That's right, folks. It's time to revamp the board. The first thing to go will be...the name! On April 10 we welcomed our daughter Missy into the world, so Maman and Men is no longer quite accurate. Over the next few weeks I'll be reviewing the purpose of my blog. Forgive me if I'm silent for another long stretch. Frankly, I have no idea where this blog was headed, which means it may take a while to figure out where it should be headed. But, I promise to come back in relatively good time with a new plan for this blog's future.
Cheers,
Maman
Friday 18 April 2014
Tuesday 25 February 2014
Four Tips for Integrating Language into Your Child's Life
Is that a pedantic post title, or what? As usual, it has been a while -- nearly a month -- since I last posted. I have to admit that with the tail end of my pregnancy here (only seven weeks left to go, and one or two fewer with any luck) blogging has not been at the forefront of my brain. However, here I am, back again, and I'd like to share some things I've learned about raising a bilingual child in a more-or-less monolingual province.
Multiple-language learning is priceless, and is worth the struggle it sometimes presents. The Man doesn't speak any French, and at first I was worried that he would feel left out or ignored if the boys and I spoke French with him around, but especially lately, he has been encouraging me more and more to speak French with the boys regardless of who is there. As a result, I've become more comfortable using my French, and the boys have become more used to hearing it. Monster, who is 3 1/2, has even begun to respond (in English) to some of the things that I say.
With all that in mind, here is what I've learned about raising small children to speak more than one language.
1. Embrace your language. The first step to raising a child who embraces your language is to embrace it yourself. Monkey see, monkey do, right? When a child sees and hears his parents embracing their language and culture, he will naturally -- at least for a while -- want to embrace it himself. Sure, outside influences will come and may lessen that desire for a time, but the important thing is that that child has had a good beginning in more than one language.
2. Integrate language into the day-to-day. Going to, say, a French playschool, like we do, is great, but exposing a child to another language in an outside environment for a few hours a day one or two days a week isn't enough. It's important to use your language at home on a daily basis, even if it's just a few words here and there. For some, this may mean repeating something in both languages ("C'est le temps pour le lunch maintenant. It's lunchtime now."). Really, it's what works for you.
3. Make time. One friend of mine set aside specific times during the day where she and her daughters only spoke French. Because her husband only speaks English, she made sure this was a time when he wasn't home to feel left out of the conversations; but, the girls still had time to use their French.
4. Find friends. Let's face it, anything is hard when you feel like you're on your own. To add to this, a child is less likely to embrace a language if he feels left out and 'weird' because of it. By finding friends who share the same language or culture as you, both you and your child are more likely to continue with it. Many communities or regions have playgroups offered in different languages, although you may have to travel for it; you can check out your local (or not-local) library to see if there is a story time in your language; being French-Canadian, we're fortunate enough to have regional Francophone schools that offer a myriad of resources. And, of course, there's the good old internet. This may be the best way to find resources in your region.
If you're raising a child to speak more than one language, don't give up! There are more people than you might think who are in the same boat. Source things out in your community. Start up your own playgroup with other parents who are committed to exposing their child to another language. Create times in your day to really focus on language, and above all, learn to love it yourself. Experiencing language doesn't have to be a chore.
Multiple-language learning is priceless, and is worth the struggle it sometimes presents. The Man doesn't speak any French, and at first I was worried that he would feel left out or ignored if the boys and I spoke French with him around, but especially lately, he has been encouraging me more and more to speak French with the boys regardless of who is there. As a result, I've become more comfortable using my French, and the boys have become more used to hearing it. Monster, who is 3 1/2, has even begun to respond (in English) to some of the things that I say.
With all that in mind, here is what I've learned about raising small children to speak more than one language.
1. Embrace your language. The first step to raising a child who embraces your language is to embrace it yourself. Monkey see, monkey do, right? When a child sees and hears his parents embracing their language and culture, he will naturally -- at least for a while -- want to embrace it himself. Sure, outside influences will come and may lessen that desire for a time, but the important thing is that that child has had a good beginning in more than one language.
2. Integrate language into the day-to-day. Going to, say, a French playschool, like we do, is great, but exposing a child to another language in an outside environment for a few hours a day one or two days a week isn't enough. It's important to use your language at home on a daily basis, even if it's just a few words here and there. For some, this may mean repeating something in both languages ("C'est le temps pour le lunch maintenant. It's lunchtime now."). Really, it's what works for you.
3. Make time. One friend of mine set aside specific times during the day where she and her daughters only spoke French. Because her husband only speaks English, she made sure this was a time when he wasn't home to feel left out of the conversations; but, the girls still had time to use their French.
4. Find friends. Let's face it, anything is hard when you feel like you're on your own. To add to this, a child is less likely to embrace a language if he feels left out and 'weird' because of it. By finding friends who share the same language or culture as you, both you and your child are more likely to continue with it. Many communities or regions have playgroups offered in different languages, although you may have to travel for it; you can check out your local (or not-local) library to see if there is a story time in your language; being French-Canadian, we're fortunate enough to have regional Francophone schools that offer a myriad of resources. And, of course, there's the good old internet. This may be the best way to find resources in your region.
If you're raising a child to speak more than one language, don't give up! There are more people than you might think who are in the same boat. Source things out in your community. Start up your own playgroup with other parents who are committed to exposing their child to another language. Create times in your day to really focus on language, and above all, learn to love it yourself. Experiencing language doesn't have to be a chore.
Tuesday 28 January 2014
On the Bookshelf: Clearing the Clutter
I mentioned in my last post that one of my goals for the year is to cut back on clutter. One very emotional way I did that was to get rid of a box stuffed full of books. My dear friend was able to help me pack them up this summer in preparation for the eventual day that I would take them to the used book store; two weeks ago, I finally got up the nerve to do it.
It was hard.
I felt like I was giving away part of my childhood. Many of the books I had had for years upon years (okay, so that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, considering my relatively young age), and some of them were editions of Black Beauty, which I collected as a child. Seeing someone else pawing through my books and putting a price on the heads of my old friends was difficult.
It was made easier, though, by my leaving the book store with some new friends, including some more Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift books, The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Ten Years After by Alexandre Dumas. I think I parted with about 35 books over the course of two days and came home with 13. I still have credit left at one store and look forward to using it, when I have a chance, to find more books to make a part of my adulthood. Besides, even if I have physically given away books that have been on my shelf for years, I don't have to lose the memory of them. It's just time to make room on the shelf for a new phase of my life.
It was hard.
I felt like I was giving away part of my childhood. Many of the books I had had for years upon years (okay, so that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, considering my relatively young age), and some of them were editions of Black Beauty, which I collected as a child. Seeing someone else pawing through my books and putting a price on the heads of my old friends was difficult.
It was made easier, though, by my leaving the book store with some new friends, including some more Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift books, The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Ten Years After by Alexandre Dumas. I think I parted with about 35 books over the course of two days and came home with 13. I still have credit left at one store and look forward to using it, when I have a chance, to find more books to make a part of my adulthood. Besides, even if I have physically given away books that have been on my shelf for years, I don't have to lose the memory of them. It's just time to make room on the shelf for a new phase of my life.
Monday 27 January 2014
Setting Goals
Yes, again, it's been ages since I've posted. I'm terrible at keeping up with this blogging thing, I know! One tough thing is that I don't feel that I have much to write about. Let's face it, the life of a stay-at-home mum, and a pregnant one at that, is generally neither exciting nor glamorous. I enjoy sleeping, eating, and sleeping some more, and I spend most of my time driving to and from appointments or spending time at said appointments. In fact, just this week I have four appointments over three days. Yahoo.
Anyway, today I wanted to talk about setting goals. With the changing of the years, the popular thing to do is to make resolutions; I prefer to set goals. Resolutions just seem so vague to me, without real substance. It's hard to maintain a resolution like "lose weight" (how much? by when? for that matter, how?) or "clean up" (where? how much? does it involve getting rid of things, or just rearranging?). To me, it's easier to set a concrete goal using the corny but helpful SMART mnemonic. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Related is the variation I use, although there are plenty of others that may suit you better.
After rotting my brain on Pinterest a bit (one thing I do when I'm not sleeping, although I do occasionally eat at the same time) I came across this relatively old but still relevant post from moneysavingmom.com. It inspired me to set goals for each week and each day, as well as setting big goals for the coming year. For the last three weeks, I've had a "Things to Do" notepad on my desk with a list of goals for each week. One recurring goal is to get rid of five things. I'm trying to cut back on the clutter, and what better way to do that than by finding things to get rid of, one way or another? Well, I suppose that getting rid of things is the only way to get rid of clutter, but I digress. Slightly.
Also important to me is knowing exactly what I've accomplished, so I keep another note pad on my desk (this one reads, "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is.") for a list of everything I accomplish each week, big or small. It's encouraging to me on my bad days to see that I haven't been totally unproductive. Maybe I've written letters to my friends, or done some important banking, or sorted through a pile of paperwork. Maybe it's been a good week and I've done all three. Either way, I know that I've done something that's important to me.
The point of this all is that setting goals is necessary to my accomplishing anything. With that, I share this weeks goals with you, in the hope that it may inspire you to set your own goals.
Goals for the week of 27 January
1. Find five things to get rid of.
2. Sort one box from storage.
3. Finish reconciling 2012 bank statements (done!)
4. Finish colouring Monkey's valentines.
5. Clean off the top of the dog's crate. Again.
Things that I've done in the week of 27 January
1. Finished reconciling 2012 bank statements.
2. Made appointments with the vet, hairdresser, and physiotherapist
3. Banking, banking, banking.
I figure if I can finish one goal a day, I'm set, although some goals (like paperwork) may take a few days of plugging away before they get completed. Do you set goals? What's one goal you'd like to accomplish this week?
Anyway, today I wanted to talk about setting goals. With the changing of the years, the popular thing to do is to make resolutions; I prefer to set goals. Resolutions just seem so vague to me, without real substance. It's hard to maintain a resolution like "lose weight" (how much? by when? for that matter, how?) or "clean up" (where? how much? does it involve getting rid of things, or just rearranging?). To me, it's easier to set a concrete goal using the corny but helpful SMART mnemonic. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Related is the variation I use, although there are plenty of others that may suit you better.
After rotting my brain on Pinterest a bit (one thing I do when I'm not sleeping, although I do occasionally eat at the same time) I came across this relatively old but still relevant post from moneysavingmom.com. It inspired me to set goals for each week and each day, as well as setting big goals for the coming year. For the last three weeks, I've had a "Things to Do" notepad on my desk with a list of goals for each week. One recurring goal is to get rid of five things. I'm trying to cut back on the clutter, and what better way to do that than by finding things to get rid of, one way or another? Well, I suppose that getting rid of things is the only way to get rid of clutter, but I digress. Slightly.
Also important to me is knowing exactly what I've accomplished, so I keep another note pad on my desk (this one reads, "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is.") for a list of everything I accomplish each week, big or small. It's encouraging to me on my bad days to see that I haven't been totally unproductive. Maybe I've written letters to my friends, or done some important banking, or sorted through a pile of paperwork. Maybe it's been a good week and I've done all three. Either way, I know that I've done something that's important to me.
The point of this all is that setting goals is necessary to my accomplishing anything. With that, I share this weeks goals with you, in the hope that it may inspire you to set your own goals.
Goals for the week of 27 January
1. Find five things to get rid of.
2. Sort one box from storage.
3. Finish reconciling 2012 bank statements (done!)
4. Finish colouring Monkey's valentines.
5. Clean off the top of the dog's crate. Again.
Things that I've done in the week of 27 January
1. Finished reconciling 2012 bank statements.
2. Made appointments with the vet, hairdresser, and physiotherapist
3. Banking, banking, banking.
I figure if I can finish one goal a day, I'm set, although some goals (like paperwork) may take a few days of plugging away before they get completed. Do you set goals? What's one goal you'd like to accomplish this week?
Wednesday 13 November 2013
Stockinette Baby Toque
Today, I picked up my knitting needles for the first time in a long time. Lazy girl that I am, I prefer crochet, as it works up much, much more quickly than knitting. However, after a lovely tea (Ice Cream Cake from David's Tea) with a lovely friend, who was diligently working on this adorable baby toque, I got rather inspired. So, I hunted up some patterns and came up (all by myself!) with this pattern for a basic stockinette baby toque, complete with pompom.
Cast on 48 st.
Row 1-5 k2, p2 (rib stitch)
Row 6-21, k one row, p one row (stockinette stitch)
Row 22, k6, k2tog, repeat to end
Row 23 (and every wrong-side row from here on), purl
Row 24 k5, k2tog, repeat to end. Repeat for every right-side row from here on, decreasing by one stitch each row (eg row 26 k4, k2tog) until there are six stitches left. Break yarn and draw through the stitches.
Join edges with mattress stitch.
Add a pompom on top.
All done!
I was super impressed that it only took me an afternoon to complete -- usually knitting projects, even small ones, take me forever. This is definitely a pattern that I'll be using again!
Cast on 48 st.
Row 1-5 k2, p2 (rib stitch)
Row 6-21, k one row, p one row (stockinette stitch)
Row 22, k6, k2tog, repeat to end
Row 23 (and every wrong-side row from here on), purl
Row 24 k5, k2tog, repeat to end. Repeat for every right-side row from here on, decreasing by one stitch each row (eg row 26 k4, k2tog) until there are six stitches left. Break yarn and draw through the stitches.
Join edges with mattress stitch.
Add a pompom on top.
All done!
I was super impressed that it only took me an afternoon to complete -- usually knitting projects, even small ones, take me forever. This is definitely a pattern that I'll be using again!
Monday 21 October 2013
I Have Too Many Leftovers
We seem to go through cycles. One week our fridge will be completely, or at least nearly, empty of leftovers, and the next week there will be so many I don't know what to do with them. It doesn't help that my Many Children (including the big, overgrown child) will eat everything I make and more one day, and not touch their food the next; or, that they'll eat and eat and eat something, and hardly touch it the next time I make the same thing. It makes food quantities pretty hard to guess.
Anyway, this week is one of the "so many I don't know what to do with them" weeks. I have a big container of scalloped potatoes, two different types of leftover chicken, mexican-style rice, roast beef, fried onions, and probably a few more things I've forgotten about. So, I figured it was time to use some of those things up. Monday night is pasta night, so I wanted to use some sort of noodle base; and roast beef and fried onions aren't something that would get eaten quickly, so I wanted to use them up. There was a little bit of sour cream left in a container to use up before I could open up the new container and get it out of the fridge downstairs. It all added up to beef stroganoff.
I would take pictures (it's still on the stove as I type) but although it tastes pretty good, it looks revolting. I've never liked the look of beef stroganoff. So, I'll just put up the recipe, suggest you eat it without looking at it, and hope you enjoy.
Leftover Beef Stroganoff
leftover roast beef, cut into thin strips
about 1/2 cup fried onions, or raw if you don't have any
coarsely chopped garlic...I used three cloves
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
the last bit of a container of sour cream, plus about 3/4 cup more to top it off
a generous sprinkle of paprika
Heat up the beef, onions, and garlic until the garlic (and the onions, if they were raw) is (or are) soft. Dump in the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and paprika, stir it all up, and heat it through. Voila! Really ridiculously easy beef stroganoff. Serve it over egg noodles and you have a meal.
Anyway, this week is one of the "so many I don't know what to do with them" weeks. I have a big container of scalloped potatoes, two different types of leftover chicken, mexican-style rice, roast beef, fried onions, and probably a few more things I've forgotten about. So, I figured it was time to use some of those things up. Monday night is pasta night, so I wanted to use some sort of noodle base; and roast beef and fried onions aren't something that would get eaten quickly, so I wanted to use them up. There was a little bit of sour cream left in a container to use up before I could open up the new container and get it out of the fridge downstairs. It all added up to beef stroganoff.
I would take pictures (it's still on the stove as I type) but although it tastes pretty good, it looks revolting. I've never liked the look of beef stroganoff. So, I'll just put up the recipe, suggest you eat it without looking at it, and hope you enjoy.
Leftover Beef Stroganoff
leftover roast beef, cut into thin strips
about 1/2 cup fried onions, or raw if you don't have any
coarsely chopped garlic...I used three cloves
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
the last bit of a container of sour cream, plus about 3/4 cup more to top it off
a generous sprinkle of paprika
Heat up the beef, onions, and garlic until the garlic (and the onions, if they were raw) is (or are) soft. Dump in the cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and paprika, stir it all up, and heat it through. Voila! Really ridiculously easy beef stroganoff. Serve it over egg noodles and you have a meal.
Saturday 19 October 2013
Christmas Carols, and Decorating for Fall
Yes, you read right: Christmas carols already. I can't help it. The advent of fall, and cooler weather, signals (to me -- The Man would disagree) the advent of advent, and advent means Christmas music and all the other delightful things that go with the celebration of Christ's birth. Don't get me wrong; I love fall, at least in theory, but Christmas, now that gets me excited. The other day at the thrift store, I found some lovely Christmas ornaments that I'm looking forward to putting on my tree. The fact that they have a shelf set aside for Christmas all year reassures me. I'm obviously not the only one with this unseasonable desire.
Despite my early Christmas kick, I do enjoy decorating for autumn as well. Just yesterday I found some adorable pumpkins made out of grapevines, on sale no less, which are now sitting on my mantel. Last year I got a pretty gold-coloured, leaf-patterned tablecloth, on sale again, at Fred Meyer that is actually big enough to cover our rather enormous table. And...okay, and that's about all I have for fall. Still, I'm just getting started. There are lots of years to collect fall decorations, and the right ones, too.
This is where sites like Pinterest and Houzz come and invade my life. I spend way too much of what little free time I have searching things like "Christmas" and "fall decor" on Pinterest, and while I find lots of lovely ideas, it seems that very few of them are actually practical. Especially with kids. And a dog. And a husband. I mean, really, glass jars on my coffee table full of red and green striped mints? Beautiful, but shattered and eaten (the jars and the mints respectively, I mean) in no time flat. Homemade berry wreaths hanging from the mantel look too much like those monkey bar rings on the playground for my littlest guy to leave them alone, and are far too time-consuming to make, to boot. No, I think that grapevine pumpkins, well out of reach, and a clear-vinyl-covered leaf tablecloth are as good as it gets for now, and, all things considered, are darn good.
Not that there aren't things I would like to get to spruce up the house for the fall season. I really would love an orange berry wreath to hang in the stairwell (I can see it mouldering on the front door, so the stairwell it is), and Chinese lantern makes me squeal and bounce up and down a little bit. A nice autumnal display in the front planters would be nice, too. The Man could care less, I think, but I do like the house to look seasonable. But, as I said, there are plenty of years to get there, and to gather ideas along the way. Everything is a process.
Despite my early Christmas kick, I do enjoy decorating for autumn as well. Just yesterday I found some adorable pumpkins made out of grapevines, on sale no less, which are now sitting on my mantel. Last year I got a pretty gold-coloured, leaf-patterned tablecloth, on sale again, at Fred Meyer that is actually big enough to cover our rather enormous table. And...okay, and that's about all I have for fall. Still, I'm just getting started. There are lots of years to collect fall decorations, and the right ones, too.
This is where sites like Pinterest and Houzz come and invade my life. I spend way too much of what little free time I have searching things like "Christmas" and "fall decor" on Pinterest, and while I find lots of lovely ideas, it seems that very few of them are actually practical. Especially with kids. And a dog. And a husband. I mean, really, glass jars on my coffee table full of red and green striped mints? Beautiful, but shattered and eaten (the jars and the mints respectively, I mean) in no time flat. Homemade berry wreaths hanging from the mantel look too much like those monkey bar rings on the playground for my littlest guy to leave them alone, and are far too time-consuming to make, to boot. No, I think that grapevine pumpkins, well out of reach, and a clear-vinyl-covered leaf tablecloth are as good as it gets for now, and, all things considered, are darn good.
Not that there aren't things I would like to get to spruce up the house for the fall season. I really would love an orange berry wreath to hang in the stairwell (I can see it mouldering on the front door, so the stairwell it is), and Chinese lantern makes me squeal and bounce up and down a little bit. A nice autumnal display in the front planters would be nice, too. The Man could care less, I think, but I do like the house to look seasonable. But, as I said, there are plenty of years to get there, and to gather ideas along the way. Everything is a process.
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