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Third Culture Mama

Raising bridge-builders

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Third Culture

5 wonderful new cross-cultural books well worth your time

May 2, 2018May 2, 2018 Third Culture Mama

Following a stint of abandoned books, I’ve had the pleasure of reading a few phenomenal ones that have really broadened my horizons. What a relief! It made me think of […]

Third Culture

You belong here.

February 8, 2018February 8, 2018 Third Culture Mama

These days, I have been filling my fringe hours preparing for an upcoming Third Culture Kid speaking engagement. In my very early morning researching, there has been a most peculiar […]

Multilingualism

The day they asked me to speak to them in different languages

January 19, 2018January 19, 2018 Third Culture Mama

Some of our family’s best conversations happen around the dinner table. I’ll reassure you, some of our worst happen there too. Dinner in a home of young ones is a […]

Creative

DIY for Cross-Cultural Families: 8 Lightweight Gifts

December 11, 2017December 11, 2017 Third Culture Mama

There are so many clever DIY gifts out there on the internet, but I’ve been on the lookout for DIY, lightweight (weigh less than 100 grams), and upcycled gifts you’d […]

Transition

The not so warm welcome home

November 22, 2017November 22, 2017 Third Culture Mama

The following is a sequel to my last post on our recent trip to America. In that article, I shared how we all went through some adjusting, after being gone […]

Third Culture

Welcome back to America, Third Culture Kids!

November 8, 2017February 8, 2018 Third Culture Mama

The kids were delirious by the time we reached the rental car place in Denver. They kept flipping from giggling to crying, while I tried to make sense of the […]

Guest Post

How families can bridge the academic gap when moving around

September 29, 2017November 9, 2017 Third Culture Mama

I am delighted to feature this guest post written by Christianna Pangalos, Founder and CEO of TwigaTutors. Christianna helps highly-mobile US families scattered across the globe, maintain a consistent US […]

Education

World-schooling… without the camper van!

September 9, 2017September 12, 2017 Third Culture Mama

There’s a LOT of buzz in my circles around “world-schooling”.  While definitions differ, most people use the term world-schooling to talk about using the world as your school. World-schooling families […]

Third Culture

When cross-cultural kids are rejected by their own family

June 9, 2017June 9, 2017 Third Culture Mama

From this side of the ocean, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. Those little moments of laughter or mimicking or side comments are natural and usually not out […]

Third Culture

Third Culture Kids in love: Jackie’s story

May 6, 2017May 6, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Welcome to the third and final part of the “TCKs in Love” interview series. Join me as I interview part Chinese-Malaysian, part Filipino-Chinese Third Culture Kid Jackie who is married […]

Third Culture

Third Culture Kids in love: MaDonna’s story

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Welcome to part two of the TCKs in love series. Join me as I interview MaDonna, who was raised in small town America and has been married to her German-Taiwanese […]

Third Culture

TCK love and marriage: survey and giveaway!

April 19, 2017May 1, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Calling all Third Culture Kids in love, married TCKs or all you brave monoculturals married to TCKs! 🙂 I am collecting some data for a workshop I am hosting for […]

Multilingualism

2017 Top French language resources for kids

April 1, 2017April 6, 2017 Third Culture Mama

A lot of linguists believe that the best language-learning method is through immersion. As in, moving to a place you have to speak it. Sounds dreamy and idyllic, right? But, […]

International Move

10 signs you are (more) at home in your new country… (phew!!)

March 29, 2017March 31, 2017 Third Culture Mama

For quite some time, we will recall the immense strain of our family’s recent move across continents, from Colorado, USA to a village in the Rhône-Alpes in France. The process […]

Travel with kids

A simple tool to help young kids remember their travels

March 7, 2017May 2, 2018 Third Culture Mama

Our tired stroller wheels wobbled from side to side along the uneven cobblestone of the Muttrah corniche. My cousin was leading us across the busy street towards the fish market […]

International Move

So you want to move for language? The cost of an international move.

February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 Third Culture Mama

“Would you have moved to France, knowing how hard it was going to be?“ my husband asked me in the warmth of a so-called ‘green café’ on a blistery cold […]

Third Culture

6 Ways to show some love to a TCK

February 13, 2017February 13, 2017 Third Culture Mama

By now, you know what a Third Culture Kid (TCK) is. It’s highly possible TCKs are all around you. They are the expat kids, military kids, missionary kids, navy kids […]

Motherhood

Why you are unfit to mother, why ADHD doesn’t exist in France (and other BS)

February 6, 2017February 7, 2017 Third Culture Mama

You’ve seen the viral articles on the web. “European vs. American parenting: You may be embarrassed!” “Why African Toddlers Don’t Have Tantrums!” Well intended observations being morphed into gross, shame-on-you […]

Third Culture

Where do I belong? The early years.

January 24, 2017January 26, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Could my young children already be wrestling with their cultural identity? In preschool?? As with many profound reflections, this one came about at the table, where precious friends asked us […]

Motherhood

The Granny I want to be.

November 1, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

After dropping the kids off at our little village school, I took the right turn that takes me back home. I checked over my shoulder for oncoming cars, and it […]

Travel with kids

Holidays are for world-schooling

October 30, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Well, we’re back from our adventure to Italy. Wow. The film director and family were staying at our place between the London film premiere and a London award ceremonies (yeay!). […]

Transition

Visitors: the good and the bad

October 16, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We don’t know when it happens along the cross-cultural adjustment timeline, but at some point the outsider becomes an insider. You’re developing a sense of belonging in your new home. […]

International Move

The apple juice party

October 8, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Our day got off to a beautifully slow start. Big kids were up before 6:00 but somehow, they played peacefully together giving us an hour to lie in. We moseyed […]

Transition

‘Yes’ people in a ‘No’ culture

October 5, 2016November 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

France is a country that will always be part and parcel of our family. I grew up here, Tall Mountain and I dated and got married here. Despite living in […]

Multicultural

Beautiful multicultural books for all ages – French edition!

September 23, 2016September 23, 2016 Third Culture Mama

Surprisingly, one of the most popular articles ever to appear on this blog was a very simple post called: Beautiful multicultural books for children. I had selected six books my […]

International Move

Surprised by Culture Shock!

August 30, 2016September 1, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We’ve lived in France for 90 days and it has probably taken several years off my life. We figured our move with little ones trailing behind was going to stretch […]

Third Culture

New Eyes for an Old Home: Adult Third Culture Kids

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 Third Culture Mama

“I am sure you’ll be so thankful to be back home in your country” wrote my friend in a farewell card as all the cogs were in motion for us […]

Multilingualism

Ignore the kids!

April 18, 2016April 19, 2016 Third Culture Mama

There is plenty of advice out there about getting kids to speak a second or third (weaker) language. One of my absolute favorite ways to get the kids speaking a […]

Multicultural

Raising Global Citizens at Home – online summit

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016 Third Culture Mama

You might have noticed the button on the right side of my page promoting this week’s virtual summit. If not, don’t worry, I ‘m here to tell you all about […]

Travel with kids

Pediatricians around the world!

April 7, 2016April 8, 2016 Third Culture Mama

We just recently took all three kids, ages four and under, to our pediatrician here in the United States. It’s difficult to even describe the level of chaos generated by […]

Birthday

This is my world.

March 31, 2016March 8, 2017 Third Culture Mama

Hi. I’m Ayo and it was my birthday this month. I’m four years old now. Ayo is my nickname. It’s actually my middle name. It’s short for Ayodelé. That’s not […]

Multicultural

Great gifts for multicultural families

March 21, 2016April 5, 2016 Third Culture Mama

I’m not a very creative gift giver. I’ll often Google to find last minute gift ideas. (Please tell me I am not alone?) Well, guess what I found when I […]

Multilingualism

For weary parents of bilinguals

February 22, 2016February 23, 2016 Third Culture Mama

A very pregnant Nae chased me around the park. She had overheard me speaking to the kids in French and was looking for tips. Encouragement, really. Nae had stopped speaking […]

Review

All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes

January 23, 2016January 25, 2016 Third Culture Mama

I jumped right into All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, the fifth of Maya Angelou’s seven part autobiographical series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In this installment, Angelou writes about […]

Third Culture

6 tips for TCKs returning “home”

January 18, 2016January 19, 2016 Third Culture Mama

The move to my passport culture, a country I hadn’t lived in for 20 years, was littered with pain and grief. I felt the physical ache in my heart as […]

Health

November unplugged

November 30, 2015November 30, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Here are a few snapshots from our challenge to get outside each day in November. This was our second year participating. Such a fun way of being intentional about staying […]

Review

On race, immigration and love: Americanah

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Introducing a book that depicts life pretty accurately on three continents and unpacks the sensitive subject of race in a relatively non-judgmental fashion. It’s a book that also humanizes the […]

Multicultural

“They’re gonna hate you for it”

July 16, 2015July 17, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I have been grateful for so many encouraging comments and emails about traveling with small kids, multilingualism, and cross-cultural living on social media. Then, almost out of nowhere, this one […]

Multilingualism

Bilingual Avenue Podcast

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I am really honored to feature on this week’s episode of Bilingual Avenue, a weekly podcast with insightful tips and advice from language experts and normal parents like us, raising […]

Multilingualism

Sibling dynamics in multilingualism

April 27, 2015July 2, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Choosing and implementing a language strategy with your first child is often more straightforward than when the next child comes along. We generally speak more to our first-borns, we spend […]

Third Culture

Good grief.

March 26, 2015March 28, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Late last night, I mustered up the courage to flick through my old blog that accompanied me like a best friend from graduate school, outlasting even my first two real […]

Multicultural

Learn about Asia through crafts & activities!

March 12, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Today, I have the immense honor to host the March Multicultural Kids Blog carnival on the topic of Asian crafts and activities. In fact, I am posting this on my […]

Multicultural

Beautiful multicultural books for children

March 3, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Take a quick tour of the children’s classics in Anglo-Saxon literature and you will see a glaring predominance of Caucasian protagonists. I don’t feel it is wrong to feature white […]

Schooling

The school question

February 26, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

Over the past couple of years, as parents of older kids discussed preschool, my eyes would glaze over. We have time, and we won’t be living in the United States […]

Multilingualism

Expecting a multilingual baby!

February 19, 2015May 6, 2015 Third Culture Mama

What a life-altering experience it is to welcome a first baby into your home. Like many first time mamas who find themselves in this age of information overload, I felt […]

Multicultural

What? I’m not calling them “maids”!

February 13, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

It started with a whole lot of tension and ended with a whole lot of compromise. It climbed hills of heartache but led to a lush land of so much […]

Third Culture

Ditching Brittany

February 10, 2015June 19, 2015 Third Culture Mama

I sat in my favorite solid wooden chair at our kitchen table and stared out the window. Many an “aha” moment has come to me on this comforting chair with […]

Third Culture

That global vs. local tension

December 3, 2014May 6, 2015 Third Culture Mama

A friend of mine recently sent me a message with a question that got me thinking. He asked me how I developed a hunger for both local and global experiences, […]

Multicultural

Advent around the world

December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 Third Culture Mama

Living in Germany first gave me an insight into the craft of the homemade advent calendar. Ten years ago, a German friend of mine showed me a perfectly engineered cardboard […]

Review

Everyone Poops

April 5, 2013November 23, 2014 Third Culture Mama

As we were picking out some fun potty awareness books for Ayo’s friend’s birthday (pre potty training), we splurged and picked one out for Ayo as well. There are so […]

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Multicultural Kid Blogs
'Raising multilingual children' blogging carnival
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