Lazy (?) Sunday activities and festivities

I can’t believe we’ve almost been here a week. The days have really flown by!

Yesterday we celebrated a delayed Mother’s Day (because last week I’d already packed the gifts they made). The girls started with some light schooling after breakfast, despite it being a Sunday. I may change up the schooling later and start ‘doing’ weekends, but for now I want to get them into the habit of daily school. My main goal right now is to get them adjusted in a certain structure, to develop a ‘new normal’, and gradually increase the number of assignments as their (especially Robin’s) focus and discipline skills improve. 

It took them an hour to finish on this ‘light’ day, whereas today (Monday) Robin needed 3. 

After school a spring festival started on shore behind our boat, so we went there to have a look. A small team of people built a stage and decorated the trees with paper flowers and butterflies. There was music and kids could get their faces painted to match the decorations. 

Our two girls quickly went over and came back with lovely butterfly face-paint. 

Then the team gathered all children to sit on the grass under the trees for a reading of a picture book. It was difficult for the girls to maintain concentration with the story being in Spanish, but they did seem to enjoy the experience.

After lunch their friend Amelie came over and the girls went on a second run to the festival with her and her mother.

In the afternoon Robin was adamant on catching fish from the back of our boat. She tried with a plastic container first but found that didn’t really work. A member of the sailing community here walked by and suggested that she use a trap made of a plastic bottle with the top part inverted, so fish can swim in but not out.

We made the trap, added a piece of rope and Robin went back to fishing. She spend at least 3 hours on that activity, completely engrossed, and did manage to catch a couple of small fish!

We watched them carefully and used the field guide of Mediterranean marine life I had bought before we left to try and determine which type of fish it was. 

Then I walked the kids back to Amelie’s boat where the girls played together while I chatted and drank tea with her parents. 

Not a bad day to spend a Sunday!