose one person to be the leader. This person sets out some random items on a table in front of their computer camera. If you do not have a computer camera that points down, try to use a phone camera and point it towards the table. In the first round, the rest of the players have a 7 second period to write down and remember all of the items before they turn the camera off. After that, the leader turns their camera back on and announces all the items. If you get them right, you get a point. In the second round, the leader selects a new group of items for the table. The players get 7 seconds without writing anything down. You can talk amongst the other players to try and remember better. If you remember them correctly, you get a point. The only difference in round three is that the players must remember the new set of items with their microphones off and attempt to remember the items independently. Afterward, you add up all of your points, whoever has the most points, wins!
Guess that Picture on Zoom – One person selects several photos. First, they share their screen, very zoomed in on the picture. Then, they slowly zoom out. The players write what they think the image is in a private chat with the person who selected the photos. If they guess right, they get a point. Then the process is repeated with multiple different pictures, and whoever has the most points wins!
Virtual Movie night on Zoom – It’s so much fun to watch your favorite movies with your friends. You can achieve this with Zoom or any video chat website. Collaborate with your friends, so you start your favorite movie or show at the same time.
While 2020 has brought up some unexpected challenges, we are committed to making it the best we can. Not seeing friends and family has been one of the hardest parts for most students. These virtual games provide a simple solution, an easy way to connect safely. Hopefully, we will be able to interact in-person again in the future, but for now, we can make do with fun activities like these.
This year, due to COVID-19, Halloween was a little different. Halloween parties were canceled, and a lot of people didn’t get a chance to trick-or-treat and show off their Halloween costumes. That doesn’t mean there was a lack of creativity! This year, TVE held a Virtual Halloween Parade on Facebook and parents posted photos of their kids’ costumes. Here are the amazing Halloween costumes that were worn by TVE members this year.
Dana Skikos:
Dana Goldstein:
Siblings dressed as each other
Dana Goldstein:
Dragon
Devona Brazier:
Greg and Wirt from Over the Garden Wall
Devona Brazier:
Space Mechanic
Jenni Norton:
Kara Hartz:
Nicole Pate:
Smaug and Bilbo Baggins
Sarah Anne Richards:
Sheri Salado:
Yellow Mustard
Laurie Ruggiero:
Scarecrow, Japanese Demon Spirit and The Witch from Snow White
The Lighthouse 