Purposeful family living - with a French twist
Bonjour! I'm Michele Cherie: francophile, teacher, writer, runner, wife, and mama to five children. I'm a non-native French speaker from the West Coast, USA. My husband and I recently relocated our family to Alsace, France. IntentionalMama shares our bilingual journey and resources for a culturally-rich family life.
Like me, you probably grew up hearing stories of the scrap lumber forts your dad built as a child, or at least you're familiar with The Sandlot or The Goonies, nostalgic American films that celebrate days of childhood freedom and exploration. Well, in contrast to your dad and the motley neighborhood pals of earlier decades, today's children are no longer spending significant amounts of time outdoors.
Read MoreIn my opinion, there are far too many parenting books: Amazon lists over 43,000 available. I've read a scant two or three dozen of them; about five of those have truly impacted the way that I parent my children. Over the next few weeks I'll profile each of those five books. Read on for more details about today's book and the giveaway.
Read MoreAs an American who was raised monolingual, speaking French to my children requires an ongoing mental effort. Admittedly, I taught French to middle and high school students for several years, but when my first child was born, I still had doubts about my ability to speak French consistently. I am a fluent French speaker (you can find more about how I learned French here), but since it is not my native language, there are plenty of gaps in my knowledge.
Read MoreUntil I read Quiet, I thought introversion was a negative trait. After all, I'm an introvert who has learned that extroverted cheerfulness is one of the best ways to make new friends. I admire people with extroverted personalities (like my husband) because they can quickly express thoughts that take me longer to formulate into words. But Quiet changed my perspective. Author Susan Cain's commentary helped me realize that being introverted is a gift even though it is not often recognized as such by the culture around us.
Read MoreI live in Oregon, on the outskirts of a city where there's a scattering of cedar trees native only to this area. Most of the cedars here have grown for over a century, adding growth rings as farmhouses and cookie-cutter housing tracts were built around them. Years ago, I moved into one of those cedar-lined neighborhoods as a newlywed. At the time, I didn't appreciate our house--I'd envisioned something larger, sunnier, and certainly not an hour's drive from my workplace as a French teacher. But it was near the job my husband loved, and he'd purchased it just before we'd gotten engaged. Moving to a point halfway between our workplaces still would have required a moderate commute for both of us. So instead of moving, we agreed that I would leave my teaching position at the end of that year.
Read More