Back to School (and blogging)

After a long and complicated summer full of unexpected twists and turns, I am finally back on the blog radar and plan to catch you up on our summer furlough in the USA.  There are stories and memories I want to remember so will be posting them as I have time over the coming weeks.

Where are we now?

Well, the Lord has graciously allowed us to return to our home in Italy. We arrived only 10 days ago and have been busy trying to get resettled as soon as possible.  The house always requires much attention after being closed up for three months. This time mould set up shop in our basement rooms, garage and even inside our vehicle. Yuck! So after putting clean linens on the beds and stocking the fridge that was first priority on the cleaning list.

Just five days prior to the start of school on September 12, we received notice that all the schools in Caselle would have reduced hours for the entire month. That means that Samuel and Emma are home at noon each day--a reduction of 10 hours per week. And Luca is done at 12:30--a reduction of 4 hours for his week.

Why, you may ask?

Let's just say it is WAY complicated and the Italians understand just enough to roll their eyes and shake their heads about the absurdity of the regulations every time I ask. Bottom line, there is a point system which determines a teacher's placement on a national level. The government then regulates where there is a need and places the teachers, kind of like the military. However, it seems the points were determined only the week before school started and therefore the government needs more time to organise themselves, making schools and students wait for teachers to relocate themselves to their new positions. There are new school reforms and regulations that were put into place by Renzi but logic and organisation are lacking. I don't understand. Please don't ask me questions. We are just happy for three weeks of half days!!

Here are my fantastic and brilliant children on their first day of school

Luca (5th), Emma (7th), Samuel (8th)

School is off to a good start even if slow. We are thankful that the kids have all maintained their primary teachers so will only see changes in their electives. This year will conclude the final chapter of our elementary school days. *Cue teardrops* Samuel will be our "guinea pig" as he will be the first to conclude the middle school years and brave the selection process of high school. *gulp*

Also new to Samuel's school calendar this year is an online course through The Potter's School. He is taking English 101 and began his class on Tuesday. It is a live class with both teacher and student interaction that meets once a week. He enjoyed his first class and even found the homework rather fun! Despite his insistence that he already knows English grammar, we think this will better prepare him for his future and he might just be surprised how much he actually will learn! After all, he wants to be a writer for goodness sake!