Let the Summer of (multilingual) Reading begin!
If there is one thing I miss from our previous life in America, it’s got to be the library system. I’ve written about American libraries before. I remember the kids’ […]
Multilingual
5 wonderful new cross-cultural books well worth your time
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 […]
You belong here.
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 […]
The day they asked me to speak to them in different languages
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 […]
World-schooling… without the camper van!
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 […]
When cross-cultural kids are rejected by their own family
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 Kids in marriage: 10 survey results & trends
This past month of focusing on Third Culture Kids in relationships has been a thrilling roller coaster to say the least. It all started when the 2017 EuroTCK consultation invited […]
2017 Top French language resources for kids
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, […]
A simple tool to help young kids remember their travels
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 […]
So you want to move for language? The cost of an international move.
“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 […]
6 Ways to show some love to a TCK
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 […]
Where do I belong? The early years.
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 […]
Holidays are for world-schooling
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!). […]
Beautiful multicultural books for all ages – French edition!
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 […]
Ignore the kids!
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 […]
This is my world.
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 […]
Great gifts for multicultural families
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 […]
For weary parents of bilinguals
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 […]
Language-learning: an alive, natural, changing process
When I first thought about this month’s Multilingual Carnival topic on “lost languages“, I didn’t think we had all that much to share. Our kids are all under four years […]
Little language vignettes
After picking up a collection of short stories on clearance at a bookstore earlier this year, I rediscovered a wealth of beauty in the novella. That seemingly random purchase taught […]
“They’re gonna hate you for it”
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 […]
Bilingual Avenue Podcast
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 […]
“H” is for…Humility
“I’m going to China, where are you going, Grammie?” Ayo asked last week as if nothing were. I didn’t think much of it at the time but it really marked […]
Sibling dynamics in multilingualism
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 […]
Learn about Asia through crafts & activities!
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 […]
The school question
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 […]
Expecting a multilingual baby!
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 […]
What? I’m not calling them “maids”!
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 […]
That global vs. local tension
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, […]
Advent around the world
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 […]
Bilingualism: 3 Myths
It is amazing how much unsolicited and unfounded advice you receive when you expose your children to multiple languages. These misconceptions often come from individuals who never had a bilingual […]
This gift of diversity
How desperately, do I want to teach our kids to be lovers of this world. Interesting then, when it actually came to inviting the so-called ‘world’ into our home (without us […]
The case against bilingual books
Our local library branch recently purchased a handful of English/French bilingual books to add to their collection. Knowing our excitement for new books to read in French, the library staff […]
France & Greece
Returned from Europe. Two kids on jetlag. Ayo 26 mos, Délice 5mos. Tall Mountain leaves for long trip to Asia. Kids use it as an excuse not to sleep at […]
Introducing Mandarin
Ayo’s first introduction to Mandarin was uneventful. I didn’t take him to some toddler class. Oh no, it wasn’t that glamorous. I have come to realize that the best language […]
Mama thoughts at TWO!
We have a two year old! We once marveled at our infant boy’s mini features, wondering who he would become. Today, we already have glimpses of who this little boy […]
Guitar in the park
It was about 3:30pm when we arrived at the park. We had so much fun there yesterday that we had to come back for more. The intense mountain sun again […]
Chatty blog “reduction”
Struggling to find the time to do the many things that I love. One of those many things is to journal. A few days ago, I started using the voice […]
Minority language feelings
It’s got to be mind-boggling for any parent to watch the process of language acquisition unfold. As a linguist, I can’t tell you how much fun it is to experience […]
Language at 16 months
Language and speech is one of the most exciting areas of child development to me. If you know me at all, that comes as no surprise. Well, life is barreling […]
Language & travel: seizing the opportunities
I just finished reading Maria Babin’s thoughtful post on multilingualism and travel. When thinking about traveling with children for the sake of language acquisition, or to see family, or just […]
Hindsight is always 20/20
I recall sitting in a cozy café, sipping a frothy cappuccino while reading all the books I could find on the subject of multilingual parenting atop a basketball-shaped belly. I […]
Language class for tots DIY
Last Saturday, Ayo tried out a second language class for 1-2 year olds – this time at the Alliance Française. I asked if they did trials like the other center […]
Language tiers
Back when I was reading up about bilingual parenting, I found one book that wrote about the importance of understanding which tier your languages fall into. It went on to […]
The World Until Yesterday
I first heard about best-selling author Jared Diamond and his newly released The World Until Yesterday – What we can Learn from Traditional Societies in an in-flight magazine. In the […]
No longer an infant!
It’s Ayo’s very first birthday today and all sorts of thoughts are running through my mind. My first year of mamahood was mundane and humbling. At the same time, it […]
Slovenian-French 1st birthday!
Joyeux Anniversaire a little in advance and a slightly belated Vse najboljše to these darling little ones, born within nine days of one another. xxx
Babies and language
For all of you interested in infant language assimilation, here are some fascinating TED talks I just have to share! Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies (On critical periods […]
新年快乐
Happy Chinese New Year! We had such a blast celebrating Ayo’s first Chinese New Year at church. It was a bilingual Mandarin/English service with music, dance, short preaching, kids performance, […]
