Arte 'n 3 - Summer School

Robbie happiest in the sand pit. His face paint makes for a strange picture.

Maia on the trampoline - "Look papa!"

Maia's singing group

Maia in the sand pit when she was supposed to be dancing!

The teacher doing his best to get Robbie to join in the singing and dancing.

Another teacher encouraging a reluctant Robbie. Without John there, he was completely involved, apparently!

A toothless Robbie at breakfast, with the candle holder he made at Arte 'n 3.

Robbie and Maia spent the last fortnight at a Summer School - Arte 'n 3 (check links on the right hand side of the page). The vacations are long for children! So, after a week at home, we spent a week in the jungle, with our friends at Hakuna Matata (check links). Then another week at home. A week at the coast, at Punta Prieta (check links). That was a super, uncomplicated week, in a such a lovely and peaceful place. Long, long, empty, safe beaches of white sand. Following another week at home, Robbie and Maia went off to their Summer School, in nearby Cumbaya. They were not so sure about it at first. Certainly not Robbie! Both children, but more so Robbie, need the security of their familiar surroundings. To be perfectly honest, the children enjoy home as much as anywhere else. Arte 'n 3 offers a wonderful environment and some most professional teachers, whose interests are music, art, dance, singing and theatre. They run popular courses throughout the year, and more intensive activities in the holidays. Neither Robbie nor Maia are children who readily open themselves up, so these two weeks were aimed at helping them meet and be together with other children in different creative activities. Also, of course, to give them some early exposure to the 'arty' things in life!

Robbie was very reluctant to participate at first, most especially in dance, but with some careful and shrewd work by the young teachers, he was soon involved. In the last week, dance was his favourite activity. Maia, as always, just threw herself into what she was doing. She soon had her little band of friends - though she never seemed to know their names! It was a long day for both children, most especially Maia, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Nevertheless Maia was always full of energy at the end of the afternoon, and needed to be dragged away from her friends on the trampoline. John turned up on the final afternoon, but missed most of the little presentations performed by Robbie and Maia. Indeed, when John arrived, both were happily in the sand pit! Arte 'n 3 was a great success and a good experience for Robbie and Maia. They both brought home lots of art work and even CD's of the songs they had been singing.

Robbie lost the first of his 'milk' teeth, while eating a biscuit at Arte 'n 3. It did not seem to phase him at all - no pain and little surprise. Unfortunately the tooth went down with the biscuit and so we could not preserve it for the tooth fairy! It used to be sixpence a long, long time ago. I wonder what the tooth fairy pays up today?

The photos with this blog were taken rather hastily on Friday afternoon, except the lovely one of a toothless Robbie, taken this morning at breakfast. He has, beside him, a paper candle holder he made at Arte 'n 3.