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.

ACTFL 2014 Conference Summary: Language Learning Links

December 02, 2014 by Michele Cherie in French Language Learning, French Resources, Learning Resources, Teaching French

Les amis, I've been wanting to tell you about the ACTFL Conference that took place in San Antonio, Texas, just over a week ago. ACTFL is the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; their annual conference is oriented towards K-12 teachers of French, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, German, and Italian. This year's conference was the second largest--there were well over 6,000 teachers in attendance!

Here are my favorite aspects of the conference:

Our First Autumn Homeschooling: Rhythms & Realities

November 20, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, French Resources, Learning Resources, Reflections on Parenting

Winter doesn't officially arrive here in Oregon until next month, but strangely, we've already had our first light snowfall and an ice storm, so it feels as though autumn is already past. In addition, my daughter has started learning a Christmas song on violin, so I've been reflecting on how our first autumn of homeschooling went now that we're transitioning into winter.

Suzuki Violin Lessons at Age Four? One Year Later

October 21, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, Learning Resources, Reflections on Parenting

If you've read my blog for a while, you might remember that my daughter started taking Suzuki violin lessons last fall at age four and a half. She had expressed an interest in learning violin after listening repeatedly to a fictional story featuring Vivaldi's music. I was concerned that formal music lessons might require too much rigor for her age, but we took the leap after talking with friends who had started Suzuki lessons at a young age. Now, a year later, I'm thrilled that we started lessons when we did, and my daughter has loved playing! Here's my quick summary of the Suzuki method and what I've learned about music lessons as a parent:

October Nature Events for Families in Oregon (& Elsewhere)

October 02, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, Home Management, Learning Resources, Travel

Bonjour, les amis! Because of September's heat here in Oregon, October often feels like the true beginning of autumn. Have you enjoyed any pumpkin treats or cider yet? We're having homemade pumpkin ravioli tonight. (We haven't tried it before, but my children like stuffing wonton wrappers.) And if you're craving a seasonal drink, this past week I blended a few spoonfuls of pumpkin puree with a cup of rice milk and a dash of nutmeg, and it was surprisingly refreshing! For more ways to enjoy the season, here are some family-friendly nature events around Portland, Oregon, this month:

Kindergarten Homeschool in French: Beginning Writing & Reading

September 09, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Education, French Resources, Learning Resources

We officially started homeschooling last week, though in a sense we've been homeschooling in a low-key way for years. My homeschooling style leans towards the philosophies of Charlotte Mason (emphasizing the outdoors & quality books), unschooling (seizing opportunities for learning from daily life & pursuing current interests), and Montessori (using natural materials and independent play for learning), but the Type A parent in me also needs a basic morning schedule and some simple learning goals each day.

My five-year-old daughter is active and social, yet she also loves workbooks and writing. When looking for handwriting curriculum for her, I was happy to find that the company Handwriting Without Tears publishes French versions of their handwriting workbooks (Spanish ones too!). The Kindergarten level book starts with capital letters, moves to digits (1-10), and ends with lowercase letters, with some simple French words to copy towards the end.

When Americans' Ignorance of World Geography is Embarrassing

August 01, 2014 by Michele Cherie in Learning Resources, Teaching French, International Exchange, Education, Cultural Reflections

When my husband and I hosted high school exchange students, they told us about the repeated conversations they had with American students during the first few weeks of school:

American: "So you're an exchange student? That's awesome! Where are you from?"

Exchange student: "I'm from Bolivia." [or Hungary, etc.]

American: "Really? That's awesome! So . . . where's Bolivia?"

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.")