CHRISTEPHI

I spend a great deal of time with these keys this time of year -- keeping up with holiday events, weather forecasts, Christmas shopping, tracking deliveries, and sharing the festivities with friends near and far.  I've also been prepping some for our new school year that starts in January.

This evening the family was all cuddled up on the couch with plenty of pillows and blankets and engaged in one of our favorite activities -- playing WordHero together on our tablets.  This may look like yet another example of the downfall of civilization in the modern age, but you would not believe the fun, laughter, and hilarity that ensues when we all play together. Our devices are put to use fostering family togetherness!

My dad is a computer programmer.  Like many youngsters, his passion for computers started out as a hobby.  When he realized people would   pay   him to program it was like in the cartoons: jaw dropping, eyes popping out, AHH-OOO-GAH!  And he's never looked back! My love for technology also developed in my youth.  We first got dial-up internet when I was in 8th grade...good old AOL.  Before long I was dabbling in HTML and launched my first website on GeoCities, in a virtual neighborhood with a street address everything!  How times have changed! Technology may have changed over the years, but the pull it has on the imaginations of young people remains the same.  Many computer programmers write their first programs in middle school.  Homeschooled kids are uniquely situated to excel in this area due to the ability to streamline their time spent hitting the books and allocate their remaining time to learning a coding language. ...