I’ll sue you!

Marc was struggling with his land homework. I went to wager the land directrice to feature that Marc was not healthy to read the land book and do the analyse because he had so much American homework. I also change he was existence ‘punished’ and that reading should be a pleasure, especially since he had hours of American homework. Not so, she replied. Marc’s pedagogue tells with me that he is lazy and this is normal in America. The pedagogue had said that Marc had apparently never rattling worked before in Kuala Lumpur. (This stupid me and I had no idea what to feature to her)


‘You were warned’ she reminded me and showed me a letter most the edifice that she had faxed to Jacques. It said, in French, that parents must be prepared to hold their female at bag too. I had seen that as been positive towards French, having land books, dvd’s etc. in the bag and helping with the homework, but not doing it, surely.


The directrice ended the communicating with the message ‘Get a tutor if you can’t cope!’ A tutor? Pay 20 $ an hour for extra support after we were already paying 3,000 a assemblage for EFAC! Never! Plus I was a drilled pedagogue myself, sure I could support my own children? I wasn’t even employed and still still it was meet TOO MUCH!


A whatever life later Marc came to speech to Jacques and me in private. Marc was unusually worried. It appeared that the pedagogue had been scornful him, and his preceding ‘lazy’ edifice in face of the other kids. The pedagogue had made whatever threatening remarks too. Jacques was on the case immediately, like a ton of bricks, writing a conventional ‘I’ll sue you if you touch or verbally hurt my son…’ letter, and making an designation to wager the directrice for the incoming day. The directrice listened, talked to the teacher, who denied it all, and the matter was place aside. Marc reported that the pedagogue had stopped picking on him.


We change a mixture of sadness that the bilingual school, that seemed so beatific on paper, was turning discover so bad, and anger that the pedagogue was deprecative our son. I won’t dispute that Marc has a lazy day-dreaming side, as do some kids, but he is bright and interested. The poorest aspect was that he had no choice in which edifice he was dispatched to, so should he not be punished for our choices. We began truly thinking that we should move the children as presently as doable since both Marc and Nina would hit the same pedagogue incoming edifice year....

 

 

The Sweetest Halloween ever…

I hit ever loved Halloween, and was delighted to see the try the Americans place into this festival. It started in September, with pumpkin patches in the topical city-farm, weekend Fall Parties in the parks and stuff to buy everywhere…before long we had a assemblage of twenty decorated pumpkins and thanks to the affordable imported fling from Walgreens we had a decorated house same never before.


The topical neighbours around Lincoln park competed for who could hit the most decorated house. Round the corner from us a competing trio of huge fount call houses showcasing witches and wizards who moved, ghostly yhands sticking up discover of the garden, programme webs everyplace and excitable lighting. It was same a theatre and I was amazed no-one stole the whole lot…


On the 31st October each class had a party. Gabriel went as Batman and was pronto told he could not wear a cover (rules, rules…) so I preserved his tears and grabbed whatever black paint and painted a cover for him. Nina was a witch. Marc was Shrek, with borrowed green tights and green face-paint. After school we solicited our French friends for a gouter, or salutation snack, with whatever decorated cupcakes. Around 6pm as it got Stygian we went discover trick-or-treating as a group. I thought it would be brief half-hour trip…


Houses were explosive with activity, and kids trailed in and discover with huge bags. The occupants were often in costume, whatever funny, whatever scary, and handed discover generous portions of enwrapped sweets (or candy as Gabriel would say…). I was stunned at the trend proportions of it all, how such could they get? With every our coat-pockets flooded and our plastic bags over-flowing I tried to intend them home, but the attractiveness of sugar, lights and so some dressed up grouping was addictive and we didn’t intend bag until 9pm…


Six months later when I spring-cleaned the front hall cupboard I found a whole bag of candies, unopened and forgotton! And as a bitter-sweet reminder Nina had to hit fivesome holes filled in by the dentist, that I was trusty was linked with the day excess….

No more butts, we’re English!

Gabriel was becoming more American by the day, patch Marc, Nina and I were getting more English! The three of us visibly winced when we heard the way the Americans noticeable things, and the spelling tests were a test for all of us. Who says ‘color’ has to corn same that? Why such a half-hearted attempt to modify the spellings, since the vast majority of words stayed as hard as before?


Meanwhile archangel started saying ‘butt’ instead of ‘bottom, and ‘I poverty to go potty!’ exclusive of toilet. He talked about pants, when he meant trousers. He put his rubbish in the ‘trashcan’ and asked for the ‘restroom’ in restaurants. archangel would ask for a ‘juicebox’ from the ‘icebox’, called me ‘mom’ instead of Mummy and so on…


I hated it and resented every single modify to the language I had erst taught. Although I had always discussed the differences with my TEFL students I had not realized how different USA and England was.


At edifice shows or class assemblies the whole edifice would sound the National Anthem. I could manage with that, mouthing along patch the chap next to me sang his hunch out. But then I institute discover the kids had to sound it every morning at school. I asked Marc and Nina, 'Do you sound along?'‘No.’ they replied together. ‘We are English.’


Gabriel’s class were usually discover at endeavor when the edifice sang at 8.15am, but if it was rainy or algid they collective around the class speaker and with digit limb over their little chests (I kid you not) sound that Star-spangled song. I would collapse into vocalization watching them sound so seriously, same they had won the Olympics! Of course, I was told off by th pedagogue for agitated patch it was on (you could not achievement finished the corridor or barely expel patch it was activity either) and for showing a bad warning to the children...

 

 

A good class mom…

Being a mother is taken very earnestly in America. You are asked almost directly which team you endeavor for: Working Mom or Stay-at-Home Mom. The Working moms all looked overdressed in suits and busy as they picked up their kids, patch answering their Motorola and driving a tank. The Stay-at-Homes wore trendy sports clothes and ever had a Brobdingnagian Starbucks in their hand, or in the drink holder of the trendy stroller they were actuation with their new baby or toddler. They liked to travel with strollers around attorney Park, often with a dog attached, streaming along too.


So, for me, it was a hornlike question, since I work and stay-at-home. I don’t dress chic, but I am not sporty either and I hate jogging. We don’t even hit a car as a status symbol or a posh address, which confused them. When I said that I was English with a French husband experience in America, they could not reason me and gave up.


I felt miles more comfortable with the French mamans, who looked well-dressed even at octad in the morning, didn’t exaggerate the sports thing, went to cafes for their coffee, and had such better conversation anyway. But I felt I should try with the Americans, so I offered to do a collection activate to the Botanical Gardens with Nina's 2nd Grade class.


The activate was over-booked, octad mothers for about 25 kids, and we had to sit in threes on the alter yellow edifice bus. The moms were excited, proud to hit been designated and disagreeable hornlike to be better than anyone else. Instead of going ammo as a group we were separate into groups of three, and we hurried off, disagreeable to provide our kids the best edifice activate ever. Nina was clingy, but I understood why, the American girls all had a Best Friend. The digit French-American girls in her collection had no interest in Nina, belike because they already had a Best Friend in another class, or perhaps didn’t poverty to seen speaking French with Nina in class, which was frowned on. I saw that Nina was terribly lonely and uncomprehensible her KL friends. And I felt the aforementioned way.


The only mothers in the whole edifice who talked to me for more than five minutes were divorcees. They were unbelievably candid and open about their situation, telling me more than I wanted to know. I surmisal we both felt somewhat excluded from the perfect attorney life the moms were disagreeable to have.

 

 

A new direction!

The story of our life continues, but in the meantime I will be posting the Quarterly article that I indite for the Bilingual Family Newsletter Notes From the OPOL Family (One-parent-one-language). The OPOL Family stories are real-life tales of existence an English/French family, previously experience in Malaysia, now in rural France. My three children, Marc (11), Nina (9) and archangel (5) read the columns and often add in their thoughts of diverting comments.


I've been writing this article for nearly quaternary years now, concealment subjects much as how to explain to your child, who's lost a tooth, whether it's the French mouse or the English Tooth fairy who drops coins low your pillow to how to deal with digit religons and digit different Mother's Days!


Please feel liberated to interpret on the OPOL Family column, either via this blog or by email: opolfamily@gmail.com. Some of your comments haw be altered utilised in forthcoming editions of the Bilingual Family Newsletter.


Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert


Author of Language Strategies for Bilingual Families: The one-parent-one-langauge approach

The Limousine

My parents came at the beginning of Nov to fete my dad’s 70th birthday. They loved Chicago, and seeing it from a traveler analyse it did seem quite charming too. We visited the town, zoo, Navy Pier and around the lake. The children were delighted to hit guests and showed them around.


On my Dad’s birthday we had a surprise, we told him we would take at the Rainforest café downtown, and would call for a taxi. It was a long black automobile for eight. Dad was surprised and we every climbed in for a cruise around metropolis as night fell, we picked up Jacques outside his NBC building office and were dropped off at the red-carpeted Rainforest café. It change good! I was chesty to hit hosted his birthday and it made up for every the family tensions we had had in 2005.


My parents were relaxed, they likeable America, were great with the kids and helped with the homework in the evenings. They could walk to the schools to garner up the kids and so their instance with us was refreshing for me and I change miles meliorate and began to think we had made a good selection to live in America. The week went too alacritous though and before we knew it they were heading backwards to England. We were left, alone, wishing Grandpa and Nanna could be around every night for the edifice pick-up or to read the kids a story…

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving!

After Halloween we were straight into Thanksgiving, the second weekday in November. I had never rattling understood this festival, which seemed too close to a tralatitious Christmas lunch. Did they do it every again on the 25th December? It presently appeared that Thanksgiving was a kinsfolk get-together, and that made me feel terribly homesick, smelling every the turkey and stuffing, and seeing every the grandparents at edifice and seeing central Chicago blank as families went home to family.


It was our prototypal kinsfolk holiday of the edifice year, well meet a pair of days off, but meliorate than nothing, but we every felt sad; the kids disliked school, I uncomprehensible Malaya a lot and Jacques was not too bright at impact either. Winter had arrived, and we were cold, and had to rush out and acquire skiwear and rush for every of us.


To embolden up we went to the Chicago Thanksgiving parade. Chilled to the bone, with exclusive a Starbucks for warmth, we watched the floats and balloons distinction up and go down Michigan Avenue. Later on in the period we were invited to eat with Elisabeth and David, our new French friends who had lived in New royalty and enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving. The matter was gorgeous, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, actual gravy and pumpkin pie, and the five kids played nicely together. It was cosy and we felt good. Even though the edifice and life was not what we have expected at small we had good company. Thank simulacrum for friends I thought.

 

 

Down on the farm…

On a recent long car journey to our holiday destination I suggested an easy game that every three children could play. It was called ‘Guess the Animal’. One person had to make an birdlike good and the others guess what kind of birdlike it was. archangel had just visited a farm recently with the school, and learnt the names of animals in both languages. They could ingest either land or arts when they answered. But we soon institute discover that every animals don’t always intercommunicate the same language…


Marc went first. ‘Scrontch-scrontch, bulwark groin…’ he said. The children quickly identified it as a pig. ‘How crapper that be!’ I said from the front seat. ‘A swine goes oink oink, like the swine called Babe in that film.’ I was quickly out-voted.


Nina was next, she cooed ‘hulluh hullah...’ and it took a patch for us to guess that it was an owl, not a pigeon as I predicted. ‘No way’ the boys protest. ‘An owl says Twit-tu-whoo- tu-whooh’.


Gabriel chose a donkey, most probable inspired by Winnie-the Pooh, and said: ‘Eeyore, eeyore’. Marc and Nina guessed correctly, but disputed this hotly, arguing that a ass commonly says ‘hi-han hi-han’.


We gave up on the game, since no-one could agree on which good was ‘right’ and ran finished every the birdlike noises in both languages. With the help of the land storybook we had in the car about a farmyard, where the noises are written down, and my childhood memories of arts birdlike speech we compared notes. Down on the farm whatever fields of land and arts animals would not be able to speech to each other. Did you know, for example, that an arts sheep goes ‘baa baa’ patch a land sheep goes bêêêê? A score in author would naturally say ‘quack quack!’ patch its cousin in Paris says strike coin. A tiny chick would go ‘cheep cheep’ in Manchester, and piou piou in Normandy. Thankfully, cats miao, dogs woof, cows moo, and hens cluck in both countries.


Around the concern there is full orchestra of assorted structure of translating the same animal’s noise. For example, a phallic chicken, or cockerel, crapper ‘say’


Kho-kho-hou-hoûûû! (in Morocco)

Co-co-ri-co! (in France)

Cock-a doodle-doo! (in England)

Qui-qui-ri-qui! (in Spain)

Koké-ko-kôôô! (in Japan)


This is the kind of language ingest that you don’t wager in a dictionary; or learn in a language school, it is often hidden in young children’s edifice songs or books. But it seems logical that a child present pre-school or primary edifice would need to know the birdlike sounds in both languages or it could be very confusing. While this strength every seem rather extraneous in the wider plot of helping your child become bilingual it is worth bearing in mind, especially if you organisation to sing together the well-known children’s edifice rhyme ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm…’

We’re the only English in the village!

We live in a tiny village, in the region of nowhere, and yet there are ten arts families living nearby us. When we lived here seven eld ago the only arts I bumped into were retired couples who lived in their summer houses or eccentric hipsters looking for a different lifestyle. I used to foregather them at the recycling store or wandering hopelessly around the supermarket looking for colorful biscuits.


Now we hit an flow of young families. Many choose remote rural areas, with houses they crapper renovate. Families who advise out here take a huge risk, the land chronicle crapper be lonely and there is no English-language edifice available. It’s hornlike for the children, thrown into the demanding land educational system. The parents are pollyannaish and stabbing to immerse the kinsfolk in land social life. Before language the papers to their houses they imagine chatting over the fence to their land neighbours and speaking perfect land in meet a some months with their newborn friends over an aperitif.


In reality, their best friends tend to be English. The numbers of arts residents has sky-rocketed in five years. There are estimated to be around 400,000 nation families in France. In the arts café in the topical town I feeding the monthly newsletters offering arts plumbers, carpenters, gardeners…A full community has materialized to foregather their needs. The supermarket has an International section now (baked beans, HP sauce, Tetley’s tea-bags…) and the staff speak arts these days.


In the topical village edifice Marc and Nina listen (four classes, three teachers and sixty-six pupils) there are seven arts kids. That’s nearly 10%. The seven kids naturally talk arts together, modify though they are every bilingual. Except in class where arts in banned. So far, the communication balance is employed and the seven English-speaking kids attain efforts to endeavor with the land children and integrate finished after-school activities. Marc and Nina hit friends from both cultures and translate when needed. But in the alternative edifice I hear that 20% of the kids are English. They hit embellish a separate group and rarely socialize with land kids.


What do the locals conceive about it? land mothers are bright for their kids to endeavor with the arts kids after edifice (free language lessons!) But furious at the prices the arts clear for a land house. There is a crisp opinion that the numbers are effort likewise broad and anti-English comments crapper be heard every around. The teachers hate teaching arts as a Second Language (part of the curriculum) to the arts kids, who laugh at their pronunciation.


On the arts lateral some of the parents were kinda annoyed to hit yet added ‘English’ kinsfolk tie the class when we arrived. One mother, who has been living in our village for quaternary years, was furious to hit lost her status as the Only Brit in the Village. There’s the unspoken fear that the arts kids will not bother learning land or attain any land friends if there are likewise many of them. This is the case in many countries where, once numbers get likewise large, an internal community is formed.

 

 

At last, a Foreign Language!

In collège Marc crapper learn a Foreign Language. Marc never had some pick about acquisition arts and French. When people say how serendipitous he is to intercommunicate two Foreign Languages so easily he staleness wonder what they mean. It was no fun for him - especially with two parents who were determined that he would intercommunicate each module to a broad standard. Poor Marc was the prototypal child and the guinea-pig of the family. Right from period digit he was blasted with arts from his care (and every her family) and land from Papa (and every his family). There was never some other pick than to intercommunicate both languages. It’s not that he is ungrateful for the languages we chose for him; he just would have liked a pick in the matter.


Now age eleven years and octad months, he has a actual pick at last. arts is mandatory every through the quaternary years of collège, but there is an pick for a ordinal module play in the prototypal year. This is where Marc has his wish come true. On the menu is German, dweller or Spanish. Marc discusses each module earnestly and meticulously, questioning us on which digit we think is the easiest, which digit is useful, and which digit will support him in the future. He picks Teutonic in the end. Jacques is bright since he speaks excellent German. In fact, his care fought to intend a Teutonic class ingrained twenty years ago in the aforementioned school, feat ammo parents to give the children more choice.


The Teutonic class is small and is separate via webcam, so the pedagogue crapper cover quaternary schools at the aforementioned time. I am a bit unbelieving about this futuristic set-up, but the kids accept it as normal. Talking to the microphone or the camera has become ordinal nature. It is a delight to see Marc saying ‘Ich bin Marc!’ and vocalizing ‘ein, zwei, drei…’ He is fascinated by the differences and the similarities between English, land and this new language. He is astonished that Teutonic has an player letter (the ‘ss’ sound or ß) and that they use capital letters for so many nouns and enjoys the lack of pressure to become fluent and the slow pace of acquisition that beginners crapper indulge in. Watching him enthusiastically tackle his Teutonic schoolwork I am glad that eventually module acquisition is fun…

 

 

Language gaps

The other day we went discover for a kinsfolk cycle ride. Jacques has just taught archangel to ride. He is avid and desperate to ride on a real road. Jacques goes first, followed by Marc, Nina, archangel and me at the end (presumably to pick up any children who might fall off). It every goes well until we set soured down a hill and archangel picks up speed. Too much speed though, and he starts apace overtaking the others. I call discover ‘Gabs, brake a little!’ He calls back ‘Break what??’ I reply, breathlessly, ‘Brake…the bike.’ ‘Break my bike? Why, Mummy???’ and he starts looking behind, rather dangerously, to see what I am talking about. ‘Brake, NOW!!!’ I shout, effort nervous as he spins his wheels. ‘Break my leg? Break my head? Break my arms!’ he sings, with no emotion in his mind. One little bump on the agency and he module be in the hedge, with a broken arm or leg.


I mentally imagine the trip to the local hospital. As I think, in French, how I module vindicate the accident to the doctor (‘I told him to brake and he unnoticed me!’) it hits me that maybe he doesn’t undergo what brake means. He exclusive knows frien, which Jacques taught him, naturally. I never got to vindicate the arts translation. But this is no time to start translating. If I mispronounce frien or put it in an arts declare he might not understand. It sounds a taste same Friend and that might distract him. If I talk to him in land he module be surprised and might turn around to ask me why I am speech French. Default language ingest eventually comes into action, my mentality automatically finding a communication solution.


‘STOP!!!!’ I scream. That works. He stops. We every stop. Everyone understands Stop.

‘Nothing broken!’ smiles archangel ‘Why did you say break, Mummy?’


Ah, the joys of parenting in digit languages!!

Don’t dub Troy!

Nina loves the High School Musical films, as do most nine-year-old girls from all around the world. She’s seen the prototypal two films on dvd in English and sings along to the music all the time. When the ordinal High School Musical film came out fresh in France there was no artefact she was seeing it dubbed. I’m not that fancy about which language films are done in, as long as it’s a good film, and suggest a topical medium in Poitiers. To persuade me, she argued that if Ilium said ‘I love you’ her land it would mean nothing to her. ‘You would woman out on the real feeling.’ she claims, gazing at her bill of Ilium on her bedroom wall.


It’s the edifice holidays so soured we go to town to encounter a medium that does version originale. There will be the original soundtrack with land subtitles. The exclusive exhibit is on at 9am on a Saturday, and Nina is awaken at 7am, already act the HSM 3 t-shirt and matching necklace. I watch the film sleepily, as Ilium sweet-talks Gabriella, and wonder if it really matters whether he says ‘I love you’ or ‘Je t’aime’. But Nina is dead certain it makes a difference, and she wouldn’t have Ilium say it any other way. ‘It wouldn’t good real,’ she says. A some months later Mamma Mia is released in France. As Nina scans the town medium listings I know it’s instance to book the train tickets, after all, Meryl Streep just wouldn’t be the same speaking land either….

 

 

Game on!

Family games are a traditional way to bring parents and children together, with timeless classics. However, in the OPOL family games like Monopoly can have two meanings. For me, the cards represent my British childhood (Park Lane, Trafalger Square), while Jacques’ has a more chic version (Champs Elysées, Rue de la Paix). The children have played both versions and, frankly, they prefer the French one, for the practical reason that their French cousins and friends can play too. Marc and Nina said they got sick of explaining the value and cultural meaning of London property sites, and dealing in pounds when they could use euros.

Never agree to play Trivial Pursuit in your second language, unless you have a degree in the History and Culture of the language. At a recent village Games Night I naively joined the Trivial Pursuit table, thinking I could easily score some points for my team. But the only question I could answer was ‘Which three languages are spoken in Luxembourg?’ Otherwise, fifty classic French culture, people, sport and music questions passed straight over my head. It was humiliating. Bingo is a simple game of cards and numbers that any person can play and is popular in the villages in winter. But what if half the family has problems with French numbers over sixty? (That’s me and Gabriel, by the way). While the others coolly serve themselves drinks I desperately try to find ‘quatre-vingt-douze’ (20 x 4 +12, or 92). And when I finally fill in all the gaps do I shout ‘Bingo!’ or ‘Loto!’?

On the early evening family television game shows we watch together Nina is quick to fill in the blanks in the French version of ‘Wheel of Fortune’, while I am still working out what the question meant in the first place. In the French version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ I can only answer those trick questions designed to catch the French out, like what is the name of the famous clock in London a) Big Mac, b) Big John, c) Big Ben or d) Big Boy? ‘Yes!’ I shout ‘I know that one. It’s c!!’ as the children groan and say everyone knows that answer.

A classic drawing game, Pictionary, should be transferable across cultures. A recent game of with a group of French-English bilingual children showed a technical problem with languages. The word was ‘Seal’. One child scribbled a drawing and one team yelled ‘Seal!’ as the others screamed ‘Phoque!’ simultaneously. This particular French word is banned in our house (after Marc once said to my mum while watching a nature programme, ‘Oh, look, a phoque…’). As referee I disqualified the team who said the bad word. They cried injustice and argued that any word in any language could be used and the rules do not state which language the game must be played in. ‘You have to choose one language,’ I say, ‘It would create total chaos if we all spoke three or four different languages.’ The children disagree and decide to take me to the European Court of Human Rights for inhumanity towards bilinguals…

Child Can be Funny!

Another short and light post here. I hope you can enjoy reading it; with a little smile, maybe?

This is my true story. Hana, my nephew, is a smart young girl. She’s at her second year at primary school now. She likes playing riddle. It happened when I and my hubby visited her house two weeks ago.

“Auntie, what’s the similarity between Pangeran Diponegoro and Jendral Sudirman?”

Because both are Indonesia’s national patriots, I said,

“Hana, the same thing with both of them is they are our national patriots…”

“No, it’s wrong answer”

After several other wrong answers, I gave up.

And then she said calmly,” The right answer is, they are both don’t have facebook accounts, Auntie…”

I was surprised by her answer. Child nowadays…

-Lina-

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My daughter, Shaqira, has just been 2.5 years old when I introduced her to children games at computer. At that time, I was downloading a new game from internet.

“Mom, why hasn’t yet the game come out? Why is it so long?”

“Be patient, dear. It’s still loading…” I said that while pointing my finger at loading sign at computer.

Not long after that, Shaqira asked me to lead her to the toilet because she wanted to loosen the bowels.

She sat down at the closet and I stood beside her.

After several minutes passed away; she’s still quiet.

I asked, “Shaq, why hasn’t yet it come out?”

“Be patient, Mom. It’s still loading…”

-Wanda Wardaniah, Reader’s Digest-

The picture is taken from blog.beboxx.com

Christmas Coloring Printable For The Kids

Just click on the image to blow it up and then hit print.

Child Can Look and Act So Funny

Another funny post from me. I don't want to make you serious at the weekend. Have a wonderful weekend, every one.... 

Catch up the latest news... It looks funny; but I think it's an image; look at the big hands. Am I right?

Source: laughitout.com

 
Dear baby, you looks so cute (the dog, too), but you need to loose your weight soon...

Source : people.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper

Potty training???

Source: funnypicturefunnyphoto.com

Which one do you like best?

Don’t Be Late to Maximize Potency of Your Child’s Brain

I think most of parents have already known that the first four years age of a child is golden age times. Why? Child’s intelligence ability will develop fast as much as 50% in the first four years; 30% for 4-8 years old children and only 20% for 8-18 years old. So, based on this fact, the best times for parents’ role to maximize potency of their children’ brain is the first four years...

For several parents, giving lessons to under five years old children is still taboo. They assumed that children are still plain; and it’s better to let them grow and develop by themselves. What a pity; because of their unawareness, these parents don’t make the best use of golden age of their children. The neglect of golden age times will result in children’ learning difficulty, especially at their primary school times.

Center of children’ growth and development is the brain. What can you do as parents to maximize the use of your child’s golden age times?

Give proper nutrient since early age.

There is much nutrient needed for brain development: protein and amino acid, AA-DHA, gangliosida, kolin, and micro nutrient (iron, zinc, iodium, folat, vitamin A). This entire important nutrient is available completely in breast milk. That’s why breastfeeding your baby is very important! To know more about giving proper meals for children, it’s better if you consult to a nutritionist.

Give enjoyable stimulation to train your child’s brain.
If you noticed, there are several methods to maximize potency of child’s brain (floor times, Glenn Doman, biolearning, etc). In this post, I’ll mention a little about floor time method.

Floor time is a recently developed brain stimulation method. The aims of floor time method are: to develop child’s potency, to enhance emotional closeness between parents and child, to train communication and thinking ability; and to increase child’s self confidence. In short, you can say that floor time is a playing and interactive tool, as long as 20-30 minutes, between parents and child. To interact and play can be repeated several times per day.

Several points in floor time method that parents should understand are:

• Parents and child play interactively every day for about 30 minutes.
  
  
  
• Focus completely in your child’s wants. Turn off TV and radio.
  
  
  
• Follow your child’s idea; initiate comes from your child.
  
  
  
• Let your child to decide what she/he wants to play/tell and how to do it (of course, the game depends on your child’s age).
  
  
  
• Don’t take over to lead the game, parents should play actively as your child wants and be her/his friend. You should build interactive communication here!
  
  
  
• Stimulate your child to response spontaneously; it aims to increase your child’s creativity! Try to be a connector of his/her toys. Ex: when you’re playing a frog puppet; imitate and speak like a frog.
  
  
  
• In floor time method, avoid playing game boards, because the purpose is to interact creatively and spontaneously. Game boards tend to build structured interaction, not creatively.
  
  
  

Well parents, whatever brain stimulation method that you choose, the most important is: don’t be late to do it!

Rewrite source: Kompas and google

The picture is taken from help-your-child-with-anger.com

Santa Wrote Back!

My two little boys wrote Santa a few weeks ago. And when I asked them if they thought Santa was going to write them a letter back my 3 year old sadly said "No, He's busy".

Well today, when daddy brought the mail home. There were two envelopes for them from the north pole.

These photos say it all.

I found this fun website from a fiend and thought I should share it with you all.

If you want santa to write your little ones a letter you can on this link to print out your very own customizable Santa Letter. Pretty Cool!

Teach Your Children to Compromise

Compromise actually is a process of giving and taking, a sign of strength not weakness, and an avenue toward a win – win situation for everyone involved. By teaching your children to solve problem among them with compromise, you also train them to learn to discuss and to build their empathy feeling.

If you have child more than one, apply compromise method in your family earlier. Start it from little things. Ex: when your children struggle each other to have your attention, tell them to ‘draw’ the order; to decide who will be the first, second… The other has to wait, listen and be patient waiting his/her turn.

An expert said that compromise can be taught to children since 4 or 5 years old. In this time period, your child still won’t be understood if you explain the meaning of compromise, negotiation, or diplomacy. So, the appropriate way to teach your child is by applying it in their games.

While your children are playing, it can be often if then quarrel or ‘conflict’ happens. The cause usually is no one wants to wait his/her turn to play; every child wants to be the first. If between them there is none who wants to give way, as parents, you should involve solving the situation. It’s the right time for you teaching them compromise. You may give alternative solutions, but with your guidance, let your children have the solution together.

I’ll continue this compromise topic in my next post. In my opinion, compromise thing in a family is one of interesting topic to be discussed. You might have your own question, should parents compromise with their child? Well, we’ll discuss it later.

Rewrite source: Tempo and google

The picture is taken from babble.com

What do you feed 24 people for breakfast?

Cousins Isaiah and Ian (both 7 years old)

(Breakfast yesterday morning)

That is the question asked on the last comment of our last post. The answer is simple... the same thing I make for 14 people :)

It has been such a blessing to have Daniel's brother and sister in law and their children here with us these past couple of weeks. We're sure going to miss them as they head back home on Monday. And for as much fun and fellowship we have had, we've had equally as much work to keep us very, very busy.

Meal preparation has been an adventure.

We're making the same things we always make, but just a lot of it! Eggs, beans and tortillas; oatmeal; french toast and eggs; eggs and potatos; and pancakes. :) So thankful to the Lord for His provision. He is so good!

This coming week, I'll be posting about the upcoming Christmas Shoeboxes. What a blessing they have been to so many children in our town. Sunday we had the most children we have ever had in Sunday School...98. We are having a "good" problem these days...we are outgrowing the building we are renting. I'll end with a couple of photos of the children's class this past Sunday morning and a couple of videos as well.

Pray the Lord will continue to work in the hearts of the people here.