If you’ve spent time looking at our photos, you know the boys spend a fair amount of time fishing and swimming. They have both become quite the divers and spear fishermen, and they are able to hold their breath far longer than I can. I started to count on them bringing at least one sashimi fish home each day when they started dinghy fishing almost every afternoon. And “swimming” doesn’t mean just swimming. They also like playing “king of the surfboard” and “how long can I hang on the anchor chain.” One of the things life on a boat is teaching them is how to be creative with their time. It’s a small space, and sometimes there aren’t a lot of options. Of course, the familiar items are utilized a lot: iPads, books, games, legos. Every once in awhile they have “minecraft night” with Kyle and Joel. They don’t need internet, just a local LAN, to be able to play together in the same minecraft world. Now, some of you might be sneering a bit about letting the kids play “video games,” but my take on it is everything in moderation. And you just have to see what they do and build in minecraft! It’s not just a video game. It’s like electronic legos; they have to build, problem solve, work together, and well, be creative. It’s fun to see the mansions they build, how they figure out how to grow food and get recources the most efficient way, and all the other creative things they do, like taking care of pets and hiding treasures. So, all you video game haters out there, don’t judge
The boys read way more than they did at home. They started out reading the same 3 Big Nate books over and over again, so I bought them more when we were back in the states. It didn’t take them long to finish those, so then they just kept reading the same 12 Big Nate boods over and over again. Kids just love those books. When other kids come over, they get hooked on them too. But I thought they should branch out a bit so I told them they had to read something other than Big Nate (or Diary of a Wimpy Kid) for 30 minutes each day. There was some resistance at first, but now I couldn’t stop them from reading if I tried. They’ve both read the Hunger Game series, Alex is tackling The Hobit, and Brenden is blowing through the Darren Shan books (Thanks Andrew!)
They play games in fits and starts. They tend to get obsessed with a game and play it nonstop and then get sick of it and then move on. This includes Uno, Miles Bourse, Monopoly, Chess, Battleship, Tile Rummy, etc., etc. And when we have internet access we like to play Draw Something on our iPads. The boys get unlimited pleasure from making fun of my artistic skills. They also make up games of their own. My favorite is “The Scribble Game.” One person closes his eyes and scribbles on a piece of paper. Then the other one tries to make a drawing out of the scribbles. We have learned the Brenden can see a dinasaur in pretty much any scribble configuration.
Don’t get me wrong, I still occasionally hear, “I’m bored,” but overall they’ve gotten much better at being creative about finding something to do. Having Lady Carolina with us all summer sure made a big difference.
Gresham Family Exodus 