Our Family's Bilingual Journey: Regrets & Current Successes

June 06, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, Reflections on Parenting

Since she was two years old, my daughter has generally spoken English to me. Before then, she spoke a fair amount of French words, but it seemed that as soon as she learned an English word from Daddy or an extended family member, she'd stop using the equivalent French word. She did continue to use some French nouns, but the predominance of English as her main language happened rapidly.

Lately I've wondered if pretending not to understand English would have prompted my infant daughter to speak French with me. I've heard this can be a successful technique--but my children always seemed to grasp that I understand English perfectly well since I speak it with my husband and everyone else.

Eyes Wide Open: What Children See & Recognize

June 03, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Contentment, Cultural Reflections, Reflections on Parenting

My five-year-old daughter and I sat in blinding sunlight yesterday and read a picture book that deeply impacted me. The Man With the Violin follows the story of little Dylan, who notices many things that his mother doesn't. One day he hears a musician in the subway playing beautiful violin music, and though he wants to stop and listen, his mama rushes him on. There's more to the story, since it's based on this American cultural experiment:

C'est le Weekend: Links You'll Like

May 30, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources, Parenting Books, Weekend Links

Yesterday my children had a French playdate at our home, and afterwards my mother-in-law dropped off some homemade Thai food. Later, my husband arrived home early and made dinner for some students who stopped by while I was planting raspberry canes in the backyard. Quelle bonne journée! I hope you have some equally lovely moments this weekend as you make the jump into June. Enjoy these weekend links I compiled for you:

5 Ways to Learn French (or Another Language) Without Taking A Class

May 29, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, French Resources, International Exchange, Learning Resources

When I was a high school French teacher, I told my students that high school was the last time in their lives when they could take a foreign language class for free. Now that I'm raising my children in French, however, I see that my statement wasn't entirely accurate. Here are five ways to learn French or improve your knowledge of the language for free without enrolling in a class:

Exploring A Parents' Work: Childhood Enlarged

May 27, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, Learning Resources, Reflections on Parenting

My husband finished up his track & field coaching season this past weekend, culminating with the state competition in Eugene, Oregon. I've always been impressed with the caliber of my husband's coaching--he's been able to consistently coach amateur athletes to impressive levels of performance for roughly fifteen years now.

Now that this track season is officially over, my children will be thrilled that my husband is arriving home earlier, and I'm relieved to know a whole summer of family time is around the corner. But even though track season is a challenging time for my family, I'm truly grateful for the experiences it gives my children. Children learn so much from exploring their parents' work. Through visits and hands-on experiences, they gain far more than knowledge about a single career niche.

Multilingual Family Profile № 1: Nicole & Ihab

May 22, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, Learning Resources

A few months ago I shared that I would be launching a series of posts featuring interviews with bilingual (or multilingual) families, and today I am delighted to share the first one! The "S" family lives here in Oregon and speaks native French and German with their two young daughters. But their linguistic background is broader than that: Nicole grew up in Mexico, and Ihab grew up in Egypt. Here's their story, shared by Nicole:

Family-Friendly French (& Spanish) Music for Children: Recent Finds

May 21, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, French Resources, Teaching French

We normally listen to French children's music in the car, but a few months ago my five-year-old daughter started pleading for English music. I temporary complied, trading Petit Ours Brun for Raffi, but pondered why the French music no longer appealed to her. I theorized that it wasn't the language that mattered, but the music itself. The English music she likes had more complicated lyrics and melodies than the French comptines we'd heard over and over.

My theory was right: Since then, I've found more age-appropriate French children's music, and she hasn't asked for English music since. I'm thrilled to return to French music immersion!

Here's what we're listening to:

Adventure Playgrounds Outdoors: What and Why?

May 20, 2014 by Michele Cherie in American Culture, Cultural Reflections, Education, Learning Resources, Reflections on Parenting

Have you heard about adventure playgrounds? They're old news, actually. Adults started establishing such spaces in Europe in the forties because they felt children needed to opportunities to develop courage in the face of a world at war. (There are over 1,000 adventure parks for children in Europe, and more than 400 in Germany alone.) These parks are growing in popularity in the U.S. now as American parents realize that children aren't getting enough playtime outdoors and have few opportunities for play in non-landscaped settings.