I absolutely had not intended to do any pretend travel so soon after coming home from actually going around the world but the sun was shining, my husband had bought a new paddling pool for £4.50 and it was Greece week at Lidl!
The Beach
Our local beach, which is five minutes down the road, could give the beaches in Greece a run for their money, even the beach at Agios Prokopios Naxos when the sun is out but it can get horribly crowded and so we decided to head their early. It really was a gorgeous day – even the Irish sea looked blue and we were very glad to be there, as was Bo the dog!
As soon as Freddie saw the sea he ran for it and kept on running because it was low tide and the sea was about half a mile away! We paddled and splashed and had an excellent time. It really felt like being on holiday.
Writing in Greek
When we got home we were quite tired and so Penny was happy to sit and colour in her name in Greek letters. She loves the fact that she has a Greek name. We translated Freddies too but he was very unbothered.
Boat Races
Penny and I made little paper boats and we wrote everyone’s name on them and raced them across the Aegean Sea (the paddling pool). You can find out how to make the boats here. It’s super easy and strangely magical. Penny liked the bit where you sort of turn it inside out and a boat appears the best. If I had been better prepared I would have had laurel wreaths ready for the boat race winners… next time!
Food
The food of the day was delicious – with a big shout out the Lidl! We had Greek salad and humous with olives and pitta for lunch. For dinner we had more salad, with this filo cheese whirl (which was amazing) and meatballs filled with tzatziki.
Ever one to take the theming to the highest possible level we washed it all down with Mythos Beer and then had amazing little baklava to finish. I was especially impressed with Penny who tried and actually liked everything (apart from the salad obviously).
Goddess time!
I love that Penny loves to dress up and imagine. I had bought her this dress for world book day (the kids had to go dressed as a character from their parents favourite book and so Penny had gone as Thetis – a goddess from the Odyssey). As soon as she realised it was Greece day she couldn’t wait to put it on. I love that she loves all of the Greek myths and even was in a Greek Tragedy last term with the older kids that I teach.
Movie night
Of course we watched Disney’s Hercules, which is still a family favourite (although as a Classics teacher I do have to restrain myself from heckling at the TV and remind myself that it is produced for entertainment purposes). The songs are awesome, chocolate baklava was eaten, Freddie fell asleep and all was well.
Bedtime story
Penny selected the Odyssey (a child’s version) as her bedroom story and was very excited that Penelope was a Queen and was an important character. I had a mild pang of regret that I hadn’t called Freddie Odysseus. You can discover more about our Mediterranean travels here.
