Saturday was full of highs and lows, as any day spent together is likely to be. One of its finest moments was launching the pirate fleet in the bathtub.
Gabriel had been asking me if I would make him a paper boat for some time. I think he got the idea from this lovely
book (where he and Frances learned the word regatta), but I wasn't sure how to go about it. I had just found this
video and was fumbling along, trying to keep up with the fast folding pace, when in walked our friend Teb, a paper boat-making expert who set us straight. (He also reminded me that the instructions can be found in
Curious George Rides a Bike, which are also
here.)
They are fun and easy to make, they accommodate cereal box pirates and toothpick flags nicely, and they offer a fantastic and fitting use for all the completed homework that my daughter brings home from school. And they really do float! Gabriel and Frances named their ships the Vampire Vokken, the Jolly Roger, the Jumping Jellybean Josephine, and the Valentine Prince. One mysterious ship remained nameless.
I have been longing for woods and streams lately. Someday this summer we'll make boats to float down a little creek. For now, for February, the bathtub will have to do.
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