Second Week of Summer Camp

I am much happier having changed Mateo to the summer camp he is now attending.  It has structure and the program is well thought out.  Every week has a theme and every day the kids participate in a variety of activities.   Last week's theme was castles.  The kids helped decorate a castle by painting the cardboard boxes the teachers cut out. Then they made their princes and princesses crowns.  Friday was a wild day - it was wild hair day! I spiked Mati's hair into a sort of mohawk (his hair is pretty long and Nico's paste wasn't strong enough to hold it straight up) and he was very happy and proud to have his hair like Daddy's.

Boris is the lead teacher and a musician so there's music and dancing all the time.  He brings in guests to play different instruments for the kids: last week, his brother came in to play the flute, this week he'll have someone play the trumpet.   The program is from 9am to 12pm and unfortunately, it'll end August 1st. That means Mateo will be back at home for a whole month before he starts the French school. It's a bummer because we are slowly making progress on the separation anxiety issue. Last Friday I left him for about an hour. He cried but one of his teachers, Paula, was there to provide comfort. On Monday morning, he was saying that he didn't want to go to school. But I left him again, this time for an hour and a half. It was the hardest goodbye ever because he held on tight to my neck. I had to wiggle out of his clasp and make a quick exit. How I've been managing to keep back MY tears, I have no idea. He cried again today, but it's getting better. Boris and Paula tell me that he gravitates towards them when I'm not there, but that he does venture off on his own every now and then. I promised him that the day I say goodbye and he doesn't cry, I'll treat him to a banana split. And most importantly, that he won't have to share it with anyone. The first time he had a banana split, we split it between the three of us; actually, it was 2/3 for Nico, 1/3 for Mateo and I!! So he's savoring that reward.

Dancing with Pedro, who will also be attending the French school in September.

Singing "Alondrita"; here they are plucking the bird's head.