My wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary by visiting Malta and France over the past few weeks. In Malta, a country where the sun seems extra bright, we spent time with our youngest daughter, Audrey, who spent a Junior-year semester there. Audrey introduced us to the Maltese ways, particularly how to stay calm and relaxed during wild bus rides through the city.

Our time in France was divided between Paris and Tours, and we could have spent more time in both places. In Paris we spent an evening with French homeschoolers, and we shared information about homeschooling in our different cultures. I'll be writing more about that meeting in the next few days.

Carlo Ricci and I were working with our cover designer during my time away and we hope the next iteration of the cover to The Legacy of John Holt will work. I never expected so many bumps in the road to publication for this title. However, I also didn't expect the outpouring of support and emotion for the book well before it was published; more on that this week, too.

Finally, I'm proud to announce that I'm co-chair for the free, online Homeschool Conference: a two-day, international virtual event for those involved with homeschooling, (August 23 and 24, 2013) unschooling, free schools, democratic schools, and other forms of alternative education to share strategies, practices, and resources.