Thinking Allowed: Hot desking in Paphos

We have spent the past month on the coast of Cyprus hard at work. After half a year of ‘no school no work all walking’ it was time to catch up on those forgotten life requirements. Cyprus is a shimmering Mediterranean island. Though the island of Aphrodite and love, it has been dealt a less than loving past. We are learning though our travels through the Mediterranean that the advantages of peace and beauty of Mediterranean islands sometimes outweighs their strategic position close to numerous other countries. This is one of those locations where we have gotten to see the ruins of differing civilisations throughout modern times - Romans, Knights Templar, Greeks, Turkish.... Our experience of Cyprus so far has luckily been more along the traditions of Aphrodite. Our days have been littered with long strolls along the boardwalk staring at the shimmering clear blue waters. Mediterranean blue is very uplifting to stare at. We have gone for hikes amongst carob and olive trees, along cliff edges, through gorges, and in the forest.

Mostly though, between outdoor excursions, we have been working hard. Jakob has been spending his weeks in the capital reigniting his relationship with long work days. Aurora has started to delve into the more intense world of A levels and Sophia into IGCSE subjects. The two girls have textbooks on the computer but share one computer. This has been working out well partly because Sophia, a morning person, wakes up at 630 to start her school day. She gets in a a few hours of work before Aurora is conscious enough to think about learning. By 9pm Sophia is off to bed and Aurora then spends a few hours in the quiet living room focused on work. If only this principle could be extended to their beds we could save money on rent! Tova has been doubling down on math - she is churning through a middle school curriculum while also doing an online program while also getting extra math sessions with Jakob while also reading through assigned reading faster than I can assign it. Zadie studiously and independently works through whatever work I give her. She is a quiet easy pupil who enjoys finishing up so she can run off to play. Levana never stops moving and never wants to be left out - she has a homework book too and sits by her sisters scribbling away and often scribbles over everyone else’s work too. I have been trying valiantly to carve away some time to do ‘homework’ of my own - the roughest draft of a novel there ever was. We have brought a guitar and portable piano with us and the children are all trying their hands at being musical. Our evenings are full of home cooked meals and activities - gymnastics, taekwondo and sailing. Its been a quiet but beautiful and educational month here in Paphos.