With me being alone for the next two weeks it has really hit me how much we need a change of pace. The thought of Seb gone and me being here alone threw me into a panic for two full days. It's nothing to do with being alone because I lived in Mexico for two months alone with the kids and that wasn't such a big deal. It has more to do with being tied to staying in this small town for two weeks and not knowing any adults. In Mexico I had friends but here it is really....quiet. I think I need to get a new routine. Developing this routine is going to be my new goal.
If you live in France you know all about Wednesday activities for kids but if you don't I'll explain. Almost all school age children have Wednesdays off here and it's on this day that most kids have an activity or two or sometimes even three! that they do. Many working mothers in France have Wednesdays off from their jobs and basically all they do all day is shuttle around the kids. In an effort to get Little S integrated I signed him up for Wednesday judo class. I was really excited because it was right here in our small town and there were in fact lots of fun activities for him here in small town. But I'm thinking of yanking him out for two reasons. One is that he's not that into it and he seems a little lost in his own world. In fact the judo prof's grandson has been assigned to constantly supervise Little S so that he gets his legs in the right position or any position for that matter because he just sort of stands there staring off in space blocking all the other kids. It's more of that kind of stuff that I just hope he outgrows eventually. Anyway, that's a big reason but it's also for a selfish reason. I'm trapped in small town all week and it's driving me nuts!
My newest idea is something I wish I' thought of before I signed him up for this class. It's to get him into some art appreciation classes at some of the museums in Paris. I like this idea because this will allow us to
So my plan is to take the Wednesday morning train and have him take an afternoon museum class if one is available. Then we can have gouter in a little cafe somewhere. Sometimes we can even have lunch. I also want to get my old digital camera fixed or else get him his own digital camera to take to the city. I think it will be really fun for us to take pictures together. I know he'll love this especially if we print them and make a project album out of his best photos.
Doesn't this sound like fun?
Here are a few of Little S's pictures. He takes so many with my point and shoot that I actually have to hide it from him because he's obsessed with it. He gets very excited when he see his photos and he actually recognizes them when I run across them on the computer. I think that's funny that he knows his own work from all the way across the room!
That's Seb and our cat Milly during our time that we were traveling with her. She was in the Sherpa Bag a lot of the time between the house and the hotel, slightly p*ssed off
Dad's reflection on a rainy car
His foot and a found gold ball in the new house--we live near a golf course so we find lots of balls
He has millions of photos --all very clever. He sees things we don't ever see. Make sure to give your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews the camera as much as you can. You will learn so much about your world through their eyes if you do!
8 comments:
i so agree with your perspective...when our kids were young, i did the whole activity-oriented approach, and figured out what you already know: if they don't much like something, it became an annoying waste of time for them, leading to irritation and frustration for me! (the money we wasted on piano lessons, aye) if little s likes art, i vote do that in some way that is fun for you, too. go, girl...
hi Chris- just a heads up on the museum thing. All the big official programs with the museums tend to be for older kids and they don't take three year-olds. The activities aren't really geared to this age group, in any case- too long and complicated and when you are paying 25 euro a class you want to get your money's worth! What might be a better plan is going through Message and finding a privately organized group geared to younger kids.
Thanks for the tip on Message. I'll check it out too.
I probably should have provided the link to the Louvre in this post but I got lazy. Not many people know it but there is a veritable art school inside the museum. I took classes there as an art/photo student eons ago so that's how I know about it. They also have classes for kids as young as four, --not necessarily every week but nearly every week. It isn't very expensive at all (6 euros or so) but I was told to book way early. I'm not sure how early but I'm thinking at least three weeks ahead. Anyway they're only 1.5 hours or less long and from what I can gather the kids see the art in the museum then go in the classroom and do an activity. Very cool!
I will post details about it after we do our first one.
Great little talented photographer! I look forward to hearing what you finally decide on.
There are no free Wednesday afternoons in Italy, which is a huge relief for working mothers. We do ONE activity, which is swimming and Jack loves it. We only do it because he loves it. He is three and a half and I will probably not add anything else until he is five or six when we might try music to see if he likes it.
Little S is four, right? So you try the Judo, and if it's not his thing, I see no reason in sticking with it as a matter of principle. He is so young! There is no way you know in advance if he is going to like something when you sign him up, so you try a few classes, and if he doesn't like it you try something else. That's my theory on it, and I was definitely taught to stick to something and see it through. But little kid activities are VERY DIFFERENT. It would be one thing if he were 14 and was committed to participating in a tournament or something, but that is not the case here at all.
And yes, you DEFINITELY need to find something for YOU. This year has been wonderful for me despite moving to a new town because I was able to take Yoga and Photography classes. I met so many people and had so much fun. It has kept me sane since I work from home and rarely see other adults during the week. If your husband is traveling, that is all the more reason for you to find a way to do something with others.
One class I took when I lived in France was Poterie. I loved it! And S is so talented and arts-minded, I wonder if he wouldn't like to try something like that...
The museum idea sounds great, but if it doesn't work out there are other Paris options.
Could you maybe find a group of mothers with young children in Paris to meet up with on Wed afternoons? Even better if they're ex-pats too. That would give both you and the kids a break from the small town and some contact with others. So what if it's not an organized activity. It's still a break, for all of you.
I hope your kids are feeling better soon.
Wow, we really are living parallel lives! My husband is out of the country on a two-week business trip right now. My son takes millions of pictures with the digital camera too. I just made him an album of some of his pics!
ah, your story about judo brought back a funny memory - my older son taking tae kwon do when he was about .. six, maybe? when he tested for his first belt, he did the entire routine in reverse to all the other kids - absolute mirror reverse. it was amazing. because he’s left-handed, maybe? :^P the instructor had to come out and get him back on track, too. :^)
I think he's going to stay in Judo class because he isn't saying he doesn't like it, it's just me not seeing him get really into it. I think we'll get to the museum a few times here and there (and skip the class every so often...shhh) They're just doing a sort of discovery class for very young kids and I don't think he'd miss much if he didn't go once in a while.
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