College Ready Kids by Age 12? The Brainy Bunch Book Review

December 08, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, Learning Resources, Parenting Books

Last April, I watched a Today show episodefeaturing a family who has had six children start college by age 12. Kip and Mona Lisa Harding homeschooled their children and published a book about their family's educational journey entitled The Brainy Bunch: The Harding Family's Method to College Ready by Age Twelve. I was intrigued by their story and read The Brainy Bunch over the course of a few hours during my flight to Texas a few weeks ago.

Why Bringing Up Bébé Caught Americans' Attention

July 25, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Cultural Reflections, French Culture, Learning Resources, Parenting Books, Reflections on Parenting

Do you remember the buzz surrounding Pamela Druckerman's 2012 book Bringing Up Bébé? The subtitle was One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. The book still ranks among the top twenty parenting sold books on Amazon, currently #2 in the motherhood subcategory. After the book's release, Time magazine included Druckerman on its list of the 100 most influential people of 2012. (Upon hearing this news, her husband dryly quipped, "You're not even the most influential person in our apartment building.")

Daddy Doesn't Speak French: How He (Still) Supports Our Bilingual Children

June 19, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, Reflections on Parenting, French Language Learning

My husband grew up speaking Thai at home, but he's most comfortable speaking English because he was raised in the U.S. (This comfort factor is why he chose to speak English to our children.) His French knowledge is limited to what he's learned in hearing me speak it with our kids, and yet he still manages to support our children's French acquisition in ways I truly appreciate. Here are five awesome ways he supports our children's bilingual development:

First Aid for Parents & Children: Favorite Natural & Holistic Treatments

March 19, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources

In five years of parenting, my children have had blessedly few injuries requiring first aid: a bloody nose or two, two minor burns, and a drinking straw puncture to the palate. When my son punctured his palate it bled enough to make me lightheaded, but thankfully it wasn't deep, and as a nursing toddler he was able to breastfeed until he could eat solid food again. In the emotion of such moments, it can be difficult to remember the best treatments to follow. Here are some basic, natural first aid treatments to make your child's next first aid incident less traumatic: