DIY Dry Erase Family Calendar (Great for Classrooms Too)

November 19, 2013 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources, Home Management

Tile board is great dry erase material! It can be used at home to create large family wall calendars or to display the week's menu. As a foreign language teacher, I used shower board to make a classroom set of mini whiteboards. (We used them for translation games.) If you're interested in making a large dry erase family calendar, read on. Frankly, this DIY project is incredibly easy, since the home improvement store employees can cut the tile board for you.

International Lullabies: French, English, & Spanish Bedtime Songs for Children

November 15, 2013 by Michele Cherie in French Resources, French Language Learning, Reflections on Parenting, Education

Of all the cultural treasures in the world, lullabies must be among the sweetest snippets of language and melody. In the short film collection Paris, Je T'Aime, one of the more moving five-minute stories featured a nanny singing a Spanish lullaby. The lullaby she sang is called "Qué Linda Manita" and it refers to the sweet little hands, eyes, and other body parts that God gave the baby.

I don't remember any lullabies from my childhood, but there is a song that I associate with bedtime. On a nightstand beside my bed was a lamp with wooden figurines on a seesaw. The lamp played a simple wind-up melody called Say, Say Oh Playmate. My mama taught me the words and wrote them in my baby book. (This American song goes back to the 1930s or earlier).

Tips for Choosing Toys That Will Be Loved

November 13, 2013 by Michele Cherie in Reflections on Parenting, Home Management

As we express our appreciation this month for what we've been given, we also start thinking about what we want to give. Of course, experiential gifts, such as a trip to the aquarium or a live performance of The Nutcracker, are a fantastic alternative to material things. But when we do purchase things for children, we want those things to bring joy and contentment for as long as possible. I haven't purchased any Christmas gifts yet, but I'll be acting on my ideas soon.

November 11: How and Why We Remember Armistice

November 11, 2013 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources

Although Veteran's Day has been officially marked on the American calendar since 1926, it wasn't until I lived in France that I realized why November 11th was the day chosen to honor our veterans. I was riding a bus in Lyon when I spotted a street named "11 november 1918." I knew World War II had ended in 1918, but until that moment, I hadn't realized that the 11th day of the 11th month marked the end of the fighting. I'm grateful that the French name their streets after historic dates and persons. There's beauty in preserving knowledge in such a publicly visible way.

This Veteran's Day, I can't think of this day without also recalling images from a project called The Fallen 9000.

Saturday Snapshot: Our Private Park (Almost)

November 09, 2013 by Michele Cherie in Reflections on Parenting

We live in a neighborhood of cookie-cutter homes, but we know our neighbors and we appreciate our little pied-à-terre. Yet few of our neighbors have young children, and fewer still know about the park within walking distance from our street. We call it le Parc des Champignons because of the mushrooms that grow from the bark chips there in the fall and spring.

French (and Spanish) Children's Magazines Available in the U.S.

November 08, 2013 by Michele Cherie in French Resources, Learning Resources

When my daughter turned two years old, I bought her a subscription to a French children's magazine called Popi. Admittedly, subscribing to a French magazine for delivery in the USA is costly, and I wondered if it would be worth the expense. But even at that age, my daughter adored receiving Popi and she continues to read those same issues even now at four years old. We switched to Toupie et Chansons the following year; that subscription included four music CDs with the special issues. I'll write specific reviews for those magazines in a future blog post, but for now, here's an overview of the French children's magazines available in the U.S. and how to subscribe. (Children's magazines in Spanish are further below in this post.)

The Minimum Time Needed for Children to Become Bilingual

November 06, 2013 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, Learning Resources

How much time does it take a child to become bilingual? If we define bilingualism as enough proficiency to function adequately and comfortably in both languages, most studies suggest at least fifteen hours per week are necessary in the minority language. (This is not a outright rule--there are too many factors to control. Some researchers say twenty-five hours per week is a more realistic number.) If you are interested in using another language with your child on a more part-time basis, here are three factors that could increase your child's likelihood of becoming bilingual:

Establishing The Children's Hour

November 05, 2013 by Michele Cherie in Reflections on Parenting, Home Management

When is The Children's Hour? Longfellow wrote about it in a poem by the same name. Today's culture has essentially forgotten that this daily interval has a name, but the timing remains the same: it's the hour after dinner and before bedtime. For many families, it's the only free hour together. Here are some ideas for making the most of this time: