Summer is fast approaching. With kids in the school age, this means coming up with entertainment for the weeks where parents are working but kids are not in school. In Sweden the summer break is 9 1/2 weeks, from mid June to late August. Even with lenient vacation schemes, parents can’t cover that. While I’m currently self employed and while kids by now are old enough to not need supervision every minute, it still requires some preparation to make sure the summer passes with happy kids and without family drama.
This year kids will each attend one week of summer school: Programming and circus. In addition to that, I have big plans for pappa school this year.
Hello World
Our oldest got into a one week day camp to learn game programming and creating his own game.
I did a Scratch game with the kids a few years ago and both kids have attended weekly animation classes after school so they are no longer novices in the arts of programming and visual storytelling. My son was even inspired to install Unity and beginning a self studio though I guess it will take a few years for him to get back to that (he will be 11 this summer). Aim for the stars!
This camp is with Swedish game studio King and promises to teach kids to create their own game in Lua language. Afternoons they will do scientific experiments and learn the logic behind how to win games.
Sounds cool!
Cirkus Cirkör
Our youngest will attend a one week summer course at Cirkus Cirkör. Cirkus Cirkör is a Swedish performing circus company within the art form of contemporary circus. Conveniently located in walking distance from where we live, both our kids have attended courses there for quite some time now. They do acrobatics and play catch-me-if-you-can type of games. I’m fond of the playfulness and that kids learn to navigate in a social group.
Cirkus Cirkör also do shows and performances, like Pippi at the Cirkus as well as popup events.
I like their pictures and posters with performing artists so I was happy for my daughter to pose for marketing material, even if I otherwise keep my kids off social media. So you get a rare picture of my daughter on this blog. People tell me she looks a lot like me!
Tabletop
While I’m actively looking for a new job again, I do have plenty of downtime between writing applications, attending interviews and taking online tests.
So I dusted off my old miniatures and scenery from back in the days when I played Warhammer 40,000 and Necromunda. My son got Kill Team for Christmas a few years ago and I have a hidden agenda of selling him on the hobby. Well, maybe not funding the Games Workshop money machine, but on modelling, painting and playing. At least that is my excuse for picking up the hobby again.
I have built new terrain and painted figures that have laid unpainted in a box for 25 years. It’s a great hobby for zoning in for a few hours here and there, especially now where I care less about getting everything perfect. Lots of inspiration on YouTube as well.
We are also making plans to meet up with friends and family in Stockholm over the summer. I’m sure we will get to explore the city some more in good company. Finally we will go to Denmark for one week, and before you know it, school will start again.