Connections

Grace and I are going into her third week of school, and I must say that it has gone much better than I thought! The structure that her online classes have brought is welcome this year, and she seems to really appreciate the online community that goes with the classes.

She'll be trying out for her new play this week, as well as continuing with her Jiu Jitsu training and drawing. It is a full schedule, but she still seems to have time to read, dream, play, draw and program!

We took several walks, she had a back to no-school picnic and we studied a school of fish that had come to spawn near the sea wall. It was simply spectacular! She had studied a bit about deep ocean schools of fish, and how they behave like "flocks" and we could see the parallels in the school of fish.

Grandma came to visit this week, and we made a birthday party for Carl. It was fun! Grace will miss Grandma...

Forte

Upon Closer Examination, We Get to the Heart of the Matter...

We Teach them this stuff when they are young, because Some Things are JUST THAT IMPORTANT.

The Sky's The Limit...

Summer has been fun, busy and short. Fall is quickly approaching, and our days of hanging out at the pool, wading in the ocean and reveling at the site of a butterfly will soon be over. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Grace will be taking mostly Middle School classes this year. Many are online, some of them with friends. Her schedule is pretty tight, but I have managed to fit some "discovery time" in , here and there.

She'll be taking MCT Grammar and Caesar's English II, Lightning Literature 8 and US History online with gifted teachers. She's taking AP Biology with a friend, using UCCP Open Access ware, Hippocampus Lectures, and old college text of Carl's and AP Web Labs for the lab component. She'll be completing IRL labs with her friend. Her math is Teaching Textbooks. She loves it, so I am not messing with it. She's gone through so much already this summer. She'll also be taking Jiu Jutsu three times a week and her theater class for 2 hours , twice weekly. We are currently simply allowing her to draw and paint for Art, but we're helping her search for a good art school to apply to next year. There are several here, and I think she may qualify. She just needs to get a portfolio up and running. We will probably apply to a local fine arts camp for next summer as well. Whew!

On top of all of this, we have a trip to Japan scheduled for two weeks in November, and a trip to AZ. We also plan on going to theater performances of A Christmas Carol, Shakespeare, Opera and various local ballets and random theater shows. We have scheduled trips to a local farm for some fun "social" classes and several play dates per month.

I am not really concerned about Grace, believe it or not. She LOVES this stuff. I am concerned about how *I* will hold up though;)

Goodnight, Sweet Kitty. Wait for Us.

Lily was the best cat ever. She wasn't even a cat, really. She was more like a dog.

Whatever species she most closely resembled, she certainly was the best friend a girl could have...

She was loved.

We know she'll be waiting with Daisy, somewhere just like this...

We Love You, Lil Cat, Lilliputian, Friend, Cat.

Advanced Class

I am sorry I haven't blogged in a while, but we have been busy again! :)

We went to the mountains for 4th of July, where Grace entered a sand castle contest, we attended a parade, ( Grace came home with a lb of candy...:/ )

viewed fireworks which went off above a mountain and went hiking with friends! It was a great weekend!

We have also been very busy with summer outings, school, reading club and, of course, training at the Dojo!

Speaking of training, Grace was very honored , and humbled, to be personally invited by her Shihan to attend the advanced training class early. ( One usually must be 11y/o or the rank of Green belt to join, and Grace just turned 8 and just got her Orange belt...)

This Dojo is quite special because they really are about learning the actual art, and not about "marking time" in a belt level or "social" promotions to new belt ranks.

She is very seriously studying for her next belt already. Apparently this fact has been noticed. She is most often humble about her accomplishments, and has not told any of her friends. We are very proud of her dedication to making herself a strong, disciplined person. :)

For Ami, Drawn by Grace and inspired by a photo on a bench.

It is a combination of "Alice" and Ami's love of the Mariposa, which is why she's standing on a mushroom, instead of sitting on a bench!

What rhymes with "Orange"?

That 's a tough one. I suppose I will not be writing a poem about Grace's new JuJutsu Belt...

The test is a 3-4 hour, grueling process, in which the children ( and adults the night before) show every skill they have learned from every belt they have already earned. They do techniques, spar, reflex blocking and foot/hand work. The students throw 550 punches at the beginning and end of the test, representing symmetry. ( 1x10, 2x10, 3x10...10x10, then 10x10, 9x10, 8x10...1x10 at the end...) The end of the test is a very emotional moment, in which all of the exhausted students throw the last 10 punches of the second 550 in precision...ich, ni, san! Everyone yells the numbers in Japanese to encourage the students and breaks out into applause after the bow-out.

Grace's Shihan gave her high praise upon bestowing her rank, saying that she is "one of those rare few " that come into her Dojo with a "natural" ability for the Martial Arts. She said she was VERY proud of her work and that she was proud to promote her to Rho Kyu. ( Orange Belt) Grace can now begin learning Judo Throws! Shes extremely excited.

Here is the Secret Family with the Shihans who teach us and own the Dojo.

They are Purple belts and are the very highest rank attainable. Do not let the one on the right fool you...she can throw you into the basement. The grey hair only belies wisdom, not age. We highly respect both and trust them implicitly on the mat. They are truly beyond professional at what they do.

Grace now out-ranks us. The belts go as follows, and each belt takes about 6 months:

white, yellow, orange, green,blue, brown, brown, brown, black

Grace's Dojo Friend.

can also throw you into the basement;)